Power Without Question
by Misfit Delta
Summary: One year before Fisk's arrest, a new player arrives outside Manhattan. While most people only get one chance at life, the displaced Matthew Cooper is on his third. Only now with the experience, tools, and his Titan, BT-7274, backing him up. With trouble brewing, he sets out to stop it the only way he knows how. Can Spider-Man stop this lethal Commando? Should he? PS4 AU.
1. Chapter 1: Renegade

**Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, and others. This is a not for profit work and I own nothing. **

**This was inspired by the excellent Titanfall 2 and the ability to play as 'Spider-Man with a machine gun' and what would happen if that was thrown into the equally excellent Spider-Man by Insomniac Games to interact with the Webslinger himself. Because the only character brought in from Titanfall 2 directly is BT-7274, I'm considering this to be more of a Spider-Man PS4 AU than a true crossover. If you're familiar with Crysis Effect it's the same line of reasoning. But this my first story and if this is incorrect then I will reupload this story as a crossover. **

**(4/15/20: That has now obviously changed and this is now in the crossover section. For those arguing it should have been here since the beginning, you're probably right. Though if you are a Titanfall fan that found this story, it isn't set in the Titanfall universe but rather in the world of Spider-Man with next to no Titanfall elements but the dual protagonists of Titanfall 2, at least for the first 40 some odd chapters.)**

**Feedback is welcome as this is my first rodeo, the clearer and more precise the better, and I hope you get some enjoyment out of this story about a Superhero, Reporter, Thief, Pilot, Marine, and 40 ton killing machine. **

**(8/14/19: This Chapter has been updated to a slightly different format and now includes a Logbook entry at the end.)**

**(1/20/19: Thanks to mrGoodCat2277 on DeviantArt for granting me permission to use the cover image.)**

**And now for our Feature Presentation. **

* * *

**Power Without Question - Chapter 1: Renegade**

_The jig is up, the news is out_

_They finally found me._

_The Renegade who had it made_

_Retrieved for a bounty, nevermore to go astray_

_The Judge will have his revenge today_

_On the Wanted Man_

* * *

Matthew Cooper was returning home for Christmas. Not long out of college and having started work at an engineering firm, it had been his first extended time in 'the real world.' Suffice it to say it wasn't what he had been expecting, and the prospect of home was relieving. Driving along the freeway in the dead of night the lyrics of the song he had playing seemed to be almost prophetic.

_Twelve o clock, I gotta rock_

_There's a truck ahead, lights starin' at my eyes_

_Oh my God, no time to turn_

_I got to laugh, 'cause I know I'm gonna die_

_Why?_

A drunk in a pickup truck had swerved and crossed the center line at the last possible second, plowing into the student in a head-on collision and sending his car tumbling in an accident that killed the student.

What he didn't expect, was to wake back up again.

The Texan slowly opened his eyes, once he registered that he was alive he sat up quickly, flexing his fingers and toes as he looked around. "Hello?" he ventured as he picked himself up off of the hospital style bed he was laying in and took his first tentative steps on the seamless tile floor.

He looked around at the rest of the space and furrowed his brow as he tried to figure out just where the hell he was. Despite the bed, it clearly wasn't a medical facility of any type, the walls were a wood paneling with softer lighting that was more akin to a private office.

He looked around for anything he could use, he was wearing the same pair of jeans and t-shirt he had been, though they were miraculously undamaged. Other than that, there was little. His mind raced when he heard what sounded like a door opening behind him, though he had seen no such devices on his initial inspection.

Spinning around he saw the responsible party, an older woman wearing a formal business suit, a head of shoulder length grey hair framed a wizened looking face. Her piercing grey eyes locked with his softer blue ones. "Good, you're awake" she said as he prepared to ask a question, only to be cut off. "Come with me young man, time is against us" she said as she smiled reassuringly and pulled a pocket watch from her suit jacket and looked down at it. "It always is."

With that she spun on her heel and left the young Texan alone for a brief moment before he made up his mind. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire then" he grumbled as he was resigned to at least see where this went. Jogging off to catch up he saw the passageway was similar to the room he was just in. "So, what exactly am I agreeing to?" he asked tentatively as he caught up to the mysterious woman.

"To help me" she answered simply. "Yes, you did die, you can never go home, you will never see anyone you have previously known ever again" she said flatly. The man alongside her stopped for a second as those words sunk in before quickly catching up. "But where that door has closed, I can open a new one for you" she explained.

The man beside her tried and failed to keep the bewildered expression off his face. "And who the hell are you?" he asked gracelessly as she stopped and pressed on a wall that opened to reveal another room and hit the lights.

"As for who I am? That is a difficult question, as for what to call me…Ms. Griffin will suffice young man" she said as the lights revealed a seat that reminded him of the 'Cradle' from Crysis. "Now, let us begin, please, have a seat" she said. "You must understand, the universe is far bigger than you know, far bigger than you can comprehend. I will pull back the curtain ever so slightly, because in that vastness there are many threats, threats I need individuals like you to counter" she explained as he sat down and felt the chair power up. "But I don't like to waste the lives of those who help me, so few agree to do so" she admitted as an array of blue holographic displays flickered to life.

"You will face perils, you will face danger, but the trials ahead of you are not ones you are incapable of overcoming" she allayed as she saw the look of trepidation on his face.

"You sure you got the right guy?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. "It sounds like you wanted a badass, you got a college nerd who wishes he was one" shot back the man from his seat.

The woman stuck her head out from behind the screens and offered a consolatory smile. "I got exactly who I wanted, the only question is if you will be who I need" she answered calmly, her voice cooling the nerves of the man in question. "I have selected you for a very specific set of reasons, if there is any doubt you will fail to live up to my expectations, it lies with you, and you alone."

Minutes passed by in silence as Griffin finished her work. "Rest easy young man, when you wake up, your journey begins. I will be following your progress with great interest and will assist as needed. Good luck" she said before leaving the room.

Even before she had left him alone, the Texan could feel his body relax, his eyes struggled to stay open, and his mind seemed to numb as his world descended into an unfamiliar blackness.

The next thing he felt was an unnatural shaking wracking his whole body. "Come on Cooper, wake up" said a grizzled male voice. "We have time for another round of training before we hit Typhon. Let's go" he encouraged as Matthew opened his eyes to see a grey-haired man with a similarly colored stubble on his chin. He was wearing olive colored fatigues and his torso and shoulders were covered in armor. Over his heart was a name tag: 'Lastimosa'.

Below that was another logo the newly revived Matt Cooper knew instantly: Militia Special Recon Squadron, Marauder Corps.

He was in Titanfall.

* * *

"Talk about shit creek" joked Cooper weakly as he looked down at the torrent of rushing water below. To say that things had quickly got horribly wrong would be the understatement of his new life, and it had only been 24 hours. After getting in a brief training lesson with Lastimosa after waking up, Matthew had found, to his delight, that he was pretty good with the Jump Kit and quickly got a hang of wallrunning and double jumping in the simulation. Even more fun was getting to play around with all of the guns, and his proficiency with 21st century firearms had translated, and by the time he had his fill of running the gauntlet he was posting a respectable time of 48.59 seconds. According to his instructor he was a 'golden arm, a born natural' at it.

While they didn't have time for Titan training, the Captain had assured him that this trip was going to be a milk run and they would be back in the simulators tomorrow. No sooner had the words come out of his mouth than everything went to hell. The fleet came under attack and Cooper had made for an escape pod before dropping down onto an active battlefield. After an intense firefight, his memory went a bit fuzzy, he remembered a Titan and Lastimosa's voice, but nothing had stuck.

Which meant he got the shock of his life when he came to the following morning to find the veteran Titan Pilot on deaths door and then heard him use his dying words to give him his Titan, BT-7274. Only then did it really dawn on him that he was the main protagonist of the game. Even if he had little attachment to the Captain, having to strip him of his gear was a gruesome task, and if Matt had any food in his stomach then he would have thrown up on multiple occasions. But he finally managed to follow the mans instructions and donned his helmet and jump kit before covering the body in small stones, stuffing the man's rifle in it to serve as a grave marker.

Now, barely 10 minutes after that, he had been given a task by BT, to find a battery in the wreck of the ship that had brought him there. Not only did he have to negotiate the rough terrain, with its cliffs, chasms, and waterfalls, but dangerous wildlife also. To make matters worse, if he dawdled, then the group that had shot the ship down might descend on them. Passing by a pod not unlike the one that he had arrived in, he swallowed his fear and stepped back, taking an angle that would allow him to wallrun along the sheer rock face in order to cross the gap. If he didn't, then…at least death would be instant. "You can do this Cooper, you can do this" he chanted before running headlong at the wall and jumping up, planting his foot as he sprinted along it, eyes screwed shut the whole way.

Repeating the process a few more times, complete with chants and closed eyes, the scared Texan heard a very unwelcome sound. _"Militia Intruders, this is General Marder of the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation" _droned an authoritative and haughty voice from a speaker somewhere, _"you're in violation of sovereign law. I am offering you a brief amnesty. Surrender yourself to an IMC officer or force. If you refuse, you will be eliminated." _

"Awesome" deadpanned Matthew as he tried to quell his trembling hands and ascend a cylindrical cave, stopping to catch his breath and let the jump kit recalibrate at a few rocky outcrops. The higher he got, however, the more he was certain he wasn't alone. He could hear voices, and not ones over a PA. Clutching his rifle tighter, he leapt across the last gap and came to a stop next to a burning piece of wreckage as he saw the source of the voices. A man standing with their backs to him, clad not in Militia Green, but the white of the IMC. "C'mon Matt, you got this" he whispered as he tried to sooth his nerves as he raised his rifle. Emptying his lungs as he set his sights on the man, he pulled the trigger.

Only for nothing to happen.

"The fuck?" he hissed as he looked down to see that he had forgotten to turn off the safety, angrily flicking the selector on the gun to 'full' he shouldered the bullpup weapon and squeezed the trigger. This time he was met with a satisfying report as the gun kicked against his shoulder and sent 7.62x39mm rounds into the enemy soldier, four slamming into his back and through his body before the impacts sent the man falling face first over the cliff.

As Cooper saw the man vanish, the gravity of what he had just done set in as he began moving forwards. He had just killed a man in cold blood, maybe he could have captured him, or snuck by or something. The guy had a family, sure he would have done the same, but he wanted to be better. What would become of him if he just killed everyone he…

A loud _'snap!' _right next to his head knocked him from his moral conundrums as the sounds of more bullets caused him to immediately drop to the dirt in reflex as a second IMC trooper opened fire, spraying his own weapon wildly. One of he bullets slammed into his gun, knocking it from his hands as Cooper rolled away frantically and out of panic, ran himself up against the cliff face, leaving him nowhere to go. The IMC soldier saw his predicament and leered at him evily as he slowly reloaded his own weapon. "Next time you have the chance to kill someone" he growled as he slammed the mag home while Matt slowly inched his hand closer to the pistol in the holster on his right hip, "don't hesitate."

For some reason, as Matt's eyes stared at the muzzle of that strange, futuristic rifle, the man's words caused a clarity to manifest in his mind, and when he saw the man take his eyes off him to work the charging handle of his gun, Matthew acted. Going off instinct, he performed a move he had thousands of times, smoothly drawing his sidearm, flicking off the safety, bringing it up, and pulling the trigger. Only he didn't pull it once, or twice, or three times, he kept firing as fast as he could until the gun was empty, 10 holes in the mans legs, abdomen, chest, and even one in the head as he fell back and slammed into the ground, dead as a doornail. Breathing heavily, Cooper slowly got himself standing on shaky legs as he looked down at the dead man, blood seeping through the white of his uniform and pooling beneath him. Unlike the first, this time he felt nothing as he mechanically went through the motions of reloading his pistol before reliving the dead man of his rifle to replace his damaged one. Taking his ammo and grenades too, he looked down at the man's dead eyes and realized he had to take his words to heart. "Thanks for the advice" he told the corpse honestly as he picked up the blood-spattered gun and continued forwards.

* * *

"We should make camp here Pilot" warbled the mechanical monotone of BT as the Titan came to a stop and set the Pilot down on the flat ground in the middle of the rocky terrain. Looking around, the Pilot saw nothing but rocks and dust illuminated by the setting sun, the only exception was the dead tree at the edge of the flat. "I am detecting no signs of hostile activity within a 60 kilometer radius, we will be safe for the night" assured the Vanguard Class Titan. Nodding, Cooper slung his SMG over his shoulder and removed his helmet and running his gloved hand through the stubble that had grown over the three days he had been on this hellhole.

His glove also came back covered in grime and sweat that had accumulated there as well from the constant fighting he had done in that time, in which he had come to, among other things, trust the green machine implicitly. "Hey BT" he called out as he pulled his flask out and took a sip of water before deciding to pour some on his face before shaking his head violently in an effort to wash the grit from his skin and hair. Once that was done, he turned back to the 40 ton bipedal mech, which was still cradling the 40mm cannon like a body pillow, and asked, "any chance we can get a fire going?"

The machine took a moment to ponder his request, singular blue eye pulsing before he got an answer. "Affirmative, we could use that tree as fuel for a fire. It is unlikely there will be any IMC aerial reconnaissance units patrolling such rugged terrain" reasoned the machine. "Shall I proceed with this tasking?"

"Please do" answered Cooper as the 25 foot tall robot began wrenching the dead tree from the desert while Cooper began undoing the straps on his armor and gear. As he worked the heavy armored vest off he winced as it dug into a bandaged wound on his stomach. Slowly stripping away the fatigues beneath, he could see the blood soaked bandage and tennatively pressed a hand to the site and grit his teeth as a spike of agony shot through him, "definitely going to leave a mark" he grunted as he picked up his first aid kit and dug out a tube of paste. Dobbing it around the wound, he let out a sigh as the cool sensation replaced the sting, the salve was a localized painkiller, according to the label, and even accelerated healing somewhat for the smaller wounds.

Sadly, the tube was nearly empty, used on the half dozen smaller and newly acquired nicks and grazes that marred his chest, the raw pink standing out against his moderate tan. "Well, chicks dig scars at least" he consoled himself as he replaced the tube back in the kit, "I hope." He also hoped that he would get the chance to test that soon. As soon as he got out of here he would be heading down to the club, down a few strong beers, perhaps so strong they were called whiskey, and get himself laid.

"Except I can't do that" he realized sadly as he slumped down.

"What can't you do Pilot?" asked BT innocently as he returned with the tree, roots and all, and began wrenching it apart to work for their purposes. "You have proven yourself an able Pilot in all respects. Our efficiency rating is now up to 83%" informed the Titan flatly.

Matthew swallowed hard as he numbly pulled out one of the cardboard like ration bars and began gnawing on it. "I can't go home" he answered honestly. Only now had he realized he hadn't thought about that for the last four days since his 'death', worried instead about what he had to do right _now_. Which, usually, was running, shooting, reloading, or some combination of the three.

"I do not have access to your personnel record Pilot Cooper" informed the Titan bluntly, "where are you from?"

"Texas" informed Matthew with more than a tinge of pride, which was dampened somewhat by the confused way the machine spun its eye at him. "It's…a long way from here. Not even sure it's around anymore to be honest" he explained as he finally gave up on using his teeth and pulled out his knife to lop off a chunk of the bar and plop it into his mouth. "Great place, good folks, weird ass whether" he recalled with a chuckle, though only thinking about it caused a pang of regret in his gut. "My friends, my family…I'll never see them again. I don't have anyone."

"That is incorrect Pilot" countered BT instantaneously and with a certainty that gave Cooper pause. "Protocol 1: Link to Pilot" repeated the machine, "you are my Pilot, you have me" informed the Titan firmly.

Mulling over BTs words for a moment, Matthew began to nod, "you are right buddy" replied Cooper to BT as he looked at him and smiled, "I do."

* * *

**60 Hours Later…**

"BT! Cooper! Our ground teams can't make it in time" reported Sarah Briggs. "You've got to find a way to destroy the Fold Weapon from the inside. There's no other way!" shouted the veteran Titan Pilot as Cooper felt the massive bulk of the Vanguard class Titan struggle to get to its feet.

But BT managed it, the punishing the Militia machine had faced mirrored that his own body had taken in his baptism by fire on Typhon. The joints of the machine moved jerkily as the optics flickered in and out of function, the screens Cooper was looking at were static every other frame as his window into the outside world struggle to keep up. "Commander Briggs" began BT in his mechanical monotone, "I believe I have a solution."

Cooper knew what was coming, with a deep breath and nerves he would have thought were long gone, he guided the battered machine towards the breach near the platform, passed the fallen chassis of Sloan's Ion. "In its exposed state, my reactor core may be able to destabilize the Ark at the center of the Fold Weapon."

Cooper felt one of the legs of the Titan falter as it staggered and barely managed to catch itself on the frame of the target. "What are you saying?" asked Briggs as the collective willpower of the man and machine caused the Vanguard to begin climbing up the frame.

"We can blow it up" answered BT instantly. "I'm sending you coordinates for a dropship rendezvous."

Cooper felt his heart drop as the voice of his companion faltered from the damage the chassis had sustained. "Coordinates received" responded the Commander, "We'll be there, but I don't see how you can."

The machine pulled itself up and braced its feet on the IMC creation, one leg sparking as its joint struggled to hold together. "Trust me. I have done the math" answered BT, causing the man inside to crack a mirthless smile, he was going to miss the Titan.

There was a sigh on the radio. "I sure as hell hope so. We're on our way. Good luck – both of you. Briggs out" said the fiery woman before the line went dead.

With that, the panel the Titan had clambered onto began to move up and into line with the barrel like structure overhead as the Titan fought to stay steady on the moving perch and shaky joints. "Don't worry BT" said Cooper as he sat back in the tight hugging pilot's seat and patted one of the control panels, "I'm not going anywhere" he assured as he readied himself for the final charge of Cooper and BT.

"Copy that pilot" responded the Vanguard, even if the voice was the same one he had been hearing for nearly a week now, but the newly minted Pilot could have sworn the machine was speaking in a tone of despair.

The lights in the barrel of the particle accelerator lit up until they were fully illuminated, and the mass of the Titan was shot forwards towards the massive glowing power source at the center of the weapon.

Matthew Cooper prepared for the hatch in front of him to open and the arm of the Titan to reach in and pull him out. Only the seconds crawled passed and the Ark got closer, Cooper realized that this wasn't like the game, the arm came up to try reach him, but the hatch failed, trapping him inside.

"End of the line" he said to himself as he closed his eyes, the blinding light of the Ark encasing the two as the ancient power source destabilized and surged within the Titan before the two completely disappeared.

* * *

"Ah fuck. Dying sucks ass" growled an irate Pilot Matt Cooper as his eyelids lazily and was immediately rewarded with a splitting headache that pulsed inside his skull like a jackhammer. The next thing his mind registered was that he was most definitely not back in the care of Griffin, not only was the pain unexpected, his environment was different too.

He was still wearing the ad hoc pilot's gear he had been issued once he had rendezvoused with Briggs and the helmet that once belonged to Tai Lastimosa. He looked up as he realized the machine was on its back and saw the display.

**Power Overcharge Rerouted to Self-Repair Functions**

**Critical Systems Restored**

**Secondary Systems Repair Underway**

His headache beginning to subside, Cooper banged on the side of the cockpit. "Yo buddy, you awake?" he asked as he heard the echo of the action fill the cramped space.

"I cannot fall asleep pilot" answered the comforting monotone of BT-7274 dryly.

Matt couldn't help himself, laughing heartily at the response, ignoring the bite of pain from his bruised ribs as he helped himself to the moment of levity. "Of course, BT" replied Cooper. "What's our status? And most importantly, where the hell _are_ we?"

"Unknown Pilot" answered the Titan as Cooper made himself busy making sure his body still worked. "External sensors are not operational at this time; advise you disembark to conduct reconnaissance of the terrain."

"Alright BT" answered the pilot as he activated the light attached to his helmet and found the smart pistol he had tossed somewhere in the cockpit and replaced the mostly spent magazine. "Crack the hatch and I'll have a look see. Assuming I won't die as soon as I step outside" finished Cooper with a chuckle.

"That is unlikely" answered BT instantly, the dry monotone oddly comforting. "Atmospheric sensors indicate the air is of an ideal oxygen-nitrogen mix and within a survivable pressure range" explained the machine.

Cooper shook his head as he found the manual release for the hatch. "Great" said the pilot wryly as he pushed on the hatch. "Anything else I should know?" he asked as he strained to open the partially repaired access hatch.

"This chassis is a significant upgrade over my previous one. It has the ability to maintain a state of readiness in the field, linked to an advanced prototype phase supply network" rattled off the Titan in the same deadpan he always talked with as Cooper forced the hatch open.

He looked up into a starlit night sky with a full moon. "Hope you like the new toys" said Cooper as he looked over the damaged Vanguard chassis, not the expected olive, but the dark grey of its replacement.

"Attached are several items of use to you pilot" added the Titan, causing Cooper to stop and look down on the single pulsing 'eye' and cocked his head. "The Militia has developed an advanced prototype for a Pilot's combat exoskeleton to further enhance your strength and mobility. It is located in the storage compartment on the left side of my chassis."

Thoroughly intrigued, Cooper clambered down and found the dented compartment and forced the latch open and pried the bent panel off to reveal the contents. "Well, what have we here" said Matt to himself as he unfolded the suit and saw the intricate additions over his current kit.

The components that made up the exoskeleton were obvious, the dull metal standing out against the Olive drab of the rest of the suit, they ran along the arms, legs, and back of the suit, and were connected to the jump kit on his waist. The armor was a different make too, comprised of an intricate honeycomb that covered his chest and back, the multiple layers ensured maximum coverage while maintaining flexibility.

His joints had more traditional protection, ceramic plates on his shoulders, pads on knees and elbows. The armored gloves were also of note, with integrated 'brass knuckles' featuring an electrical discharge capability, probably meant to stun Specters and Stalkers mused Cooper as he slid them into place.

His stomach and waist were covered in pouches and clips of half a dozen varieties, able to hold anything he might need to keep with him.

But most importantly, the kit featured every tactical ability a pilot could have, Cloak, Stim, Phase Shift, Pulse Blade, A-Wall, Grapple, and Holo Pilot. The modules that enabled them had been slimmed down and streamlined, the result was seamless integration into a single unit.

The helmet was a modified version of the standard M-COR affair, the x shaped blue visor was very familiar, as was the Marauder Corps logo, an eyepatch wearing skull, which adorned the side of the helmet and the chestplate.

Packing his old gear into the compartment, Cooper noticed a fine envelope lodged in a bit of netting sealed with an old-fashioned wax emblem that he didn't recognize as he turned it over and examined it. "Well, what have we here?" he asked aloud as he took out his data knife and sliced open the envelope and pulled out a rather high-quality piece of paper and unfolded it.

_Hello again Mr. Cooper_

_I Hope you enjoyed your time on Typhon. As you might have guessed by the altered ending to your run through the jungle, I intervened to send you to where you are most needed. You might have also noticed a few other items I have added for your benefit in the coming months._

_This is a different world than any of the previous ones you have experienced, you will have to continue to adapt. But you will adapt Mr. Cooper, I do not know exactly who you have to defeat, but you have my full faith and confidence. _

_Attached is the location of a warehouse you may find useful._

_Good Luck. _

_Ms. G_

"Tricky bitch" mumbled Cooper as he tucked the letter into his armor and picked up his last bit of kit, a small combat axe he had grown fond of during his time on Typhon, that found its spot on his left thigh. "BT? You seeing my feed? What do you make of this?" asked Matthew as he found the other piece of paper in the envelope.

"Calculating possible outcomes pilot" answered the machine quickly as Cooper held the set of longitude and latitude coordinates in front of his visor for BTs benefit. "I suggest you scout the immediate area; I will be fully operational in three hours. To maintain unit integrity, it is best we move together."

Cooper mentally conceded the point as he tucked the note away and found a few spare magazines for his Smart Pistol. Next, he noticed something he wasn't so sure he was happy to see. Picking up the playing card sized object, Cooper looked at the horned skull logo of the Apex Predators. He thought of discarding it but decided against it and shoved it into a pouch as a souvenir. Only then did he have chance to look at where the duo was.

They were at the bottom of a shallow crater in a wooded area, there was a thin layer of frost visible at the crest of the crater, and there was a chill in the dusk lit air. The trees had no leaves on the branches, and it seemed that winter was fast approaching. "Well, let's see what's waiting for us out there BT."

In a set of maneuvers the pair had become proficient at during their time on Typhon, Matt found a small road nearby where the Titan was still repairing itself. So, when the two moved out a few hours later, they did so by moving parallel to this unknown road, going by the logic that if someone built it, it should lead somewhere.

Only Cooper couldn't have predicted where exactly it would lead. "You have got to be shitting me" he said in utter shock as he looked at the skyline he had seen so many times before. "BT, am I mistaken in thinking that's New York City?"

For one of the first times he could recall, BT seemed to take a moment to fully analyze the situation. "You are not pilot" replied the Vanguard after a pregnant pause. "That appears to match New York City on Earth in the early 21st century" answered the Machine.

The pilot absorbed the revelation that he was back at least near his original time. "Any chance you can find us a route to those coordinates?" ventured Cooper as his mind raced through the options.

"The location is an abandoned port facility on the far side of the city, to the North" explained BT-7274, pointing off into the distance. "I advise we split up. This chassis would be conspicuous inside the city, I will move around the perimeter and meet you at the rendezvous."

"While I go through the heart of the city and get there first" finished Matthew knowingly as he agreed with the logic, even if he didn't like splitting up. "Alright pal sounds like a plan, I'll see you at the RV" said the Marauder Corps pilot.

"Pilot" said the Machine suddenly, causing the man in question to stop and turn to look up at the eye to see it was blinking, almost accusingly. "We are in an unknown situation with no backup. Keeping a low profile would be advantageous" he said in a 'suggestive' way.

"Yeah BT, sure thing" answered Cooper as he eyed the urban playground before him and had to stop himself from licking his lips inside his helmet. "Low profile, no problem."

* * *

Half an hour later, Cooper was running along the side of a skyscraper nearly 20 stories up in the dense urban jungle. Using his pilot's traversal abilities to move through Manhattan like only a pilot could, he was having the time of his life. "Pilot, I do not believe your current actions to be 'low profile'" chided BT over the comm link.

Cooper chuckled, "Lighten up BT, just having a little fun" he answered as he jumped across to the building opposite. With his jumpkit hissing, pressing him up and into the wall, he fired his grapple at the corner of the structure and pressed off, slingshotting himself around the corner before disconnecting the line.

"_I cannot change my mass, pilot"_ responded the Vanguard dryly, nearly causing the pilot to miss his next jump and forcing him to stim to make up for lost speed.

He could faintly hear police sirens in the distance as he slide hopped across a rooftop and leapt off to continue his charge. "Just an expression BT, means to not be so serious" he explained. "What's your status?" he asked. Cooper had never been to New York before, and was relying on the waypoints BT had been giving him to make his way to their destination, but the marker on his HUD changed suddenly. "We got a problem buddy?"

There was a worrying silence as Matthew cut over towards the marker he now realized was moving before the Titan answered him. _"I am making good progress pilot, but I have intercepted local radio traffic. Be advised that police are engaged with several armed gunmen; I'd recommend avoiding the area"_ informed the Titan.

"Or maybe lend a helping hand" answered Cooper. The idea of missing a fight didn't sit right with him. Too many times on Typhon he had found the bodies of Militia soldiers, every time he couldn't help but wonder if he could have made a difference. "Let me hear those transmissions and don't wait up for me, got it?"

"Acknowledged pilot" responded the Vanguard, "Good luck" said the 40 tons to metal before the line went dead and was replaced by another.

"_This is 3-6 to dispatch, suspects proceeding north on Madison in a silver BMW sedan_" reported a gruff sounding officer before the familiar staccato of gunfire could be heard. _"We have officers down at Madison and 97th, I repeat, officers down!" _

The response was instantaneous, both for the Police and the SRS pilot. _"Attention all units"_ altered the dispatcher,_ "We have officers down, suspects are considered armed and dangerous at this time, proceeding northbound on Madison Avenue, all available units please respond" _she ordered as the calls came in.

There was one other who did not respond to the radio call, but his mind had been made up. "The gloves are coming off motherfuckers." The vow snarled by the Pilot to himself inside the confines of his helmet as he made a left onto Madison and saw the silver sedan below shoot past. With grit teeth, Cooper felt the surge of the STIM, the chemical cocktail enabling a burst of speed as he ran down the car.

With one final effort, Cooper leapt from the second story and began slide hopping along the street, dodging gunfire from the car for the final twenty or so yards as he closed the gap before making one final leap through the air, the jump kit pushing him along with its distinct blue exhaust as he drew his combat axe and switched it to his right hand, flipping it around as he came down on his target.

With an exoskeleton bolstered swing, Cooper brought the axe down and buried the pick in the roof of the car. The Pilot came to an immediate halt as he picked up his feet as he fought to hang on, looking down on the occupants with his glowing visor as the rear passenger shoved out an SMG and let loose a burst that missed completely.

The pilot operated on instinct that Typhon had drilled into him, his left reached out, grabbed the UZI, and slammed it down into the window frame. The hands that held it caught between the two pieces of metal, enabling Cooper to rip the weapon from the wielder as he cursed in pain and rage.

Matt then turned his attention to the driver, punching out the window to the surprise of the wheelman. A split second later the driver received a blow to the nose, stunning him as he let go of the wheel to bring his hands to his very broken nose. While clutching his face, Cooper fumbled around inside until he found the door handle and pulled, the driver's door flew open as the Marauder Corps pilot looked at the fear in the man's eyes.

Grabbing him by the collar, he noticed that the man had forgotten something as the Pilot dug his boot heels into the paint. "Buckle up" he growled as he pulled the man from the driver's seat and tossed him out of the moving vehicle, the audible 'thunk' as he slammed into a lamppost that signaled his fate reverberated through the street.

That was the least of Cooper's immediate concern. The driver had been hanging onto the wheel as he had been extracted and the car was stuck going hard left towards a traffic light. Eyes wide, Matt leapt off and crashed onto the asphalt, rolling a few times before coming to a crouch as he could hear the tearing of metal from the Beamer's impact.

He fared far better than the car, the front end buckled and steam emerging from the engine as he saw the three men remaining in the car stumble out. Drawing the smart pistol, he slowly approached the survivors of the crash. "You killed Dion you son of a bitch" called one of the thugs as they drew their own weapons. "Now you gotta deal with all of us" he threatened.

Cooper waited patiently as the MK6 linked with his suits sensors and locked on to the three thugs as he smiled behind his visor. "Anytime" he said confidently just before he squeezed the trigger.

The weapon coughed three times and the pilot was rewarded with the gunmen crumpling to the road, the bullets burying themselves in their skulls and ensuring they were dead before they hit the asphalt. Holstering the weapon, Cooper moved towards the crashed car as he heard the first police sirens approach. When he ripped the axe out of the roof and replaced it on his thigh as he saw the first cops get out of their patrol car.

The Militia pilot offered a salute before he turned and ran towards the nearest building, his jump kit flaring as he leapt onto the building, activating his cloak and vanishing into the night.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Pilots_

_Before or after I died, nothing I had ever seen or heard of comes close to what a Pilot can do. I may have only lasted a week on the Frontier but there is no way to describe the experience of being a Pilot in such a way that can do it justice. Nothing moves like a Pilot, thinks like a Pilot, or fights like a Pilot. Fast, agile, graceful, and utterly devastating, only one word can come close to describe the power of a Pilot: Dominant._

_Unlike everything else, we're not restricted to ground level. Pilots prefer to run on walls. Fewer obstructions grant higher speed and a different approach angle means you can hold the element of surprise. Speed is life, fire and maneuver is our mantra. _

_But when combined with a Titan, 20 feet and 40 tons of armored bipedal fighting robot, only then is the full might of a Pilot unleashed. And my Titan, BT-7274, is a Vanguard Class, smarter and more adaptable than anything else ever created. Nothing else mixes mobility, survivability, and firepower like a Vanguard Class Titan. They are the greatest battle implements ever devised. _

_On the Frontier, it was truth that only two things can match a Pilot and Titan team: Overwhelming Force or an Equal. Now I find myself in a place without Titans, Pilots, or the technology to create them._

_I am at the top of the food chain, the Apex Predator._

* * *

**Author's Note: That's the revised first chapter, most of it is the same, but a few new sections have been added and the formatting has been cleaned up to be more consistent with later chapter. I wanted to go back and give Cooper a few more bits to develop his character a bit more and make things make more sense for those who haven't played or aren't familiar with Titanfall 2. I don't want it to tell Cooper's whole story since he gets more development later on. **

**As for the song, Renegade, well, I hope it should be obvious. Cooper will be following a lot of old western film tropes and I like classic rock songs. Hence, we have a rock song about an old western outlaw to open the story. If, somehow, you haven't heard this classic Styx tune the you should go find it on YouTube or Spotify or whatever right now. **

**Next Chapter will likely go up in a day or two. Stay frosty, Misfit Delta out.**


	2. Chapter 2: Back in Business

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Last chapter was pure set-up for the OC and hint at his backstory, more will be learned about him over time. This time we find out how he will proceed in this new world and how others react to his arrival. As far as the title, it is a groovy track off of the otherwise mediocre AC/DC album 'Fly on the Wall', I'd recommend you give it a listen.

As always, reviews and feedback are appreciated.

(8/14/19: This Chapter has been updated to a new format and now includes entries from Cooper's Logbook at the end.)

(1/14/20: As part of a string of rewrites of earlier chapters a few edits have been made and new segments inserted.)

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 2: Back in Business**

_Born in trouble, they gave up on me_

_Teacher preachin' what not to be_

_Call me dirty, trash my name_

_Just tell the boys I'm gonna be_

_Back in Business again_

* * *

"Hey guys" called a chipper voice as a group of men wearing hoodies and wielding a mixture of crowbars, handguns, or just their fists ceased trying to break into a convenience store to look towards the source. They saw a red mask with oversized white eye lenses staring at them from the side of a building, clinging effortlessly to the perpendicular wall by his hands and feet, "I know insomnia is a serious issue, but there are other ways to help you sleep than pills" he quipped.

The men below the wallcrawling figure involuntarily widened their eyes at the red spider logo on the blue fabric covering the man's back. "It's Spider-Man!" cried one as he pointed an accusing finger at the costumed vigilante, "waste him!" As the men with guns took aim, Spider-Man flipped away, bullets impacting the brick where he had been before a line of white fluid shot from his wrist and he swung like tarzan, feet slamming into one guy and knocking him against the wall. While the hoodlum was still shaking off the attack, more globs of white slammed into him, covering him with the sticky gunk until he could no longer move despite his restaints.

Despite being surrounded by men who wished him serious bodily harm, the Webhead seemed unfazed. "Personally, when I can't sleep, I like to get some exercise" he explained casually. Behind him, a man charged at him, crowbar raised high, but with superhuman speed, reflexes, and danger sense, the Superhero was more than able to counter the attack, turning around and flipping away before throwing a few punches that impacted solidly, "you know, cardio and upper body to start with. Though I make sure to never skip leg day" he quipped as he jumped up and delivered a spin kick that sent the man spinning and left him sprawled out on the ground.

"For fucks sake, just _shut up_!" snarled one of the gangbangers as he unloaded his Glock against the webslinger, only for a line of synthetic white silk to lash out and yank the weapon away before another stuck to his chest. Using that second line, the spandex clad hero yanked the thug off his feet and dragged him across the ground, slamming him into one of his buddies before both were ensnared in a barrage of webbing.

It was now just one on one, with Spider-Man turning to face his last foe, "to finish, I like to get a core workout in, work on my six pack, something like…" he began as the last man pulled a knife and rushed forwards, "this!" finished the wallcrawler as he yanked a trashcan with his weblines and swung it around before hurling it into the man, sending him down for the count. "Jeez, I'm exhausted, high intensity workouts are the best" he continued as the groans of the defeated criminals filled the air. "Well, my work here is done, another group of satisfied customers as Spidey's sleep clinic. Sweet dreams guys!" he quipped before using the web lines to yank himself up and away to get back to his patrol route.

Behind the bug eyes mask, the one and only Spider-Man couldn't help but voice his thoughts as he swung between the giant skyscrapers of the teeming metropolis that was Manhattan. "After seven years you think these guys would know better" he supposed as he fired off lines with alternating arms. As a musician would change time signatures and add instrumental flourishes, the webslinger mixed up the rhythm of his swings, some were quick zips, others high flying slingshots that let him mix in a dive, roll, or flip before he went back to his routine. Even though that was his fourth halted crime of the night, he continued his thoughts out loud, "at least it's been nice and quiet as of late. No supervillains, no terrorist plots, even the Kingpin hasn't been up to much" mused the hero. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he sighed, "c'mon Peter, why'd you say that? With the ol' Parker Luck still alive and well, now something will _definitely _happen" he grumbled as Peter Parker, the Amazing Spider-Man, continued his late-night patrol.

* * *

Half an hour after stopping the car thieves, the Pilot arrived at the location and was able to conduct a sweep of the premises. Just like BT had said, it was a warehouse buried deep in an abandoned port facility. With the MK6 out, Matthew was taking it slow, checking every abandoned building and sticking to the shadows until he finally arrived at the target.

Using one of the many oil tanks to jump off onto the roof of the structure, he soon found an open skylight and investigated under cloak cover and couldn't believe what was inside. Unlike the rest of the clearly abandoned facilities, the inside of this warehouse was clean and free of trash.

Dropping down, inside had clearly been renovated, and recently too. One wall was occupied by a Titan rack, crates of ordnance and parts neatly stacked on either side. The rest of the space was filled with bare weapon racks, tables, workbenches, and storage for a wide array of kit and equipment. The space was spartan, but extremely practical.

Letting out an appreciative whistle, he moved to investigate beyond the wall and door in it. Opening the door, Cooper immediately noticed the more homely feel in this separate part of the warehouse. The walls were done like that of the suburban house where he grew up, painted a light tan. Lighting was provided by lamps with a rustic aesthetic that matched the coffee table, sofa, recliner, and cabinetry where the TV was situated.

Moving further into the back half, he found a more of the same. Tan walls, rustic furnishings, and well-equipped spaces. There was a sizable kitchen attached to the living room, while further down the hall revealed first a bathroom and then the space's sole bedroom. Sitting atop the nightstand was a familiar envelope with instantly recognizable seal. Drawing his Data Knife and opening the parcel, Cooper's gloved hands pulled out an unfolded the letter.

_I hope that these accommodations are to your liking Mr. Cooper. Considering you will likely be here for a significantly longer period of time, a place for you and BT to rest and recharge was deemed needed, and I prefer to take care of my own. _

_I will contact you when your services are explicitly needed, until then, feel free to do as you see fit. It's a new world for you Mr. Cooper, do not be fooled by the similarities to your home. _

_Good Luck._

_Ms. G._

Taking out the previous letter, he stuffed both into a drawer in the nightstand next to his bed and furrowed his brow as he pulled out the manila folder in the drawer. Cooper dumped the contents out on the bed and began to sift through them. Among them were a driver's license, birth certificate, social security card, and a whole slew of other documents for a 23-year-old Matthew Cooper. He also found $10,000 in cash as well as information for a new and currently empty bank account.

Putting those items back where they had been, he found that there had been two keys in the package as well, one featuring a 'M' logo and the other a stylized snake. Pocketing the keys, Matt then began looking for what they could belong to. He found that there was a closet filed with civilian clothes. Proceeding through that, he found a garage, turning on the lights, he got his last surprises.

There were two cars sitting in the space, a F80 M3 with the dual clutch, clearly meant to be his 'daily' car. The only reason the pilot pegged the blue sports sedan with a sub four second 0-60 time to be his 'daily' was because of the vehicle sitting opposite. A red and black striped 5th gen Dodge Viper GTS seemed to be having a stare down with the German sedan. "Oh yeah" said the Pilot as he turned back, "I think I like it here."

* * *

"…_Police have nothing new to report regarding the vigilante many are calling 'The Marauder' following the intervention of the individual during a police pursuit on Madison Avenue late last night. He is considered armed and dangerous, anyone with information is asked to contact police…"_

J. Jonah Jameson muted the TV as it rolled through the same footage all the networks had been showing all day. Grainy black and white footage from a security camera that had caught of the latest masked terror to take to the streets.

The video paused showing the best shot anyone had of the Marauder, standing at his full height, weapon drawn, the eye-patch wearing skull emblem clearly visible on the side of his helmet. Witnesses had seen the word 'Marauder' written on his chest with an unknown word, regardless, the name had stuck.

It was just what he needed, another masked crusader running around the city thinking he was above the law. The Editor in Chief of the Daily Bugle began skimming through articles the staff had put together. Half an hour later he had found a few good ones in the mix, but they all lacked the punch he wanted to truly get the point across.

Setting them aside and taking out one of his Sweet Williams cigars, he jammed it in his mouth as he spun around and pulled out his lighter. Lighting up the tobacco and letting out a puff he looked at the TV to see the talking heads bicker about who or what this man really was and immediately stood up. "WATSON!" he barked, believing the best way to show the people of New York the Marauder was a menace was to prove it from the ground up.

"Yes Mr. Jameson?" said a confident female voice from the door of his office. The 22 year old Mary Jane Watson had proven herself a capable and tenacious investigative journalist in a few short months. Jameson even begrudgingly admitted to himself he saw a bit of himself in the fiery redhead's hard charging drive and determination. If there was anyone who could get to the bottom of this latest threat, it was her.

"I have a new assignment for you kid. I want you on this yesterday" barked Jameson as he pointed to the TV. "Now, in addition to Spider-Man, there's a new menace on the loose, I need the truth and I need it NOW!"

Watson stood to her full height, squaring her shoulders. "Yes sir Mr. Jameson" she said, nodding. "I'll get right on it."

"Well you aren't going to get anything just standing there! NOW GET MOVING!"

* * *

"Take a look at this Captain" said a detective as she beckoned NYPD Captain Yuriko 'Yuri' Watanabe over to her desk. "I was looking at the footage again and I noticed something weird, do you notice anything?"

Yuri looked down at the same grainy security footage she had seen a dozen times before, it showed the Marauder jumping from the out of control car, walking up to the three men who got out, and gunning them down with ruthless efficiency. "Other than how this guy guns down three men faster than Doc Holliday?" asked the Captain wryly, "No, nothing."

Detective Johnson shook her head and reset the footage. "Watch the gun" she revealed as she played the clip over again.

Watanabe watched as the gun fired three times, but something did look off. Furrowing her brow, she tried to pick out the devil hidden in the details. "The gun didn't move, but the bullets went to three different places" said the Captain disbelievingly.

The detective nodded as she picked up an evidence bag on her desk and dumped the contents out before holding it up in front of the oriental woman. "I made a call down to the coroners and got this sent up, they're some of the bullets pulled from our gunmen." Yuri took the tiny 9mm round and held it up to the light and quickly noticed the differences between this round and the ones fired by her own 9mm service pistol.

"I'm seeing what look like stabilizing fins…and is that circuitry?" she asked as she spun the bullet and gently applied pressure to one of the fins, only to be shocked that it actually moved as a result.

The detective pulled up her internet browser and showed her superior what she was looking at. "Not only that, there are tiny rocket thrusters packed in that thing too. I tried to look for something similar, but this is all I could find" she said as she pointed to an article about 'EXACTO' ammo. "It was a DARPA program for the military. But the only problem is that it's for much larger rounds, like a .50 caliber sniper rifle. They never developed anything" she said, holding up a second one of the bullets, "…like this."

Watanabe furrowed her brow once again. "Good work. Let me know if you find anything else" she said as she placed the bullet back down. She headed towards the roof, pulling out her phone, she had read the witness testimony the guy had some kind of jet pack and seemed to turn invisible, but hadn't believed it.

Now however, this guy had just proven that he wasn't just a tough guy with a gun, at the very least, he had some very advanced tech, and if the other claims were true, then he was dangerous, perhaps more than the police could handle.

Reaching the roof, she dialed and waited for her contact to answer. "Straight to voicemail…typical" she grumbled. Taking a deep breath, she began, "It's Yuri, I've got something on the Marauder…"

* * *

"…_Long story short, he's packing some pretty high-tech stuff and we don't know enough about him to say if he's a threat or not. Just in case he is, just thought you should know, because you're probably going to have to be the one who takes him on, but…hopefully it doesn't come to that."_

"Hopefully not Yuri" said Parker to himself as he exited the lab of his new job as a Grad student and slipped his mask on. Having already heard from his newly on-again girlfriend that she had been given the same mark, Spider-Man set off to begin hunting down information. "Now if I were a gun wielding Marauder, where would I be?" he asked himself as he swung off.

Heading towards Madison, Peter couldn't help but be nervous about this new vigilante. He had so easily crossed the line Parker himself had sworn he never would. But what would he do next, and where would he stop? Would he stop?

Pushing those thoughts aside, he arrived at the scene of the incident and began climbing along the walls when he noticed something odd on the walls. "Scorch marks?" he muttered to himself as he followed the trail of blackened bricks. "How the hell is this guy leaving scorch marks?" he wondered as he continued on the trail.

Things only got weirder from there as he saw the trail end, only to see it pick up on the building across the street. He picked up this trail before it seemingly disappeared suddenly just before a wide open intersection.

He checked the edge of the building again and noticed something else strange. "Is this…Phase residue? Is he a ghost? No, that can't be it" he thought as he adjusted his visor to look for this strange substance and got a hit. Crossing the intersection, he investigated another instance of the Phase residue, confirming his suspicions. "He slipped into a parallel dimension to cross the gap so he wouldn't be seen. That's…actually pretty cool."

As an aside, Peter wondered what a guy with that kind of tech would be doing at this hour.

* * *

"Holy hell did I need that" muttered Matthew Cooper as he walked out of his private quarters. The freshly recharged pilot had just gotten his first proper sleep, shower, and shave since he had 'died'. He checked his watch as he enjoyed the comforts of civilian clothes and rubbed his cleanly shaven chin to more closely match the ID provided when he felt a presence with him.

Slowly turning to survey the room he soon found the source, forcing to clutch his chest in surprise. "Jesus H. fucking Christ BT" said a thoroughly startled Pilot, "when did you get in last night?" he said, realizing he had fallen asleep as soon as he hit mattress, and was even in his new Vanguard pilot's gear when he did.

"I arrived at the Rendezvous at approximately 0340 hours this morning" answered the Titan mechanically as Matt looked up at the single blinking blue eye. "Analysis indicated you were suffering from exhaustion during the final day of the Typhon operation. I deemed it best not to wake you" provided BT, Cooper able to pick up how much the machine cared, even through the monotone.

Cooper snorted, "Well, for a forty-ton killing machine, you did a pretty damn good job" complimented the pilot.

"Your assessment of my performance has been logged Pilot Cooper" replied the machine. "Mission update, the objectives of the Militia on Planet: Typhon have been carried out. Protocol 2 has been satisfied; we have upheld the mission" informed the Titan before moving on. "Our current situation is outside the bounds of my programming…analyzing…Pilot Cooper, you are now the ranking Militia Officer in this theater. Your orders will determine our mission." Matt simply stared slack jawed at the Titan as the Vanguard continued. "This titan is standing by for new tasking Pilot" provided BT unhelpfully as the Pilot was still letting it sink in.

It didn't take long for Cooper to have his answer as he pulled out his wallet and retrieved a playing card sized object and looked at the logo. "Oi" he said, imitating an Afrikaans accent. "We're going to be big damn heroes."

* * *

Sitting on the couch in the living room of her one bedroom apartment, Mary Jane Watson was busy watching the only real footage of the man she had been assigned to track down on her laptop, pencil and notebook in hand as she scribbled notes while her phone was pressed between her ear and shoulder. _"I lost the trail at Broadway; he went north before turning east" _relayed her boyfriend as she marked the map attached in her notebook. _"From what I can tell, this guy can move. Doesn't seem to fly like Toomes could though, I'm not sure how he moves?" _admitted the Webhead as MJ smirked.

"I might be able to shed some light on that" revealed the redhead as she set her notebook aside and pulled her computer into her lap as she rewound the footage before replaying it in slow motion. "Looking at this" she began as she squinted, "it seems like he has a jet pack of some kind, that's probably where your scorch marks came from" she revealed as she rewound the footage a few seconds and went through it again, "but it seems he doesn't fly with it, just…jumps" she said, figuring that was the best word for what she saw him do as he leapt from the wall towards the car.

_Wait, the wall? _She wondered as she tapped at the keys to see where the Marauder had come from. "Hold on a sec, he didn't come from the rooftop, he was running on the wall!" she exclaimed, "he must've been 15 floors up! His jet pack was to slow his descent" she deduced as she continued to let the footage play out.

"_No doubt about it then, this guy is someone new" _responded Peter, with the journalist able to hear the strain in his voice as he swung around the city. _"See what else you can find out and pass it along. Captain Watanabe already asked for my help, so I'll be on this guy's case until he's in the RAFT" _reported the wallcrawler._ "I can't let a cold blooded murderer roam the streets."_

Watson barely registered his words as she watched the Marauder gun down the three carjackers as she made one more observation. "I don't think this guy is so straight forward Pete" cautioned Mary Jane as she zoomed in and quickly made a note of what she saw.

"_What do you mean?"_

"The Marauder didn't kill them in cold blood. He only shot them _after_ they drew their guns" reported the redhead. She was absolutely certain there was more to this guy than either her boss or boyfriend suspected, and she was going to prove it.

* * *

"I am unsure of this course of action pilot" said BT as Matt took inventory over a selection of equipment. His Vanguard pilot suit was already neatly packed in a duffel bag and sitting on the bench while the Pilot was deciding what weapons and equipment he would be taking with him in the second bag.

During the day, him and BT had been testing the limits of the Phase resupply system to fully stock the formally barren shelves with every weapon the Militia had access too. Ammunition, cleaning equipment, attachments, and equipment of every variety filled up what space was left. "I told you BT" said Cooper calmly, "you'll attract too much attention where I'm going. You'll get some action soon, don't worry" placated the pilot as he picked up an Arc grenade, tossing it causally as he got a feel for the weight. "Until then, you can monitor me through my helmet feed and provide tactical analysis, okay buddy?"

He set the grenades inside the duffel alongside a Mastiff self-loading combat shotgun and a bag full of the unique energy-based ammunition. He then looked up to see BT's pulsing eye. "Understood, protocol 2: uphold the mission. I will provide tactical support for the pilot" said the machine as Cooper went back to his packing.

Sticking with the theme of energy weapons, the next thing to go into the bag was a Volt SMG, the accurate and handy automatic weapon was a favorite of his. The gun and a few magazines went into the bag. The only place he had faltered with his energy only pattern was his sidearm, simply put, the Smart Pistol was just too good to give up.

The Pilot noticed that he still had a bit of room left in his equipment bag as he searched for something to fill it. He scanned the array of gear on the bench and soon picked up a few dinner plate sized packs with a rather juvenile phrase written on them. The 'Knock Knocks,' as they had been dubbed by Cooper were two stage breaching charges, explosive to break the wall, and an integrated flashbang for those on the other side. "Time to go bust some heads, wish me luck BT" said Matt as he slung the bags over his shoulders.

"Good luck pilot" said the Titan as the SRS soldier went to the garage and loaded the two bags into the back of the Yas Marina Metallic Blue M3. The reason for the two-bag limit was because that was how much he could fit in the Viper.

It was a thankfully quiet drive into town, Cooper really didn't want to get busted for speeding with a trunk full of guns. The Pilot found a quiet parking lot that fit his needs, it was hidden, secure, and most importantly, had no cameras nearby. He opened the trunk and carried the bags into an abandoned subway he found. It didn't take long for him to be ready for combat.

Slipping his helmet on and activating his systems, he could feel the effects of the jump kit and exoskeleton coming to life. His body seemed to drop twenty pounds as the exo took some of the load. "You with me BT?" asked the Pilot, his jump kit flaring as he leapt into the night.

"Affirmative Pilot Cooper" responded BT. "Advise you focus on intelligence gathering. NYPD uses hubs located throughout the city for communications and crime tracking" informed the Titan. As soon as he said it, a waypoint appeared on his HUD and Cooper changed his track.

Cooper traversed the city, noting with some satisfaction how much better he was at this pilot stuff since he started four days prior. "Alright, target's in sight, stand by" reported Cooper as he neared the building and saw what it was. "Of course, it's a fucking police precinct" muttered the pilot as he grappled onto a nearby rooftop to get a lay of the land. He saw a helicopter sitting on a helipad and a large antenna near the door to the rooftop that must have been his objective.

"And not guarded…at all. Okay then" said Matthew to himself as he slid down the building and jumped, kit firing as he crossed the gap to the roof of the precinct. Just before landing he activated his cloak, sliding as he came down before jumping up and clambering onto the tower next to the main junction box just as the cloak faded. Pulling out his Data Knife, he pried the lid of the box open before pulling the trigger on the grip of the blade and jamming it into a cable port before watching the holographic interface flicker to life and quickly uploading the semi-sentient trojan to the network.

Closing the panel, he heard a commotion as he turned and looked to see an Asian woman walk out onto the rooftop with a shield on her jacket. She paused for a moment before she looked up to see the x shaped visor. Cooper didn't hear whatever it was she said when she opened her mouth as he gave her a half salute and jumped from the array and firing his kit as he cleared the roof.

The pilot fired his grapple and pulled himself to the building across the street. "I am scanning police networks Pilot and have identified several possible targets" reported the Titan as Matt was focused on getting some distance between him and the precinct. "Designating priority target: Munitions and Narcotics stockpile."

"Good call buddy, en route now" responded Cooper as he checked to ensure he hadn't been followed. Satisfied that he wasn't being tailed, the Pilot made directly for his target and soon arrived at a construction site, which still seemed very active despite the late hour.

"That ain't fucking suspicious" murmured the Marauder as he drew his Volt and flicked the safety off while scanning the area. Unfortunately, the site was a smaller building, maybe three or four stories, most of which seemed nearing completion, at least structurally. "Didn't have to do this shit on Typhon" he muttered as he watched the people more closely. "If you're just here working late…why are you walking over your own footsteps?" he wondered aloud.

He had a guess, they were sentries, "Need to get a closer look" he said, wracking his brain as he scanned the surrounding area. "Rooftop looks incomplete, could probably sneak a peek if I could get onto it" he realized. Retreating from the edge of the rooftop he was crouched on he took a deep breath before he started running towards the edge. Taking no chances, he activated the STIM pack, the exoskeleton turned to be a pulsing blue as the inhibitors were lifted and the exo overclocked as he picked up a sudden burst of speed as he jumped off the edge towards the shorter incomplete structure, using his jump kit to slow his descent. Even still, his landing wasn't the softest, him still in the combat mindset of rolling into a crouch, automatically sweeping the rooftop with his weapon.

Sure enough, the plywood rooftop had several gaps in the center, carefully proceeding towards them, he activated his cloak as he looked down. "Holy shit" he breathed as he looked at the startling array of firepower on display. At the center of the room were several tables, all covered in a laundry list of guns, from Barretta 92 and Glock 17 handguns to Benelli M4 and Mossberg 590 shotguns, Uzi and FN P90 Submachine Guns to M4 and AKM Assault Rifles.

Any possibility this was simply a collection that would have made the biggest gun nut envious ended when Cooper saw what was proudly displayed at the center of the tables. Mounted on a pintle with its associated power supply and massive ammunition belt was a six barreled M134 Minigun.

Perishing the thought of trying to take that last item with him, Matt watched as a half dozen men entered the room, buyers probably, indeed, two began showing off the various items while the others listened to the sales pitch. While they were occupied, he carefully slid the plywood over until there was a man-sized gap in the roof before he took a deep breath and dropped in.

As he stood to his full height and shouldered his weapon, he saw the six men turn to face him. "Get on your knees and place your hands behind your head" he commanded, his helmet's voice filter now active and lending his order an additional menacing edge.

"Or what?" challenged one of the buyers as his hand crept towards the visible pistol in his waistband.

"Or" said the Marauder as his own weapon shifted its point of aim, "you start praying to whatever you call god" he advised. "Because you're about to meet 'em."

The silence in the room was tense as the two parties were locked in a stare down until Cooper saw a flicker of movement that he was sure was the drawing of a weapon. He reacted not by shooting, but by pulling out a dinner plate sized circular object and tossing it on the ground.

The A-wall immediately sprung to life, the orange barrier rippling as bullets slammed into it ineffectually. "Can't say I didn't warn y'all" he growled as he snapped his aim to the one thug who had some brains and was trying to flank him. A three round burst and an equal number of blue tracers erupted from his gun. The energy projectiles completely removed the brains from the criminal. Without hesitation, the Pilot opened fire on the others, letting loose a long burst that cut down two more foes.

The doors to the room swung open as more gunmen rushed into the room guns a blazin'. Cooper pulled out an ARC grenade and heaved it forwards, the detonation stunning the new arrivals as he held down the trigger on his SMG, dumping the remainder of the magazine into the late arrivals.

The room fell oddly silent for a moment, the shooters still standing were now all holding empty weapons and Matthew knew the A-Wall was about to fall any moment. Instead of reloading the spent mag of his Volt, he quickly swapped it for the weapon still on his back before he leapt forwards. His jump kit gave him extra momentum as the Mastiff swung to his right and barked, putting one guy down as he hit the ground sliding and twisted his body and snapped a shot off to his left, the wide horizontal spread catching the second gunman in the gut. Sliding under the tables of weapons he continued to barrel towards the final criminal and fired a third time, taking the man's knees out as he cleared the table and leapt to his feet, planting a devastating uppercut that threw the man back against the wall and sent his pistol flying.

To the thug's credit, he quickly recovered, but upon seeing the x shaped visor and shotgun leveled at him he finally made the smart decision. "I surrender brotha, don't kill me" he pleaded, his hands held high. Quickly taking out a Disposable Offender Rigid Restraint (DORR), Cooper snapped the futuristic set of solidly linked handcuffs into place.

"I'm giving you a chance" said Cooper darkly as he reloaded the tube fed energy shotgun. "Don't waste it" he growled before bringing the stock of the weapon down on the man's head and knocking him out cold.

He wasn't done just yet however; he could hear the sound of many men running towards the room. Quickly retreating away from the one main entrance he wracked his brain for his options, he didn't want to rush out guns blazing and kill someone he didn't mean to, but at the same time, he refused to lose the initiative. Looking around the room his eyes soon came to rest on something as a plan began to formulate. "Now that could work" he said as he slide hopped to the M134.

Getting behind the gun, he activated his Holo-pilot, the lifelike hologram moved forwards toward the door, holding the Mastiff and looking around as it walked straight through the threshold. As soon as it did, a barrage of gunfire cut through the hall and decoy equally, followed by a torrent of curses and swears against the soft whir of an electric motor.

All of which was replaced by the unmistakable sound of the Minigun as it unleashed 6,000 rounds per minute downrange, Cooper sweeping the wall in front of him, counting on the penetrating power of the 5.56mm rounds to slice through the sheetrock and anyone on the other side.

In five seconds, Cooper was now standing in a pool of 500 brass cases, the entire length of the belt had been fired, the wall now resembling swiss cheese. But the brief respite ended as the survivors of the assault returned fire through the wall as well, forcing the Pilot off of the minigun as he slid behind a table he knocked onto its side for cover.

Looking over his protection, he saw two thugs silhouetted in the doorway and promptly raised and fired the Mastiff twice, sending both flying. A third poked his head out before a line of energy projectiles forced it back into safety. "Give it up!" yelled someone from the other side of the wall. "We have you surrounded, and this is the only way out!"

Any retort was cut off by BT coming on in his headset with some more unhelpful news. _"Pilot, police are responding to reports of shots fired at your location. Advise you evacuate the area immediately."_

"I'll get right on that BT" responded the Pilot wryly as he reached for a circular satchel on his belt. "Well then I guess I'll need a new door!" he yelled out as he heaved the explosive towards the wall and source of the voice. "KNOCK KNOCK!" he called as he pulled the trigger of the clacker, detonating the breaching charge.

In the ensuing confusion, Cooper drew his Smart Pistol and vaulted over the table. Sliding through the newly made hole in the wall, the weapon had no issue identifying and locking onto unknown and armed individuals as he pulled the trigger, not even bothering to check if the self-guided rounds found their marks. Instead he leapt forwards as he came to edge of a balcony overlooking what would eventually be a lobby as he fired his grapple into one of the bare columns and slingshotted himself around and smashed through one of the few installed windows. His boots hit the wall of the next-door building running, quickly activating his STIM and rocketing away from the crime scene.

"_Pilot"_ began BT calmly,_ "what is your status?"_ asked the machine as Cooper was back to bouncing back and forth between buildings to keep his momentum up.

Cooper slid across another rooftop before firing his grapple up and into the edge of the next building as he shot up and over that building completely. "Oh baby, I am feeling dangerous" he cooed happily. "Get me another target."

"_I will make note of this response for your feedback on the Vanguard Pilot's kit"_ responded the Machine automatically. _"I have more targets, the nearest is 1744 meters from your present location…"_

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Jump Kit_

_The Jump Kit is the defining piece of equipment for the dismounted Pilot. I may have been a certified engineer back home, but I can't begin to comprehend or explain how it works. The manuals I have say that there's some sort of reactor in the middle of this thing, and the two omni-directional nozzles, one either side, direct the exhaust. End result is that I can fall from massive heights in total safety, can run on walls, jump in midair, boost slides, and dash from side to side. _

_Because it operates on the same link as the one to Titans, its use is controlled by thought and feels natural. When I have it on it feels like another arm or leg, just an extension of myself. After having to wear it for a week and put it through the rigors of combat on Typhon, it's incredible to think I ever lived without it. _

_Log - Smart Pistol MK6_

_This thing is cool. What started as a modification of an old P-2004 handgun to fire experimental 'Smart' bullets soon became its own gun dedicated to that purpose. Expensive and rare, I'd never even seen one until I opened the SERE kit to find the one issued to Lastimosa. That's the one I still have, and I can say that however much it costs, it's worth every penny. It fires guided ammunition that can lock on to anything so long as my helmet and muzzle of the gun are both pointed at it. _

_The internals are some strange mix of mechanics and electronics that uses the power of a cartridge firing to charge a battery to power the electronic components. The actual bullet is what has the most advanced tech in it, all the rest of the gun does is feed info to the computers in the bullet. End story, if you can point the gun at something long enough to get a solid lock on, then it _**_will _**_die. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: As always, feedback is appreciated and will be taken into consideration. In particular, if anyone has suggestions about a cover image that would be great because I haven't the foggiest notion of what to put there.**

**Next time be prepared to be Snowballed. **

**Stay frosty folks, Misfit Delta out. **


	3. Chapter 3: Snowballed

Power Without Question - Chapter 3: Snowballed

Author's Note: As always, all properties belong to their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

This is a short filler chapter, the last of the setup I have before the real story begins in earnest next chapter, which will go up sometime this coming weekend. I would also like to add that while I have just started posting this, its been a personal project for the past year or so and I am currently well into the storyline of the main game. That's a long way of saying that there isn't much chance of this ending abruptly. Still, nothing is set in stone, so if you want to influence the edits I make before posting chapters then feel free to leave a review and let me know what y'all think.

(8/14/19: This Chapter has been updated to a slightly altered format and now includes entries from Cooper's Logbook)

(4/5/20: Added a new segment at the end to give a special character the introduction she deserves.)

Enjoy

* * *

**Power Without Question - Chapter 3: Snowballed**

_Snowballed_

_Howl of the wolf, sneer in his eyes_

_Ready to take you by surprise_

_Eye of the needle, head of the pin_

_Watch those teeth cause they're ready to bite_

* * *

The Amazing Spider-Man had been having one hell of a busy night. He swung through the financial district with practiced ease towards the location of a robbery. A jewelry store a few blocks up had been the victim of a smash and grab. Or rather, would have been, had it not been from the intervention of the man he had been pursuing all night, mainly following ambulances to do so.

Catching sight of the shop, a pair of ambulances and double that number of police cars in front, the Wallcrawler dropped down onto the street and approached on foot, taking extra care to be as unthreatening as possible. "Hey Spider Man" called a friendly voice as one of the cops beckoned him over. "What can I do for you this evening?"

The lenses of his mask narrowed as the focus shifted and Parker watched a man receive treatment from an EMT for what looked like a nasty wound to the stomach. "Tell me what happened here" said Spider Man as he turned his attention back to the cop. "Was it him?"

The officer nodded in response; no further description needed. "Saw him myself, fleeing the scene as our car pulled up. We were first ones here" explained the cop. "Survivors description matches too, it was the Marauder" confirmed the cop before he raised a curious eyebrow, "say, you've been doing this for a while, what's your take on him?"

Behind his mask, Peter pursed his lips. It wasn't the first time that evening he had been compared to the Marauder, and he had a feeling it wouldn't be the last. "He's done things I wouldn't" answered the Webslinger, nodding towards the two body bags. "I'm more than happy to just be a friendly neighborhood spider-man, he seems like the type who likes his coffee extra black" he joked.

"Maybe" answered the cop as the ambulance closed its doors and rushed off, sirens blaring. "I'm not so sure it's that simple. According to those two over there" he said, indicating to the pair in the back of a patrol car, "he only shot the two that pulled guns on him. He also didn't lay a finger on those two when they surrendered without a fight…there's more to this guy than at first glance."

"That does fit the pattern of the other places he's been tonight" admitted Peter as he thought it over. "Don't touch the ones who don't resist, kill anyone who tries to kill him, and incapacitate those in between" said Spider Man as he thought back to the other places, he had known the Marauder had been tonight.

Two sites that were being used to store weapons and drugs, three attempted muggings, a chop shop used to launder money and found to be full of stolen vehicles, and now a robbery. The guy had been frighteningly efficient. "All I can say is comparing me and him is like comparing apples with washing machines" he said with a laugh as the earpiece integrated into his costume came to life with reports of shots fired twenty or so blocks away. "You just can't do it" he finished as he raised his arm and fired off a web, launching himself into the night.

Cooper flopped down onto his bed just after 4:00 am, his limited stock of ammunition and equipment finally forcing him to call it a night after four hours and plenty of action. If he was being honest with himself, it had gone better than he anticipated. BT proved more than able to use their link into the Police network to distill the massive amount of raw data into points of interest for the pilot to investigate. Each of the three times the pilot got a suggestion from the Titan, it had been spot on.

Adding in a few crimes that he came upon by happenstance meant that it had been an eventful night. Rolling to turn off the lamp on his nightstand he noticed the envelope sitting on the piece of furniture. "What's this?" he wondered curiously as he opened the sealed letter and unfolded the contents.

His eyes scanned the lines furiously. The first document showed his tally for the evening. Hostiles neutralized, innocents protected, strongholds secured, contraband captured, and a dozen other items and multipliers, each with an associated dollar or percentage amount.

At the bottom of the page was a total, $6,179.44. "Six grand?" he said curiously, "Not bad for a night's work" he mused as he went to the next sheet of paper and saw it was a bank statement. Not half an hour ago, money had been wired to his account form offshore. The amount?

$6,179.44.

"Tricky bitch."

* * *

The next day was hell for Captain Yuri Watanabe She stared down as the geeky looking IT tech, complete with glasses and a trio of pens the breast pocket of his shirt, who made it worse. "I can't say for sure who is in the system, but someone is."

The woman glared towards the monitor in front of him, trying to connect what the man had explained over the past fifteen minutes to what was on the screen before eventually giving up. "Alright then, how do we get them out?" she asked.

The IT man shook his head. "A miracle?" he suggested dryly before he looked up to see the cold stare Watanabe was giving him before swallowing and trying again. "Like I said, this thing, it's almost alive. I tried to see if I could make some headway. Nothing" he admitted. "It adapts to everything I throw at it at a remarkable pace."

Yuri cursed under her breath. "How widespread is it? Could we isolate it at least?" she asked, only to get a shake of the head in reply.

"This" said the tech, "Is the extent of the reach of this thing." His screen switched to show a map of the NYPDs network infrastructure; the entire thing was compromised. "The only possible good news I can offer is that I haven't seen any change to the trojan since I started monitoring it this morning. So, either it hasn't been switched on yet, or its been on continuously this whole time…"

"The latter" said Watanabe, cutting him off.

The man took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes as he looked up. "How do you know that ma'am?" he asked skeptically.

"Because of who put it there" she answered as her phone buzzed and she read the alert. "The Marauder." She looked up to see the questioning look on the man's face. "Last night he seemed to be hitting places we've had our eye on and responding to calls as soon as they came in, I figured he had to have access to our system" she said, explaining her hunch. Though she purposefully left out that she had seen him tampering with the Network node on top of the precinct. Her precinct, she thought angrily.

The man nodded as the Captain spun on her heel, "Good work James, I'm needed upstairs, let me know if you have any updates" said Watanabe as she left the room. This was another thing that only made the Marauder even more dangerous. Heading back up to the floor where the detectives assigned to the case, Yuri looked at the massive white board and sprawling amount of information on it.

"What's the word Cap?" asked the male detective, Martinez, as the man and Johnson turned to look at her.

Watanabe shook her head, "looks like our system might be compromised, let's keep doing this the old-fashioned way" she explained. She looked over the board and narrowed her eyes at one large and circled point in particular. "Marauder Corps?"

"Ya saw that did ya' Cap?" asked the man as he stood up with his cup of steaming coffee and strolled over to the board. "Witnesses gave a better description of his outfit; his armor doesn't say 'Marauder'" revealed the detective. "It says Marauder Corps."

Yuri worked her jaw as she processed that. "So, we may be dealing with more than one then. Have we confirmed that all the incidents last night involved the same individual?" she asked, the possible implications obvious. "Or are we dealing with a seriously well-coordinated group?" She turned to look at the two detectives as they exchanged furtive glances.

"I don't know for sure ma'am" admitted Johnson. "There's no way a normal person could do it, but…"

"But three different criminal hideouts were hit so hard and so fast that all resistance broke before Patrol cars could respond" finished Yuri, hand running through her dark hair in frustration. "That sure as shit ain't normal" she growled as she looked back at the board, taking note of the varied list of weapons reported by survivors. "Find anything about any of these?" she asked, wrapping her knuckles on the list.

The man chuckled as he sipped his coffee. "Other than the fact they're all sci-fi enough to give a Colonial Marine a hard on? Well that's easy, they don't exist" he finished before finishing the beverage and tossing the Styrofoam cup towards the nearest trash can, missing by almost two feet, causing the two women to snicker as he muttered under his breath. "Lighting grenades that survivors compared to taser shots? Energy guns that cauterized wounds on impact? Walls of light that stop bullets? If I had half of this stuff, I wouldn't be fighting crime, I'd just fucking sell it to Uncle Sam and retire to the Caribbean."

"So where did he get it then?" asked the other detective. "If it's far ahead of anything the military has, or even has in development, how did he get his hands on it?" she asked. The silence of the other two veteran Cops the only answer. "Not only that, by all accounts he also knows how to use it. He's clearly well trained, experienced, or both. And we've only seen him twice. There's a whole lot more to this guy" she finished assertively and was greeted by a round of nods.

She turned back to the board and put her hands on her hips as she stared at the best photo they had of the man in question, the X-shaped visor staring back at the camera. "What are you playing at you crazy sonofabitch?"

* * *

Five days later, and Cooper was still wrestling with that particular question. He'd already been here longer than he'd technically been in the Marauder Crops and he was even more lost. With a growl of frustration, he ripped the Pulse Blade from its self-constructing sheath and sidearmed it into a makeshift target on the far side of the armory, the kuni like device emitting its orange sonar pulse after burying itself in the plywood.

Typhon had been simple, clear objectives, clear boundaries. Even then, he made it out based on raw determination, a bit of skill, and a healthy amount of sheer dumb luck. Yet he soon came to a single conclusion, he loved being a pilot.

Before Typhon, he hadn't been anything, probably never would. He was always a dork, a straight B student who never was able to fully apply himself to anything. But on Typhon? He was forced to commit. The IMC meant that it was do or die, and either by a miracle or sheer luck, Matthew Cooper had done it. He came to love traversing environments before bearing down on a poor unfortunate group of IMC combatants and tearing them to shreds.

Was he an adrenaline junkie? Was it the power? Was he just a natural born killer? Matthew didn't know, he had never been anything like that in his first life, always happy to blend into the background, but wishing he could be better.

He wasn't lying to himself, he had a strong moral compass and wanted to help people. But even if he couldn't do that, part of him wanted go into the night and pick fights, just so he could keep being a Pilot. "Alright, BT" he said tiredly as he examined the impact with some satisfaction, his aim was getting better. "Let's run through this one more time before I head out."

The Pilot leaned back over the holo table as BT began to go over the plan the two had put together, the 3-D model of New York showing something different than his usual preparation. The last three nights had followed the same formula, BT had compiled a group of targets for him to raid and find him an IP to leave his car. All he had to do was the fun stuff, along with taking down a few targets of opportunity as he transitioned from target to target, small stuff like robberies or muggings.

But tonight, something big was happening. A ship was arriving at a harbor owned by Wilson Fisk, 'the Kingpin of Crime' according to some. This was only of interest to Cooper because that fact had been found by police after interrogating some of the men he left for them after one of his raids. His father had been a cop, SWAT to be exact, he always had respect for Police as a result. Part of the Pilot missed his family, but at the same time he wasn't forgetting their memory, not yet.

The elder Cooper's words were ringing in Matthew's head. _"I've seen the worst the world has to offer son. I've stopped some of them, but after how long? How many hostage situations ended with some poor bastard not going home to his family because the pencil pushers her didn't have the balls to say, 'we're stopping this guy now, pretty or not'? That's the number that keeps me up at night, not the number of times I've pulled the trigger." _

Now, with his time in the SRS, he only believed those words even more. He had come across the Apex Predators, utterly insane mercenary Titan Pilots, he knew that there were plenty of violent psychos out there. With people like that then you couldn't hold back. They would only stop if they were buried six feet under or they were certain that's how they would end up. Half measures wouldn't do, and you couldn't be so arrogant as to let them seize the initiative and put the lives of innocent people at risk. That left only one option: go to them…or so he had been telling himself.

Worries about what he was doing and why had begun to crop up recently too, but with the prospect of throwing himself back into the line of fire, he pushed such thoughts out of his mind. He listened to BT go over the specifics of his objectives for that evening, find the ship and its cargo, and either secure or destroy it depending on the circumstances. Though Cooper was adding another priority, intel.

Simply put, neither him nor BT were well versed in crimefighting, and while their link into the Police network had paid dividends, both felt there were missing pieces to this puzzle. The places that the Marauder had attacked had been too well stocked, too well organized to just be random thugs. Cooper could feel it in his gut, there was a bigger play at work. It felt more like the criminals were gearing up for a war.

Cooper then slid on his helmet and did the same, grabbing a variety of weapons off the racks and stuffing the ammunition into his pouches. There would be no need for him to drive to his target tonight, it was less than two miles away and not on Manhattan, just like his hideout. With the Smart Pistol that was one of the last remnants of the original BT on his hip and a suppressed R-97 SMG on his back he picked up his last weapon.

The D-2 Double Take was a wonky weapon to most, but the double-barreled marksman rifle was one of Cooper's favorites. Its bullpup design made it a handy weapon with good range and accuracy. Also, the chance for him to miss slightly but still land a shot was a nice to have as well.

But he couldn't manage to shake the feeling that like the infamous 'shortcut' on Typhon, he was walking straight into another shitshow.

There was only one way to find out.

* * *

While the Marauder was still preparing for his night's work, another exceptionally capable individual was already beginning her morally and legally questionable activities. Sat behind a camera affixed with a high-powered lens, a platinum blonde and curvaceous woman smirked as she affixed a domino mask to conceal her identity. Taking one last look at her mark and where the guards were, the Black Cat stood and stretched out as she ran through her plan for this heist over in her head.

Two streets over was Fisk Tower, a massive monolith built with the name of New York's most influential, yet most secretive, crime boss emblazoned across the front. While only a select few knew the man was a CEO by day and the elusive crime boss 'Kingpin' by night, many more knew that Fisk was quite a collector of fine art, and that was what had attracted her attention. Ensuring her specialty infiltration equipment was secure, the woman picked up her grapple gun and took aim. Accounting for the drop of the hook, the Thief took aim and squeezed the trigger and letting the hook fly until she felt it connect with the building across the street. Rocking on the balls of her feet, the Black Cat began to move forward, picking up speed until she was right at a dead sprint and leapt off the edge. With her thumb, she flicked a switch on her gun and squeezed the trigger again and her grapple gun began to hum as it reeled her in and she swung through the street, wind whipping through her long ponytail as she came up from the bottom of her swing.

Because the Grappling hook was attached to a harness around her body so she didn't rip her arm out, the Black Cat was free to relax as she ascended, extending her legs until the heeled boots on her feet hit the wall. While they had the look of typical heels, they were soft soled, not only allowing her to move nearly silently, but the 'heel' was a hollow storage compartment, with soft rubber on the bottom to ensure stealth. The Burglar was more than adapt at moving on heels, and the rigid 'upper leather' section meant that the likelihood of a rolled ankle was practically nil. With grace and agility, the Black Cat ran 'up' the wall as the grapple gun pulled her upwards. Once on the roof, the burglar disconnected the hook and ran along the rooftops until she was in a dead spot in Fisk's surveillance where she prepared the next phase of her plan.

Readying her grappling hook again, she watched the guard walk around the terrace down below, patiently waiting for him to round the corner and give her the opening she needed. Her patience was soon rewarded as the purple clad gunman did exactly that, and she instantly seized the opening with both of her clawed hands. Using her grapple, she crossed the gap and slowly went up until she reached the next ledge, in a well practiced move, the thief took the rappelling gear off her shoulder and wrapped the loop around a fixture before connecting the c clip to her own harness before disconnecting the hook.

Leaning back, she felt her wait be supported by the rope as she began to play it out, slowly descending to her intended destination on the 19th floor. Once at her mark, she extended the claws in the tips of her gloves and began to cut a neat circle in the window before pushing the glass into the building as it clattered to the floor. Knowing that the action would have tripped the alarm, the Black Cat moved quickly, but appeared unhurried, cool and collected in her movements as she spied her mark at the far end of the room. Rolling in an EMP grenade, the pulse from the sphere disabled the electronics, motion sensors, laser tripwires, and pressure plates, and whatever other security features the Kingpin had to protect his legally acquired artworks.

Drawing a pneumatic spike, the thief anchored her rappelling line to the side of the building. Rasing her grapple, she then sent the hook to the far wall and connected the grapple gun to the rappelling line as she hooked herself to the grapple line. With a feline's agility, the Black Cat shimmied along the horizontal line through the display until she reached her target. Reaching for her satchel and pulling out the black cat plushie inside, setting down on the pedastel before plucking the Chinese statue up and stowing it securely in the bag.

But just as it looked like this heist would go off without a hitch, she heard the handle of the door nearby begin to turn. Reacting quickly, she pulled herself up, bracing herself against the wall with one hand and foot as the other rested on her line as the door swung open and a man walked in with a radio and flashlight. "Yeah, I don't see nothing, looks like a false alarm" he said as he ambled in. "Fine, I'll take a closer look ya lazy shit" he grunted before securing the walkie talkie to his belt and stepping closer in, though he didn't bother turning on the lights and just used his flashlight.

Smirking, the Black Cat bided her time until the man got closer, and then she struck. Dropping down, she wrapped her legs around his neck and squeezed him between her thighs as she pressed her hand to his mouth and he struggled against her chokehold. "Shhh" she whispered into his ear as he pawed at her legs, trying to free himself, "you know, most men beg to get between my legs" purred the Black Cat seductively as the man finally ran out of oxygen and passed out. Acrobatically, the burglar swung her legs back up around her grapple line and shimmied back out the window before disconnecting the line, ascending her rappel and securing that before she swung off towards a safehouse to deposit her ill gotten gains.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Phase Shift_

_Of the six tactical abilities in the new gear, this one is by far the most incredible. While the device looks similar to, and was developed alongside, the one issued to Major Anderson that I found near the Ark test site, this one serves a vastly different purpose. That one was intended to protect the user from dimensional anomalies, whereas this one allows the user to __**become **__the dimensional anomaly. The feeling can only be compared to being loaded into a slingshot and fired through a solid brick wall for three seconds before transitioning back to where you belong. _

_That feeling is nothing compared to what the other guy must feel when I come out behind him. _

_Log – Melee Weapons_

_It is often said that 'you should never bring a knife to a gun fight' and this is true. It is also why I bring a knife __**and **__an axe. The Combat Axe is a fairly standard in design and construction, only with materials that make it nearly indestructible and able to cut through anything short of a tank. With its superior reach, heavier weight at the end, and the pick behind the standard head, I prefer it for its versatility. If nothing else, it makes a handy pry and allows me to wallhang._

_The Data Knife is anything but typical. While at first glance it looks like a standard combat knife, nothing could be further from the truth. With a press of the trigger on the grip a set of electronic interfaces deploys along the blade's length. When inserted into an electronic device the knife uploads a semi-sentient hacking program that spreads to take control of any system it touches. BT can 'talk' with this program and direct it as needed, and it can hack computers, traffic lights, and even power grids…though I haven't tested that last one yet._

* * *

**Like I said, this was very short and introduces some internal conflicts about the OC as well as how other characters see him. If you aren't familiar with Titanfall lore then just bear with me, Cooper will explain what happened when the time comes. The only other thing to note is that the Title of the chapter is another AC/DC song, off of **_**For Those About to Rock **_**that is a bit of a filler track. Most of the time the songs are picked for tonal reasons more than anything.**

**Next Chapter will be much more interesting, featuring firefights, parkour chases, and a lady with a body from outer space. In short, it'll Kickstart your Heart.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	4. Chapter 4: Kickstart My Heart

Power Without Question – Chapter 4: Kickstart My Heart

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, and Respawn Entertainment. After three admittedly mediocre chapters of pure setup and screwing about, its time for the actual story to truly get underway. Hopefully those of you that have made it to this point will find this satisfactory as it is more indicative of what the story will be like for the foreseeable future. The title of this chapter is a high paced Motely Crue tune, and it should be clear I like my rock and roll. Though there will be other genres, starting next chapter.

Also, let me know if you like this slightly different format better.

(8/14/19: This Chapter has been updated to include an entry from Cooper's Logbook.)

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 4: Kickstart My Heart**

_Say I got trouble, Trouble in my eyes_

_I'm just looking for Another good time_

_My heart, my heart_

_Kickstart my heart_

* * *

"Definitely going to be a shitshow" muttered Cooper within the confines of his helmet as he looked down on the docks. His first clue that something was wrong was the fact that there were no unarmed workers anywhere in sight. Every man and woman had a barely concealed weapon on their person. "What the fuck are they transporting?" he wondered aloud as he stepped over the sniper that had been posted up in the crane he was in, body limp after the Renegade Gunfighter choked him out and borrowed his perch to spy on the activity below.

"Well" he said as he placed the D-2 on his back and pulled out the R-97 and flicked the safety off, "not going to find out all the way up here" he mumbled. The jump kit flared as he leapt from the perch to give him a little extra boost. The ground came up towards him as he extended his left arm and waited as long as he dared before firing his grapple.

The hook buried itself in the top of the hull of the ship, the pilot surging forwards suddenly as he raised his SMG and prayed nobody happened to look up. With practiced ease, he released the grapple and fired his jump kit again, causing him to get enough altitude to clear the railing and land just beside a door into the superstructure at the aft end of the ship.

"Motherfucker" he cursed as he saw the door opened. A man with an AKM slung over his shoulder and a cigarette in his mouth walked out only to see the SRS pilot bearing down on him. The cancerstick fell from his lips as he prepared to shout a warning before Cooper cut loose with a burst, the 4.6x30mm rounds making mincemeat of his chest before any sound escaped his lips.

But a few armor piercing rounds did miss their mark and slammed into the side of the ship, pinging off the metal. "The hell was that?" he heard someone shout from inside the ship as his boots met the deck and he rushed to drag the body out of line of sight of the doorway. "Dom? Something wrong?"

As soon as he stepped out of the structure, the Pilot was on him, tomahawk burying itself in his neck and shredding his windpipe, some artery, and his spinal cord in a single stroke. The axe placed back in its holster, the Pilot shouldered the SMG and moved inside.

"BT" he whispered unnecessarily, his helmet had audio dampening, "waypoint to the bridge" he ordered, internally reminding himself why he hated to do things quietly. By the time he reached his destination, any and all hopes of stealth had clearly vanished.

He rounded the corner and the two guards outside immediately saw him and turned to shoot, but he was faster, cutting both down in one mag dump of the SMG. Covering the distance with a slide, he reloaded the weapon before he slung a pulse blade at the opening door, catching the man walking out in the chest as he crumpled to the deck, trying frantically to pull out the blade.

The kit fired again as he shot through the door, hosing down the two highlighted gunmen on the left before he twisted his body in midair and fired his grapple at the far wall, changing his direction completely. The other two fired their weapons, filling where the Pilot should have been with bullets as he returned fire and walked the last of his mag onto his head, putting the third down.

Releasing the line and pressing himself into a console he drew his MK6 and waited to see what would happen. When his proximity alert didn't trigger, he went on the offensive. His world went to black and white as he activated his phase shift and he ran along the wall before he returned and leapt off the wall, taking the cowering man to the floor and knocking his weapon away. The Pilot drew his axe and buried it in the man's gut, causing a horrific scream as the Marauder grabbed his collar and pulled him up. "Listen" he growled lowly. "What's going on here? What are you moving?" asked Cooper only to get a blank stare in response. "Answer me!" he snarled, while literally shaking the man from his stupor.

"I…ah! I don't know" he managed the thug managed through troubled breaths, the pilot's knee across his chest and stomach bleeding profusely. "I swear it."

"Then who does?" asked Matthew as he saw his proximity alert flicker and he turned around. The Marauder drew his pistol, not even waiting for the MK6 to lock on before the fired three bullets into the gunman who silhouetted himself in the doorway before pressing the still warm muzzled into the thug's throat.

The man croaked before trying again, "Simmons!" cried the man, Cooper fighting back a snicker at the way his voice cracked. "That suited sumbitch was in charge of making sure it was all here! He should be down on the docks!"

With that, Matthew stood up and slammed the man's head down onto the deck and knocking him out before tossing a knock knock on the window. Pulling out the Double Take and detonating the explosive before vaulting through the open gap.

The Exo helped break his fall as the Pilot ignored the 'cracks' and 'pings' of bullets missing him as he raised the rifle and fired once before being rewarded with one marksman falling from his perch. Matt jumped against the side of some two stacked containers and began running along the length of the ship. His mad dash punctuated by a sudden crack from the bullpup in his hands as some thug rounded the corner and dropped dead.

He leapt off the wall and slid behind a crate next to the open cargo hold, slamming a fresh mag into the rifle and slinging his pulse blade and watched the orange sonar ping pass through the hold, the profile of a suited man hunkered down with three guards getting his attention.

Before he could do anything, he felt something slam into his back and knock the breath out of him as he spun during is fall to the ground, shouldering the rifle while lying on his back and squeezing a shot off in return as the muzzle flashes before he rolled into cover and pulled his SMG out and hurriedly stuffed a fresh magazine into the slanted magwell before he jumped up and clambered onto the top of the crates.

He looked down at the swarm of eight or so guys below as he pulled out an electric smoke grenade. Pulling the pin, he dropped the cannister into the crowd to sew confusion before he hooked tail end Charlie with his grapple and pulled himself to the poor soul, his boots crushing his chest as he slammed him into the deck before he started spraying bullets into the men writhing in pain inside the smoke, cutting them down like grass.

He ran forwards and jumped up to his left, reloading the gun and spraying down at the survivors as he took off in pursuit of Simmons, STIM active as the EXO turned blue and he shot forward, leapt across the cargo hold and sprayed at the one goon who tried to hold him off before hitting the deck sliding and going straight back up, this time using his grapple and jump kit to launch himself over one set of containers and clear over the side of the ship.

He rolled into a crouch as he saw the suited man get shoved into the back of a Black SUV and it begin to roll as the gunmen who were protecting the convoy turned to fire at the Pilot. "You can run but you can't hide!" he called out as he tossed out an A-wall and drew the Double Take, efficiently dispatching the four gunmen with as many pulls of the trigger.

Without hesitation he took off in pursuit, using his grapple to slingshot himself up and slide hop across the remaining containers to try and cut off the escaping convoy. "Now or never Matt" he told himself as he raised the weapon and fired the last two bullets of the mag into the rear passenger side tire of the Suburban.

Barely three seconds later he was met with the satisfied sound of a blowout as the car careened out of line of the convoy before clipping a container, smashing the front end and sending it spinning to a stop.

The sound of distant sirens lent a sense of urgency to the Pilot's actions as he activated his STIM and quickly found himself looking inside the shattered window of the SUV. It wasn't the prettiest sight, the driver was slumped over the steering wheel, the passenger was looking back at him despite his shoulders squared in the opposite direction, and the gunman next to the suit had at least one broken arm and busted nose.

"BT" he said as he busted the spiderwebbed window with his elbow and tugged on the door handle only for the door to move about three inches and stop, "I'm gonna need a way out of here" he said as he drew his axe.

Flipping it around, he pulled on the grip and tried to lever the door open. "I have found an exfiltration route Pilot" reported BT. "I Suggest you make haste."

"Don't need to tell me twice" he muttered back as he finally pried the door open and pulled the thankfully unconscious Simmons over his shoulders as he turned and saw the waypoint. "Very funny BT" he said as he trudged towards it, not looking forwards to the experience.

* * *

Walt Simmons was brought back to reality with a backhanded slap across the face, the bookkeeper sat bolt up and opened his eyes groggily as the smell of wherever he was slammed into his nostrils like a freight train and almost knocked him right back out. "Stay with me chucklefuck" he heard, almost teasing as he searched for the source.

He tried to scurry back, but found he had his hands cuffed behind him, his arms circling a pipe of some sort as he looked at the trash filled and dimly lit room. He saw green and grey battle armor covered in pouches and webgear, and grey Shemagh covering his neck. Then there was the recognizable helmet, the green and yellow affair and its X shaped visor staring back at him. "What…what do you want?" he managed.

The Marauder uncrossed his arms. "What you're going to give me" he began slowly as he reached out and nudged Walt's chin with his gloved hand. "Is what you were moving tonight and why you were doing it" he said calmly, the filter in his voice removing any emotion he might have had.

"I ca…I can't do that!" stammered Simmons as he fought back the stench. "Holy shit man, what the hell is this place?" he said as he felt his eyes begin to water, "I'm not telling you jack shit, no matter what that smell is."

The armored vigilante retracted his hand and looked down. "I see" he said dejectedly. "Look pal this is a bit awkward, but I left my tools for this sort of thing across town" he explained. "Sorry to keep you waiting around but I'll just pop over and grab them and we can resume our little chat in a few hours" he said as he turned to the darkened end of the room and it sounded as if he opened a door. "I can't wait" finished the Marauder as the light went out and the door shut.

Walt didn't sign up for this shit, he was paid handsomely because was good with details, not because he was some tough guy. He had seen this Marauder on the news, hell, he had seen him firsthand gun down Fisk's men like chaff. He couldn't let himself end up like that, so he swallowed his pride and screamed.

* * *

Matthew Cooper was halfway up climbing the ladder at the far end of the sewer service tunnel when he heard the screaming start. He paused for a second and then ignored it and resumed up the rungs. Backtracking through the small maze back towards the surface he had to find an alternate exit, the manhole cover he had dropped down was in an area now swarming with police.

As for where he was going, he wasn't sure, he didn't have anywhere to be. He had seen something in his first life about physical torture not actually being the best way to extract information. If you wanted to torture someone, you let them do it to themselves, and he knew that whatever that mobster he left in that hellhole probably had a much better imagination for that sort of thing than he did.

Eventually he picked a manhole at random and climbed up and out of the sewers. He still had about two hours to kill so he decided to munch on the ration pack he had brought with him because what else was he supposed to do?

The Pilot parkoured his way up to a nice vantage point that gave him a commanding view of both the harbor he had just left and Manhattan's skyline beyond. Patrol Cars and police helicopters swarmed the harbor, the red and blue lights lit up the night as Cooper removed the Vanguard helmet, tore off a chunk of the jerky, and chewed on it.

"Almost like home" said Matt wistfully as he took another bite. "Hell, I wonder if my New York was like this?" he mused having never been there. His thoughts wandered as he continued to down the food while watching the flurry of activity below.

As he stowed his trash and slipped his helmet back on, he saw some unusual movement in the distance, somebody else seemed to be on the rooftops. Intrigued, the Pilot set off in pursuit. "Whoever the hell this is" muttered the Pilot as he was forced to activate his STIM, the chemical cocktail flooding his veins in order to keep up, "they're damn good."

* * *

"Damn this guy's good" admitted the Black Cat as she checked over her shoulder again for any sign of her tail. Her eyes narrowed behind her mask as she saw the figure swinging around the corner of a building in a very familiar way. "Spider man" she realized as she leapt to the next rooftop. "If you want to catch me, then I'm going to make you work for it."

The burglar drew her grappling hook and took aim at a water tower atop the building across the street and pulled herself across before resuming her run, nimbly vaulting over a sofa that he been deposited on the roof for some reason as she checked the watch on the inside of her left wrist. "Sorry Spider" said the thief to herself as she slid down the riverside of a sloped roof, "but I'm gonna have to cut our date short, a girls got work to do."

She knew the vigilante was at his best high and in open areas, if she wanted to lose him, running across open rooftops wouldn't do it. Veering to her right and jumping off the edge of the building, she used the fire escape as a trapeze to toss herself to the wall, the claws in her gloves digging into the brick and slowing her descent before she jumped to the ground and vanished into an alley and crossed one barren street into another.

The woman once again swung her head around as she rounded the corner and pressed herself into the shadows, her black catsuit ensuring she was invisible to anyone, even spider-man. Slowing her breathing, she waited, mentally keeping track of the time that passed.

After a few minutes of hiding, she felt confident she had lost her tail and stepped out of her refuge, heels clicking on the ground as she couldn't help but feel proud of herself, at least until she heard the sound of someone landing on the ground behind her. Hardy couldn't keep a smirk from her features. "Just couldn't leave a girl alone, could you Spider man" she said as she began to turn. "Always have to be the hero."

Only when she finished turning to look at her pursuer, the smirk fell from her face immediately. "Not quite" responded the man in a filtered voice, the x shaped visor of his helmet glowing a soft blue as he held his SMG casually at his hip. "Just curious is all" he drawled, as he stepped forwards into the dimly lit space.

Hardy looked the new arrival over, his loose-fitting clothes and obvious armor and pads all in muted greens and greys a stark contrast to the Wall Crawlers skin tight red spandex. Felicia quickly fought off the shock and began to smile seductively. "Something catch your eye?" she purred as she began to strut closer, not oblivious to how the weapon tracked her movements. "Because why would one of the most wanted men in the city have an interest in little ol' me?" she asked as she ran a clawed finger down the chest plate.

"Because whoever you are" he began as he began to move around her, trying to remove himself from the corner, she noticed, "you have skills." The Cat's finger remained pressed to his chest, feeling the give in the intricate armor.

"That's not all I have" she purred as she glanced down at the watch he had sown into his sleeve and couldn't stop a pout from forming as she saw the time. "It's refreshing to see someone else not afraid to get their hands dirty" she admitted as she began idly moving around his armor again, slowly trailing back downwards. "There's only one other who can keep up, but you're different from him. He would never approve of what I do."

"And what is that?" asked the Marauder, shifting slightly as Black Cat's finger found itself amongst the pouches holding ammo and equipment.

Hardy smirked as her finger continued its search. "Just a little thievery to keep a girl young" she admitted with a smile. "There are so many with wealth accumulated by subverting the law. I like to relieve them of their ill-gotten gains."

The armored man shook his helmeted head, "one of those" he muttered as he let the SMG fall to his side. "Do bad to worse huh?" he asked. "Sounds to me like we're on the same team. Maybe a bit of cooperation is in order. What do you say?"

"What exactly did you have in mind?" purred the Black Cat as she stepped closer to him, other hand resting on his armor.

The larger vigilante shrunk at the contact. "You ever need a distraction, I arrange one. In return, you give me a copy of the information you steal" he offered. "Trust me, I can throw up one hell of a smoke screen."

"Tempting" she admitted truthfully. She had enjoyed her time as Spiderman's partner, in more ways than one, but that had come to an inevitable end, and Felicia enjoyed being back on the prowl alone. Her clawed finger found itself gently tugging on a ring on the man's belt as she looked down at the culprit and smirked. "But I work best solo" she finished as, in one fluid motion, she pushed him away and pulled the pin before kicking him in the chest with both feet and launching herself off of him and climbing up the wall, looking back with satisfaction at the cloud of smoke that concealed the Marauder.

"Looks like I might have a new toy" she admitted to herself as she began to make up for lost time.

* * *

Far behind, a certain Pilot was in a far less chipper mood. "FUCK" he growled as he emerged from the electric smoke, the stinging gradually fading as he scanned for any signs of the silver haired vixen.

Even switching over to IR didn't reveal her heat signature, he had lost her. "Good going Cooper" he muttered as he worked his way back up to the rooftops and finally decided to cut his losses. The opportunity to have someone to work with, especially somebody capable with a different skillset, had been blown completely.

Pushing those thoughts away, he started back towards the sewer exit he had used earlier, careful to wait for a quiet moment before he entered. Soon enough he found himself outside the door and could still hear the whimpering punctuated by the occasional scream of the man chained inside.

The pilot opened the door and walked in. "Sorry about the wait" he said casually as he closed the door behind him. "Ran into a bit of trouble on the way."

The man only pressed himself further into the pole he was strained towards as the Pilot put his Double Take and R-97 down as he had to suppress a laugh at the man's tear stained face and drew his combat axe as he walked closer. "Sto…stop! Don't come any closer!" he begged, tears beginning to well up again as his chest heaved.

The pilot indulged the request, stopping dead in his tracks and twirling the axe lazily. "I'll tell you whatever you want to know" said the Mob suit. "Just, don't hurt me, please" he pleaded as the pilot put the axe back on his left thigh and crouched down.

"Well" said Cooper as he crouched in front of the tattered suited man. "I'm waiting."

After nearly a minute the man finally had enough control of himself to begin speaking in coherent sentences. "Fisk is bringing in weapons" he finally managed.

"What kind of weapons" asked the Militia Pilot as he tilted his head in what he hoped was a menacing way.

"Surplus from Afghanistan" replied the suit. "Serious stuff, rocket launchers, heavy machine guns, demo charges, grenade launchers, I even heard that they found some armored vehicles" rattled off the bookkeeper.

Cooper looked for any sign of deceit and found none as he digested the information. He hadn't encountered anything close to the one Minigun he came across on his first proper night of engagements. "Why the hell do they need that kind of firepower?" growled Cooper as he grabbed the man by his collar.

"Fisk is arming the small time gangs around the city" squealed the suited man as Matt threw him back down, "I don't know why." Cooper mulled over that, how could the business magnate hope to recuperate the cost of such heavy armaments from common thugs. Satisfied that the captured suit didn't have anything else to offer him, he took out a sheet of paper and a sharpie. "Wha…what are you doing? I've told you everything!" exclaimed the bookkeeper.

Matthew smirked behind his helmet, "I know" he said as he scribbled a message on the paper before stowing the sharpie. "But while you're of no use to me, you aren't quite finished yet" explained the pilot as he pulled out a small roll of duct tape. "So, let me explain what's going to happen next…"

* * *

"Of all the damn times…" muttered an extremely irritated Captain Watanabe as she trudged up towards the roof of the police station. She had been in contact with the Spider Man for nearly two years now and she could not ever remember him being this cryptic.

Sure, he had kept his phone number hidden when he contacted her, but his messages were usually paired with a crummy joke or some way to lighten the mood, all the text she had received a minute ago said was _Get to roof, something you need to see._ Her replies that she was busy following another attack by the Marauder on a nearby dockyard only resulted in the same message being sent again and again until she finally relented.

"Alright, I'm here" she announced as she opened the door. "Now what is so important that…oh my god" she gasped as she saw the sight that greeted her. A man was on his knees, hands restrained behind his back. His suit was dirty and tattered, his face had a massive bruise on it, and a piece of grey duct tape covered his mouth as his eyes went wide with fear. Drawing her pistol, the cop scanned the seemingly deserted rooftop, the first hints of early morning light illuminating the city as she approached the man and saw the piece of paper duct taped to the front of his suit with a key taped to it.

_Hello there, my name is Walt Simmons and I am a member of Kingpin's crime syndicate. I was responsible for the weapons shipment that arrived this morning. I will fully cooperate with police and know that if I don't, the one responsible for my current predicament will finish what he started. _

_Have a nice day._

Satisfied there was no one else on the roof, Yuri removed the tape covering the man's mouth and let him breath, before she could ask a question, he tried to answer them. "Oh god, thank you, thank you so much" he said as she furrowed his brow. "And yes, all of this" he said as he tried to tap the paper with his chin, "is true."

Yuri furrowed her brow, "and you'll cooperate?" she asked, getting a rapid nod in response. She stood him up and he put up no resistance, though she noticed his feet were also cuffed. Removing the key from the paper, she quickly found and undid the lock on his ankles. "So who did this to you?" she asked. "Spider man?"

"No" responded Simmons instantly. "It was the Marauder."

Yuri stopped; the shock evident on her face as she immediately pulled out her phone to see a new message. _Hope it helps_ she read before scowling as she scanned her surroundings for any sign of the vigilante, but he was long gone.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Marauder Corps and Tactics_

_The Marauder Corps is the oldest of four Corps that comprise the Frontier Militia's Special Recon Squadron (SRS). Each of these Corps is an independent fighting unit combining space, air, and ground forces. I was originally a rifleman in an infantry unit attached to the Marauder Corps before Lastimosa transferred control of BT to me making me an acting Pilot. Each of the four Corps had a specialty, and the Marauder Corps was no different. Its identity was born from its role as long range raiders that formed the tip of the spear against the IMC ever since the beginning of the Frontier War. _

_That aggressive role has created a very string esprit de corps among the members of the Marauder Corps. We do not wait for the fight to come to us, we go to the fight, and if there isn't one, we find the enemy and start the fight. The Marauder Corps is always the aggressor, we hit hard, hit fast, and hit often. From top to bottom the entire unit is hard charging and always in high morale. _

_And now that I'm here, that hasn't changed. Sitting in my warehouse hideout just feels…wrong. Especially when I can find the men who work for this 'Kingpin' and bring the fight to them. Instead of waiting in can pick when and where to fight. Meaning I can pick and choose fights I want. Fair fights are for suckers, so I can make sure every fight is as unfair as possible. The gun may be the great equalizer, but Pilots tilt the odds._

_Hit and Run is the name of the game. As much as I can do, I can't take on the whole city, or even the more powerful groups in it. If I do I'll need BT in order to survive, and bringing him out into a civilian packed area isn't something I want to do if I can help it. So I won't take on the whole city, just find a target I can handle, Drop the hammer on it and get the hell out of dodge. Then it's a matter of rinse and repeat until I run out of either ammo or targets. _

_Dictating the terms of engagement means I can pick situations that will limit noncombatant involvement and collateral damage. If the other guy takes the initiative, then they could force innocent people into the line of fire. So, if going out to force the issue prevents that, then that's the choice I'll make every time, public perception be damned. Taking down bad guys while protecting the innocent, it's the best choice I've got._

_Isn't it?_

* * *

**And with that the first real arc has begun, it'll last through chapter 11 or 12 and does tie into the main game, though not in a way that will majorly affect the plot. Hopefully I'm getting all of the characters right, especially Yuri and Felecia, as both will have much larger roles in this story than the game. Feel free to leave a review and let me know how I'm doing, good or bad.**

**Expect the next chapter on Monday or so. And in it somebody will fall into a Burning Ring of Fire.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	5. Chapter 5: Ring of Fire

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Question for you guys, I want to know what I need to do to get some reviews or feedback, is there a particular reason I'm not seeing much? I don't want or mean to come off as salty, I'm more baffled and bemused than anything. Other tales from the metrics say I have a disproportionate number of Finnish views. The only real point I want to make is if you haven't heard the song 'Talvisota' or know the story behind it then you should look it up. If that doesn't make you respect the Finns, then nothing will.

Enough pandering, the chapter title is a classic by the Man in Black himself, Johnny Cash. Though in this instance its better to take the title at face value. Also know that when I add the next chapter on Thursday-ish I'll also update every chapter up to and including this one with this format and add 'Cooper's Logbook' entries to the end of each chapter. This will explain some of the toys Cooper has, in short, flat exposition that doesn't fit into the otherwise fast pace of the story. Now without further ado….

(4/15/20: A few tweaks and updates made now that I am a bit better at this writing thing.)

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 5: Ring of Fire**

_I fell into a burnin' ring of fire_

_I went down, down, down_

_And the flames went higher_

_And it burns, burns, burns_

_The ring of fire, the ring of fire_

* * *

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire" growled Cooper as he racked his weapons and began to remove his Vanguard combat armor, "and I'm the one going to get burned." The night had been a long one, starting with the raid on the shipping yard, meeting that woman, and Ever since the mob man had told him what was on that ship, he had begun to reevaluate what the hell he was doing here, again.

He ran his hands through his hair after taking off the helmet, despite his fighting words, Matthew was weary. "Pilot" said BT, "I sense that you are distressed. What is the cause of this?" asked the Titan as Cooper pulled up a stool and plopped down into it.

"Just having second thoughts about all this BT" admitted Cooper as he began to remove the rest of his armor, including the electric smoke grenade the silver haired woman had used against him, discarding the spent cylinder. "I'm not sure this is what I signed up for."

He turned to see the singular blue eye of the Vanguard class Titan pulsing in contemplation. "You have been in combat for an extended length of time Pilot Cooper. SRS suggests a rest period after such occurrences" reported BT, clearly reading from some Militia document or another. "There are numerous establishments that specialize in such activities around the city" informed the Titan, drawing a slight chuckle from the Pilot.

"Maybe you're right BT" conceded Cooper with a sigh. His job was about to get a whole lot harder with the arrival of those heavy weapons. With the kind of firepower the Kingpin was bringing in it looked like he was trying to supply an army. Cooper's job was about to get a lot more difficult. "Yeah, you definitely are."

Matt then went about removing the rest of his kit and was about to pass out in his bed when he heard BT speak up again. "Records indicate that Walt Simmons has been placed into NYPD protective custody and is cooperating with Police" said the Vanguard. "Your decision was a wise one Pilot."

Cooper shook his head at the praise, still feeling lost. Even with the success he had been having, the pilot couldn't help but remember that he had died a week ago, the life he was currently living wasn't his own, and he missed his home, his family, his boring life.

What the fuck was he doing here? Living out a superhero fantasy? Working out anger at some random thugs? Or just being a puppet for Griffin to pull the strings of? Maybe BT was right, maybe he needed to not be a Pilot and try to go back to be a regular guy again, even if it was only for one night.

After that? He would be right back in the thick of it, what other options did he have? Griffin was still paying him for his activities as a Pilot, and paying him well. Paying to kill people, something that he had never wanted to do, but seemed so normal after Typhon. Not once since he had woken up after dropping onto that godforsaken rock had he so much as hesitated to pull the trigger.

Even when he got shot, it barely felt like anything, his armor and its self-repair function meant he could take hits nearly as well as he could dish them out. Without it though? He was just as squishy at the next guy, vulnerable. It made him want to stay cocooned in the safety blankets that were his armor and BT.

He left BT without another word, stuck in his own thoughts as he collapsed into bed.

* * *

"Maybe you weren't right about this BT" mumbled Cooper as he closed the door of his Viper and looked at the club the Titan had picked out. Suffice to say it wasn't the kind of place he felt comfortable at, the loud signage and even louder music could be felt more than heard, even as far away as he was.

Still, he had promised his best friend that he would go, and for some reason the machine had taken such a vested interest in his mental wellbeing that he refused to let Cooper do any work pertaining to planning future raids during the day. He did get some good news, when he woke, he found an envelope containing his old cell phone from his first life, complete with all of his old music and photos on it.

Paying the cover and stepping into the club he immediately regretted his decision, the lights and music made him want to blow his brains out, he felt exposed in casual clothes, and vulnerable without a weapon on his person. "Get a grip Cooper" he chided as he decided to head for the bar and order a beer.

He sipped at the beverage idly as he did his best to tune out the rest of the club, every passing second making him want to shoot something more, not less. He was shaken from his angry mumblings by another patron, a redheaded woman who was about his age who quickly ordered and slammed back a drink with surprising ease. "Rough day?" he asked dryly as he continued to sip on his beer.

"You have no idea" responded the woman as she slammed the glass back down on the bar. "Nobody to blame but myself of course, I knew the boss was an asshole before I took the job" she continued. Cooper couldn't help but respond with a sound that straddled the line between chuckle and snicker, drawing a bemused look from the woman. "Mary Jane Watson, investigative reporter for the Daily Bugle" she introduced with an outstretched hand.

"Matt Cooper" responded the pilot as he shook the offered hand, fighting to find where he had heard that name before. "I just arrived here from Texas two weeks back, still acclimating to 'The City that Never Sleeps'" he admitted with a shrug. "It's a lot to take in."

"You don't know the half of it" she replied as her next drink arrived. "And you show up just as we get another masked vigilante running around, I should know, he's who's been giving me so many problems" she explained, causing Matt to raise an eyebrow in question. "I've been assigned to 'expose' him by J. Jonah Jameson, you know him?" Cooper shook his head, now listening intently to the redhead. "Figures" she snorted, "he's the editor in chief of the paper, he's been trying to get Spiderman's head put on a stake for years now" she explained.

Matthew strained to maintain a straight face at that, he had never been that big into comic books, but he knew a bit about Spiderman. "And now this 'Marauder' starts gunning people down and Jameson feels as if he was right all along, vigilantes are going to start coming out of the woodwork and soon they'll be eating babies" she said with a roll of her eyes as she downed her drink. "Of course, he wants me to prove it for him. So, I'm chasing this ghost, picking up the pieces he leaves behind."

Taking a sip of his quickly depleting beer to hide his change in expression, he prepared a carefully measured response. "Is that so? And how's that going?" he asked dryly, fighting every fiber of his being to ensure that the words didn't sound smug.

"The Marauder isn't stupid, his identity is a mystery, but I've found some interesting things in my investigation" she said. "His actions seem random at first glance, but I think there's a pattern. He's already caused the police to get more guns and drugs off the streets in the last week than they usually would in a month. He's hitting crime at the source" she explained, her expression coming alive as she talked about what she had found.

She went and pointed out patterns in his actions that even he hadn't noticed. How he was living up to the name that he had been given, 'The Marauder'. Yet, that wasn't the most surprising thing the journalist told him. "People are already comparing him to Frank Castle. And if he is anything like the Punisher, it's not a long shot to assume he has some support" she told him.

"Really?" said a shocked Cooper. "I wouldn't expect to hear that" he grunted.

"I didn't expect it either, and Jameson really wasn't" she replied. "Nobody is going to admit on the record that they approve of what he's doing, but there will be some out there." The redheaded reporter took a healthy sip of her drink, "there are all kinds I guess" she mused with a hint of mirth. "Of course, Jameson isn't happy with that kind of information. All he wants is whatever will make the Marauder look bad and get him sales."

Cooper chuckled at that, "Now, I don't really know how that journalism stuff works, but you telling me all this doesn't exactly make me want to rush out and buy your paper ya' know" he drawled.

Mary Jane smirked back, rolling her eyes at the sarcastic comment. "That's the real bitch about it, chances are none of that will end up being printed, so no harm done" she said with a shrug.

Before Matt could respond, he heard a new voice shouting over the music behind the two. "MJ! There you are!" said the unknown as the two turned to see a youngish looking man, head adorned with a mess of brown hair and slight in stature, approaching them.

But as he looked closer Cooper felt his hairs stand on end as he watched him weave through the crowd. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he scrutinized the man. Despite his slender profile, he seemed to be lean, built more like a gymnast than the nerd his face would suggest. He didn't carry himself with confidence, but still managed to subconsciously glide across the floor in a way he had come to associate with veteran Pilots, not dweeby 20-somethings. The redhead gave him a dry look, "Peter, you're late" she said matter-of-factly, "again" she added, flatly.

"I'm really sorry MJ" said 'Peter', Matt recognizing the poor guy was doing damage control, doing whatever he could to salvage the evening. Considering the redhead he was pleading his case to, Cooper could hardly blame him. "You know how work can be! I got hung up again."

MJ shook her head, though Matthew saw the faint smile on her lips. "Of course you did Tiger, I know how you are when it comes to your work" she said with a faint laugh. "You didn't miss much honestly, just me venting about Jameson" she said, a knowing look and nod coming in reply.

Cooper couldn't suppress a laugh, which caused the new arrival to turn to him. "Name's Peter Parker, nice to meet you" he introduced.

Shaking himself from a shocked stupor, Matt reached his hand out. "I'm Cooper" he said as he shook hands. "Matt Cooper" he finished with a bit of a grin at his unexpected echoing of James Bond. "So what do you do?"

Peter took delivery of a cola, twisting the cap off with surprising ease before answering. "I'm a lab assistant at a startup in Greenwich under a brilliant scientist named Doctor…"

"I think you already lost him Tiger" interjected MJ with a playful smirk as Cooper's eyes began to glaze over at the prospect of listening to Parker speak about what he got up to in a lab. Despite all of his high-tech gear it wasn't what he really cared about, he just used it and didn't care as much about what made it work.

Peter noticed how Matt's eyes were wandering as he took a sip of his beer before shrinking a bit. "Sorry" said Cooper honestly, "but the lady's right. If you keep going down that path it'll all go straight over my head" admitted the Texan honestly, "if you wanna talk about that stuff then you'll have to use small words" he finished dryly.

The couple shared a laugh at that, the tension eased somewhat, aided in the Pilot's mind by the beer he was working on. "How are you finding New York Matt? I bet its taking some getting used to" guessed Peter, getting a nod in return.

"I'm already missing the Texas tax rate" retorted Cooper, "and lord knows how y'all manage with rent. I didn't even bother with an apartment and got a little workshop off the island where I'm free to tinker on my cars and a few other things" he revealed with a laugh. "Though not sure how much I'll use 'em since you Yankees don't know how to drive."

"That's New York courtesy for you" agreed Mary Jane with a nod. "And just to think, that's on a good day when a costumed maniac isn't rampaging through the city."

Peter agreed with a very enthusiastic nod, "you should've _seen _the traffic jams the Rhino caused." Matthew had read up on the city's recent events, and was familiar with the various super powered criminals that had shown up at one point or another, but could only wince at the image forming in his head. _"_It's why I don't bother with cabs. There are other ways that are faster."

_You have no idea _concurred Matthew, thinking of how easy it was to wallrun above the swarms of taxis, part of him wanting to get back out there. "Thanks for the advice, my Rangers are coming to town next week and I might go see a game."

"Three game series with the Mets, right?" asked Peter as the brunette perked up.

In response, the redhead rolled her eyes, "oh god, here we go" she muttered, but was promptly ignored.

"That's right, and they don't stand a chance" boasted the Texan confidently, "our rotation finally started clicking and we're on a roll."

Before Peter could retort, he turned and noticed his girlfriend fixing him with an unamused expression before he looked apologetically at both of them in turn. "As much as I'd like to explain why you're wrong, I'll let our bats do the talking like they have been all year" he quipped quickly. "Give me your number real quick and I'll let you know the best place to watch 'your Rangers' lose." Cooper couldn't help bet let out a small chuckle as the two exchanged numbers and the couple moved to the dance floor, just two average people out for a good time.

But Cooper knew better, he had seen enough movies growing up to know that Peter Parker was Spider-Man and had seen enough to be sure of that being the case. He seemed so…normal, it struck him as odd. Despite a beer, the music, even dancing with a few attractive girls at the club, the Pilot felt bored, it all felt like a waste of time. Despite the music and lights, none of it replicated the rush he had become so accustomed to when he donned his helmet and jump kit. When he settled his tab and called it an early night, he did so itching to get back into the action.

Where the day previously he was wondering how he could live with himself as a Pilot, now he couldn't imagine living without being one.

* * *

Wilson Fisk was working late, not an unusual occurrence for those who knew the mogul. His ornate office was dimly lit, just enough so he could make out the reports that had arrived at his desk. At this hour, his official work was complete, and his more opportunistic ventures were his main focus.

The Kingpin sat back in his chair, carefully reading a report of the status of a new and ambitious long term project. The last of the shipments had arrived and was already being distributed, despite the best efforts of yet another masked thorn in his side. Even Walt Simmons was replaceable, and with his plans so close to fruition, the weasel wouldn't be able to spill his guts to police in time to make a difference.

That didn't mean there weren't loose ends however, with a few keystrokes, his monitor showed the profiles of the two largest. The Spiderman had been active for years and had been accounted for as this plane came together. But this 'Marauder' was new and hadn't been planned for.

Fisk opened a folder and read a recent update, this plan was reliant on the cooperation of small-time gangs, and a few had already gotten cold feet regarding their orders with this armored vigilante roaming the city unchecked. But he hadn't gotten to where he was by sitting idly by while the world left him behind. The Kingpin was owed a large number of favors, and he decided the time had come to call one in.

Reaching for the telephone, he picked up the handset and dialed a memorized number. On the third ring the call was accepted, and Wilson spoke immediately. "Hello old friend" he said, a slight smile creeping onto his face. "How soon can you be in New York? I have a job for you."

* * *

Captain Yuri Watanabe looked over the information they had accumulated, finally able to go through everything since the city had gone three nights without an attack by the Marauder. Combined with what Simmons had been telling police while he remained in protective custody, the picture was slowly coming together.

"So it turns out this guy's been gunning for Kingpin all along. Maybe we do actually have something in common" said Martinez as he leaned back in his chair and looked at the board. The locations of places Kingpin had been funneling weapons shipments and places the Marauder had hit. "How the hell did we not notice it?"

"Simmons said that this has been in the works for a while now, I'm checking with the feds but so far nobody's gotten back to me" answered Johnson as she resumed chewing on her pencil. Yuri looked at the web of POIs Simmons had tied to Fisk as well as trying to find what motivated the Marauder.

Yuri pushed herself up off the desk and looked at the heavily marked up map of the city hanging on the wall next to their white board, both covered in sticky notes and scribbles. She looked at the map and soon pointed at one spot in particular. "He hasn't been here yet" she said as she stepped back, and the others saw where she had pointed.

"Fisk Industries Distribution Center?" said Martinez disbelievingly. "But last sighting we had of the trucks that left the docks had them going away from the city, and Simmons didn't name it as one of the end points" continued the older Hispanic detective as he shook his head dismissively.

Johnson furrowed her brow as she took the pencil from her mouth. "No, but it could be a middle point. If Simmons is right about the final destination being gangs here in Manhattan it is an ideal way to get them there" she countered. "You think the Marauder is thinking the exact same thing?"

Yuri nodded in affirmation, the corners of her mouth curling upwards slightly. "I'm going to make some calls, get us a warrant for a stakeout. We go tonight" she said, getting a round of nods from the two detectives.

"I got a bad feeling about this" quipped Martinez as Yuri left the two to resume their bickering.

* * *

Cooper sat on a rooftop overlooking the Distribution center, BT had determined that this was the most likely staging ground for weapons shipments that had come into the city. He had spent a few days scouting possible locations, and slowly crossed them off until he was left with the massive complex before him.

Inside his helmet, the screams of Steven Tyler filled his ears as he listened to Back in the Saddle and picked up his R-6P, the 'Softball' grenade launcher with its adhesive anti-personnel grenades. Giving the cylinder an experimental spin before placing it on his back. "Any last-minute updates BT?" asked Cooper as the Marauder expanded his R-201. The ever-reliable Carbine was a well-rounded fully automatic option that packed a serious punch.

"No Pilot, your objectives remain the same. Search suspected location for illegal weapons distribution. Gather intelligence regarding operations of Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin" rattled off the Titan as Matthew drew a magazine and tapped it on his helmet before placing it into the rifle. "Stay alert pilot, intel gathered in previous missions suggests the enemy is transporting heavy weapons. They will likely not hesitate to use these weapons against you."

Matt chuckled, "no shit" he said dryly as he chambered the first 8.19mm round. That was the very reason he wasn't skimping out on firepower of his own either.

"Excrement is unrelated to this matter Pilot" chided BT sternly, Cooper unable to suppress the bark of laughter that worked its way through him. Instead of responding, he simply let it be, but making a mental note to go over figures of speech with BT-7274.

The Pilot watched the last truck leave the facility and let out a breath as he turned off his music. "Let's do this" he quoted as he leapt from his vantage and used an adjacent building to clear the fence around the perimeter.

Rolling into a crouch, he scanned the area with his R-201 pressed into his shoulder, ready for action, but didn't see a single goon. No gun toting workers, no security, nothing. Sprinting into cover, he tried the door. "Damn, locked" he muttered as he looked at the rather simple lock. "Fuck it" he growled as he smashed the stock of his rifle into it, breaking the lock and he pushed it open to find…

"Nothing?" he asked in disbelief as he lowered his rifle and stepped into the barren room. His footsteps echoing off the concrete floor. The place was nearly completely empty, a few pallets were stacked up and there was a forklift off to one side. "Think Cooper. Think" he snarled as he idly pulled out his pulse blade and spun it around, balancing it on one finger and tossing it up into the air. "Ah shit" he cursed as he missed the knife on its way down and watched it imbed itself into the floor.

Only to see the ping extend not only around the barren warehouse, but also beneath the floor was well, the outlines of a few individuals and 40 foot shipping containers beneath what he thought was a solid floor. "Well I'll be goddamned" he muttered as he scanned the room again, his mind going into overdrive. "This is some fucking _Tomb Raider_ shit now" he said with a wry chuckle as he spotted a control panel and made for it.

Pulling out his data knife, he pried the panel open and looked at the confusing array of controls within. "And…" he said as he extended the interfacing components from within the knife and jammed it into the circuitry, slowly watching the holographic interface fill until…

"Open sesame" he said hopefully as he waited for something, anything, to happen. The silence was broken by a dull click and the sound of massive hydraulic systems lowering a section of the floor in the back of the room. "Definitely _Tomb Raider_ shit" he muttered as he pulled the knife out and readied the Softball.

He approached the massive freight elevator that had descended to the lower level and could hear voices down below. "You two, check it out, see anyone who isn't supposed to be there…kill 'em" ordered one in a suitably gruff sounding tone.

Cooper reached the edge of the lift and aimed the 40mm grenade launcher. "Come have a go if you think you're hard enough" he yelled back, causing the three men to look up at him and reach for their weapons.

The Marauder triggered his own, firing two grenades into the cluster, the mobsters barely having time to react before the two grenades blew them to bits. "The Marauder's here!" he heard someone yell from within the bowels of the facility.

Unable to suppress a grin, he jumped down. "Best job I ever had" he said as he triggered the weapon again.

* * *

Outside, Yuri Watanabe was not having similar thoughts about her occupation. "Any sign of him?" asked the Captain over the radios she and he two detectives had, each in their own unmarked patrol car stationed at a different vantage over an entrance to the distribution hub.

She sipped her coffee and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, the Kevlar vest she was wearing was far from comfortable but could be lifesaving. _"Nothing yet Cap"_ responded Johnson.

_"All quiet on the western front ma'am"_ reported Martinez dutifully as she watched the rooftops for any sign of the Marauder. She hoped that this would pan out, they didn't have any other leads.

The silence resumed as she checked her pistol again and waited for something to happen. Looking up, she saw a flicker of blue above her and her eyes soon focused on the source. "It's him" she said over the radio as she threw open the door and watched him sail over the fence. "Converge on me, we gotta get inside" she ordered as she ran to the gate.

A few minutes later the two detectives ran up briskly. "Martinez, get the gate" said Watanabe as the older Hispanic man nodded and crouched down. The detective pulled out a lockpick and set to work as the two women went on the lookout. They heard a commotion inside the building that set all three on edge. "Hurry it up Detective."

"Is that strictly legal?" asked Johnson as her eyes flickered down to the back of her fellow detective as he continued to work on the lock.

Yuri's face remained impassive as her eyes scanned back and forth. "Does it matter?" she asked flatly.

A flicker of worry flashed across Johnson's face, "I suppose not" she answered when they heard the lock click open and Martinez stood up and pushed the gate open. Without hesitation, Yuri pushed her way to the front and led the three inside.

* * *

"SHOOT 'IM!" cried one of the goons frantically as Cooper hit the deck. "SHOOT 'IM!" repeated one of the gunmen as the remaining hostiles turned their attention to the Pilot. Sliding into cover behind one of the shipping containers, the Marauder pulled out his Carbine and readied an arc grenade.

Of course, the writing on the side of the olive drab container didn't escape notice. Moving past the large 'U S ARMY' on the metal he poked his head around the corner, only to immediately duck back as a barrage of rounds peppered the metal. Again, failing to meet any sort of originality quota, Cooper yelled out "Catch!" as he hurled the grenade around the corner and slid out shortly after.

The -201 was set to rock and roll and he cut loose with a long burst as he crossed the gap. His jump kit fired as he leapt up to the highest of the stack of containers and began a wallrun, spraying the remainder of the magazine from the hip as he went. Fisk's men scampered for cover, but two were too slow as tungsten tipped armor piercing rounds shredded bone, flesh, and Kevlar with cold efficiency.

The 24 round magazine went dry with a click as he leapt back across the aisle, sliding across the top of containers as he inserted a fresh mag and jumped off the end and into another hail of gunfire. Turning, he fired his grapple as the nearest gunman and pulled himself closer as he fired the Carbine at the others, barely pausing when slammed his boots into the man's chest and drove him to the floor.

His rapid movement had put him out of the line of fire of most of the remaining goons, but one decided to put their new toys to work. Cooper's eyes widened as he saw the small green sphere bounce over the container and then hit the floor. The grenade rolled towards the Marauder as he dove away and tried to activate his phase shift.

The world went to black and white and he felt his right side burst into flames as shrapnel embedded itself in his right thigh and pepper his armor. Those feelings were soon replaced by the flood of painkillers and surge from artificial adrenaline entering his system. Rolling onto his back, face twisted into a ferocious snarl, he pulled out the R-6P as the air crackled and he exited the phase shift.

Only to be forced to barrel roll as the last of the guards and came up and received the last of the grenades in the Softball. One by one they detonated, sending white hot shrapnel shards throughout the room, one of which started a chain reaction of stored ammunition. The weapon ran dry as the pilot soon staggered to his feet and surveyed the carnage that he was responsible for. The series of explosions had started a quickly growing fire as containers began to belch thick black smoke, the fire continuing to spread.

The surreal silence was broken by a feral cry as he spun around and was tackled to the floor by the last goon who pinned the pilot rather well. After a few frantic moments of struggle, Matt managed to get his right hand free and land a punch, shoving his assailant off as he tried to get to his feet. It was useless, with the painkillers fogging his mind and slowing his movements, he was unable to react in time when the thug charged again, and Cooper was thrown onto his back once more as the enforcer pulled a knife from his belt and raised it before bringing it down at Matt's throat. Cooper tried to raise his arms to block as he ducked to one side, biting back a cry of pain as the tip of the blade went into his left shoulder. The Pilot gripped both hands on the man's wrists as he tried to push back, fighting against the man's body weight and gravity.

Matt could feel the knife slice further into him as his left arm weakened. "Not going out…like this" he snarled as he brought his knee up and hit his assailant right in the balls, forcing the goon to loosen his grip on the blade. With his remaining strength, the SRS pilot slammed a haymaker into his jaw with his one good arm and kicked the thug off of him as he finally managed to get to his feet.

Before the thug could recover, the Marauder was on top of him, the bloody knife pulled from his shoulder in his hand as he brought it down at the man's face. Only the man brought his hands up to protect his face as his own knife was driven through his hands and given a savage twist.

Ignoring the cries of pain that came from the man as more explosions rocked the space, Coop relinquished his grip on the shoddy knife and pulled out his combat axe and switched it over to his good hand. With one final effort he slammed the tomahawk into the side of the man's head, causing all resistance to cease. Prying the weapon from its new resting point and flicking off bits of brain matter, Cooper limped towards a console as he saw the fire continue to spread. Time was quickly running out.

He pulled out his data knife and pried open a keypad and inserted the multi purpose tool. "Hurry it up" he encouraged, his desire to leave only increasing as he felt the heat of the fire increase. The circles filled agonizingly slowly as the knife transferred all the data at the terminal to BT before wiping the servers. While he was thankful for the quantity of information, he did not want to share a room with ordinance and a spreading fire any longer than he had to. "Finally," muttered Cooper as he sheathed the knife and ran towards the elevator, managing a jog as his left arm refused to do anything but hang limply at his side.

Propping it up with his right, he fired his grapple and bit back a curse as he approached the lip and pulled himself up and stumbled away from the increasingly large smoke plume that was coming up behind him. Shaking away the pain he looked up and was greeted by another complication.

"NYPD! HANDS UP!" called an unknown female voice as the Pilot saw three figures approach him, weapons drawn. All were wearing bullet proof vests and stern expressions. "You're under arrest!"

Cooper straightened, more natural and artificial adrenaline seeping into his veins as he looked over the three. "BT" he said quietly as he watched the two subordinates' expressions waver ever so slightly, "Any ideas?"

* * *

The two detectives and Captain Watanabe stood motionless as they waited for the Marauder to do something, anything. The man certainly looked imposing in his armor, the battered chest piece, blood stains, and glowing x shaped visor leaving no question as to how dangerous he could be. Behind him, the thick black smoke continued to pour from the hole in the floor, slowly beginning to conceal him again as he stood motionless, giving him a demonic air.

But Yuri narrowed her eyes as she saw the Marauder's slight limp and the massive bloodstain covering his left shoulder, he looked vulnerable, human almost. "Captain Watanabe I presume?" he said finally, his voice electronically filtered. "Sorry about the mess" he said dryly.

"Get on your knees, keep your hands where I can see them" ordered Yuri sternly as they kept their weapons trained on the grey armor plate. Though the Marauder didn't seem intimidated as he shook his head slowly, the glowing visor standing out from the dark smoke that was slowly filling the room.

"We both know that Kingpin is planning something" said the Marauder, "he's the real threat." The NYPD Captain knew the man was right but said nothing as she slowly approached, "I have the data to pick his plans apart piece by piece and that's what I'm going to do" he vowed as he lowered his helmet and stared straight into the Captains eyes. "So, stay out of my way" he threatened.

"And you're going to go do what? Play hero?" asked Johnson as the distinct visor shifted to the blonde woman.

The vigilante chuckled. "Wouldn't be the first time" he responded wryly. "Doesn't change anything Detective. I can stop him, and I will."

"By going outside the law? Being judge, jury, and executioner?" challenged Martinez as he adjusted his grip on the pistol in his hands, Yuri able to see the anger creeping onto his features. "What gives you the right?"

The man shrugged casually, "I suppose the best way to put it is that I have the Right of Might" he said. "No one will stop me because nobody can stop me. Especially not any of you" he said as she saw his hand twitch.

All three opened fire, Yuri swore she saw her shots hit the armored vest before he simply vanished into thin air. "SHIT!" she yelled as all three got their heads on the swivel and looked for the Marauder. "Where did he go?" she asked.

"No clue ma'am" responded Martinez before he fought off a cough, the black smoke was getting thicker. "But we can't stay here to find out!" he called, as if to emphasize his point, a larger explosion than any of the previous ones rocked the building.

Holding back a curse, she looked around one last time. The floor was cracking under their feet and the man they were hunting was nowhere in sight. "Everybody out!" she ordered sternly as the three police officers turned back towards the door. Looking back over shoulder, she saw a massive chunk of the floor fall into a massive pyre below. "GO! GO!" she yelled as she took off after them in a dead sprint.

She saw Martinez and Johnson go out the busted door they came in just as the floor she was running on began to give out and she felt a sensation of weightlessness. In a state of shock, Watanabe looked down to see that she was falling into what would likely become her funeral pyre before she slammed into the top of a container and blacked out.

* * *

Cooper sat outside the now structurally questionable building, his cloak active as he saw the two detectives come out of the building and waited for Watanabe to exit. But the Asian woman did not emerge from the building. "God Damnit" he muttered; he had listened to what BT had told him about the Captain.

The more the Vanguard told him, the more Yuri reminded him of his father. Hardnosed, lead from the front type who went above and beyond to get the job done. She was trying to stop him, but she wasn't really in the game, a bystander caught in the crossfire.

Standing and fighting back the pain, he sprinted forwards and past the two detectives, ignoring their shouted demands as he entered the burning building and looked for any sign of the captain through the smoke. When that failed, he tossed out a pulse blade with his bad arm into the burning pit of fire and spotted the woman sprawled out on the floor.

Jumping into the smoke-filled room and immensely thankful for his helmet filter system, he made his way towards Watanabe. Ignoring the spikes of pain from his right leg and instinctually raising his right arm when he heard another explosion on the far side of the room and saw a support beam collapse.

The woman wasn't stirring, and he didn't try to wake her, hissing in pain, he slung the cop over his right shoulder. Looking up, he saw the fire had cut off the closest gap in the floor and was now surrounding them. Taking the only option available, he wall ran along the wall and jumped across to a container before jumping back to the wall and strained to raise his grapple and fired it off, growling in pain as the device pulled him and the Captain up out of the fire and back onto the ground floor.

Because of the smoke, Cooper was forced to kick down the door to the offices closest to the elevator exit and quickly pushed through them until he found himself back in the cool night air of the city. The shadows projected by the massive fire onto the neighboring buildings made the experience of hopping the fence and carrying the Captain across the street almost surreal.

Gingerly placing the woman on the sidewalk, he saw her eyes open a fraction of the way as she began to stir. "Sorry for the bumpy ride Captain, but you're safe now" he assured as he rummaged around in his belt for a particular item. He could see her try to regain her senses as he found what he was looking for.

Of course, the better lighting also meant he could see more of her injuries, chiefly the massive and bloody gash on her forehead. "I'm giving you something for the pain, when you wake up you should be much better" he told her, very familiar with what would happen as he jammed the injector into her thigh and let the medical cocktail do its thing. Her head immediately dropped back down to the pavement and all attempts to struggle ceased.

That still left the problem of an unconscious woman sitting on a New York sidewalk. Cooper wracked his brain to find a way to get the attention of the other officers. He didn't see a radio on her and his was set to only receive, not transmit. Almost on instinct, he pulled out and reloaded his R-201 before a realization hit him like a freight train.

He fired a long burst into the ground, the automatic weapons fire slicing through the night and echoing off the surrounding buildings. Not wanting to be there when the detectives came running, he activated his cloak and began to scale a nearby building to make his egress. When he reached the roof, he turned back to see the two other cops with Watanabe at her side and could hear the sounds of approaching sirens. One of the detectives looked up and saw the Pilot, illuminated by the burning distribution center as he gave a half salute and turned, disappearing into the darkness.

* * *

"Pilot, you are suffering severe injuries, you require medical assistance" said BT as Cooper limped into the armory and saw the Titan sitting in its racks. Matt knew more or less what he was dealing with, he had to deal with the flashing alerts until he got the armor off. He had to pull four pieces of shrapnel out of his right leg and it was wrapped in enough bandages to make it look like it belonged to a mummy. His shoulder had a healthy amount of bio-gel stuffed into it to seal the wound, even if it was now quite stiff.

His chest piece was worthless, compromised by the punishment it had taken, and he had also been grazed by a bullet from the cops on his right side. He wasn't quite sure how he had managed to drive off the island in a red Dodge Viper while under the effects of a substantial number of painkillers and with a enough blood seeping through the bandages to ensure the clothes he was wearing were destined for the trash without being stopped by the police, but he didn't particularly care.

Opening a cabinet and pulling out a selection of medical supplies he set to work. "I don't think that's much of an option right now buddy" he said. Chances are the cops would have all the hospitals looking out for someone with a beat up leg and shoulder and he had no intentions of being a guest of Rikers. "Chances are I can get through this on my own" he assured as he began taking off his bandages and his expression soured.

He had seen gruesome wounds, and he knew from how painful it felt that it would be ugly, but that didn't make removing the blood-soaked bandages an easier task. "It is recommended you seek assistance from a medical professional when you have sustained wounds of that level."

"Not an option" he repeated as he started cleaning the wounds properly, "We need to keep a low profile" he snapped as he continued to work in silence. The shoulder wound proved to be much less of an issue, but received the same cleaning and disinfection treatment. By the time he had finished, the last of the painkillers had worn off and Cooper was feeling the effects of the nights combat full force. "Go through that intel we got BT, chances are we're going to be busy" he said with a wave as he turned in. Once settled onto his bed he inserted the same kind of serum he had given Watanabe and was out like a light.

Outside the hideout, a figure smiled from the shadows. The efforts of the past few hours hadn't been a waste after all. The black clad prowler smirked; a new hunting ground found.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Armor_

_This new armored vest I got when I arrived in New York, which I've been calling 'Dragon Scale' because I have no better ideas, is incredible. Multiple layers of this interlocking hexagonal pattern make it tougher than anything else I've seen. While rifle caliber rounds easily pierce the first two layers, the third is usually enough to top them. Pistols get through one, maybe two at point blank range. In addition the protection against shrapnel, edged weapons, and blunt force trauma is good considering the vests absorbing qualities. _

_Because of whatever the hell its made of, it can repair itself. Quick fixes can be made in about a minute, but substantial damage will take up to six hours to fully repair. Successive hits strip away the top layers and make the armor weaker the more punishment it takes, and the field patchwork is never 100%. But still, it's better than nothing and saved my bacon more than I can count in the week or so I've been here. _

_Log – Pulse Blade_

_I've been playing with this thing in my spare time and I swear it makes even less sense then the Phase Shift. Of the six tactical abilities in this gear this has been the hardest one to get to grips with. What looks like a simple kunai knife is in fact one part of a larger and far more advanced information gathering and display system. The knife itself is flash forged from simple materials, aluminum, with a steel edge for the blade and carbon fiber for the handle. Inside the handle is the simple pulse generator and the self-destruct system. On contact, the blade buries itself into whatever it hits and triggers the pulse, the module on my suit is what turns that pulse into the highlighting of important information._

_After a set time, the blade self-destructs to keep it out of enemy hands before another is created Due to the limits of the system this takes some time and cannot begin until the deployed blade is destroyed. _

_That also means that anyone that get hits with it just received a death sentence. _

* * *

**Closing notes: Hopefully y'all enjoyed this chapter, from here things are going to go at this fairly breakneck pace. I personally hate when things drag and so this is not going to until the end of the story arc. **

**Next chapter along with updates coming Thursday (ish). If any of you reading have questions you would like to see answered in the forthcoming 'Cooper's Logbook' entries, then **_**let me know **_**so I know what to prioritize. **

**In the next installment, you miss every shot you don't take, but sometimes scoring only takes One Shot. **

**Until then, stay frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	6. Chapter 6: One Shot

Power Without Question – Chapter 6: One Shot

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc. I don't have a whole lot to add other than that I like this chapter, there's no shootout so it's a _little bit _different. Also, as of this point in time all previous chapters have been updated to match the new format and added entries from 'Cooper's Logbook' to every chapter to serve as flat exposition and add a bit more of the protagonists dry sense of humor.

I've also decided to list out entries here by the chapter they've been added to so you can go back straight the ones you want.

Chapter 1 - Pilots

Chapter 2 - Jump Kit & Smart Pistol MK6

Chapter 3 - Tactical Ability: Phase Shift & Melee Weapons

Chapter 4 - Marauder Corps and Tactics

Chapter 5 - Armor & Tactical Ability: Pulse Blade

The chapter title is a song by Lansdowne that, if you asked me about it in person, I will deny having ever heard of, listened to, or liked. But this isn't real life, so I can admit that it is kinda catchy and has a groovy riff. And you can probably guess who I'm referencing with this one.

(4/15/20: Made a few tweaks and improvements.)

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 6: One Shot**

_One shot and she's feeling better_

_Two shots and she's on a role_

_Three shots and she's begging me to go_

_Give me a Hell Yeah she's my kind of woman_

* * *

After nightfall, Cooper was in his armory, sitting on a stool wearing his newly repaired armor with a bevy of replacement parts and twirling his data knife. "So you can't make heads or tails of that data?" he asked finally.

"Correct Pilot Cooper" responded the Vanguard Titan. "My databanks have algorithms that I have modified to locate likely enemy positions based off of reported contacts to find previous targets" explained the Titan. "However, effective analysis and interpretation of this data requires extensive modification of my existing capability."

Matthew sighed, "All of this over some shipping manifests?" he asked dubiously. The blue eye 'nodded' in response. That was the majority of the data that he had pulled from the distribution center. Items coming in and out, most of it old, and neither the Pilot nor Titan were able to make anything out of it. "So what would it take to get something from that?"

The Titan blinked a few times as the machine contemplated. "There exists several options Pilot" he responded. "I have calculated the best course of action is to seek out help from an expert in the city."

"That could work" mused Cooper as he thought over the suggestion. "We're looking for an info broker, analyst, or an investigator…" he said as the lightbulb went on and he stopped tossing the knife as he looked straight at BT. "Maybe an investigative reporter?" he said, a knowing smile on his face as he sheathed the blade.

"That is an acceptable choice, did you have a specific one in mind?" asked the Machine.

The Renegade Gunslinger only smiled.

* * *

Mary Jane Watson sat cross-legged on her sofa, buried deep in her work while a light snow fell outside, the small TV giving some idle background noise. She growled in frustration as she looked down at her laptop, her sources continued to stonewall her.

There had to be something going on with the Fisk Distribution Center that burned to the ground last night. She had gone there in the day to find the entire property covered in NYPD and fire department investigators and no amount of prodding or pleading got her anywhere. She had called her sources after that and the last of them had just come back with what had become a familiar canned response about how it was still under investigation and an official statement was forthcoming. The Marauder had not been sighted in several days, and she had already gone to Jameson to ask for a different assignment, but the tirade she had gotten in response had been vehement and absolute. Something told her that this had been the vigilante's doing, he must have connected the Kingpin as Fisk and made a move.

The Redhead picked up the remote and began flipping idly through channels when she heard a tapping on her apartment window. Smiling at the pleasant surprise, expecting an unannounced visit from her Boyfriend as she stood up and went to the window. Opening it, she expected to be greeted by the red spandex clad superhero, but instead was met with nothing. "Peter?" she called out tentatively only to hear someone clear their throat off to the side.

She gasped when she realized she was staring face to visor with the Marauder, the vigilante had what looked like the reverse, 'pick,' side of an axe buried in the brick and was hanging on the implement casually. "Good Evening Miss Watson" he said politely, knocking Mary Jane from her stupor. "May I come inside? I have a proposition you might be interested in."

The reporter nodded dumbly, stepping aside as the Marauder removed the axe from the wall and launched himself towards the window, grabbing hold of the windowsill and pulling himself up and into her apartment. Now fully lit and standing in front of her she could see exactly who it was she had been tasked to expose. The green fatigues, grey armor, strange pack on his lower back, orange and white SMG slung over his shoulder, and the now famous MCOR logo over his heart were just as imposing as she had heard.

He sure did look the part of 'menace' if MJ was being honest, every part of his gear looked to be utilitarian and fulfill a purpose, more rough and ready than most of Spider-man's suits. "You…you're him" she finally stammered as the ruggedly equipped man turned to look at her for a moment before merely shrugging in response. "The Marauder" she clarified, only slightly annoyed that he seemed to have a sense of humor too.

"I must admit, I'm growing fond of the moniker" he replied thoughtfully before shaking his head and squaring up to the journalist. "But yes, you know me as 'The Marauder', and as I said, I have a proposal to make."

"Alright then" answered Watson, the shock now wearing off as she motioned for him to take a seat while returning to the couch. He sat in the recliner opposite the coffee table, taking the weapon from his back and leaning against said table. "What kind of proposal exactly?" she asked cautiously.

"I assume you are aware of the fire that occurred last night?" he questioned; MJ nodded as he leaned forwards in the chair. "That fire was the result of a few errant rounds during a firefight in a secret area under the facility. I may have hit the ammo depot" he admitted, though Watson could almost see the cheeky grin underneath the helmet.

The Bulge reporter tilted her head in a questioning manner, "and you came by just to tell me this?" she asked.

The Marauder chuckled lightly, "hardly, I'm here because I need your help" he said as he reached into a pouch and tossed something to the redhead. "I pulled everything from their system before the building did its best Dante's Inferno impression" he explained as Watson eyed the flash drive she had caught wearily.

She turned back to the vigilante who sat motionless as he awaited her response. Mary Jane wasn't going to willingly pass up a golden opportunity, but there was no such thing as free when it came to this sort of thing. "While I appreciate you coming here to give me this" she said, "I'm not that naïve, what's in it for you?"

"That's easy" he replied with a chuckle, "truth be told, I just point and shoot. I don't have a clue what any of that data means. Which is why I need your help. Do your investigative journalist voodoo bullshit and call me when you have something that tells me where to go and who to shoot" he said as he wrote down a number on a pad of paper on the table. "In return, everything on that drive is yours to use for your story."

Watson tried to scrutinize the man, but no emotion made it past his armor and helmet. "Alright then, let's take a look" she agreed as she plugged in the drive and pulled up the contents. "Looks like shipping manifests…a lot of shipping manifests" she said as she skimmed over a few. "What exactly are you expecting to find?"

"I know for a fact Kingpin is bringing in weapons, lots of weapons" he began. "And because of the way that facility went up I know they were using it at some point in the chain. I'm hoping from there you can find some of the other links" he explained. Watson raised an eyebrow as if to say 'is that all?' which drew a chuckle from the vigilante. "If this goes well then, I'll bring you any new info I find, is that fair?" he asked.

Truth be told, Mary Jane thought it was, but she took a calculated risk and pushed for more. "You think there really is something big going on?" she asked. He simply nodded as the reporter couldn't totally suppress a predatory grin. "Then at the end of it all I want an interview and your full story, deal?" she asked as she reached out while the grin turned into an innocent smile, going so far as to bat her eyelashes for added effect.

The Marauder gave a full laugh as he shook the offered hand firmly, "you drive a hard bargain Watson" he chided dryly before standing and heading back to the window. "Let's keep this between us, can I count on you to keep the arrangement a secret?" he asked. MJ nodded vigorously, the Marauder responded with a thumbs up before giving the journalist a quick half salute and casually jumping out the window, the pack on his back throwing out licks of blue flame before he fell out of view.

* * *

A pair of brown eyes slowly and groggily opened as the pair of attached ears registered a slow steady beeping and Captain Watanabe's brain finally put two and two together while pushing the last vestiges of grogginess from her mind. She began going back through what she remembered before losing consciousness, confronting the Marauder in the smoke-filled room before he vanished and left them to run for their lives as the cops realized they were standing on top of an inferno. The floor giving way and she fell to what she believed would be her death.

Despite her best efforts, the only other thing she could remember was looking up into the glowing blue visor and not being terrified. As for why she couldn't remember, a look in the mirror showed that her forehead had several stitches in it, and only now did she realize she was hooked up to a respiratory machine with a tube up her nose. She was knocked from her observations by the sound of the door opening and an older man walked into the room, judging from what he was wearing, clipboard in hand, and stethoscope around his neck, she had a guess as to who he was. "Good Morning Captain" said the man as he looked at the IV that was hooked up to her, "I'm Doctor Richardson, I've been taking care of you for the last day and a half" he said as he made a note.

He then looked at the monitors as he adjusted his glasses, "I know you have questions, but tell me, what's the last thing you remember?" he asked.

"Falling into the basement of the Fisk Distribution Center" she answered as the doctor 'hmmed' and made another note as he pushed his glasses back up. "How did I get here Doc?" she asked.

The older man frowned, "I'm not sure, I haven't heard much, but there is something I need to check on. You've got something in your system, something I've never seen before. But it's the reason smoke inhalation didn't kill you. Any idea what this could be?"

Watanabe shook her head, that came as news to her. Richardson gave a consolatory smile, "It's alright, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that everything looks good, I should be able to release you in a few hours, you'll be cleared to return to work tomorrow" he said. "In the meantime, you'll be kept under observation, would you like some TV?"

Watanabe nodded as the doctor turned on the small screen on the opposite wall. "News please" she asked as the Doctor nodded and turned over to a local channel before placing the remote within reach and leaving without another word.

"…_other news, Mayor Osborn announced that a special NYPD task force is being created to counter the threat posed by the vigilante known as 'The Marauder.' Who is the primary suspect in the fire that occurred at a Fisk Industries Distribution Center as well as several dozen other murders across the city. _

_The move has garnered support and criticism. Some even suggesting that Spider-Man should be asked for assistance…"_

Yuri sighed, the NYPD Captain would be coming out of the frying pan and going into the fire.

* * *

Cooper jabbed the throttle, the subsequent growl and rumble of the V-10 up front momentarily dispelled his unease as the red Viper cruised through the streets of Manhattan. The Pilot was admittedly nervous, tonight was not usual.

"Hey Matt, its Peter Parker. MJ and I are going out with a few of her coworkers from the Bugle tonight. Just wanted to extend an invite, see if you'd like to come, we're meeting at that place we met, Club Solar, at 9. Please come if you can, otherwise I'll be the only guy there and it could get awkward."

Parker and Cooper had been and touch and the two shared a few beers since they met. The two had swapped stories about being nerds in high school or what it was like growing up. Peter would go on about whatever mad scientist tech he was working on while Cooper would pretend to understand. That didn't stop the Pilot from keeping his gear in his car and a sidearm with him at all times.

But he wasn't here to use it, he was here because of that voicemail and some encouragement from BT and stern reminder his wounds weren't fully healed, despite the stupid amount of future tech Militia drugs he'd been taking. Parking the car, he gave it one last rev before he reluctantly turned it off and opened door.

"Damn Matt" said a familiar female voice as he looked in the door mirror to see Parker and Watson along with two other women, "nice ride."

Cooper smirked, "Thanks, she's a beaut" he said as he closed the door and gave the double bubble roof of his 'V8 EATR' an affectionate pat. "Come on, let's get inside" he said. "With how my week's been going I need a drink" he said, drawing a laugh from the group as they went inside. On the way, Cooper saw the day's headline on a discarded newspaper_. Marauder Strikes Again! Menace responsible for three alarm fire in Manhattan._

Once inside, the five managed to snag a booth and ordered their drinks over the pounding music. Cooper able to get a good look at the two new Bugle employees. One was a dark skinned African American woman, Glory Grant. The other was a more modestly dressed brunette, short haired, named Betty Brant, as if Matthew needed a reminder that he was technically in a comic book world.

"And this is Matt Cooper, he's new to the city" introduced MJ as Cooper was shaken from his thoughts and waved casually. "Genuine Texan, as he's keen to remind us" she added with a smirk.

Matthew shrugged, he had tried to say a lot without saying anything at all, something he quickly learned he wasn't very good at. Unfortunately for him, it seemed that Betty wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily. "What's your story? Texan in New York. Not something you hear every day."

At least he had given this some thought, deciding to go with the belief that the best lies were close to the truth. "Parents died six months back, after all was said and done, I decided I needed a change of pace. Came up here to be closer to relatives upstate" he lied, intentionally exaggerating his drawl. "I got a place off the island, don't get out too much" he admitted. That was mostly true, 'Matthew Cooper' didn't get out much at all.

"So what exactly do you do?" asked Glory as she sipped her drink, "Must be something pretty serious to drive a car like that."

He laughed, though the action was seen more than heard. "Nah, most of it is old family money. I don't really do much of anything" he answered with a shrug. "Most of the time I just tinker with my Viper or whatever other project strikes my fancy."

Peter seemed to be eyeing him oddly, but before he could say anything, Cooper decided to take some initiative and turned to the three women, "So y'all work for a newspaper? Well, what kinda news is happening?" he asked.

The question had the desired effect, the two women quickly went on an extended rundown of everything he could want to know about the happening of the city. He took it all in as they cut each other off and had to yell over the music, but it was mostly good information.

Eventually that led into the three going on about their work and some office gossip, with both of the men giving each other knowing looks as the twiddled their thumbs and hoped to all that was holy that they would be ignored for the time being.

But Cooper's luck was bound to run out. "So what's your take on this Marauder character?" asked the Queens Native casually as he sipped his own drink, a soft drink, Cooper noted.

"Always somebody who thinks he can do a better job than everyone else" he answered with an indifferent shrug. "Difference is this guy is actually trying to back it up."

Parker looked shocked at the indifferent answer, which Cooper didn't feel so surprised about. "He killed people" responded Spider Man as if that fact should have been enough.

Matthew was doing his best to contain his emotions, though it was difficult to not slam his head into the table at the comment. "And?" he shot back. "Do I like it? Not really. But I haven't been here long and even I can tell this place is a bit of a shithole. Looks like somebody finally reached the end of their rope" he said as he shrugged again.

"But aren't you worried about him just roaming the streets?" said Parker, the ire in his voice rising. "What if he decides to come after you?" he asked poignantly.

"I'll let you in on a little secret" replied Cooper as he leaned forwards and partially unzipped his jacket so Peter could see the concealed shoulder holster and the handgun inside, even if he couldn't tell it was a P2016 from the future. "If anyone comes then I won't go down without a fight."

The look on Peter's face went flat and neutral in an instant before steadily relaxing. "And if it's not enough?"

"Then I guess I'll see my parents a bit sooner" replied Cooper flatly._ Or get shit into a different reality, maybe Mass Effect? Pretty lease _he groused internally

"Sorry" mumbled Peter as he sat back, the argument dead.

The two went back to watching the conversation going on between the three women before it too finally came to its conclusion. "How about we hit the dance floor?" suggested Glory as the other two Women nodded immediately. "You two coming?"

Matthew shook his head, "Nah, this aint my usual two step" he drawled, though he did notice a faint look of disappointment on Betty's face.

Peter then surprised him. "I'll join you in a minute, okay MJ?" said the lab tech.

"Don't keep me waiting too long Tiger" advised the redhead with a mischievous smile before the three left the two men alone and soon disappeared onto the crowded dance floor.

Cooper simply waited for whatever Parker had in mind as he sipped his drink while Peter swirled his, evidently deep in thought. "Matt, I'm sorry about what I said" he began, but before Cooper could shrug it off and deflect, the Wallcrawler held up a hand. "I lost my parents when I was little, then my uncle was killed eight years ago. I know what it's like" he said honestly, Matt just nodding sullenly in agreement. The mood became more solemn as Parker was reminded of what the two had in common. "What can you tell me about your family? Were you close?"

"Not close enough" responded Matt sadly. "Been hard to think about them now, all the things I wish we could have done or should have said."

Peter knew what that was like, he had gone through the same phase when Uncle Ben had died and still had those kinds of thoughts from time to time. "You know you aren't alone, right?" he asked. After a few moments of silence between the two, Parker continued. "You don't have to be" he said as he pulled out his phone and texted Matt a phone number and address. "There's a homeless shelter, FEAST, where I volunteer sometimes. My aunt does too, I just texted you her number. She could always use more help, if you want" offered Peter hopefully.

"I'll think about it" replied the Texan after a moment of thought, the noncommittal answer not instilling a great deal of confidence in Parker. "Might be like home, I volunteered with a veteran's group, spent a lot of time talking with those folks. Hope they're doing all right."

"There are a bunch of veterans at FEAST" offered Parker suddenly. "They fall on hard times like everyone else."

Cooper nodded and 'hmmed' in acknowledgement. "I'll think about it" he repeated, though his tone sounded far less unsure than it did the first time he gave that answer.

"But there is something about this city, it may not be home, but it could be if you give it a chance. It might even surprise you" he suggested. Cooper listened to the words, not that he had much of a choice in the matter, but it didn't hurt. Parker's eyes seemed to lock onto something over Cooper's shoulder, "ah hell" he muttered, getting Matt's attention.

"Is that all you have to say?" asked a familiar purr like voice as Cooper looked at the uninvited guest. One look at the length of platinum hair and barely concealed curves nearly made the Militia Pilot shit bricks. Though thankfully she seemed to be focused on Parker, even if Cooper didn't have any electric smoke grenades for her to use against him this time. "Here I was thinking you'd be excited to see me" said the woman as she placed her hands on her hips.

Even if he tensed at her presence, he could not deny that, even without her provocative catsuit, the Black Cat was a strikingly gorgeous woman, and she had come dressed to kill. Her unzipped jacket revealed a partially unbuttoned blouse that barely concealed her impressive cleavage. Unlike the pony tail it was in the last time he had seen her, her exotically colored hair was down and free flowing in waves halfway down her back, contrasting with the black jacket that stopped above her waist. The similarly black mini skirt she wore clung tautly to her feminine curves, highlighted her ass, and stopped well north of the knees, leaving her toned legs on display, clearly sculpted by her activities as the Black Cat. Those were only further enhanced by the heels she wore, and part of Matt's mind wanted to know what it felt like to have those legs wrapped around him.

"It's not that I'm not Felicia" stammered Parker as his eyes immediately went past her and towards the dance floor. "It's just that I'm here with MJ" he finished.

Despite his dirty thoughts and the potential threat this woman was, Cooper wasn't going to let little things like that stop him from teasing Pete. "Friend of yours here?" interjected Cooper wryly, smiling faintly as he took another sip of his drink.

Parker squirmed in a way that the Pilot found quite amusing as 'Felicia's' smile became a pout, though it remained directed at Peter. "Yeah, we uh, dated for a bit. Broke up a month ago" explained Peter. Matt took a glance back at Felicia, eyes quickly going down before coming to a not so subtle stop on her hips and ass before going back to Peter. Matt's expression was the one universally recognized as 'dude, seriously?'. Parker's only response was to shrug haplessly.

"Well you could at least introduce me to your friend" said the woman as she turned her gaze towards Cooper. The way she stared down at him as her striking green eyes scrutinized him, clearly appraising him, didn't deter him. She was as alluring as she was dangerous, and, Matt decided, he was already a vigilante Pilot fighting a crime syndicate, a little danger wasn't something that scared him, or that he was opposed to. "He seems to be much more interested than you" she said.

It was a true statement, even if it wasn't for typical reasons. "Felicia, this is Matthew Cooper. Matt, that's Felicia Hardy" introduced Peter as he saw the two lock eyes. He couldn't recall seeing Cooper as tense as he was now, coiled like a spring as he stared up at Hardy.

Felicia seemed to be her normal self, staring down at the Texan in a predatory fashion that Peter was all too familiar with. The easygoing Cooper had seemingly flipped a switch, if Parker didn't know him any better, he would have been afraid the man would put a bullet between her eyes.

Instead of taking the hint, Felicia sat down in the booth next to Cooper and snuggled up against him. Matthew tensed even tighter for a second before relaxing as the platinum haired vixen pressed her curvaceous body into him. "Why so tense? Surely you aren't afraid of little ol' me?" she asked, only to get nothing from the Pilot. "Silence huh? Well come find me by the bar if you want to talk" she purred suggestively before reaching across his body and grabbing his beer, finishing it off before placing the bottle back down and effortlessly slipping out of the booth.

Matthew sighed as he picked up the bottle. "She's a handful" supplied Peter as Matt watched

Felicia leave before resigning himself to his fate and began to stand. "Taking her up on her offer?" asked Parker.

Matt turned back and offered a sardonic smile. "I need another drink" he answered matter of factly as he held up the empty bottle.

Cooper made his way to the bar and ordered another beer, while he waited for his new drink, he felt a soft body be pressed into his as an arm was draped over his shoulder. "You know, I wasn't sure you would come."

Matt allowed himself a faint laugh. "Who says I'm not just here for the drinks?" he asked as his arrived and the woman ordered one with a hand gesture. Instead of looking hurt, Hardy gave him a knowing smile.

Despite every bit of good sense trying to move away from the woman, his feet remained planted as she sipped her newly arrived cocktail. "So Matthew, what brings a man like you to a place like this?" she asked

The Texan shrugged casually, "just a chance to get out, see the sights, kick back and relax" he drawled easily as he took a sip of his beer, letting the drink calm his nerves ever so slightly while he still forced himself to remain on alert. "I moved here not too long ago from San Antonio Texas" he continued, "still taking in 'the City that Never Sleeps' and I gotta find out what I like."

She leaned over the bar to return her glass, giving him quite a view down her shirt and then smirked knowingly as she noticed his eyes wander. "Well I know what I like" she returned as she leaned on the bar and went back to looking him up and down as he took another drink on his drink, "I like something one of a kind. It should look good, but something I've never done before" she explained flirtatiously.

"And you're here because you fell head over heels for my rugged good looks?" he asked dryly, slightly encouraged by the small giggle the joke drew from her.

"That's not it, I could get any good-looking guy I wanted" she replied confidently, and he couldn't disagree, "especially the ones with an ego."

Matthew chuckled, starting to get an idea of what Peter meant by 'handful' before replying, "that's not ego" he asserted, "it's a fact and you know it. Go ahead and tell me I'm wrong" he challenged confidently, small grin on his face.

Instead of looking put off, she merely matched his grin and placed her hand around his arm before he took the cue to flex before she leaned over and whispered into his ear "not all ego." Fighting down the small blush on his face, he turned back to her as she continued. "But I want _more_, the special types who I can't find anywhere else" continued the platinum blonde vixen coolly, "but I'm always surprised where I do find them." She met his gaze, emerald eyes steady, "but I can't always tell what makes them special. Do you know what makes you special around here?"

That question raised a few warning flags for the Pilot, but he kept a straight face as he smirked cockily, "I am a cowboy" he answered, not being so drunk or desperate to tell her the full truth, "on a steel horse I ride, wanted dead or alive" he finished, giving her the partial truth.

Felicia shook her head in feigned exasperation, but the smile on her full lips was even more telling. "Well, now you really do have my interest" she revealed, "now allow me to earn yours." With that, she turned and went to towards the dance floor, hips swaying invitingly.

He had to come to a split second decision, following her made no sense, she was dangerous, a risk to him, never mind the fact that he was feeling a bit too cocky right now, either from the alcohol, her flirtations, or both. On top of that he was still recovering from his injuries and didn't want to aggravate them. All of those were very good reasons to not follow the enigmatic femme fatale, but she had also offered him several very good reasons why he should. "Aw what the hell" he muttered as he tossed a few bills on the bar to pay for the drinks, "no guts, no glory."

He made after her, weaving through the crowds, keeping his attention fixed on her, not only for the obvious reasons, but also to notice if she made any suspicious moves, but if she did, they were masked by the pulsing lights and heavy music. When he finally broke through the crowds to join her at the edge of the dance floor, she threw him a seductive lip bite over her shoulder as she began to flow with the music. By comparison, the Pilot lacked the same grace, his movements weighed down as he eased into things, carefully seeing if his injuries nagged, but also due to the lack of jump kit, only moving in two dimensions really put a cramp in his style. That, however, was less of an issue than the way the music grated on him rather than flow through him.

But compared to his usual, far deadlier, dance, this one was restrained, tempered, it felt wrong to not go all out despite wanting to as he turned his attention back to the woman in front of him. She had no such issues, what was once subtle movement of her hips, less than her strut, had now encompassed her whole body as it moved with a feline grace befitting her alter ego as she almost danced circles around him in a familiar way.

That was the realization that ignited the competitive spark, he would not let this woman so completely have her way with him a second time. Gritting his teeth, adrenaline cleared his mind as he seemingly flipped a switch, he was no longer dancing, but dueling. The two circled each other like knife fighters looking for an opening in their own little corner of the dance floor as Felicia sent him a approving look, much preferring this to his previous attempts at impersonating a block of wood. As if she too recognized their dance, she gamely came at him, not to strike, but to draw a reaction. Matt gracefully sidestepped her and let her pass, but not without slipping in behind her, she reacted not by spinning or stepping away, but stepping back into him and bringing his hands to her hips. In this closer proximity, their duel became a duet, the two moving in sync, first at her pace as she ground into him with everything she had, which was quite a lot. She seemed to fit into him perfectly as her ass remain pressed to him while she leaned back into him, clearly giving this everything she had.

Not one to be outdone, the Marauder matched her move for move, not backing down from the Black Cat and instead wresting control. Her hips now moved as his hands directed, popping in time with the beat as his foot tapped in time as well, all the while he kept the pair moving as his honed sense of spatial awareness kept them from having anyone else interrupt them. All the while, the pair gathered looks from those around them, Cooper getting the distinct impression that most of the other guy there would happily kill him to be in his position.

They were welcome to try.

As the song came to an end, he felt his hands get guided from Felicia's hips by her manicured hands and onto and up her trim and taut stomach, stopping just short of her breasts as she gave him a heart stopping finish. Instead of the refined flowing movements and rapid pops, her hips shook faster than the music, up and down, side to side, a delightful mix of the two. The intoxicating move made his jeans more constricting as it only increased in intensity and he could feel every curve of her buttocks as they pressed and flowed against him until their motion, like the music, came to an abrupt end.

Breathing heavily, both grinned at each other before trying to drag each other off the dance floor, the energy they had built up not leaving as Cooper fought to keep his hands in decent positions, though she was clearly undergoing an equal struggle to do the same. Her fingers seemed to send pinpricks of electricity through his skin through his shirt and jeans as they made their way out of the club and towards his Viper.

Fumbling for the key, he managed to get the car open as they both got settled down inside and he fired the car up. As the car rumbled to life, he gained his wits, "you want this?" he asked before turning to her only to get a searing hot kiss in reply that he resisted for only a split second before he returned it only for her to pull away.

"I _always _get what I want" she purred seductively, "but you don't know what I want Matthew. I don't want you; I want the Marauder."

Cooper froze as he stared blankly at Hardy, her expression didn't waver at all, that same knowing smile that affected him more than he cared to admit. "What are you saying?" he asked lowly, sobering up in an instant as he pushed the haze in his mind aside and glared at the woman sitting in the passenger seat.

"You aren't going to try and deny it, are you?" she asked, almost disappointed. "It's not nice to insult a girl like that. Especially after what just happened, whatever 'normal guy' you were trying be fell apart as soon as you had something to prove" she continued confidently, "I think you know who I am, so trust me when I say I recognize a CQC dodge when I see it." He offered no answer, silently cursing his competitiveness before she continued, "and if that wasn't enough, I doubled back to follow you the other night and caught sight of this car" she said as she traced her finger along the leather lined center console, "not exactly subtle. Tracking you from there was child's play."

At that, Matthew couldn't help but chuckle, undone by his Viper, he almost couldn't believe it, though he was now mentally kicking himself for not noticing he had been followed. "Well, no use denying it. If you're looking for the Marauder then you found him. What can I do for you…Black Cat?" he added.

"The offer you made, is it still good?" she asked as she smiled, still adding on the sex appeal.

"I try to be a straight shooter, even if I do shoot from the hip" he answered with a slight drawl. "What exactly did you have in mind?"

Felicia smiled wickedly as she traced her finger down the arm towards the hand that rested on the gear stick. "Something exciting, tonight, just you and me handsome" she said suggestively. "Do you have everything you need?"

Her words had the desired effect, Cooper felt a knowing grin creep onto his features as he put the car in gear "I do in the trunk" he answered with a smirk as Felecia sat back before the Viper glided out of the parking lot.

* * *

"If this is what you do for fun, something tells me we'll get along fine" said Cooper as he slid to a halt alongside the Black Cat. The burglar was perched on a rooftop, overlooking some high-end apartments. The pair had driven to one of Cat's hideouts and changed into their gear before parkouring their way to the target. "So something must have changed since last time we met, what is it?"

Hardy smirked as she looked down at the rooftops below, and Matt saw what had caught her eye. "I've been planning this little job for two weeks now, one of Kingpin's top lieutenants lives in that penthouse. I can get past the automated security and have the access code to the safe" she explained as her smile was now a full on predatory grin.

"Still doesn't explain why I'm here" replied the Pilot dryly as he pulled out his CAR. "Sounds more like a one-woman job if you ask me."

Felicia pursed her lips, "It would have been, but Kingpin's getting antsy, something about some vigilante gunning for his operations" she said as she turned to Cooper, who merely shrugged in reply. "So, he's got more guards at all of his operations and residences of his top people. The code I have is only good for the next five hours, so I need to do this tonight. And because you're the reason the guards are here, I'm going to have you get rid of them for me."

The Marauder laughed as he chambered a round in the SMG and prepared to get to work when a clawed hand pressed firmly against his chest. "No guns big guy" said Cat with a wiggle of her finger, "can't have you damaging the merchandise."

With only a small grumble, Matt placed the reliable weapon on his back. "The hard way it is then" he said as he cracked his knuckles. "Ready when you are."

_"Pilot, you have just recovered from injuries sustained during the Distribution Center Operation"_ alerted BT. _"I Advise Caution."_

The pilot smiled behind his helmet. "I know buddy, but I'll be fine" assured Cooper as he saw the curious look on Hardy's face. He tapped the side of his helmet, "a buddy of mine is on comm's, telling me to take it easy."

The Cat got a mischievous look on her face, "Is there some competition for your affection?" she asked, unaware of the bemused expression inside the helmet as she ran her hand down his arm. "I do enjoy a challenge" she continued.

BT was still listening via Cooper's helmet feeds and responded within the SRS helm._ "Similarities with ally, Felicia Hardy, alias: Black Cat; minimal. Outcomes of competition; Vary"_ deadpanned the Titan over the radio.

Matthew couldn't suppress a bark of laughter before waving off the thief's look. "Don't worry about it, maybe you'll meet him down the line and then it'll make sense" allayed the Marauder.

"Him?" said Hardy, Cooper could almost see the raised eyebrow behind the small black mask. "Didn't think you'd swing that way." She almost sounded disappointed, which amused Matt a bit.

"I don't" he assured with a sigh and shake of the head. "It's…complicated" he said trying to plan what the hell to say. The relationship he had with the 40-ton killing machine stashed at his safehouse was atypical and then some. "We're good friends. Suffice it to say he's why I'm still breathing."

The silver haired thief's smile returned, "friends huh? Hopefully I'm not making him too jealous."

Right on cue, BT came back on the line. _"Emotions such as jealousy fall outside of existing protocols and do not aid in their completion."_

"Enough of this, are we going to have some fun or not?" he asked, hoping to get back on track. When Hardy nodded, he let out a sigh of relief. "What's the plan?"

"You're going straight through the front door and cause a ruckus. I'll handle anyone who is still guarding the vault" she answered as she extended the retractable claws on her gloves. "Once that's done, we go through the place and help ourselves."

In response, Cooper let a burst of arc energy crackle across his knuckles. "Ladies First" he said with a grin in his tone as the Cat stood and sprinted off, leaving the Pilot to take in the view before she climbed up to another rooftop so she could go around and avoid the sentries posted on the roofs. "Fuck that" said the Pilot as he stepped back from the edge and took a running start.

He leapt from the building, jump kit firing as he came down on the rooftop in a slide. The nearest suited guard turned in surprise as the kit fired again and Cooper threw himself into the air, planting an uppercut on his chin, throwing him back.

"Hey! You there!" yelled another as he came running up towards the Marauder, only for the Militia Pilot to double jump up and come back down with a kick to the man's nose, sending him stumbling back.

Ignoring the pain in his leg as he lunged forwards, he delivered two quick blows to the man's stomach before his HUD blinked, someone was coming up behind him. He reached out and grabbed the reeling man and turned around, putting the enforcer between him and his attacker, forcing him to hesitate before Cooper threw his human shield aside and threw a three-punch combo, staggering him as he wound up a haymaker.

His arc knuckles sparked to life just as his fist slammed into the man's jaw, the shock causing him to convulse as he fell to the ground. "At least they don't have guns either" mused the Marauder as he saw his former meatshield crawling towards the staircase. He decided to get moving and jogging towards the edge of the roof, delivering a swift kick to his head, knocking him out before he jumped off the roof and twisted midair.

His grapple hook flew out and buried itself in one of the windows and his momentum completely reversed. "Yippy Ki Yay!" he howled as he slammed into the window, shattering it and entering the penthouse.

* * *

"Goodnight" whispered Hardy as she silently subdued the last of the suited thugs inside a small security office. This had been too easy, there had only been the two to monitor the feeds, the others that were in there had run up to the roof to take on her backup.

It was nice to have a partner and not be forced to give up some of the simple things, like loot. "Time for the main event" she said as she removed the guard from his chair and deposited him unceremoniously on the floor and took his place. With deft keystrokes, Hardy swapped around the feeds until she found the one she was looking for.

The Marauder had clearly been busy, if the knocked-out goons that lay strewn about were any indication. He was currently dealing with the last two guards, kicking one in the knee and bringing his elbow down on the back of the man's head before turning to the last.

The guard charged him and dove at the vigilante, only for the armored man to disappear right before he was about to get hit. Hardy sat bolt upright as she watched the screen intently. The attacker belly-flopped onto the floor looking at his hands as if they had failed him.

The Marauder then appeared above him seemingly out of thin air before he slammed a fist down into the man's back, causing him to convulse before he fell still. Standing, he quickly pulled something from his gear and hurled it at the door, the device burying itself in the door and emanating a visible wave.

The Marauder then settled into a combat stance, fists raised like a boxer as the doors flew open and the last six guards charged in and surrounded the lone vigilante in a semi circle. He turned towards each of them at random, head swiveling. _"All at once or one at a time, makes no difference to me"_ he called out gamely.

\None of them moved for several seconds before it was finally Cooper who charged forward towards the centermost thug. The Kingpin enforcer threw a punch that went straight through the Marauder's helmet, much to everyone's surprise. _"The HELL?"_ barked the man.

Their shock was cut short by the cry of one of their number, who took two quick blows to the back before he was turned around, the knockout punch came swiftly as the other five rushed him at once. "Box him in!" ordered one of the thugs. Cooper had no intention of allowing that, however. He ran towards the wall and then along it, out of their reach before he leapt off and slid into the man at the back of the pack, taking his legs out from under him.

He turned as the next enforcer came at the vigilante. A green clad arm blocked the first punch, but the second landed on grey armor before the Marauder could react. Matthew grabbed the man by the shoulders and threw him back as the next was on him only to be surprised when he jumped up and spun, delivering a crushing kick to his jaw that sent him down in a heap. Two others came at him in concert, driving him to the ground and pining him under their combined weight before they suddenly lost their balance as the Marauder disappeared again. "I need to get one of those" breathed Hardy as she saw him reappear on the feed as he materialized in front of them. The first to try to stand took a punch to the nose for his efforts.

The second did stand but was quickly grabbed by the neck as Cooper rammed his knee into the suited man's stomach three times before slamming his helmet down on the crown of his head and tossing him aside. The three remaining guards had gathered tightly, Felicia could already tell by their posture that they were defeated. "You want some more?" asked the vigilante before charging towards them.

None attacked, all tensed and waited for what they thought would be the real attack, only for the Marauder to slide and kick the largest thug's legs out from under them before he stood, shoulder checking one away before turning to the other. The other rushed him, only for Cooper to sidestep and trip him up, activating his STIM and pummeling him with several successive blows before one last one drove him into the floor so hard the hardwoods cracked.

Felicia stood and left the security office, a smile on her face, she was pleased with what she had seen.

* * *

Cooper looked at his handiwork, "Not bad for a night's work" he said as he knocked out the last of the stragglers. His fighting style wasn't the most elegant, but it was effective, especially considering he didn't have any formal hand to hand training. The door swung open again and he turned to face the anticipated guards, but instead a black clad and silver haired cat burglar strode through. "Thanks for the help" he remarked dryly, though there wasn't any edge to his voice.

She only smiled back at him, "didn't look like you needed it" she said with a shrug. "Now to what I've been looking forward to all night." With a devilish smirk she turned and walked out of the room, a sensual sway in her hips as Matt shook his head and obediently followed. Cooper couldn't help but look around at the needlessly expensive and absurd looking 'art' on the walls. His gawking didn't go unnoticed. "See something you like?" she asked.

"On the walls? No" he deadpanned, drawing a slight sigh of exasperation from Hardy. "Call me an uncultured swine, but something that looks like someone spat paint onto canvas that vaguely looks like an umbrella, if I stand on my head, squint, and were drunk, isn't attractive."

"Then it's a good thing you're handsome behind that helmet" she shot back as they arrived at the vault. Cooper decided that chances were his usefulness in this endeavor had come to an end as the Black Cat set to work on the various layers of security. The way she strutted about the space and bent over suggestively at each point didn't go unnoticed by the Pilot.

He just hoped that he hadn't gotten into bed with the wrong person.

With a rather satisfying click, the door to the vault unlocked and Felicia stepped back. "Impressive" commented her companion as she threw another smirk his way. "My way would have involved high explosives" he said as she gave him a sideways look. "A lot of high explosives" he amended with an unapologetic shrug.

The pair stepped into the vault and were greeted by a selection of items. Both of the thieves set about what looked most desirable to them. Hardy watched as the Marauder went over to an imposing looking set of servers that were only accessible via a laptop connected directly to them. He pulled a knife from his gear and used it to pry up the keyboard, just as she was about to question what he was doing, he spun the blade around and pulled a trigger on the grip before jamming it into the exposed inner workings of the laptop. "Data link up?" he asked, the filtered voice missing its joking undertones their banter had previously.

He tilted his head, as if pondering the response from his 'friend' before a holographic display sprung to life from the base of the grip. Felicia approached, heels clicking as he turned to look at her. "Got what I came for" he reported as he pulled the knife out and slammed the keyboard back into place. "You do know how to show a guy a good time."

The thief smiled casually, "You have no idea handsome" she purred happily. "Is it everything you expected?" she asked as she set to work prioritizing what she would take with her.

"I'll know that once I've gone through all the data" he answered, the filtered voice almost sounding distracted. Hardy looked away from a modern art sculpture towards her companion.

The Marauder was standing in front of an Electric Guitar before shaking his head. "You play?" she asked suddenly, causing him to look towards her.

The X-shaped visor turned back. "Never got around to it…certain unfortunate events got in the way" he admitted sadly. "And now, well, my priorities have changed I think." Hardy nodded in understanding as Cooper turned away. "I gotta get while the getting's good. I'll grab my car and head home. It's been a pleasure Black Cat" said the Marauder as he gave a half salute and left the vault.

Felicia went over to where Matthew had been and eyed the guitar, a smile forming on her features. "Pleasure's been all mine."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Arc Knuckles_

_Ever wonder what brass knuckles would look like in the future? Cause these are your answer. Integrated into the top of my fireproof gloves, they not only provide protection when I punch something, but pack a mean trick of their own. 'Arc' is the colloquial name for a certain voltage and frequency of electricity that is common on the Frontier not only for its extremely high energy storage and efficient transfer, but also because it isn't lethal to humans. This has made it used in a lot of less than lethal systems because it still hurts like a sonofabitch, almost like a Taser turned up to 11 without needing skin contact, just the be within range of the discharge. _

_The knuckles have a discharge range of a few millimeters but considering their intended use this is far from an issue. Shorting electronics, overcharging batteries, and stunning enemy combatants are all within its capabilities. Even if they were designed to be used against overwhelming amounts of Specters and Stalkers that were effectively mobbing and killing Pilots on the Frontier, there is no shortage of applications for them here. _

_Log – STIM Tactical _

_The phrase 'like a Pilot on crack' isn't a thing, instead they say, 'a Pilot with a STIM.' Short for 'Stimulant' this tactical is a chemical cocktail designed to deliver a swift kick in the ass to boost every aspect of a Pilot's physical capability. Injected straight into the blood stream, it grants an instant boost in speed, reaction times, strength, and even regenerative properties. But the dose in each activation is lethal if it remains in the body for more than a few seconds, hence why every activation is followed up by a cleansing compound to neutralize the STIM before the user's heart explodes. _

_Back on the _MCS James McAllen_, another grunt put a few drops in his coffee, he was awake for four days of hard fighting on Typhon and it probably kept him alive…until his heart finally quit on the extraction ship and he dropped dead on the spot. _

_I'll be sticking to decaf. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: That about does it, this is up there for longest chapter to date. Though on the flipside, there is a lot that happens. MJ is going to start playing the same kind of role she does in the game, and Felicia puts her own plans into action. Also be sure to let me know what you think of the 'Cooper's Logbook' entries and be sure to go back to previous chapters to catch up on all of them if you so choose. Chances are those will be sticking around, I think they're fun to write and I like the technical depth they add, though the subject matter will expand as I run out of topics. Expect the next update to be Saturday.**

**Next time, the Marauder takes the fight upstairs and there's Rising Power.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	7. Chapter 7: Rising Power

Author's Note: All properties belong to their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

The title song for this chapter is the opening track off of one of my personal favorite AC/DC albums, called _Flick of the Switch_. The entire album has this great rough and ready feel to it, very aggressive and in your face from start to finish. If you like good hard bluesy rock music, especially the sound of live albums, you owe it to yourself to give the _Flick of the Switch _album a listen all the way through.

ravens18: Thank you for the kind words and I'm glad you're enjoying it. Yes, I know this is a bizarre concept. Honestly, I still have no clue how to really 'sell' it so any ideas about that would be great. No spoilers, but if those are the kinds of things you're looking forward to then stick around. I think you'll like what's coming up in the next few chapters.

As always, feel free to leave me some feedback, otherwise get ready to rock.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 7: Rising Power**

_Need no excuse _

_To let it all hang loose_

_My body's blown a fuse_

_Rising power_

_We'll raise the night_

_Rising power_

* * *

"Ugh" groaned Mary Jane Watson as one of her eyes cracked open for a moment, only to reflexively slam shut. "Who turned on the sun?" she asked as she jammed her face into the pillow and extended her arm to reach out for her boyfriend. "Peter, get the blinds…Peter?"

He wasn't there.

She thought back to last night. He had gotten her back to her apartment and she convinced him to stay. That's when her memory went fuzzy, she probably had a bit too much to drink. With a significant amount of effort, the Bugle reporter pushed herself out of bed and plodded over to the window and closed the blinds herself. "Definitely too much to drink" she mumbled as she made her way to the kitchen.

MJ opened the fridge and found a thermos with a note stuck to it and pulled it out.

_Had to swing out, sorry about that MJ. Fixed this up for you, an old recipe of Aunt May's, a remedy for bad mornings, which I suspect you're having. Hopefully it helps, I'll see you after work._

_-Peter_

Watson couldn't suppress a smile as she drank the odd fruit flavored tea. Their relationship was definitely unconventional, but she remembered why she put up with Parker's unique traits. "Stuff works" she admitted as she went to check her phone, the haze starting to clear from her mind.

She had a voicemail from a number she hadn't recognized until she played the message. _"Ms. Watson, I apologize for the call at this hour. I've sent additional information your way. If I get anything else, then I'll do the same as soon as I get it. See if you can make anything of it and get back to me if you have any leads, or, failing that, tell me what pieces we're still missing."_

"_Good Luck, and Godspeed."_

"Alright Watson" she said aloud as she opened her laptop, "Let's see what we've got."

An hour later, and MJ was checking some of the last files that had been transferred before she would have to leave to work when her jaw dropped open. "Holy crap."

* * *

"Holy crap" muttered a shocked Cooper as he looked down at the large box that he found quite literally on his doorstop. Taking a careful look around before he picked up the parcel, Cooper was weary for obvious reasons, but took the package inside anyway.

He went into his bedroom and set the carboard box down on his bed before taking his data knife to it. "You have got to be shitting me" he muttered as she saw the first of the contents. It was a framed painting that Cooper couldn't help but smile at. It depicted an intentionally adorable cat rubbing affectionately against a familiar striped helmet with an x shaped visor. "So, she doesn't just steal paintings, she makes them too. Good to know" said Cooper with a wry chuckle as he set the piece aside.

That wasn't the most interesting thing that the Militia Pilot received. Removing a layer of bubble wrap he couldn't believe what was being protected by it. Reaching down, he gingerly picked up and held the electric guitar. He still hadn't wrapped his head around the different names his new home had for the same things from his old one, he didn't care.

This was an Aged Cherry Gibson SG, the lightning bolts on the neck signifying it was a special edition that was made in tribute to the lead guitarist from his favorite band from home. Matthew had been shocked to see it in that vault, and now, it was in his hideout.

"BT!" he yelled out, "find out some way to get us some perimeter defenses!" Even still, he couldn't help but grin dumbly down at the guitar cradled in his arms like a baby, or one of his rifles. Just because they had gotten away with their hideout being undefended didn't mean Cooper wanted to rely on dumb luck any more than he already was. Though he was happy with this surprising turn of events, there were still other problems he needed to worry about.

"Now only if we could get some good leads."

* * *

"If only we had some good leads!" growled Yuriko as she slammed her fist into her desk. The task force the Mayor had put together was just a reorganization of SWAT teams into a cohesive unit to be able to take down the Marauder. What it did not feature was any personnel or resources that would actually track down their target. That responsibility fell to Watanabe, Johnson, and Martinez.

The oldest of the three removed the toothpick he had been chewing on. "Osborn's just waving his task force around to show he's taking action. We need another lead, but Fisk's lawyers are keeping us out of Lau's apartment" reported Martinez. The two women nodding at the assessment.

It was Johnson's turn to pitch in. "Cap, this guy has to be based out of somewhere. All of the ammunition he goes through, it's all custom. So either he has a stockpile or the ability to manufacture it" she said. "We need to use this against him. Find out where he's based and drop the hammer, send in every gun we have to nail this guy."

Yuri's face remained impassive, any hints that she had been having similar thoughts remained invisible. Earlier that morning she had met with Mayor Osborn, and he had made his position clear.

"_Captain Watanabe, whoever this man may be or what he wants is none of my concern. I will not have a killer roaming the streets."_

"_Mr. Mayor, we don't have the resources to track him down. Even if we did, all our evidence is circumstantial at best. Prosecution could be a nightmare if we don't build up our case."_

"_I believe you don't understand Captain; I'm not intending for the Marauder to make it to court."_

To hear that from Osborn had shaken Yuri, no matter what, that man deserved the same rights as any other New Yorker, and to be led to believe that the Mayor was using SWAT as his own personal hit squad was less than reassuring. "But we don't know where that is Johnson" answered the oriental woman. "And if we can't find him then we have to bring him to us" said Yuri. "We need to find what he wants."

"Which puts us right back at Fisk" replied Johnson with a sigh. "With the Distribution Center a total write off, we need a way to find out what he was after at Lau's. But without a warrant…" she said as she threw her hands up in frustration. "We're fucked."

The three sat in silence before Yuri realized what was needed. "I need some a smoke" she said finally before standing. "I'll be back in ten, hold down the fort" she ordered as she went towards the stairs that led to the roof of the precinct.

* * *

Parker was swinging through the city, his work was done for the day and he was patrolling. For the most part, it had been quiet, he had stopped only a handful of crimes in the past few weeks, and that number had only shrunk with the arrival of the Marauder. The Vigilante wasn't someone the wallcrawler was expecting to encounter. His MO had been to attack specific targets in the night, he had never been spotted during daylight hours. Still, when Yuri had called and told him to meet her at the precinct to discuss the Marauder, he made for Chinatown without hesitation.

Peter landed on the roof behind the oriental Police Captain and walked up behind Yuri. "Spider Cop, overworked and underpaid, checked to see what the Captain had wanted" he narrated in an exaggerated gravelly voice.

He heard Yuri sigh and mutter something that sounded like 'for fucks sake' before she turned around. "Thanks for coming Spider Man" she began, sounding genuinely appreciative, one of the reasons he enjoyed working with her, "I want you to investigate a break in that occurred last night. I'll send you the address. It could be the Marauder."

"You don't know?" he asked, dropping the Spider Cop voice at seeing how seriously Yuri was taking this. Something was bothering the veteran officer, and it was disconcerting to the super-hero as well.

Yuri shook her head, "Not for sure, it was at the penthouse of Hannah Lau, a known associate of Fisk. It certainly fits in with how he's been targeting the Kingpin's operations. Lau wasn't hurt and none of the security personnel were killed, which is enough for lawyers to hold up a warrant to investigate the purpose of the break in." Watanabe chewed on her lip, one of her tells, she was definitely nervous. "Fisk is hiding something. The Mayor's priority is taking down the Marauder, but if we can nail Fisk as well…" she said, trailing off.

"I'll get right on it" he assured. If the Kingpin was planning something then it would have to be stopped, Fisk rarely thought small. "With his new assignment, Spider Cop set off, dispensing his own brand of justice" he rasped before leaping over the railing and began to swing through the city, almost able to feel the sigh originating from the precinct rooftop.

He soon reached the penthouse, "Best do this quietly" he told himself as he looked at the shattered window that was likely the Marauder's entry point. Instead of the obvious, the webhead spotted a ventilation shaft and quickly pulled himself to it. Slinking inside, he crawled through the vents and paused at a grate.

Down below, the head of security was on the phone with somebody. "No sir, concussions and broken bones aplenty, but no dead. Four of my men are still in comas, but the ones who are awake swear up and down it was him."

"Not like him to leave everyone alive" said Parker, assuming the 'him' was indeed the Marauder. "But if they didn't try to kill him then maybe…" he thought aloud, "he has done this before."

"No police yet sir, we're busy seeing exactly what was taken. Most of the sensitive materials have already been relocated." _Taken?_ Thought Parker, this was a burglary? "I already sent teams to guard other locations. So far? A few art pieces are missing, a guitar, and an antique china set."

Parker's brow furrowed inside his mask, that was really out of the ordinary for the gun toting renegade. "In fact, that sounds more like Felecia" he murmured. But he had seen her the night this had all happened, she was at Club Solar and talked with him and Matt. "She never showed up after that though, and Matt didn't return from the bar either…"

It couldn't be, the soft-spoken southerner couldn't be the Marauder, could he? "Stop assuming Parker, take a look for yourself."

Before he did however, the guard below said one last thing. "The server? It was empty sir, nothing on it." There was a pause on the line. "Shit! That means he probably has all the data. I'll go through the logs myself and see what I can find…right away sir." With that, the man ended the call and pocketed the phone as he walked off, unaware he was being shadowed by Spider-Man in the vents above. After a few minutes, the man was outside a massive vault and dismissed the two guards at the booth before inputting the code to access what was inside.

As soon as the massive steel door began to open, Spider-Man silently opened the grate and hit the man with a pair of webs, pulling him up into the vent and webbing him to the ceiling of the confined space, making sure to cover his mouth to ensure he couldn't call for help. With that done, he dropped down and had a look around.

Judging from the still decent condition of the vault door, it looked intact enough that he doubted it had been forced open last night. Which meant whoever got in did so quietly. Moving to the security booth, he checked to see if he could find security footage of who was responsible. "Wiped, not surprising" he muttered as he took a quick look through the system. "Well, hello there" he said as he saw something unexpected.

It was one of his programs, or rather a modification of one, that he had given to Black Cat during their brief partnership. This all but confirmed that the thief had been here as well, were they working together? "What were you doing Felicia?" he whispered as he went inside the vault.

There were a small handful of items missing, but the vigilante ignored them and went to the small server bank. He tried the laptop, but found that it wasn't registering any of his inputs. "Why is the keyboard shaking like it's not attached to it?" he wondered before he pried slightly and the whole piece of plastic popped off. "Oh" he said lamely as he went to plan b.

Pulling out a custom USB drive, he inserted it and hoped the built in programs would be able to get into the system and get whatever may be left. "Yo boss! You almost done in there?" shouted one of the guards from outside. "Miss Lau is about to arrive!"

Peter immediately grabbed the flash drive and ran back outside the vault and pulled himself back up into the vents, placing the grate back into place. "Boss? Boss where'd you go?" asked the guard as he crawled back the way he came.

Back on the roof, he quickly began swinging away until he was safely out of the area and came to a stop atop a gargoyle statue. Pulling out the drive he looked at it, "what have you got for me little guy?"

* * *

"_What have you got for me Ms. Watson?"_ said the electronically filtered voice on the other side of the phone, the Bugle investigator only slightly less unnerved by its cold tone than she had been.

Setting that thought aside, she took a breath and began. "Project Cinderblock, that's what Fisk is calling this, and it's big. He's invested millions so far, and not just in weapons, about two thirds of it has gone into construction equipment and supplies." She scrolled down her notes page, unsure what to make of the silence on the other end of the line. "Most of the stuff here is inventory for the construction equipment and what they're going to make. Looks like it's all commercial, office spaces and apartments. Only right now, none of Fisk's companies have property in the city to build these projects on."

The silence dragged on for a few moments before the Marauder responded. _"What's the connection? Illegal weapons imports and questionable business strategies don't usually mix"_ deadpanned the vigilante, the irritation combined with humor was an odd mix.

Shaking her head, MJ gave the only answer she had. "I'm not sure, we're still missing pieces, but I did a little digging and found something interesting" she explained as she picked up a note pad and read through what her fellow journalists had given her. "Lau is currently contracted as a consultant at an architecture firm in New York owned by Fisk, I'm sending you that location."

What she didn't inform him of was that there was more, specifically, the second firm that employed Lau in a similar capacity. Either one could have held the info needed, it made more sense if they hit both at once, and if all went well, then the Marauder would be none the wiser. "One last thing. Ever since he's been trying to legitimize himself, Fisk is never around when a major crime operation takes place" explained MJ. This was a pattern she had been noticing ever since she and Peter had begun dating, for obvious reasons.

"_And?"_

"And he leaves for a nine-month long trip to Europe in three days."

* * *

Cooper had less than 72 hours to figure out the puzzle that they now knew was called 'Cinderblock.' He hoped that he could find more pieces of the puzzle at Lau's office, with the clock working against him he couldn't leave any options on the table. He was shacked up on a water tower, Hemlock BF-R and EVA-8 at the ready as he looked at the 80-story skyscraper.

He still felt that he was fumbling around in the dark without making any real progress. Not just on Cinderblock, but in making a new life. He was effectively living in hiding, his work as the Marauder was effectively a full-time job, and, ironically, he felt most vulnerable when he wasn't getting shot at.

"_The target location is on the 62nd floor, southwest corner"_ reminded BT, causing Matthew to push all other thoughts aside. _"I am not detecting any signs of activity within the target. Advise you move quickly Pilot."_

Cooper pushed himself off the edge of his perch and tapped a mag against his helmet before sliding it into the magwell of the BF-R and chambering the first round. "Go time" he growled lowly as he fired his grapple and pulled himself towards the next building.

Using his STIM, grapple, and Jump kit, the Militia Pilot parkoured his way towards his target, slowly ascending as he went. By the time he reached his destination, he was still ten floors below and on the North face of the building, but the Marauder had a plan.

His boots impacted the side of the glass covered building, his jump kit making a constant whine as it pressed him up and into the wall as he sprinted as fast as he could towards the northwest corner before he leapt off and fired his grapple. Like a pendulum, Cooper slingshot himself around the edge of the building nearly 60 stories up before he detached and began running along the west side. While his right hand was pressed against the glass, keeping him steady, his left drew his tomahawk as he neared the southwest corner.

Repeating his daredevil move, he jumped and moved the axe to his right hand before firing the grapple upwards, reversing his fall and throwing him up as well as around the corner. The Pilot brought the pick side of the axe around and slammed it into the window as hard as he could and hanging on for dear life.

Only now, 63 floors up and hanging off the side of the skyscraper, did Cooper catch his breath as he fumbled around his belt for a breach charge. Slinging the knock knock onto the window beneath him he pulled out the clacker and took a deep breath. "One really big fucking hole coming right up" he said to himself before detonating the explosive.

Cooper jumped down and into the new entrance, shotgun at the ready. Realizing he couldn't see shit, he clicked on his helmet light and realized he had crashed into the break room. He moved through the standard office space, shotgun swinging to each door as he checked the rooms behind. Vast spaces of cubicles, server backrooms, and file cabinets, none of which had anything he was looking for.

He finally reached a cluster of larger executive offices deep in the office suite. On the third one he entered; he saw a plaque on the desk. 'Hannah Lau' it read as the Pilot set his shotgun on the desk and moved to the other side, kicking the rolling chair away as he booted up the desktop.

He bent over and jammed his data knife in the computer when he heard something outside the office. Slowly reaching for his shotgun, Cooper kept an ear out for any more signs he wasn't alone.

He didn't have to wait long.

The entire front of the office erupted in a cacophony of gunfire as the Pilot instinctively hit the floor and pressed himself into the thick mahogany desk as the SMGs tore into the bookshelves and wall behind the Marauder.

As quickly as it began, it was over, their mags ran dry as Cooper readied the Hemlock. "My turn" he snarled as he slammed an A-Wall down and stood before tossing a pulse blade. The thugs illuminated by the tactical on the far side of the sheetrock stood no chance as the amped 7.62mm AP rounds sliced through their cover like a hot knife through butter. Cooper rapidly emptied the eight bursts on tap, placing two on each hostile he saw before he stowed the rifle and heaved an arc grenade.

Vaulting over the desk, he picked up the EVA as the stunning sphere detonated and shocked the remaining ambushers before he slid to cover the ground and leapt upwards. Matt threw all of his weight and momentum into the door of the office, the impact knocking it clean off its hinges as he raised the shotgun and held down the trigger, hosing the survivors just as they recovered from the grenade.

Only he forgot to check his corners, the only thug that was to the left of the door got the drop on him, coming up from behind and wrapping an arm around his neck and tried to choke the Pilot. The Marauder panicked, still holding the trigger down on the shotgun after the mag had run dry and struggling against the vice grip he was in.

His vision fading, he tried to throw an elbow into his attackers' stomach, but in his oxygen depraved state he couldn't muster the strength to make the strike effective. In a last ditch move, he pulled out the Smart Pistol and jerked his head to the right and stuck the gun over his left shoulder until he felt the muzzle pressed against something and squeezed the trigger.

Cooper fell to the ground, released, and struggled to fill his lungs with air as he rubbed his sore neck and stood, his legs still a bit shaky as he retrieved the empty shotgun. "BT" he rasped, "anything in the data?" he asked while he made his way back into the office.

"_There are no references to a 'Project Cinderblock' anywhere in the transmitted files Pilot"_ responded the Titan. _"I suggest we search for alternative sources of information."_

"Agreed, call Watson, maybe she has something else for us" he ordered as he pulled out the knife and put it back in its spot on his left shoulder.

The Titan came back sooner than the Marauder expected, though not with the words he wanted to hear. _"__Pilot Cooper, Mary Jane Watson is not accepting your call for unknown reasons" _reported the Vanguard class Titan.

Cooper grimaced, it was late, but not that late. There was an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Can you track the signal?" Maybe it was nothing, but he always trusted his gut, it had gotten him this far.

"_Trace complete, current location; the offices of Alenko Architecture. 3477 meters from your current location"_ replied BT in his mechanical monotone.

"Fuck" cursed Cooper eloquently as he scooped up his weapons and made for the door. "Gimme a waypoint BT, I'm not done just yet."

* * *

Cooper arrived at the offices, but they were situated in a refurbished warehouse as opposed to a Highrise, and this dictated a different greeting for him. Instead of guards waiting in ambush at elevators and stairs and then having to react when he came in a window, gunmen were patrolling the perimeter, and there were likely more inside.

The pilot watched from the shadows and shook his head, if Watson was here then she could get caught in the crossfire. "BT, try Watson again" he ordered, hoping she would finally pick up.

"_No response Pilot"_ confirmed the Titan, leaving Matt with no choice.

He shouldered the Hemlock and flicked off the safety. "Alright, I'm going loud, keep trying her cell BT, and give me a waypoint if you pinpoint her location." Stepping out of the alley he was waiting in he made straight for the main entrance, noticing the two guards straighten as they saw movement. "Surrender now and you will not be harmed!" he yelled out, getting an immediate reaction, though not the one he was hoping for.

"Oh shit! Its him!" yelled out one of the guards as he raised his SMG and opened fire. Cooper slid to the left and began squeezing bursts off, dropping one quickly as the other fell back inside. Matt reloaded, but didn't follow, instead using his grapple to pull himself up to the roof and made his way towards the large skylight.

Peering down from above, he could already see a dozen more guards inside preparing for him to come charging through the door, barricading themselves behind desks and filing cabinets. The Pilot placed a breach charge on the skylight and double jumped up and detonated it as he came down, falling through the hole with the shotgun out.

His feet came down on the shoulders of one gunman to break his landing while the guards turned and opened fire. Cooper dispatched two with a pair of buckshot rounds before he got moving. Jumping up and back, he tossed out an electric smoke grenade before charging forwards.

Using the wall to flank up and out of the line of fire, he was soon in amongst his opposition, his one advantage being that they would hesitate to fire lest they hit an ally, the Marauder had no such issues.

Leaping into the dissipating smoke, the EVA barked four more times, tearing limbs and shredding torsos as four more gunmen were dispatched. When the fifth thug stood, Matt raised the shotgun, only to get a click instead of a shot. Instead of reloading the weapon, he closed the gap and grabbed the shotgun by the barrel. Like a big-league slugger, Cooper swung the weapon as if it were a baseball bat, the blow causing the gunman to double over. The pilot immediately followed up by drawing his axe and bringing it down, burying it in the back of his head before letting the man crumple to the floor.

More gunfire poured towards the Pilot, Cooper ducking and running as the offices were shot full of holes before he made it to the edge of the room. The Pilot's jump kit fired as he began running along the wall, MK6 drawn and already locking on to the remaining gunmen. "Shoot that guy!" one yelled as Cooper jumped off the wall, the Smart Pistol firing and putting a round to the head of each.

Landing and coming to a halt, Matt reloaded as he scanned the area. "Hey asshole" yelled someone, causing the Marauder's head to snap to the source of the noise, a trio of men looking down on him from a second-floor catwalk hefting M32 multi shot grenade launchers. "End of the line for you Marauder."

* * *

In the dark office across from the newly appeared enforcers, Mary Jane watched in shock and horror as they fired down on the Marauder, eighteen 40mm grenades covered the whole area in explosions and fragments. As the smoke cleared, the results were devastating, the workspaces that had once filled the floor were completely destroyed, the area they occupied rendered unlivable by the sustained assault.

She thought this would a simple excursion. Show up, have a look around, find this Lau character's office and see what was on the computer. That plan had gone out the window when a dozen armed men had shown up and forced the reporter to hide in Lau's office. "Alright boys" said the leader as Watson started to panic. "I'll let the boss know, drinks are on me tonight" he declared as the trio whooped and hollered in celebration.

Only for the enthusiasm to come to a screeching halt by a filtered voice that echoed around the office. "Were it so easy" it said as Watson looked at the center of the devastation to see the Marauder standing there, flicking a bit of debris off his shoulder pad.

The three enforcers just stared blankly as the Marauder pulled something from his belt and hurled it towards them, the object buried itself in the wall behind him before it began to glow a bright blue.

Only then did things get really weird, all three goons were picked up off of their feet and sucked towards the now pitch-black orb that had formed, arms and legs flailing as they fought against some unseen force.

Their struggling came to an abrupt end when the Marauder fired his pistol three times in quick succession. A moment later the orb exploded, sending the three lifeless bodies flying in different directions as the Marauder spun the pistol around like an old west gunslinger before holstering it. "Area's secure, come on out whenever you're ready" he called. MJ chose not to respond, maybe he was there by chance and was simply looking for anyone left in the building. "You know Watson" he called out tiredly as he picked up the weapon he had dropped earlier, "I find waiting more stressful than being shot at. So, unless you want me to have a heart attack before we have that interview, come say hi" he said, fatigue affecting his usual dry sarcasm.

The redheaded reporter sighed and opened the door before she stepped onto the catwalk opposite where the three gunmen had been. "I'm up here" she replied. The vigilante turned and fired a grappling hook and pulled himself up to her level. "But what are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was hoping you could answer that" he responded dryly as he walked past and into the office and flicked on the light switch. "You are the reason I nearly had a heart attack and had to haul ass halfway across the city to get here."

Watson sighed; she had a feeling where this conversation was going. She and Peter had it too many times for her not to. "I was here checking another lead. I figured you had your hands full, so I decided to pick up the slack" she explained.

She then braced for the inevitable condescending reply, only to be shocked when she got a chuckle in return from the helmeted Marauder. "You got guts Watson" he complimented. "Was this excursion worth the risk?" he asked casually.

The redhead stood still as she processed the lack of any sort of 'this was too dangerous, leave it to me' response before she answered. "I already went through the computer, copied everything off of it." She then watched as he made his way to the desk and examined the computer. After a moment, he pulled out a knife and flipped it around. "What are you…" began MJ as the blade was jammed into the top of the machine and an orange circle popped up from the base of the grip.

"This is how I extract data" he explained as the circle began to turn blue. "Best if it looks like I was only one here, don't ya think?" he asked, to which MJ nodded as the circle turned completely blue. "Now that that's done, it's time to get the hell out of dodge."

Before either of them could move, a blob of white landed on the Marauder's hand, sticking it and his knife to the desktop as both of their head snapped towards the door. "You're not going anywhere pal" said a voice Mary Jane instantly recognized, though the usual joking tone was gone.

Spider-Man was here.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Exoskeleton_

_I wish I had this thing on Typhon. Compared to the flashier additions of the Vanguard Pilot's gear I've been using the Exoskeleton doesn't do much. It makes me a little stronger, but I was never going to trade punches with anyone, not when I can move as fast as I can. What it does allow me to do is go the distance, I don't get sore or tired. Sure, there's mental fatigue from combat, but it has made going out again and again feasible. Not only that, it means that no matter how long a fight drags on, my body is taking less of the load, I've got more endurance than any normal human, which his good considering how outnumbered I usually am. _

_The exoskeleton itself isn't much too impressive from the outside, since it integrates seamlessly into other parts of the armor. The solid strips of metal on the arms link into the shoulder pads, elbow pads, and gloves. On the legs it goes from a belt to kneepads to boots. All parts of it connect to the metal cage structure in the metal chest rig with the Dragon Scale armor on top. The other upside is the extra strength helps offset the higher weight of all the kit for me, not so much for anybody I throw myself into. _

_Log – Assault Rifle: M1A3 Hemlock BF-R_

_I love this gun, but the fact that they just tacked on BF-R, meaning 'Burst Fire-Rifle' rubs me the wrong way. Just adding that in case us dumb grunts forget how to read the fire selector. Not only that, but it can fire in semi auto and full auto too! Though the fast burst and recoil dampener mean that there isn't much reason to use the single shot setting. It fires the same 7.62x35mm round as the Spitfire LMG, better known as the .300 Blackout. It's an old round compared to the 8.19mm used in the R-201, but the round is more compact for only minor tradeoffs in stopping power but has better velocity and energy retention over range. _

_The rifle itself is built like a brick shithouse, and while many grunts swore by the simplicity of the V-47 Flatline, this thing is rugged as all hell. And unlike that bullpup monstrosity, the Hemlock kicks upwards as a rifle ought, not sideways. How the militia can simultaneously produce the most user friendly and advanced Titan and the most idiotically designed infantry rifle still baffles and amazes me. _

_Jesus that was a rant, all that really means is that if worst comes to worst, I can always use the Hemlock as a club and beat someone into a bloody pulp with it._

* * *

**Closing notes: I hope I've done enough to earn that cliffhanger ending and I don't get too much flak for it. But if you think I do deserve some flak then let me have it. The follow up chapter should come out Monday and will set us up for the home stretch of the Cinderblock arc. Also, feel free to leave suggestions for Cooper's Logbook entries if there is something you want cleared up. Unlike most of the story itself those haven't been written so requests will be prioritized.**

**Also, small blink and you miss it reference to the Arbiter in Halo 3. **

**If you read the Logbook entries in this chapter, the .300 Blackout is a real bullet, you can find it for sale today. 8.19mm is not real however, but it is the canon round for several weapons from the Titanfall universe such as the R-201 Carbine that appeared in Chapter 5. If you care, the lore for Titanfall only specifies that the Hemlock and its sibling, the Spitfire, fire a 7.62mm round, but not exactly which kind of 7.62mm. So I picked 7.62x35 because its an intermediate round befitting an Assault Rifle and LMG, and I didn't go with 7.62x39 because I'm not a communist. **

**Next chapter, don't close your eyes, don't run and hide, I'm not Foolin'. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	8. Chapter 8: Foolin'

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

It's time for the follow up to that cliffhanger where Spider-Man must face the full might of the Marauder. And the title is odd, because we went from one of the 'rawest' rock songs to perhaps the most famous 'glam metal' band, Def Leppard. Truthfully, this is far from my favorite song by this group, but it does fit.

Enough blabbing, let's get to why y'all are here.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 8: Foolin' **

_Is anybody out there, anybody there_

_Does anybody wonder, anybody care_

_Oh, I just gotta to know_

_If you're really there and you really care_

_'Cause baby I'm not_

_Foolin'_

* * *

Peter had been out patrolling when he heard reports of a gun battle on the police channels nearby. When he arrived, to say he had been shocked to see the Marauder walk into an office alongside his girlfriend would have been an understatement. "…time to get the hell out of dodge" he heard a filtered voice say as the wallcrawler walked into the doorway and fired off a burst of webbing. Ignoring the shocked look on MJs face and focusing solely on the blue x shaped visor glaring at him.

"Not so fast pal" he said, unable to come up with a better quip as he took his first good look at the Marauder as the Gunfighter stood over the desk with a knife in hand. The first thing that stood out was that his 'costume' didn't look like one. Every bit of it looked combat tested and functional. He looked to be carrying enough ammo to deal with a small army, though the eye-patch wearing skull emblem over his heart with 'SRS MARAUDER CORPS' written underneath betrayed his allegiance. The Pistol front and center on his chest, axe on his left leg, and two long guns poking over his back meant this guy was packing enough firepower to give the Punisher a run for his money.

Most intriguing was a glow of blue along his arms and legs as he ripped the knife out of the computer, ignoring the webbing in the process. "Took you long enough Spider" said the Marauder, voice still filtered but cold as ice, "but didn't you know that were on the same side? Both masked menaces. Read that in the Bugle" he remarked wryly.

The corner of Peter's eye registered that MJ was simultaneously gaping and glaring at him, but right now he was focused on Manhattan's Most Wanted. "What are you? Forty? Who even reads newspapers anymore?" quipped the wallcrawler, now taking even more care to ignore the redhead. With is free hand, the Marauder ripped the remaining webbing off and sheathed his knife.

The armored vigilante merely shrugged in response. "That all you got? I was expecting better" he admitted. "Regardless, I'm walking out of here, the only question is if we do this the easy way" he said as he raised his fists, which crackled with lightning. "Or the hard way." Before Peter could respond, the Marauder came at him as Parker got ready. Only for the Marauder to throw himself at the wall and run along it as the strange pack on his lower back spit out licks of blue flame before he tossed something at Spider Man. Parker's spider sense blared as the grenade came at him and he dove away as it impacted the ground.

Even with his advanced warning, he wasn't fast enough to beat the contact fuse on the ordinance. The shock caused all his muscles to seize up as he struggled to move. Peter strained to move his neck around and see the vigilante, but couldn't find him anywhere. His sixth sense buzzed again and he then heard a crack behind him and was able to turn just in time to catch a trio of punches before he was kicked back. He fired a webline at the Marauder and pulled himself back, planting both feet against the man's armor and could hear the wind get knocked out of him. He raised his webshooters and loosed off a burst of webs as the Marauder dove away behind the desk and Mary Jane screamed something. Jumping up onto the desk he looked down to see the Marauder's still form, holding a rifle as he fired more webs only for them to pass through and splat on the floor uselessly. Before he could process that, his Spider sense blared with such intensity it almost hurt, his head snapping up just in time to see the Marauder appear out of thin air and slam his boot into the side of his face, sending him flying into a wall as he fell to the ground in a heap.

Before he could recover, his spider sense throbbed just as he felt something bury itself in his leg before he was whipped around and thrown into the opposite wall. Despite still seeing stars, his ears heard a loud 'pop – hiss' as he opened his eyes to see smoke all around him. The next thing he felt was a barrage of pain from head to toe as bolts of lightning arced around him. He could feel the bolts singe his skin through his suit as his muscles did what they wanted, not what he commanded them to do through the excruciating pain.

But the smoke soon faded, and the pain subsided, leaving only a dull ache. "Ow" he groaned as he rested his head back against the wall. A second later, when he recovered, he saw the Marauder was gone. He shook his head as MJ helped him to his feet. "Are…are you alright MJ?" he asked.

"I was fine" she huffed, "Until you showed up and caused the subject of a future interview to flee. I've been working on this story for weeks and was just now making headway!" she shouted suddenly. "Maybe if I'm lucky he won't connect us" she said.

Before Peter could respond, MJ's cellphone buzzed and she pulled it out, her frown turning to a scowl as she tossed the cell to him and he read the message. "You're not that lucky Ms. Watson" he read aloud, his mask concealing the frown on his face. "MJ, what is going on here!?" he demanded as he began to follow the redhead.

The journalist rounded on him. "I can't tell you that" she responded. "Just trust me."

"With a killer!" he shouted back in shock. "How many people has he killed MJ! He can't be trusted!"

As soon as he said that, he knew he had fucked up, the glare that the redhead was giving him was not a pleasant one. "I'm not asking you to trust him, I'm asking you to trust me." Before Parker could respond, the sound of Police Sirens could be heard in the distance. "I need to go" she said as she turned and stomped off.

"Well done Parker" he chastised before making good his own escape.

* * *

The next morning, Cooper was going through the contents of the latest package from Griffin. In it were even more guns, but these were 'regular' firearms, similar to ones he had back 'home.' The first one was a Warsport Industries LVOA-C, a souped up AR-15, he had put god knows how many rounds through with his father with various ARs. This was the rifle he had learned to shoot with, the older Cooper putting Matt through numerous drills and exercises, the same ones SWAT used.

The rifle brought back the moments Matt enjoyed most. The mix of father son bonding, smell of cordite, and seeing himself improve to the point he was matching the scores of those on the force were memories he still cherished. It was one of the few times he went all out, focused solely on his objective, it was mind clearing, cathartic even. Even better, the skills had kept him alive on Typhon. And on there focus wasn't just something he wanted to do, it was something that he absolutely had to do if he wanted to survive.

After the LVOA-C was a M1911 target pistol, another of his favorites. The big American classic had been his go to in two-gun shooting. The Springfield armory model was disassembled and laid out neatly on the table in pieces. The newly modified hair trigger fresh off the mill.

Of course, this hadn't distracted him from the fact that he had tangled with Spiderman. "Not like I wasn't on enough people's shitlists" he muttered as he began to put the weapon back together. The Police, Kingpin, and now the Wallcrawler were all probably looking for his head. Part of him felt bad, he had grown to like Peter Parker, the guy had been nothing but decent and kind to him since they had met. He had attacked him like any other His phone began to ring with the ironic choice of the 90's Spiderman cartoon theme and he quirked an eyebrow at the caller ID. "Speak of the devil" muttered the Texan as he accepted the call. "What's up Parker?"

"_Hey Coop" _said Peter, _"Not much, I just got the day off and MJs busy at work, you want to hang out some? How long have you been stuck in that shop of yours anyway?"_ asked the scientist.

"Point" conceded Cooper readily, "I haven't been out much since we met up at the Club, though I would appreciate if we did anything else."

There was a small laugh on the other end of the line. _"I figured as much. Did you have something specific in mind?"_

Cooper looked down at the reassembled target pistol and the cardboard box full of ammunition. 'Tricky bitch' he thought as the corner of his mouth quirked into a smile. "Actually, I do…"

* * *

Peter looked down at his phone again and read the time for the third time in as many minutes. Cooper had said he would come pick him up in half an hour, and that time was rapidly approaching. Of course, he hadn't disclosed exactly they would be doing, but Peter was weary nonetheless.

He was still suspicious of the Texan, ever since it seemed that the Marauder and Black Cat had worked together, on the same night she had disappeared along with Matthew. Don't rush to conclusions Parker he mentally chastised, he could have just left on his own, not like he was having much fun anyway.

His attention then became focused on an approaching car, the bright blue standing out form the sea of yellow taxi's that filled the street. The car then cut across traffic and shot forwards before coming to a halt. "Hey man, sorry I'm late" shouted Matt from the driver's seat of the BMW, the passenger side window rolled down as Peter opened the door.

"It's cool" replied Parker nonchalantly as he slid into the bolstered seat and closed the door. As soon as he fastened the seatbelt he was pressed into the seat as Cooper gunned the engine, deftly working the wheel and paddles as he threw the car into traffic. "So uh, what exactly are we going to do?"

The Texan motioned his head to the back seat, "figured I'd do something I haven't in a long time" he said as Parker craned his head to look back. "Just finished the work on them, figured we could test them out" explained the Texan as the New Yorker realized what he was looking at.

There was a rifle and pistol case, as well as a few other bags, sitting on the back seat of the M3, causing Parker to purse his lips. "I actually found a range where we could do a bit of shooting. You ever shot a proper gun before?" Parker shook his head, sure been on the receiving end enough times he thought. "Figured, well trust me, it's fun" assured the driver as he continued to carve his way through the streets.

"You shoot a lot?" asked Parker, noting the slight hesitation before Cooper nodded in reply. "When was the last time you did this?"

"Six months ago" answered Matthew, "with my dad, haven't been since. Might be a bit rusty, so don't make too much fun of me" he replied with a forced smile. The Texan then had a curious look on his face. "I have a question, if you don't mind" said Cooper. Peter nodded, somewhat curious, "I was wondering about Felecia, what can you tell me about her?"

Peter's mind went back to a few days ago, the two meeting at the club and disappearing only for the Black Cat and Marauder to work together later that night. "Fel is a handful. Her mother is one of the big movers and shakers in the city, throwing her money and influence around and has been trying to groom Felicia to follow in her footsteps" explained Peter, recalling what little of the Black Cat's private life the thief had divulged.

Cooper grunted in acknowledgement as he downshifted, the car shot forwards in response. "I'll admit we didn't get very far, just talked and I got her number" he explained as he focused on getting through the heavy traffic. "But I can imagine she doesn't exactly see herself doing that" he said dryly.

"You have no idea" answered Parker, gritting his teeth as tail of the car gave out during a turn. "She's got an adventurous streak for sure" Peter said, stopping himself short of letting something slip about one of her favorite nighttime activities. Though that did remind him of his suspicions. "What happened after you got her number?" he asked, trying to see if his friend was the killing vigilante.

Matthew shrugged as he slowed for a red light. "She got a message and had to go. Seemed interested though" he said hopefully. "Was going to give her a call after this" he drawled casually, though Peter could see where this was going. "Wanted to know what I'm getting into."

The webhead understood, he still cared about the burglar, even if they weren't seeing each other anymore. "She's…challenging, at least for me" he admitted, still sour about his failure to keep her on the right side of the law. "Maybe you'll have better luck." Parker still had hope that Hardy could straighten her life out and use her skills for good, maybe Cooper would crack the enigma. Not desiring to press the issue, Peter sat back and tried to relax, while Cooper seemed determined to not let him, the M3 being driven in the kind of way that would have gotten attention from Spider Man if he had been on patrol.

The two continued in silence until they arrived at the indoor range. Cooper parked the car and passed a pair of range bags to the lab tech before grabbing the rifle and pistol cases and led him inside. After he paid for some range time, the pair donned their eye and ear protection, Peter not questioning why he was given both ear plugs and over-ear headphones. The two men then went underground to the ventilated range with about a dozen different stations and Cooper led Parker to the spot that the pair had been given and set the weapons down. "So how does this work?" asked Peter as he looked at the large pistol Matt pulled out.

"Figured I'd let you go first" replied the Texan as he inserted a magazine and chambered the first round. "Keep the gun pointed down range, steady hands, firm grip, but if you hold too tight the recoil will hurt you and you could drop the gun. Since I don't want the gun to get damaged, don't do that."

He then gave an ironic grin as he set the weapon down and stepped back. Peter then slowly walked up and picked up the gun, hesitating as he slowly brought it up. It felt…wrong to do it, to use a lethal weapon. You're not killing anyone Peter, just shooting some paper he reminded himself as he brought it up and closed his left eye, taking careful aim at the target 10 yards down range.

Adjusting his grip, he let out a breath, and squeezed the trigger. _*Click.* _Peter turned back towards Cooper with a questioning look. The Texan looked amused, "safety's on" he provided as Parker saw the lever on the side of the weapon and flicked it off. Peter took aim once again and slowly pulled the trigger. The weapon went off sooner than expected, the report echoed around the space as the gun jumped up in his hands and he fought his reflex to drop it successfully.

"You hit paper at least" said Cooper mirthfully, Peter having to fight back a scowl as he saw the neat hole punched at the very edge of the target, only half on the black silhouette of a man. "You flinched in anticipation of the shot. The gun ain't pointed at you man, you got nothing to worry about" assured Cooper in a laid back drawl.

Parker nodded and took aim again, holding the gun tighter as he pulled the trigger and felt it kick back into his hand. He looked and saw the shot was closer to center, but was on the opposite side of the target. No wonder I never get hit, this is hard he thought, unable to fathom hitting a fast-moving target at any sort of range. He fired again, and again, and again, each round getting closer to the center. By the time he fired the last round, it was only three inches from the bullseye. Parker smiled as he put the weapon down, and turned to the Texan who came up and removed the spent magazine and brought the target to the station and took it down. "Not too bad, you definitely got better as you went on" complimented Matt with an approving nod.

Peter felt his ego swell slightly, "think you can do any better?" he challenged as Cooper put a fresh target up and sent it down range.

"Let's find out, might be a bit rusty" replied the Texan with a smirk as he inserted a fresh magazine and dropped the slide. Peter stepped back to give him some space and waited as Matt slowly took aim. After a tense silence the Texan set to work as he tensed his finger on the trigger before all hell broke loose. The seven shots came out so quickly that it sounded more like one continuous bout of rolling thunder than individual rounds. Cooper then made a show of blowing the wisp of smoke away from the muzzle and setting the weapon down. "Nice to see that hair trigger work came out alright" he said with a smile as he brought the target in.

Peter stared in awe at the results. "I don't think you're rusty at all" he said in shock, all seven rounds were within the targets head, kill shots. "Where'd you learn how to shoot again?"

"My old man" replied Cooper as he set up a new target for Peter and put in a fresh magazine, "San Antonio SWAT for 15 years, used to spend every Saturday at the range, do this for hours" he said with a tinge of remorse as he went glassy eyed at the memory for a second before snapping out of it. "Your turn, we got 200 rounds between the two guns to get through. You game?"

Parker was almost looking forward to getting back at it, "yeah" he answered with a smile as he picked up the hefty handgun and took aim once again.

* * *

Cooper sat strumming on the Guitar that had been given to him by the Black Cat while considering his next course of action. It had been good to cut loose with Parker the previous day, even if his proficiency with both rifle and pistol did little to dissuade the Wallcralwer's suspicions.

The Pilot was conflicted, he liked Parker, it was hard not to. He was a rare breed, a genuinely good guy who always meant well. No ulterior motives, no agendas, nothing, he always tried to do what he thought was right. Cooper thought he didn't make as much of a difference as most thought but couldn't fault his intentions.

The previous night had been a quiet recon run, he hadn't even bothered taking a car, figuring he wouldn't need to disappear if he didn't get into any shootouts. The plan had gone off without a hitch, with a Longbow and Alternator, he took a look see and found a common thread.

All of the addresses were home to condemned buildings that served as gang hideouts. All seven of them. The Marauder had watched armed thugs come in and out, a good few trucks transporting weapons and ammunition had shown up too at a few of the locations. The buildings had been marked and noted, but not engaged, none of them fit the mold of a command center or something that would crush Cinderblock before it got underway.

The pilot's fingers danced nimbly across the neck, the recognizable opening lick of Thunderstruck filling the space. "Your proficiency with that instrument has improved considerably pilot" alerted BT, the sudden interruption causing Cooper to completely miss the next set of notes and screw up the tune.

"You were saying?" remarked the Pilot dryly as he set the Gibson aside. The guitar had served as an alternative outlet to vent his frustration and focus on something other than figuring out how Cinderblock would come together. With as little as 24 hours until it began, the SRS pilot's nerves were starting to fray.

Before he could go back to tearing his hair out, BT's eye flickered again before the machine spoke. "You have an incoming call from Ms. Hardy Pilot."

"Patch her in BT" responded Cooper as he got to his feet and heard a click to indicate the call had been accepted. "Felicia, miss me already?"

"_Usually I'm the one playing hard to get Matthew"_ she chided playfully. _"Don't you know it's not nice to leave a girl waiting for a second date?"_ purred Hardy, her voice taking on its most seductive tones.

Matthew shook his head in disbelief. "I don't suppose you had something in mind?" Of all the people to call him, a thief who seemed as concerned with getting him into bed with her as stealing was not his first choice. But considering the thief in question, wasn't his last choice either.

There was another purr on the other end. _"I was wondering if you would care to join me for lunch downtown? Maybe we could arrange for a third date? Perhaps with some of the old playmates?"_

"I like the sound of that" replied Cooper instantly, quickly cutting through the layers. "Time and place?"

An hour and a half later, Cooper was handing the key of his M3 to a valet outside the high rise, the restaurant was situated at the top. Dressed in casual business attire, slacks, sport coat, and fabric trench coat, with a P2016 concealed in a shoulder holster, Cooper still felt horribly out of place. He could feel the eyes watching him as he crossed the marble floor of the lobby and made his way to the elevator bank. As soon as the doors closed and granted him a small bit of privacy did he allow himself to relax. "What's there to worry about? You're just a lucky guy meeting a sexy lady for lunch" he reminded himself. "Only you're doing it while carrying a gun that doesn't fucking exist. Dumbass" he muttered.

His chastising came to a brief pause as he switched elevators. Once he was ascending to the top floor again, he pulled out his phone and dial a number. "BT, remind me to go buy a carry gun, maybe a Sig P220" he said without preamble.

"_Affirmative Pilot. I will remind you to buy a Sig Sauer P220 handgun for concealed carry purposes"_ responded BT-7274 before Cooper hung up and was left with his thoughts until he reached the top floor and the doors opened.

"Let's do this Cooper" he said to himself as he stepped out.

* * *

Hardy watched the tall, solidly built vigilante step out of the elevator and scan the area. Even with his coat and business casual attire, his broad shoulders and muscle mass were clearly visible. The end of a scar was visible on his neck and such impossibly bright and alert blue eyes that she could almost swear were glowing gave him the air of a veteran with a rugged edge she wouldn't deny was attractive. Nor could the Black Cat deny how formidable a fighter the Renegade Commando was, between his track record and seeing him in action, he was every bit as good as his reputation. He shared more than a few traits with a certain ex of hers, which would probably get under the Spider's skin. Both exceptionally capable, neigh unbeatable when doing their superhero thing, but when they weren't?

They couldn't have been more different. Parker was nearly hopeless, restricted by his own 'good guy' philosophy of 'great power and great responsibility' that he would never change. But Cooper? He seemed like a wildcard, and more importantly, could change if given the right persuasion. Felicia just needed to find out what made him tick. That probably wouldn't be that hard, he wasn't the broody type, and he trusted her, at least up to a point.

At the very worst he would play give and take, and she had plenty to give.

Matthew was then led across the restaurant to Felicia's corner table, his bright blue eyes never lingering anywhere for too long. His strides were taken with unabashed confidence, though part of that may have come from the concealed handgun he had on his person. "Mighty kind of ya'" he drawled as he took his seat and the greeter departed. "Nice to see you again Miss Hardy" he said politely as he turned attention to her.

She flashed her most charming smile in return. "Likewise, Matthew" she said as she leaned forwards and watched his eyes glance down briefly, causing her to smirk with satisfaction. Beneath all the armor and attitude, he was still a man and as predictable as ever. "Glad to see you come on such short notice."

"You made a good offer" he answered as he looked at the menu and frowned, "Jesus H. Christ, 40 bucks for shitty ribs. I miss home" he mused with a shake of his head. He looked back up and forced a cocky smirk, "now what was it you were in such a hurry to discuss?" he asked with a gleam in his eye.

"Business before pleasure I presume?" asked Hardy, getting a nod in return. "I've done a little digging, had to go really deep, but I've found something. Kingpin may be leaving, but two of his top lieutenants are staying to run Cinderblock" she revealed with a smile.

She could see a hint of the Marauder come out; the smirk was replaced with an almost predatory grin. "But you don't just get this for free" she said coyly, causing him to raise an eyebrow. "You need to answer some questions first."

He merely shrugged before the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the appetizer and wine Felicia had ordered earlier, though Matthew asked for a glass of water. When he saw the look the temptress was giving him, he smirked. "Not a big wine drinker" he admitted, "and something tells me I'm going to need to be fully alert for what's coming. What'd you want to ask?" he answered as his water arrived and he took a sip.

Felicia's expression became curious as she pondered which question to ask first. "Why?" she said finally, though all that drew was a dry chuckle from the man. Hardy narrowed her eyes and tired again, taking care to be more specific now that she knew she was dealing with a sarcastic ass. "Why do you do it? The whole nighttime deal you have?"

He placed the glass down and smiled mirthfully, "Slight correction, it's practically my only job." The Marauder then seemed contemplative for a moment before he answered with a sardonic smirk. "Because I love it." Hardy tilted her head, her delicate features quirking into an inquisitive expression, wanting more of an answer. Cooper hesitated before he provided one. "I don't have much left, at least…not much that means anything. This…isn't living" he said, looking around them at the restaurant. "For whatever reason, I have to be in the thick of it" he admitted honestly, and a bit sadly. His steely blue eyes then turned to Hardy's. "You're the same way? With your…activities." Before Felicia could fully register the words, she found herself nodding. Cooper continued, "Figured, you clearly have it all, you don't do it for the money, or the honor. You do it for the thrill of it."

Felicia wasn't sure what to make of the admission, he seemed to be trying to understand her as much as she was trying to understand him. That was both exciting and dangerous. "You really don't get out much, do you?" she asked dryly, getting a small chuckle in response. "What's your story then? Not the bogus one you gave Parker about being from Texas, the real story."

"I really am from Texas" he responded instantly while flashing his cockiest grin, "just had a small detour on the way here" he deflected. His lips formed a grimace as he mulled over what he was going to say. "It was little week-long walk-through hell" he supplied without a hint of exaggeration. "Wasn't all bad, picked up a set of skills, some gear, and…and made a friend." His tone wasn't remorseful or ashamed, he still had that smirk, and a calm drawl that projected confidence.

Hardy understood immediately, while he was new to New York, he had come about by being put through the ringer. There was a part of him that didn't make it out the same way he went in, but he had fully embraced the Marauder. All of the good and bad that came with it, for whatever reasons, he was committed to making the most of everything he could do. It was a way of thinking she was intimately familiar with. Though she didn't show any of that understanding, just remained still, looking like she was still processing. Felicia gave a sympathetic smile. "And the future?"

"Fuck if I know" responded Cooper quietly with a small laugh. "Haven't thought that far ahead, but I'm open to suggestions" he said suggestively and with a cocky grin.

"I'd recommend the shrimp" responded Hardy instantly, but with a lighthearted smirk of her own.

"Ouch."

* * *

One unsatisfying meal later, Cooper descended the building and slipped away in his M3. His mind was all over the place, though of all of the swirling thoughts, Felecia Hardy herself occupied a good number of them. Every time he looked at her he had to remind himself that she had made him look like an ass the first time they met. He had been pretty successful, _but _it hadn't been easy. Even in the business suit and pencil skirt the Thief was stunning to look at, and part of him was sure that whoever had coined the phrase 'sex on two legs' had done so after seeing Felecia Hardy. The other part of him said that, based on the part of her legs her skirt left exposed, they deserved to be included with the rest of her.

She was more than a pretty everything, she could fight, and she was the kind of smart that he couldn't comprehend, playing four dimensional chess while he thought the game was checkers. She could not only see every piece on the board, even those who didn't know they were in the game, but she could dictate or predict where every piece would all be. Though for all of her ability to play mind games with everyone, the Texan thought she had fucking awful taste in restaurants. While the food may not have been worth the trip, the information Black Cat passed on to him had been. Kingpin had two lieutenants who were about to hole up in well defended locations tonight. Hardy knew these locations for some reason and had passed along one to Cooper.

When pressed about what would happen to the other one, the thief had been coy, but assured him it would be taken care of. The infotainment system alerted him to an incoming call that he quickly accepted. "BT, take a look at that location?"

"_Affirmative pilot"_ came the voice of the Vanguard class Titan over the car's speakers. _"The given location seems probable; the property is owned by a company listed by Ms. Watson as a shell company for Fisk. I have already begun planning the logistical elements of an action against it"_ reported BT dutifully.

"Sounds like a plan buddy, I'll beat traffic out of town and get ready. Time to cut the head off the snake." With that, Cooper hung up on the Titan and mashed the throttle, the M3 rocketing forwards and slicing through traffic, the driver unable to suppress the evil grin on his face.

* * *

Peter was busy mixing up a fresh batch of web fluid in his apartment while trying to put the ass kicking he had received at the hands of the Marauder out of his mind when he heard a strange humming noise. Looking up and around, the webhead realized that was his phone on vibrate somewhere in the mess of papers on his desk. After a few seconds of furiously tossing boxes and nick knacks around he heard a solid 'thump' on the floor as he turned and scooped up the phone, accepting the call without having a look at the Caller ID. "Heya, what's up" he said before adding "whoever this is" under his breath.

_"Spider"_ answered a feminine voice with a seductive edge that he instantly recognized. _"You sound winded, getting a workout in? Perhaps with that lovely redheaded friend of yours?" _Peter was almost taken aback before he remembered who he was dealing with while also failing to detect any trace of jealousy in the Cat Burglar's tone.

The Superhero still gulped as his mind raced with all of the questions he had been meaning to ask the Thief. "Felecia?" he asked dumbly, still not sure what game she was playing. The only thing he was sure of was that Black Cat always was playing games.

But before he could follow up his...brilliant...opening, the quick witted woman cut him off. _"What's wrong Spider? Cat got your tongue?" _with a giggle at his expense. It was almost like old times, only the woman had seemingly replaced him with an armored green meanie. _"Or were you really in the middle of something? If so, please continue, I won't mind listening while you finish" _she continued without missing a beat.

"No...NO" he said suddenly as he pushed select thoughts from his head and tried to calm down to get the woman to focus. "Listen, Felecia, what do you think you are doing with the Marauder? He's dangerous" hissed the wallcrawler with deadly seriousness. "Too dangerous" he cautioned, "stay away from him, whatever he's up to can't be good. You don't need any of the attention he's been getting to rub off on you."

_"Awww...nice to know you still care Spider" _said the woman without a care in her answer, her flippant attitude not diminished in the slightest. _"But don't worry, this kitty can handle herself" _she assured before humming in thought. _"Though, since you brought him up, I did learn where the Marauder might be headed tonight...if you're interested" _she offered far too kindly. He didn't need a Spider-Sense to tell him that there was more than what she was letting on. _"He's going after a Kingpin Lieutenant who's going to be in Hell's Kitchen tonight. Apparently our old friend Mr. Fisk is up to no good, something the Marauder intends to rectify."_

Peter's phone buzzed again as he pulled it away from his ear to see that Felecia had sent him an address in the south west corner of the island. Quickly saving it, he pressed the phone back to his face as he noticed a beaker beginning to bubble dangerously and tilted his head to pin the phone to his shoulder as he added a neutralizing agent to stabilize the reaction. "Thanks Felecia, I got the address" he said sincerely before turning serious. "Though why are you sending this to me? What's in it for you?" he asked bluntly, hoping to bludgeon his way past her coyness.

And as always, that didn't work. _"Hmm...I guess you could say I'm curious...curious to see if you do any better than last night. Good luck Spider" _she finished with a flirtatious flourish before the line clicked and went dead. Sighing, he tossed the phone aside before steeling himself and getting back to work.

He had a rematch to prepare for.

* * *

"Watanabe" answered Yuri on reflex as she pressed her phone to her ear. Still standing in the middle of the floor of her precinct.

"_Good afternoon Captain"_ purred an unknown female voice.

Watanabe felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, the voice was disarming, too disarming. "Who is this?" she asked as she moved to the corner of the room for some semblance of privacy. "What do you want?"

"_Tsk tsk tsk Captain"_ came the reply. _"Those aren't the questions you should be asking. You should be asking what I can give you"_ hinted the woman.

Yuri gave an exasperated sigh. "What is it you can give me?" she asked, gritting her teeth as every semblance of common sense she had was begging her to hang up.

There was a small laugh over the phone before she got her answer. _"I know where the Marauder will be tonight Captain. Midtown East, offices of Lawton insurance group."_ Yuri's jaw nearly hit the floor as she struggled for words. _"Seems I have your attention Captain. The Marauder will be going after a Lieutenant of the Kingpin who will be holing up there tonight."_

Yuri pursed her lips as she processed those words, the target made sense, but it sounded too much like a trap. "And you're happy to just…tell us this? No strings attached?"

"_I wouldn't exactly say that Captain"_ replied the woman coyly. _"I've talked to the man and I doubt he'll go quietly. Good luck, you'll need it"_ the mystery woman finished before hanging up.

Watanabe let out a breath, with the mayor asking for daily updates and no other leads she didn't see many alternatives. Putting her phone away, Yuri returned to the two detectives and cleared her throat. "I just got a tip about where the Marauder will be tonight" she revealed.

She got a pair of shocked looks in return but held up a placating hand. "I know it's out of the blue, and I don't entirely trust it, but it's all we got and we're going to roll with it. Martinez, look into Lawton Insurance group, and get us a warrant for a stakeout on suspicion of it being a front for the Kingpin."

The older Hispanic man nodded as he jammed a toothpick back in between his teeth. "I'm on it ma'am" he assured before spinning in his chair back to his computer.

The Asian woman then turned to the blonde. "Johnson, call SWAT and tell them to get their heavy hitters ready. We're going to want all hands on-deck if this pans out and we have to go toe to toe with that sonofabitch."

"Got it cap" replied the woman before Yuri turned on her heel and left the two detectives to their work. As soon as the Captain was gone, Johnson pulled up a chat room on her computer and sent a brief message before she picked up the phone.

* * *

One of Wilson Fisk's massive fingers tapped on the top of the cigar, knocking an ash into the tray on his desk as he looked over the short message again before he looked up at the man who had handed it to him. "The Lawton offices in Midtown, that's where Mr. Perrault is to relocate for the coming events, is it not?"

The man standing off to the side of his desk swallowed before answering. "Yes sir, it is. He has been forwarded this message as well. Due to the limited timeframe, he requests permission to relocate to his home. He has the equipment to carry out his assignment there."

"Approved" answered Fisk instantly. Too much had gone into Cinderblock to lose such a valuable piece at the last minute. Placing the cigar back in his mouth and inhaling deeply before letting a puff of smoke waft from the end. "Mr. Gregson" he said, causing the man who delivered the message to stand up straighter, "this message indicates that the Police are aware of this."

The man adjusted his collar. "Yes sir, this message came from an informant in the Chinatown precinct."

"I see" responded Fisk as he removed the Cigar. "And this message suggests that the Police will send Mayor Osborn's Task Force. Do you agree with this?" Gregson nodded vigorously after a moment of thought. "I concur. Two of the most substantial threats to our endeavors will be at the same place at the same time. Both focused solely on each other. This presents an opportunity for us, wouldn't you agree?"

Gregson furrowed his brow. "What did you have in mind sir?" he asked.

"Reassign all of our associates away from the Lawton offices" he ordered before there was a flicker of an evil smirk on his face before the expression was quickly wrangled under control. "And then prepare a crew, the best enforces in my employ. This is an opportunity that we should not allow to pass us by." He paused for a moment as he considered the scale of the coming events. "Then have my private jet readied for immediate departure. I think it best if I head to Europe a day early. Any questions."

"Just one" replied Gregson. "How many men for this crew?"

"How many do you have?"

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Tactical Ability: A-Wall_

_Speed may be the lifeblood of pilots, but when one needs to solidify their position on the battlefield, they can use this incredible piece of equipment. The Tactical that creates the 'Amp Wall,' a one-way barrier that applies an arc charge to the rounds that pass through, giving them extra punch. Using rapidly alternating electro-magnetic fields to 'catch' incoming bullets means that the power source built into the flash forged circular emitters only last a few seconds before shorting out and self-destructing. _

_The downside is that the barrier is bright fricking orange and is a giant 'shoot me' sign, but at least it does that when it's bulletproof. Some of these 'superhero' costumes on the other hand…_

_Log – Ordinance: Gravity Star_

_Of all of the ways I can make people reconsider their life choices, this might just be the most ridiculous. To the uninitiated it looks like a shuriken, I throw it like a shuriken, and it is as sharp as a shuriken, so it's a shuriken, right? Wrong. What it does do that makes it special is the ability to generate a gravity well that sucks everything towards the center. And I mean __**everything**__, people, grenades, vases, staplers, wrenches and other tools (don't ask how I know), it can even alter the flight path of bullets. __I'm not even going to attempt to understand the utter bullshit science that goes into making these things, but it does have one other quirk that is hilarious._

_After a few moments the well collapses this gravity characteristic is reversed, and for a fraction of a second everything nearby is shot away very, very quickly. This includes me, if I time it just right then I have used it to launch myself across gaps, though I still need some practice...and I need to replace my now ruined kneepads._

* * *

**Closing notes: Yes, I did absolutely have Kingpin steal Vigo's line from the original John Wick, and no, I don't regret it. This is also the obligatory reminder that if you haven't seen John Wick, you should go watch John Wick. **

**I also want to take a moment to point out that if you do ever go to a shooting range NEVER FIRE A GUN LIKE COOPER DOES IN THIS CHAPTER. This violates the rules of almost every range out there and I only did it for story purposes.**

**Also, if you're dissapointed with the first meeting of Spider-Man and the Marauder, know that I felt the same way when I wrote it. So I decided that there would be a rematch because no great fight is truly settled in the opening round.**

**Feel free to leave some feedback if you got it as we close in on the end of the Cinderblock Story arc. This chapter was mainly setup for the home stretch as all the pieces are now in place, all that's left is to see if our heroes succeed in thwarting Cinderblock and find out the price they have to pay. Chances are we will see it concluded by the end of next week. Chapter 12 will be the end of this saga, serving as a wrap up and a transitional chapter into the next arc. I swear that after that second arc there will be a time jump and I will quit screwing around and get into the actual game. **

**Wednesday will see blood on the streets, blood on the rocks, blood in gutter, every last drop in If You Want Blood. **

**Stay frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	9. Chapter 9: If You Want Blood

Author's note: All properties belong to their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Okay, full disclosure, I really like how this chapter turned out. It more or less reads exactly how I pictured it when I was first brainstorming it. Hopefully all of you out there enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. The title is another AC/DC track, in case you had any trouble guessing my favorite band. This track is off their classic 1979 album _Highway to Hell_.

**(5/19/2020: Updated, because I'm annoyed with everyone hating one particular part of this chapter and, truth be told, it wasn't up to scratch. Hopefully it's better now.)**

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 9: If You Want Blood**

_You get nothin' for nothin'_

_Tell me who can you trust_

_We got what you want_

_And you got the lust_

_If you want blood, you got it_

* * *

"It's too quiet" murmured Cooper as he looked at his target at the far end of the street with the magnification and Night Vision features of his visor, turning his whole world shades of green. "BT, any police chatter in the area?"

"_No pilot"_ responded the Titan instantly. _"Analysis of camera systems indicates pedestrian and vehicle traffic is down 39% from the average." _Matt grimaced at that figure, he scanned the area again, besides the street lights and a few lit windows, the area was dark. Even the light reflecting off the thin layer of snow didn't make the area seem less dead. _"What is your status pilot?"_

He disengaged the magnification and tried the IR view, but didn't see anything suspicious. The range was too great, he would have to get closer. Because the helmet was connected to him by neural link, all he had to do was think to disable the visor mode as color returned to the world. "RTR buddy" he reported as he picked up the X-55 Devotion LMG. Before BT could ask him for clarification he added "Ready to Rock."

With that, the SRS Pilot fired his grapple at a fire escape on an adjacent building and pulled himself to it, firing his jump kit and releasing the hook to ensure he shot past and maintained his momentum when he began running along the building. Leaping across the street, he activated his stim and left a distinct blue contrail as he went even faster before leaping back to the original side and rapidly closed in on his target.

Just as the boost ran out, he planted both feet and launched himself at his objective, pulling himself up over the railing of the fire escape and shouldering the energy actuated LMG. The Lawton offices were on the ninth floor, three above his current position. Taking the stairs two at a time, the Marauder quickly ascended the fire escape until he reached his Insertion Point. Peering inside the window he saw the hallway was clear and bashed it open with the stock of the weapon before carefully entering. The hallway was empty, Matthew pausing as the Devotion swung from side to side. The pilot pushed forwards slowly, waiting for the no doubt dozens of guards to jump out at him from one of the side rooms.

"Still too quiet" he muttered as he hurled his pulse blade down the hall and waited as the pulse traveled down the hallway to reveal that he was, in fact, alone. "Something's not right, Cat's intel better not have been wrong" he grouched as he tried one of the door knobs to find it unlocked and pushed open the door. "Nothing, shit" he cursed as he saw the empty room.

He repeated the process to the exact same results three times before reaching a locked door. Without hesitation he lifted his leg and slammed is boot into the wood just beside the deadbolt and knocked it open. The long-barreled gun swept the room and found it clear, but not empty. At the center of the barren space was a simple four-legged table with a cellphone resting on it. Matthew grimaced inside his helm, the hairs on his neck were standing on end, and if he gripped his weapon any tighter it felt like he would deform the grip. After a few tense moments, he pushed past his stress and turned to move on.

And then the phone began to ring.

The Marauder went rigid at the sudden tone and had a momentary internal debate before letting out a sigh and turning back to the table. "Unknown Caller, who else?" he muttered as he accepted the call, put it on speaker and set the phone down.

"_Mr. Marauder"_ said a deep, commanding voice over the phone. _"The mysterious party crasher. You are most troublesome, even more so than Spider Man" _rumbled the voice. _"Destroying my facilities, killing my associates, and instilling fear amongst the criminal underworld. Not bad, for a mercenary."_

A faint smile crossed Matt's face before he answered. "Errr, sorry Fisk, wrong guess. Wanna go for double jeopardy, where the scores can really change?" he said, though he thought he could hear the sound of a door opening outside.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line. _"Who are you then_?" he asked, still calm, but the demeanor seemed to shift into one of genuine interest.

"Just a fly in the ointment, a monkey with the wrench, a pain in the ass" he replied as he heard more activity and looked back at the phone before he switched his comm channel. "BT, link the call to my helmet and trace the source" he commanded curtly before he heard a faint tinge of static indicating the channel had been linked.

But there was no reply, though Cooper didn't like the situation, he was beginning to feel like this was a trap. Checking the hall, he let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was clear and began to move briskly back towards the window he had entered. _"Mr. Marauder" _said the Kingpin again as he Cooper balanced speed and stealth to hopefully slip away undetected. _"Are you still there?"_

"I'm still here" answered Cooper as he turned back towards the sounds of approaching steps, lots of them. "Unless you want to come out here and talk face to face" finished the Pilot dryly.

"_Oh no, I'm afraid not"_ replied the Kingpin, Cooper swearing he heard the sound of jet engines over the phone. _"You have me at a loss, you know my name, but who are you?"_ asked Fisk as Cooper suddenly heard the footsteps stop, but there was a commotion outside. _"Just another misguided man who saw too many action movies as a child? Another orphan of this miserable city who thinks he's John Wayne, Rambo, or Marshall Dillion?"_

"I was always a bit partial to Roy Rogers, gotta love them sequin shirts" shot back the Marauder as he stepped out of the window and back onto the fire escape.

Only Matthew quickly realized he wasn't alone, the entire street was filled with cars, police cars, officers standing behind them, their weapons trained on the building, the odd sound he heard revealed itself to be a police helicopter that was hovering overhead.

The chopper activated a spotlight that shone directly on the vigilante. "NYPD! Drop your weapons and keep your hands up!" thundered a PA system.

There was a confident, rumbling laugh on the line. _"Do you really think you stand a chance against us, Mr. Marauder?"_

Cooper's face turned into a snarl, artificial and natural adrenaline began to seep into his veins and his body tensed like a spring. "Yippy Ki Yay Motherfucker" he growled before hanging up. "Alright Cooper, fine fucking mess you've gotten yourself into."

Inside the building, the SWAT team that had been ascending the stairs bust through the door and was charging down the hall. "Drop it! Drop it!" ordered the lead one as they all pointed the weapons towards where the Pilot was.

He was too exposed on the fire escape, even if he was safe from the SWAT team for the moment, but he would need to get back inside the building if he was going to have any chance of escaping alive. His left hand slowly dropped from the fore-end of the Devotion, fingers subtly twitching as he tried to steady his nerves before he activated his phase shift to try and get past the SWAT team.

Just as the SWAT team was about to get close enough, there was a distinct 'whoosh' sound form a building down the street. A fiery projectile streaked through the night and slammed into the helicopter, blowing off the tail and sending it into a fiery spin.

Right towards him.

"Oh fuck" cursed Cooper as he activated the wrist mounted device and leapt through the window, scampering across the floor to get as far away from the incoming wreck as possible. Quickly getting to his feet, the Militia Pilot sprinted down the hallway before he felt the air crackle and ripple around him, and he was taken back to the original New York. The hallway he was back in was distinctly different, the groans of wounded and disoriented SWAT members filled the hall.

The sounds of a massive gun battle were ragging outside, punctuated by the 'thunk thunk' of a grenade launcher followed by the resulting explosion. The police were fighting back, but they were hopelessly outmatched. Cooper reached the staircase the police had used and began sprinting up, going two at a time between uses of his jump kit until he busted out of the door at the top and onto the roof. He quickly saw the extent of the situation. The Police, who had surrounded the corner structure he was on top of, had themselves been surrounded. Kingpin's men were laying in ambush in nearby buildings, the distinct flicker of muzzle flashes indicating the windows they were firing form.

Even worse, two tractor trailers blocked the only roads out of the kill zone. The NYPD was boxed in, and they were being shredded. "Time to even the odds" growled Cooper lowly as he swapped to the EM-4 'Cold War' and took aim at the nearest tractor trailer and the group of armed goons hiding in and around it.

With a faint whine, the four round burst bullpup energy grenade launcher began raining its 4.73x33mm explosives down on the unsuspecting gunmen. The resulting explosions of red gore mixed with the blue of the energy rounds covering the truck and street as Cooper rained down the pain before the weapon. His entrance into the now three-way gun battle attracted attention from both sides, a barrage of gunfire was directed towards the Marauder as he dove away. Pulling the charging handle, Cooper prepared to stand when he saw the distinct outline of a helicopter coming along the street. Before Matt could wonder whose side it was on, there was a pair of twinkles beneath the body. "The fuck?" he wondered aloud before the distinct sight of tracer rounds lit up the street, the underslung machine guns unleashing a torrent of lead as their chatter echoed off the buildings.

Swapping back to the X-55, Cooper squeezed the trigger and felt the gun spool up as the blue tracers were walked onto the chopper as it approached him. Sparks on the body soon became black smoke that belched from the craft as it got closer and the 55 round mag ran dry. Instead of reloading, Cooper fired his Grapple at the bird as it passed overhead, the hook finding its mark and yanking the Pilot from the roof. "Oh shit" he shouted as he tried to swing to the side and avoid an antenna. Only partially successful, he glanced off and felt a rib crack as he was continuously pulled closer to the chopper as it circled around.

Reaching out with his free hand, Cooper pulled himself up on the skid and hooked his leg over it. His left hand hanging on to the fuselage while he balled his right into a fist and began punching the glass on the door, causing it to crack after two hits and shatter completely after five strikes. The Marauder then produced a frag from his web gear and pulled the pin before tossing the explosive inside the hole he had made, much to the utter terror of the pilot inside. Only then did Cooper realize that he didn't have an effective escape route, the chopper was flying low due to damage. The area surrounded was filled with antennas and water towers flying by so fast that Cooper couldn't jump.

Before he had an opening, the grenade detonated, the blast was absorbed by the cockpit, but the chopper pitched up violently before it started to spin. Faced with no better option, Cooper threw himself from the doomed chopper and fired his jump kit, trying to land on a nearby roof.

Only he fell short.

* * *

**15 Minutes Earlier…**

In full Black Cat garb, Felicia Hardy silently scaled the walls of the building that was home to the condo of one Orson Perrault. She had been planning this heist for a week, over the course of the planning, she learned he wouldn't be home and why. She had used this piece of information to ensure the three parties who would thwart her fun would be otherwise occupied.

Spider man was told of the location of another Lieutenant that was also working on the same project Perrault was, she didn't pay attention to the details about whatever scheme Kingpin had concocted. All she cared about was that her ex would prioritize it over her fun. Likewise, the Marauder was more than happy to bull rush in and make sure that Perrault wouldn't be around to pursue her after she was done. If she had sent both of them to the same place then there was the possibility that they would be so busy fighting each other that Perrault would survive and figure out he had been robbed, and Felecia hated having to watch her back, always preferring to look ahead.

And she had tipped off the police so that they would have their hands full with the more violent vigilante and be unable to mount any sort of response to her crimes, ensuring she would have all the time she needed for her heist. She had absolute faith and confidence that Cooper could take care of himself despite only knowing him for a short time. It had to be him, calling them about Spider-Man wouldn't have generated nearly the same level of response.

Reaching the small balcony, she athletically flipped over the railing and came to a silent crouch outside the window. With practiced precision, she ran her claw down the gap in the sliding door until she found and sliced through latch securing the door. Slowly opening the door, the cat burglar slipped her leather clad form inside. Finding herself in the living room, she began to get her bearings as she searched for the study that housed the most valuable items.

She faintly registered the sound of a door opening farther ahead, the thief reflexively taking cover behind the sofa to stay out of sight. "…patio alarm got tripped, go check it out" said a burly voice from the hallway ahead of her.

"Probably nothing Russ, damn thing probably short circuited again" grumbled another man in return as Hardy stalked along the back of the couch and turned the corner of the L-shaped piece of furniture.

There was a click as a flashlight was turned on and she heard footsteps approach. The thieves mind had gone into overdrive, the condo was supposed to be empty, had something changed? Moving to short breaths as the guard approached, his flashlight scanning the dim room as he neared the door, Black Cat let him pass. "The hell?" he muttered as he reached the patio door and saw it ajar as he opened it completely and stepped outside. Retracting her claws, the Thief stepped out from behind the sofa and stalked up to the guard.

The guard looked around the patio and went to remove a radio from his belt, but not before the Black Cat could pounce. With a savage kick, she slammed her heeled boot into the back of the man's knee, knocking him down as she wrapped her arm around his neck and locked him into a sleeper hold. The guard struggled to stand as oxygen was cut off from his brain, standing and trying to claw back at the Black Cat as she wrapped her legs around his stomach and squeezed until he finally ceased his struggles.

Slipping back inside, Felicia closed the door and advanced down the hallway to where the guard had come from. Removing a stun grenade from her belt as she reached a door with a bit of light coming from the edge at the bottom. Slowly opening the door, she heard "Just nothing right? Sorry about that" said a man before she rolled the sphere inside and smirked. "What the…"

Whatever the man was about to say was cut off as the stun detonated, blinding and disorienting the three men inside. With practiced ease, she glided inside and set upon the nearest man to the door. A rapid series of strikes left him reeling as the other two tried to react. Hardy swept the leg out from the first as the second swung drunkenly at her, still half blind and deaf, the attack had no chance as she rolled away and grabbed the assaulting arm. With a brutal twist, she pushed it to the brink of breaking, causing him to wail in agony before she used the arm to vault herself up and wrap her leg around his throat, choking consciousness from him.

As she rolled off of the man, she gave the one she had tripped a kick in the head to ensure he stayed out cold before hogtieing the three men and exiting the security room. "What's that racket?" barked another voice, one she recognized and truly hadn't expected to hear. "Report damn it!"

"Perrault?" questioned Hardy, her heart racing quicker as she sprinted out of the room, jumping and using the wall to launch herself at the syndicate lieutenant, a flying knee connecting with the bottom of his chin.

The obese man staggered back, and his girth rammed into the wall where Felecia pressed her forearm against his throat. His fat hands tried to dislodge the arm to no avail. "What are you doing here?" hissed the Black Cat. "Answer me."

"The…the Marauder was going to come after me" he stammered out as he struggled for breath. "I had to go somewhere else."

Hardy's mind raced, how did Kingpin learn about that? Pushing those thoughts aside and fighting to maintain her aura of calm, she applied more pressure against his windpipe, threatening to crush it on a whim. "How did you know? Don't lie to me" she threatened darkly.

The man's color was starting to change as he fought for air. "The cops…we got an inside source. When the police got tipped off, so did we." The tub of lard began to laugh between coughs. "We set a trap for both the pigs and the vigilante…fuckers don't know what they're walking into." For whatever reason, that remark sent the Black Cat over the edge. She took her arm off his throat, giving him a brief moment of relief before she elbowed him in the face and broke his nose. Before the lieutenant could even bring his hands up to the bent feature, Hardy delivered a knockout spin kick to his temple that sent him crumpling to the floor.

Grinding her teeth in frustration, Hardy began to head back towards the balcony, unsure exactly why she felt the need to go to Cooper's aid. A small golden glint caught her eye, her head instinctively twisting to catch sight of a set of brilliantly polished golden coins. "I'm sure he has everything under control, this won't take long" she reasoned before strutting into the room to help herself.

* * *

"What the fuck do we do Captain?!" shouted Johnson as Yuri jammed a fresh 15 round magazine into her Barretta 92. "Who the fuck are these guys anyway?" asked the blonde woman as Watanabe grit her teeth, able to hear the rounds ping against the car she was hiding behind.

Before she could answer, she heard the distinct 'thunk' of a grenade launcher as stood in time to see the explosion as three more officers were knocked off their feet, Yuri able to see a wayward arm fly away from its owner. Raising her pistol, she saw the shooter silhouetted in a window and fired, hammering the trigger as she saw the man stagger before stumbling forwards and falling out of the window. "Looks like Kingpin's guys" she replied through grit teeth. "The whole thing must have been a setup."

"No shit…chopper!" barked Martinez as he dove under a car and the criminal vehicle unleashed a hail of bullets on New York's finest. Watanabe watched the helo with dread, only to see a stream of blue tracers rise up to meet it.

"Looks like the Marauder's still in the fight" she shouted over the gunfire as the helo passed overhead. "We need to get out of here before that chopper circles back around" she shouted. With that, the three began to weave through the wrecked cop cars towards the north, staying low.

They nearly reached the end of the assembled vehicles when Johnson cried "Look out! The Helo's coming back around!" Yuri looked up to see the chopper approaching, a trail of black smoke behind it and flying erratically. Just as it went overhead, the cockpit exploded, and it pitched up violently before it began to fall.

"GET BACK!" ordered Yuri as all pretense of safety was abandoned and the three cops sprinted away. Watanabe looked over her shoulder to see a flicker of blue propel something towards a building, only to slam into the side of it and tumble down, bounce off a car and come to a stop on the sidewalk as she slid behind a SWAT truck.

Kingpin's men were in nearly every window of every building overlooking the street where the Police had been boxed in. They were in a perfectly set up kill zone. Yuri knew that the police were in a tough spot, and their only hope for getting out of this alive had just fallen 15 stories from an exploding helicopter. "There's still a way we can get out of this" she said to Martinez and Johnson, who returned puzzled looks.

"How the hell are we going to do that Cap?" asked the older man as he tended to a wounded officer.

Watanabe nodded towards where the helicopter went down. "The Marauder, if anyone can clear a way out of this clusterfuck, he can" she responded.

"Are you FUCKING NUTS!?" howled the blonde Detective Johnson. "Captain, he's a goddamn killer! Why the hell should we trust him?"

"Because detective" responded Watanabe darkly, "right now, a killer is exactly what we need."

* * *

Cooper's eye's fluttered open, the fog that clouded his mind still slowed his reactions. The fire from what he slowly determined was a downed helicopter illuminated the street and several tightly packed, bullet ridden, cop cars that filled it. Rolling onto his stomach, he crawled towards his weapon and picked it up before shoving a fresh box into it, ignoring the cacophony of sound his addled brain slowly recognized as gunfire.

Pressing himself against a car, he took deep breaths as his memories flooded back to him. The whole damn thing had been a trap, now it was a three way shootout between the NYPD, Kingpin's Syndicate, and the SRS Pilot. "BT, I need a way out" he ordered, there was nothing to be gained by slugging it out. "BT?" Reaching up, he pried his comms module off of the side of his helmet and examined it. "Toast" he muttered as he shoved it back into place and jammed a bio-gel needle into his thigh, hoping the drugs would be enough to keep him on his feet. "Think Cooper, think" he ordered to his hazy mind as he scanned around him.

A group emerged from an alleyway near the smoldering chopper wreck, purple sweatshirts under ballistic vests and cradling AKMs. Recognizing the colors, Cooper rolled away from the car and came to a crouch, triggering the Devotion and spraying a burst at them, causing them to dive in every direction as he held down the trigger. The ones still in the open were cut down and he began firing single shots at them before boost sliding behind a mailbox when his mag ran dry. Ignoring the pain when a round pierced the thin metal and hit his armor, he stood and fired his reloaded weapon, killing two more.

"Shit" he growled as he had the wind knocked out of him, a bullet slammed directly into his side, followed by a second, and a third, before the fourth grazed his arm below his shoulder pad. Matt immediately dropped to the deck and spun towards his assailant, fighting to bring the big X-55 up when he saw the balaclava covered head snap forward, brain matter spewing from his now shattered skull.

He instantly recognized the figure who replaced the goon, the oriental woman holding her pistol steady as she scanned the street before coming to Cooper's side. "Marauder are you alright?" she asked.

"I'll walk it off Captain" he responded through grit teeth as he got back to his feet. "The fuck's going on?" he asked simply as the four moved into cover behind an overturned patrol car.

Watanabe gave a sardonic smile. "We got a tip you'd be here tonight, thought we could bring you in" she replied, still having to shout over the gunfire. Her expression growing more tired by the moment. "We weren't the only one's it seems" she muttered. "I'll be honest, we're getting slaughtered out here, unless we can take some of the pressure off then none of us are making it out alive. We need your help."

Cooper pondered the request, he should just disengage, cut and run, save himself for the inevitable battles to come. He turned to tell her that, but at the same time, he couldn't leave them to die. "What makes you think I'll help?"

"I don't buy into the rhetoric that you're just a heartless killer; or some maniac with a gun and a grudge" responded Yuri. "You're smarter than people think, up to something. Hell if I know why, but you're doing this for more reasons than to just build up a body count." Her look became somber and serious as she stared straight into the M-COR helmet visor. "You wouldn't have run back into a burning building to save my ass otherwise."

Cooper snorted, but knew she was right. He was out here fighting this fight so the Police wouldn't have to, and he had unwittingly dragged them into this shitstorm. "Got any ideas Cap?" he asked.

There was a hint of a smile on the woman's lips as she pointed across the street. "Kingpin's guys are concentrated in three buildings, those two over there and one right here. If you can clear those two out, we can handle this one" she explained.

Cooper nodded, "alright, sounds like a plan" he replied as he offered the Devotion to Watanabe. "Go ahead, take it, you're going to need it a hell of a lot more than I will." After a bit of hesitation, Watanabe holstered her sidearm and took the LMG, struggling for a moment with its weight. Cooper quickly removed the associated webgear holding the ammo for it and gave it to her, the Captain slinging it over her shoulder and fastening it, so it looked like a bandolier across her chest. "This too" he said as he tossed a Knock Knock and its detonator to the darker skinned Hispanic man. "Should help you get inside" he explained. The man nodded as he took the charge while Cooper examined the Cold War. While the weapon had broken his fall, it had broken in the process. Stowing the grenade launcher, Matt drew the Smart Pistol and turned to the cops. "Ready?"

They all nodded, with Watanabe motioning with the big X-55. "You go first, I'll cover you" she said.

Cooper nodded before he stretched his neck and steadied his nerves. "And Captain" he said, causing her to look at the Pilot. "Good luck."

There was a faint smile. "Good luck to you" she answered before her expression became serious and determined. "On three, one…two…THREE!" she shouted.

With that, all four stood, Cooper activating his STIM as he jumped up, running along the wall. Behind him, he could hear the distinct shriek of the Devotion as it spooled up, the stream of blue tracers slicing through the night. Firing his grapple at a lamppost, the M-COR pilot slinghotted up and around the pole and towards his target. Raising the MK6, the targeting picked out four different enemies in the windows and locked on. With a single trigger pull, all four were dispatched, with Cooper flying through a now unoccupied window and sliding across the room barely a second later.

Not wasting anytime, he went room to room, kicking down the door and gunning down anyone on the other side. With one floor clear, he made his way towards the stairs at the end of the hallway. Using his jump kit to bounce form wall to wall and ascend, Cooper soon reached the top steps when the door suddenly opened. The Syndicate enforcer who did it got the shock of his life when Cooper didn't even bother locking on, instead slinging a pulse blade right between his eyes. "An AA-12, don't mind if I do" murmured the Pilot to himself as he picked up the fully automatic shotgun and the spare drums the thug had on him.

His pace quickened considerably, with precision going out the window, he simply sprayed down each room in a storm of buckshot from the assault shotgun. Before he knew it, Matt was back at the stairs again and climbing up to the final floor being used. This one wasn't composed of individual rooms, but rather was a large conference hall that had Cooper unleash a full 20 round drum against the thugs inside.

With one building down, Cooper leapt across to the second and began going top down. This one was all small apartments, forcing him to go room to room again. The first four were cleared without incident, but the fifth and final one held an RPG team of three men.

Without mercy, the Marauder gunned down two, but when he swung the shotgun around to the third, the magazine ran dry. Matthew tossed the empty gun to the last enemy, startling him as he tried to catch it, dropping his own SMG to do so. Using the opening, Cooper keyed his jump kit and threw himself forward. A haymaker connected with the man's chin, sending him staggering back.

The enforcer recovered quickly, coming back with a vengeance, with a sudden swing, the butt of his weapon hit Cooper in the stomach, the Pilot's armor absorbing the blow before the AA-12 was swung like a baseball bat, Cooper ducking to the side and took it on his shoulder pad as he drove his foe into the wall. Matthew brought a knee up into the thug's stomach that doubled him over before drawing his axe and slamming it into the back of his head, killing him. Before Cooper could gather his bearings, he felt more rounds slam into his back, by reflex he activated his phase shift and vanished as he drew his Smart Pistol. When he returned, he planted a shot into the knee of the startled man before a second went through his brainpan. After taking a brief moment to catch his breath, Cooper was now on the move again, dropping straight down the stairwell to the floor below, throwing his pulse blade to see if there were any surprises waiting for him.

Indeed there were, the entire floor had pulled back from their windows and were lying in wait to ambush him in the hallway.

Pulling the dinner plate from his thigh pouch, Cooper tossed the A-Wall down and slid out, his feet slamming into the far wall, stopping him behind the cover as he fired his MK6 as soon as it had a look on. The gun barked and bucked as guided bullets were sent on their gruesome one way trips as fast as the gun could fire them. In no time, the slide locked back open, the gun empty. Before he could insert a new magazine, a green baseball flew towards him, clearing the A-Wall and bouncing off the wall behind him.

Eyes widening in realization as he stared at the grenade, the Marauder fired his grapple at one poor unfortunate soul down the hall and pulled himself out from behind his cover. His feet slammed into the goon's chest and pinned him to the ground while Cooper calmly reloaded and gunned down the two other thugs still exposed. Instead of turning the gun on the defenseless man pinned beneath him, Cooper grabbed him by the collar and hoisted him up as he spun. The grenade went off and filled the back of the human shield with shrapnel before the corpse was discarded.

A door next to suddenly flew open next to him and three more men rushed him, Cooper landed a shot into the firsts gut, but the Pilot was soon driven to the ground, his weapon knocked away. Panicking, Matthew began thrashing, throwing punches and kicks at his three attackers, but as soon as he knocked one back, another took his place. Firing his jump kit, the Renegade was able to scramble back, but he soon had his back to the wall. Left with no other option, the Pilot attacked. He lowered his shoulder and tackled one, quickly rolling off as soon as they hit the floor and deflecting a fist from another with his forearm before throwing a punch of his own.

As much as he wanted, he couldn't open up the distance. He tried, phase shifting again to keep them off balance before he reappeared behind one thug and threw a quick combo, only for him to be knocked forwards and off his feet. Regaining his balance, he rounded and charged his attacker, only to glance off as the thug dodged and Cooper was hit by the third and driven to the floor. He quickly got back to his feet, but he felt lighter all of a sudden. Cooper soon realized why, when he turned, he was staring down the barrel of his own Cold War, the wielder also bearing an evil snarl.

Cooper immediately hurled the pulse blade that buried itself in his shoulder, staggering the man with the stolen weapon. With a savage growl, Matt drew his axe and went at another, who deftly dodged. Activating his STIM, Cooper struck with incredible speed, burying the pick in his stomach before yanking upwards, causing his guts to spill out as he crumpled to the floor.

The Marauder was then surrounded in a sea of blue light and thrown back, the blast shredding his armor and causing his vision to go white as his visor cracked and failed before it could darken. Cooper screamed out in agony, every move was excruciating. He turned to see the first thug, still holding the EM-4, the shoulder where the blade had been blown to bits, the evil smile back as he squeezed the trigger again, the weapon whined as it spooled up, but didn't fire, the sound continued to build until the battered energy gun could take no more, and exploded in an eye watering blue-white display, taking the goon with it.

He wasn't out of the woods yet, the third man took his place, holding Cooper's own Smart Pistol that had been knocked away as the Pilot tried to stand, but immediately felt his legs turn to jello and go out from under him. The lone remaining enforcer walked up, beaten and battered, and pointed the MK6 right at Matthew's head. Cooper couldn't suppress a slight smile from his lips as he pulled the trigger.

Only for nothing to happen.

The man gave the gun a befuddled expression. "It's keyed to me, dumbass" Matt wheezed through haggard breaths as the man sneered and kicked the pilot over onto his back.

The man leered down at him while pressing his full weight down onto Matt's bruised and broken ribs. "That's unfortunate for you, cause it mean's I'm going to have to do this slow" he growled.

Before he could carry out his threat, a grapple hook attached itself to the gun he still stupidly held in his hand and pulled it away. Cooper craned his neck 'up' to look down the hallway at his savior. "I don't think that belongs to you" said Black Cat as she examined the pistol, slowly walking towards the two. "Only few men pack a gun this big" she said with a smile as she got closer before she lashed out, landing a single roundhouse kick that knocked him out cold.

Cooper sneered behind his helmet, the woman who had gotten him into this mess looked down at him, almost concerned. "Thanks for the intel" he said dryly before he coughed, his lung was probably in poor shape too, his entire left side felt as if it was on fire.

"Anytime" she replied before she picked him up and slung an arm around her shoulders and began to carry him towards the window. "We need to get out before the cops take you in, hope you can survive one more fall" she said as she offered him is sidearm back.

The Pilot nodded as he took the weapon, "I'll manage" he said as they reached the window and he fought to keep from blacking out. "I think our first date was better though" he wheezed, noting the small smile on Hardy's face as she fired her grapple at the top of the window frame and looped her free hand around him, the two supporting one another as they descended.

When they finally hit the snow-covered ground, it looked like they would make it, with the police finally recovering, the enforcers were running. Two of them busted out a gate and saw the Marauder and Black Cat and turned to face them.

Bullets peppered the ground and whizzed past them as Hardy half carried, half dragged Cooper into cover, but then Cooper saw a familiar woman step around the corner and raise her pistol. With six quick, precise shots, two to the chest and one to the head of each, Watanabe dispatched both gunmen. "Thanks for the save Captain" managed Cooper. The Pilot had been set down, sitting with his back against the building wall. "Looks like we're even."

Martinez then came up alongside Yuri and both saw Matt's sorry state. "No, I still owe you. You routed these guys" said Yuri as she looked to the burglar. "Thank you," she added sincerely, but Cooper could only nod as Felecia stood. "Now get out of here you two, I'll cover for you, Martinez, go check inside, make sure we got 'em all."

As soon as the Hispanic detective turned, a gunshot echoed through the alley as the fired bullet punched a neat third eye in his forehead, killing him instantly as he fell to the snow. Before the others could react, an arm wrapped around Felecia's neck and a gun pressed to her head. Both Cooper and Watanabe aimed their pistols at Detective Johnson. "Drop them" she ordered, pressing her own gun into Hardy's temple to emphasize her threat.

Both complied, tossing their weapons forwards near the feet of the Detective. "Johnson, what the hell are you doing?" asked a stunned Yuri.

"My job" she spat as she aimed her gun at the cop. "Unlike you _captain_. Working with vigilantes. We're supposed to be bringing these people in, not giving them free reign" sneered the blonde as she pointed her gun at Yuri.

"Why do you think I told the Kingpin where the Marauder would be tonight? It was him, not you, who wanted to kill that sonofabitch" she declared. "We can't trust these freaks, they're unknown" said Johnson, motioning towards Cooper. "Kingpin and his goons are at least human, but Spider Man? The Marauder? We've seen the shit they've done; they are _not_ human."

Watanabe looked like she was about to blow a blood vessel as she gave the blonde the iciest stare Matt had ever seen. There was a seething cold rage, so much sheer anger, but completely focused. "_You_" sneered Yuri, "you're the one who tipped off Fisk, the reason good men and women died tonight, all of that for one man?"

"One _freak_" corrected Johnson. "Kingpin's men promised they could do you in" she said, looking at Matt and shifting her gun to point at the cracked x shaped visor. "Even if they failed, you know what they say. If you can't get a job done right, do it yourself."

Before Johnson could fire, Hardy struck, slamming her elbow into the slightly smaller woman's gut and spinning away. Yuri dove forwards and wrapped her arms around Johnson's waist as she tried to bring her down. Johnson squirmed and managed to stay on her feet, pointing her gun at the Captain. Just as she pulled the trigger, the Black Cat grabber her arm and twisted, meaning her shot missed, only grazing Watanabe's thigh. It was enough to cause her to scream and loosen her grip, getting shaken off while Johnson slugged Hardy, who shrugged off the blow and stubbornly held on to the detective's gun hand.

Cooper, with one leg useless and the other not much better, was forced to claw himself to his discarded Smart Pistol while the three women duked it out. He was finally able to reach out and grab the weapon, raising it and seeing the weapon slowly lock, his battered suit's sensors and cracked visor not helping. "Cat, get down" he managed through strained breaths. The burglar turned to see what he was doing and complied, backflipping away. As soon as she was clear, Cooper took the shot, the guided 9mm round was off aim slightly. The round missed her head and wound up going through her throat, severing an artery, shredding her windpipe, and slicing her spinal cord, meaning Johnson dropped to the alley, one hand clutched to the hole in her throat as she choked and gargled on her own blood before she fell deathly still.

The two women looked at the battered Pilot in a state of shock. "You…you just…" mumbled Hardy as she looked back at the corpse of the detective, a splotch of red recoloring the snow around her neck.

"It was us or her" replied Cooper weakly as he holstered the weapon. "And I'm not dying yet" he said lowly as Hardy nodded and came to help the SRS Pilot up. "Cover this up Captain, say it was all a trap from the beginning. The detectives both died in the line of duty…" said Cooper, the adrenaline fading, his voice tired as he looked down at the two bodies while Hardy wrapped his better arm around her shoulders. "Blame me if you have to, but you need to have your people ready to go."

"Do you really care about her reputation that much? You would sacrifice your own to spare it?" asked a stunned Watanabe as she looked at the cracked, flickering blue visor.

Cooper looked down at the dead detective and snorted. "No, I don't. But we can't waste time with a big internal affairs investigation" ground out Cooper as his vision started to fade. "Because I think this is going to get a lot worse."

With that, the Militia Pilot nodded to the Black Cat, who fired her grapple hook and pulled the two into the night.

* * *

When Cooper woke the next morning, the excruciating pain from the injuries he had sustained came back in full force. Wincing as he tried to sit up and failed, he found his chest and left shoulder completely wrapped in tape and bandages. Since he was only in his boxers, he could tell his legs got similar treatment, having been set and bandaged. His breathing was still labored, but better than he remembered it, so his lung is still in bad shape too. To the side of his bed he saw his gear, or what was left of it. It looked like a complete loss, at the very least it would need serious work.

Only then did he turn his attention to his surroundings. He was in an unfamiliar place; the luxurious bedroom was larger than his own. The coloring was more tasteful as well, with an absence of his flags that hung on the walls, that of his home state and the famous 'Come and Take It' flag. Instead of Hardy's painting, there were post-modernist pieces that Cooper couldn't look at for more than a few moments before he felt his brain cells commit suicide.

If there was any doubt about where he was, it was obliterated when a platinum haired seductress strutted in in a bath robe that barely covered her ample chest and only went halfway down her thighs. In her hands she held two steaming mugs, offering one to the Pilot as she sat down on top of the bed. Cooper took a sip of the hot tea as he looked at Hardy's elegant features in profile. There was a small smirk on her face, "see something you like?" she asked softly.

Cooper laughed for a second before wincing, clutching his bandaged ribs. "Not on the walls..." he replied with a smirk of his own. It soon fell away as he wanted to press on to business. "About last night…"

"I'm sorry," replied the thief nearly instantly. When she saw the questioning look on his face, her lips formed into a frown. "I was the one who tipped off the police, and that bitch informed Kingpin" she said apologetically. "The best laid plans of mice and men, and cats too…"

She stopped when Cooper placed a placating and on her shoulder. "Thanks…thanks for telling me" he said simply, knowing it wouldn't be enough. His own head was spinning, his assumption at the time was that she was working for Fisk but dismissed that when she saved him. Her explanation made sense as he thought about it, part of him was happy to hear that she hadn't intended what had happen. He wasn't afraid to admit he was starting to like the woman, there was a lot to like about her, but she did things differently and he wasn't one for games. "Though I gotta give it to ya, not a bad plan with what you knew. I wouldn't've minded helping" he added dryly.

"You're not mad?" said Hardy as she turned to face him, raising an eyebrow. "I nearly got you killed."

Matthew smiled weakly, "All this?" he asked, gesturing to the myriad bandages on his body, "I should be thanking you, chicks dig scars," he said cockily, causing the Cat to shake her head. "I'm not mad, at least, I don't think so. I just point and shoot, way I see it...I don't get to judge anyone." It was easy for him to admit that, he wasn't going to be able to outsmart her, or play her game. "I should be mad, right? You almost got me killed, but the truth is I _know _when someone is trying to kill me. A lot have," he admitted, "what you did? I hope that if you were trying to kill me...then someone as smart as you could come up with something better than that." He managed to crack a smirk as she looked down at him with wide eyes. "Though, I would appreciate if you would refrain from using me as bait in the future without telling me first," he drawled with a lazy grin.

She nodded absent mindedly and turned away, almost seeming to zone out as she stared blankly out the window. "What's wrong?" he asked, causing her to jerk herself from her trance and look back at him. "Something's bothering you, right?"

Felicia nodded and let out a breath, slumping slightly, an oddity considering her usual, regal, posture. "Last night…I've seen the results of Rhino or Electro, but that…was terrifying. People dying in the streets, gunned down, you…just executing that woman. I heard about how you operated, but to see it up close…."

Cooper placed his hand on her exposed leg while hanging his head in shame. Typhon had normalized what he did, at least to him. But seeing Hardy's reaction reminded him that nothing about what he did was normal. When he pulled his hand back, he felt a smaller one take hold of it. "I…I won't deny what I've done. I don't regret it either, none of it," he admitted quietly, "It's why I'm not going to judge you. What I do? It's not moral, it's not just, hell, it's not even right. But if Typhon taught me anything, it's that when a situation is do or die, then you'll do just about anything."

He looked up to the curious look she was giving him, he could guess what she was wondering. "Typhon was where…where I became what I am. I had to become a relentless, remorseless killer, because, if I didn't, then _I _would have died on that godforsaken rock." He worked his jaw as he pondered his next words carefully. How the hell was he supposed to try and explain what had happened to him? And why to the woman who had, by her own admission, betrayed him? Though that second question was far easier to answer; he might not have been able to call the burglar a friend, but after BT she was the closest he had. That only left the how, but after a moment he decided to throw caution to the wind and come out and say it. "Felicia, that detour I mentioned? It was through a different dimension, the far future. Spaceships and the final frontier, the whole nine yards."

The room was silent for a moment. Hardy looked straight at the Pilot, scrutinizing every one of his features. "You're not lying, are you?" she asked, almost in disbelief. Cooper shook his head, meeting her gaze and able to see the cogs in her mind turn as she processed everything. "So why are you here?"

Cooper tried to shrug before instantly regretting his hasty decision. "Fate? Chance? Dumb fucking luck? Hell if know honestly," he replied, almost exasperated. "All I know is I just had to try and play hero one more time. Save the day, get the girl, ride off into the sunset. Instead I got thrown to a different universe and hav to start from scratch" _again_ he added mentally, his tone bitter.

"Look on the bright side," said Hardy, causing Matt to have to fight to not roll his eyes, "you still might get the girl" she added with her evilly seductive smirk before standing. She walked over to the dresser and pulled out a fresh pair of sweatpants and matching sweatshirt and placed them on the bed. "What are you going to do now? Try your hand at hero again?"

With great effort, Matthew managed to sit up and swing his legs over the side and began to put on the shirt, wincing at the pain. "Something like that," he answered distractedly as he thought about that question himself. "Right now, I need to get back to my place. Don't suppose you could help me get a ride?"

Felecia crossed her arms, bringing one hand up and tapped her chin with her finger, appearing deep in thought. "I could, but on one condition." Cooper just stared blankly at her. "I'm coming with you."

Matthew sighed as she went back to her arms crossed position. "I don't suppose this is up for negotiation?" he suggested lamely. His only response was a 'what do you think?' expression from Hardy before the Pilot sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine."

* * *

Felicia looked at Matthew as he stared out the window of the chauffeured Audi A8 sedan, watching as they left the island and got closer to his hideout. He hadn't spoken since he agreed to let her come with him. It was clear he was still deep in his own thoughts, and she was content to let him be. Hardy was still trying to figure her own out as well.

After she had carried him back to her penthouse he had immediately passed out on the couch. Doctor Benson, the woman she had on speed dial to treat her when she sustained injuries, was called and came over with her usual punctuality. The grey market Doctor had treated the Marauder with no hesitation and confirmed something that surprised the cat burglar.

The Marauder was human. Not superhuman, not a mutant, not even any cybernetics, the vigilante was a completely normal human. Seeing the level of injury he had sustained beneath his armor only confirmed this. In Hardy's mind that only made the man even crazier. Unfortunately for the both of them, she liked crazy.

"Here's good" said Cooper suddenly to the driver suddenly brought the big sedan to a graceful stop and the Marauder opened the door. Taking that as her cue, Hardy got out and slung the bag containing his ruined gear that he insisted come with them. The pair slowly approached the dilapidated looking warehouse, Cooper supporting himself with an ornate walking stick that she had stolen and given to him.

Hardy began reflexively casing the area and noticed subtle differences since the last time she had visited. Concealed sensors and cameras were around as well, though she didn't doubt she could get passed them, their presence unnerved her nonetheless. "BT, it's me, open up!" called Cooper suddenly.

The doors to the warehouse opened enough to let the pair in as the lights kicked on. Hardy could see the shelves packed with neatly laid out weapons and equipment plainly visible. As soon as they walked inside, the doors closed behind them, the scale of the armory apparent, though the shelves didn't extend across the whole space. Before Felecia could ask why, a new, unexpected voice startled her. "It is good to have you back Pilot" said a deep, mechanical voice. "What is your status?" asked the unknown.

"Down but not out BT" replied Cooper as he continued forwards with a limp and Hardy followed him until he rounded a corner and her jaw dropped. "But we've got our work cut out for us."

The massive hulking machine swiveled its singular blue eye towards the two. "Affirmative Pilot Cooper. NYPD are still actively searching for you at hospitals and healthcare centers. It is reported that you have sustained a high amount of injuries."

Hardy stepped back a half step as she looked up and down the massive black machine, the mess of wires coming from the framework around the vaguely humanoid robot. Two arms, two legs, with orange around the knee, ankle, and elbow joints. There was a single eye at the center of the torso that turned to her. "What…what is that?" she managed.

Instead of Cooper answering her, he went over to a locker and pulled out a kit. "Greetings Felicia Hardy" said the machine, the blue eye rotating inquisitively and blinking in time with its speech. "I am Militia Vanguard Class Titan BT-7274, linked to Pilot Matthew Cooper of the Special Recon Squadron. You may call me BT."

"Uh…hello BT" stammered Hardy as she tried to process what she was seeing.

Cooper chuckled from a nearby cabinet, where he had removed his shirt and jammed a needle into his side, wincing as he depressed the plunger. "He may not be the most sociable guy out there, hell, he makes me look downright outgoing, but he's a good friend, my best friend."

"Did you make him?" she asked suddenly.

Before Matthew could reply, BT answered. "I was not created by Pilot Cooper. This chassis was produced on the Militia planet Harmony. I linked with then Rifleman Matthew Cooper on the planet Typhon 29 days ago" deadpanned the Titan.

"Longest lasting friend I've got left" provided Cooper dryly as he put his shirt back on and hobbled back alongside Hardy. "BT, show Felecia Typhon…start with the pursuit of the _Draconis_" he said after a moment of thought, looking almost wistful.

"Pilot" replied the machine, almost scolding. "All information regarding Special Operation 217 is still classified under…"

"Overruled" stated Cooper, his voice just as hard as the machines. "BT, that woman is the reason you still have a pilot. I don't give a flying fuck about Militia rules when they're a few dimensions away."

The eye blinked a few times before finally resting on Cooper, who nodded. "Understood" conceded the Titan as he began to project something onto the opposite wall, an image that looked to be from a helmet cam, the man looking out from the side of a flying craft with a rocket launcher resting on his shoulder.

"Get comfy, this was a good one" said Matt, a tinge of pride as he limped over to the machine and sat down, his back resting against one of the metal legs. Hardy followed and sat next to him, leaning gingerly into his less injured shoulder.

"_This is Commander Sarah Briggs"_ announced a commanding voice in the recording._ "We have to recover the Ark! The IMC are taking it to the Fold Weapon aboard the Draconis. All ships, flank speed, we have to hit them hard and fast. Briggs out." _Felecia watched as she realized that the object in the lower half of the screen was a massive ship, at least judging by the mountains it was flying past.

The two watched as Cooper leapt from ship to ship, tore through the IMC soldiers manning the gun batteries of the _Malta_, met the 6-4, and battled the flying titan driver, Viper. Felecia stared only in stunned amazement at what he had done on Typhon and the incredible experience of seeing what the man next to her had experienced from his point of view during one of his most heart pounding missions. She saw the Pilot and Titan go down with the ship after securing the arc, watched as they got captured and were forced to give up the Ark before they made their final charge on the Fold Weapon. At the end of it she turned to the Marauder and only had one thing to say.

"You weren't lying."

The Pilot merely chuckled.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Launcher: EM-4 Cold War_

_Second in rarity only to the MK6 Smart Pistol, the EM-4 is the premier devastation dispenser on the Frontier. Unlike most weapons, this launches metal encased chemical pellets. The 'barrel' is a linear accelerator that also charges the chemical and metal coating, this destabilizes the projectile and gives it its distinct blue glow. The firing system is electronically controlled instead of mechanical, so the four pellets in a burst come out blindingly quick to saturate an area with explosives. The name comes from two different traits; the cooling system needed to keep the weapon functioning since simply venting the heat would probably burn the hand of the wielder. On top of that, the detonation is an endothermic reaction, meaning that it causes frostbite instead of burns. _

_Of course, getting frostbite is depending on whoever's unlucky enough to be on the receiving end surviving the initial barrage. And even if they do, I have three more on tap. _

_Log – Light Machine Gun: X-55 Devotion_

_Few guns offer raw firepower and versatility like the Devotion. This experimental electronically operated weapon is a screwball of a gun. Like its 'little brother' the Volt SMG, the X-55 fires experimental rounds where the projectile is relatively normal, but instead of gunpowder the 'case' is a small battery that charges the battery inside the weapon to keep it functioning. The coating that keeps the projectile attached to the battery is burned up as the linear accelerator launches the slug to supersonic speeds and it burning up due to friction is what gives the rounds their distinct blue tracer. _

_But that isn't the first thing you notice when you pull the trigger, that would be the weapons…unique firing characteristics. The gun 'spools up' to its full output level of 900 rounds per minute, but the first few rounds come out so very slowly. As a result I have a love/hate relationship with this thing, depending on if I appreciate the ability to easily squeeze of aimed single shots or if I am in a full on panic situation and want to spray and pray __**right now**__. If I do get the gun up to its maximum rate of fire then the thing is a meat chopper and offers more firepower than any non-launcher type weapon. _

_But holy shit is the thing is long, unwieldy, hard to handle, and can really kick like a mule, but when you need all of the firepower…accept no substitutes._

* * *

**Closing notes: As I said up top, I really like this chapter, it is certainly my favorite thus far. The massive shootout came out almost exactly how I imagined it and I think it's a cool fight that bumps up the scale. We also get to see the result of Felecia's four dimensional chess skills and see her make a mistake and have something not go exactly as she foresaw. She is also the first to learn about Cooper's past and meet BT, though she won't be the last. **

**If you were wondering the mission is called 'The Ark' if you want to watch it on YouTube. It's not 'That mission' but it is probably the most epic. It also features the greatest boss fight in the entire game, "Your journey ends here pilot, the skies belong to me, nowhere to run, nowhere to hide" because "Viper's got you in the pipe, five by five."**

**I also included the radio conversation from Die Hard because it is awesome. John McClane was an influence on Cooper's personality when writing and Kingpin has the refined intelligence to play Hans Gruber. I really couldn't resist using this bit and I think it fit in quite nicely. **

**This is also the longest chapter yet by far, but while the last few sections could have been shifted to the next chapter that one has a defined problem of its own and that option would have only killed the pacing. Especially since its seconds out...round two.**

**And in that next chapter our heroes learn that you can't fight the Friction.**

**Stay frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	10. Chapter 10: Friction

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Full disclosure, I only picked this song because I liked it in the Ghost Recon: Wildlands trailer. Figured it best to have a change of pace from all of the old rock music and go for a different mood. Though if anyone was curious, I didn't like Wildlands, all it prompted was for me to remember the glory days of Advanced Warfighter and Future Soldier.

God that sentence makes me sound like my old man. Anyway, onto why you are all actually here.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 10: Friction**

_You can't fight the friction_

_So ease it off and get into the system_

_We both know you need one_

_The tip of the needle is taking over you_

_And your heart is beating 'cause you know that you gotta_

_Get out of the middle and rise to the top now_

* * *

"I do not approve of this course of action Pilot" said BT in his 'concerned' tone. "You are still wanted by the NYPD. Kingpin's Syndicate has been fully mobilized and appears to be making final preparations to commence Cinderblock. The injuries you sustained less than 19 hours ago have not yet fully healed. What you are about to do is a serious risk." Cooper tried to turn and give the machine a reassuring look but tripped himself up and nearly stumbled.

He held up a placating hand to the machine as he used the other one to keep himself propped up with the wall and offered a weak smile. "I know BT" said Cooper tiredly. He was dressed in his old gear from Typhon. The red fatiguest, more rigid chest piece, and original helmet.

It was clear the Titan wanted to argue, but before he could, they were interrupted. "Pilot, Felicia Hardy has entered the premises" notified BT curtly. After the Cat Burglar departed earlier, the automated defenses had been updated to not shoot her on sight, unless she stole something.

As he strapped the webgear over his armor he couldn't help but smirk. "Told you Felicia. You can come on in now" he called out smugly, ignoring the pain in his still injured lung. Militia medical supplies was truly wonderful, his ribs were still sore but structurally sound. His lung was slowly healing, as were his legs and arms. Ideally, he would have 72 hours of bed rest, but instead he had been forced to have a diet of nothing but STIMS all day so he could be ready for action tonight.

The Black Cat dropped down through the skylight and right behind the Pilot. "Hey boys" greeted Hardy in full Black Cat kit. "Ready for some fun?" she asked with a playful grin.

"Voice pattern analysis indicates that likelihood that activities you intend by 'fun' would aggravate Pilot Cooper's injuries is 69%" deadpanned the Titan. Felicia tried and failed to hold back a giggle while Cooper merely shook his head in exasperation.

"Thanks BT" said Cooper wryly as he sent a shrug towards Hardy, but there was a smile on his face too. Both outlaws appreciating the moment of levity offered to them. "You ready for this?" he asked as he checked the G2 rifle he would be taking.

"I'm ready for anything" replied the thief seductively. "The question is" she continued as she strutted up to the pilot and placed a hand on his arm, "are you?"

Cooper wasn't sure, be he almost thought he heard actual concern behind the words. He nodded after a moment, "as I can be" he assured. "Went through the stock, bio gel for lung and muscle repair, calcium-carbon injection for damaged bones, enough STIMs and painkillers to bring a rhino back from the dead" he rattled off. He then turned to the items assorted on the table. "G2A5 battle rifle, MK6 Smart Pistol, Mag Launcher, gravity and fire stars, two electric smokes, more painkillers and supplemental injections" listed as he worked his way down the table. "Rations, water, data knife and Combat Axe. Helmet and Jumpkit are fully operational. I've managed to graft an exo skeleton and grapple hook onto my old armor" he listed, completely deadpan.

"I do love a well-equipped man" said Hardy as she eyed the table and its contents hungrily.

Cooper laughed a bit, only to stop when he doubled over in a hacking coughing fit. "Ladies love superior firepower" he mumbled. He then looked up to see a smirking Hardy and took a shot in the dark. "Put the gravity star back Felicia" he said, surprised that the woman kept a straight face. "Please."

Crossing his arms, he sighed in defeat. "At least tell me how many you took so I know how many replacements I need to grab" he pleaded. "And come with me, might as well let you help yourself" he grumbled.

"Two stars" admitted Hardy finally as she came alongside him. "Of each" she added cheekily as they went into his armory.

Cooper came out with the replacement ordinance, while Hardy helped herself to a suppressed RE-45 Auto pistol, electric smoke grenades, and a data knife. The RE-45 was at Matt's insistence, he had asked that Felecia to go back to Perrault's home and gather any information she could, and if she helped herself to any of the items she had missed the previous night, then even better. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Hardy again, the worry in her tone only growing with each time she asked.

"Don't see many other options" admitted Cooper. "I can't stop this alone. Not like this" he admitted bitterly as she placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I don't doubt your abilities, but this is a whole other ballgame."

He looked down at the platinum haired woman, her lips pursed in distaste, but not voicing it. Both of them knew he was right, last night had proven that her skillset wasn't the one for the job. "Call if you need someone with a more…_delicate_ touch" she purred as she dragged a hand across his back.

"Call me if you want things a bit rough" he shot back as he began loading up magazines and equipment. Hardy turned to leave, strutting towards the door, her hips and ass swaying in time with her step that the Texan watched from the corner of his eye. "And Felicia" he called out, causing her to stop and cock her head slightly. "Stay frosty, stay safe" he said sincerely. He could make out the barest glimpse of a smile on her lips before she departed.

"Once more into the breech."

* * *

Sometimes, dealing with New York's vigilantes was a massive pain in the ass. But for Captain Yuri Watanabe, at this moment, the interruption was a relief form the chaos downstairs. She walked onto the roof of the precinct, still stressed as the entire NYPD licked its wounds after the previous night's fiasco. Personally, the events in the alley at the end of the night still weighed heavily on her. Seeing both Detective's empty desks that morning had been a tough sight to stomach, bringing back memories of both of their bodies lying in the snow.

The first thing she had done was go through Johnson's computer, finding ample evidence of the woman feeding Kingpin information on their investigation ever since the events at the Fisk distribution center. Yuri had been kicking herself for not seeing it until the woman had a gun pointed at her. Without thinking, she reached into her jacket and pulled out a cigarette as she leaned against the railing. "Want a light?" came an electronically filtered voice from her left, startling her. The Marauder stood a few feet away, also leaning on the railing, though she quickly noticed there were several differences.

She offered the cigarette to him as he produced a small lighter, a triangle shaped logo with some animal covering one side, as he lit the cancer stick and she took a puff. "New look?" she asked, not wanting to think about the less pleasant things they needed speak about, at least not yet.

"Old one actually" explained the Marauder solemnly. "Should be able to repair my new one in a few days at least, so don't get too attached to this style" he cautioned wryly. Apparently, the injuries he had suffered hadn't dampened his dry humor. He then turned to the NYPD Captain, the familiar X-shaped visor staring down at her. "But I'm not here to discuss my fashion choices. Don't sugar coat it, how bad?"

Watanabe let out a heavy breath. "33 dead, 57 wounded. Our SWAT teams got hit the hardest. No one full squad came out unscathed, right now they're reorganizing" she explained. She noticed his shoulders sag as he heard the news. "Kingpin's guys didn't away scott free either, we've got 49 of them in our morgues. 18 more in interrogation rooms or hospital beds."

The vigilante simply nodded in acknowledgement as he reached into his belt and pulled out an object. "Last night was the prelude to something bigger" he said as Watanabe took the flash drive. "Cinderblock, best guess is it goes down tonight. They have a lot of serious firepower, even after last night we've only seen a fraction of it."

That statement caused Yuri's blood to run cold, the thought that Kingpin's men had even more than what had effectively bloodied New York's finest. Another concentrated action would effectively cripple the NYPD. "What's his endgame?" she asked.

The Marauder shrugged, "Don't know, don't care. Far as I can tell our best bet to stop Cinderblock is to take out the two Lieutenants who are apparently the ones in charge" explained the vigilante. "I heard through the grapevine that Spider-Man had captured some of Kingpin's men last night. Do you know what happened with them?"

The Captain shook her head, "nothing, they posted bail this morning and we had to let them go" she answered with a grimace. The Wallcrawler had already asked her about those same men earlier, and while she wasn't happy with it, there were more pressing matters to tend to. "What does that mean to us?"

"It means that tonight is going to get ugly" he said with a grimace. "With that one in the wind, and likely at his backup, there is no way we can find him. The other, I do know where he is, the Black Cat has volunteered to neutralize him. But taking out one won't stop Cinderblock, what it will do is hopefully allow us to be able to track their movements and monitor communications. _We _will have the drop on _them_."

Watanabe pursed her lips, as nice as it sounded, there was one large issue with the proposal. "There won't be a 'we' for this" she said bitterly. "After last night's fiasco there is no way that the NYPD will be having anything to do with you. No matter what" she said holding up the drive, "is on this."

The armored man nodded. "I understand Captain" replied the Marauder sadly, "I'm sorry about this, I truly am. But I can't stop, not now, weather I have help or not." Yuri simply listened, the resolve in his voice was concerning. "Like it or not, we're all stuck here with the Syndicate. On that drive is a list of locations. They're either targets or more likely it's the locations of gangs that received weapons from Kingpin. I'll be taking them out one by one. If all goes well, I can do that before Cinderblock really gets underway. If not…it'll be a busy night for all of us."

Yuri nodded, the plan not that dissimilar to those that Spiderman had pitched several times before. "What about Kingpin himself? Shouldn't going for him directly stop the plan?"

"Sadly, no" answered the Marauder with a shake of the head. "He left yesterday, untouchable." There was an uneasy silence as the vigilante looked over the city. "Thank you" he stated suddenly. When he saw the questioning look she gave he elaborated. "For saving my life in that alley and for letting me go. I know you're putting yourself at risk, I'll try to make the most of the chance you're giving me."

Yuri nodded back, finding it odd how the cities two most famous vigilantes could be so different. Spider man was joking and flippant, always with a quip and youthful enthusiasm. The Marauder's demeanor matched his darker moniker. Dry, cynical, and direct, he seemed more like a grizzled veteran, even if he was the less experienced of the two. That comparison prompted a thought, "can I ask you a question?" said Watanabe suddenly. The visored helmeted turned to her and she could almost imagine the wry smirk behind it before it nodded. "Why do you do this?"

"I'm not sure anymore" he answered after a brief pause, the sincerity of the answer surprising Yuri. No speech about doing what was right, fighting to protect the weak, not even seeking vengeance or enacting his own kind of justice. "Reassuring, I know" he added wryly.

"The honesty is" said Yuri as she continued to smoke the cigarette. "But know that you have support, especially after last night. You could have easily left us for dead, but you didn't" she said, feeling strange about having to give the man a pep talk. "You must have had a reason."

"My dad was a cop, SWAT" began the Marauder.

The Captain didn't miss the past tense. _"Was?"_

"Died a few months back, no reason for it really" he explained before pausing to take a deep breath and steady his nerves before he continued his explanation. "And now, his sudden death is a reminder that we don't live forever. My old man always told me to live without any regrets. I won't always be around to fix them later. Letting cops, like my dad, die? Well, I don't think I could atone for that no matter how long I'm around."

Yuri nodded in agreement, and with a bit of envy her father was why she was on this path, but fewer fond memories. "One more?" she asked, to which he nodded again. "Why did you pick me to contact? There are plenty of good people on the force."

"There are" agreed the vigilante, "but I have access to your files, your _entire _files. I read yours after you were assigned to bring me in, and, to put it simply, you remind me of my father. You do the best you can, trying to make the world a better place. The only problem? The very laws that enable you to carry out that goal also hinder you, but you follow them nonetheless." He sighed, "all of that means that, to me, you're familiar, a known quantity, someone I can trust."

"Is that why you gave me the Rambo gun?" she asked wryly.

The Marauder chuckled lowly and shook his head. "No, I also saw your marksmanship scores" he answered with a grin in his tone before he pushed himself off the railing. "I'll be seeing you around Captain. Enjoy the show" he said before he suddenly went rigid and drew his rifle, scanning the rooftops and causing Yuri to go on alert too.

The cause of his distress was soon revealed when a familiar white cable attached itself to the Marauder's leg and ripped it out from under him. He fell on his back and was dragged across the rooftop, coming to a stop beside the stairwell as a red clad super hero landed on the roof. "I'm not sure that performance will get you a standing ovation ya know" quipped the Webhead.

"Spiderman!" shouted a shocked Yuri, causing the vigilante to look her way. "What are you doing?" asked the stunned cop.

"I saw what happened last night Yuri" responded Spiderman, the eyes of his mask narrowing as he looked back towards the Marauder, who had regained his footing and shouldered his rifle. "We both know that he's too dangerous to leave roaming the streets. I've been ignoring him long enough, but that man is a killer."

"And on our side!" defended Yuri without hesitation. "Look, I know you don't agree with his methods, but he saved my life and a lot of my men" explained the Captain forcefully. There was a brief moment before Yuri added a few more words, "I trust him."

For all it was worth, Spiderman didn't seem convinced, but he didn't act as the Marauder stood and added his two cents. "Stand down Spider-Man!" barked the armored vigilante. "I have no quarrel with you."

"I figured that; the gun pointed at me was a dead giveaway" snarked the Webhead. With speed and precision only he could muster, Spider-Man fired off a web and ripped the rifle from the Marauder's grasp. "Now, if you tried to convince me we were actually best buds, I might believe you."

"Something tells me that it wouldn't make a difference" replied the Marauder dryly. "So why are you really here?" asked the vigilante as he raised his fists and settled into a boxer's fighting stance.

The Wallcrawler got low in his own fighting stance. "What have you done with Mary Jane Watson?"

* * *

The question came as a shock to Cooper as the fog in his mind from the concussion he had just gotten began to clear. "_BT, get Watson on the horn" _he ordered in a whisper as the Pilot tried to figure out a way to escape the superpowered vigilante. "This is the first I've heard of that" said Cooper in a regular tone, calm as he could muster despite the long odds he was staring down.

"Wow, feigning ignorance huh?" asked Spiderman in mock shock, "and I thought you knew everything" said the vigilante snarkily.

"_Pilot, I have not been able to contact Ms. Watson, her phone appears to be disabled as well" _informed BT, causing Matthew to curse mentally.

"_Let Black Cat know to search Perrault's system for any info about her, I'll have my hands full."_ Before the Titan could respond, the Pilot tried once again to avoid having the situation deteriorate further. "I'll find her, now either step aside or make your move. I haven't got all day."

There it was, the ultimatum made, the gauntlet laid down, now it was up to the Webslinger to respond. Instead of doing it with a quip or sarcastic remark, a web line slammed into his armor and Matt was pulled forwards. Instead of fighting it, he decided to use the momentum to his advantage, fired his jump kit and readied a fist. Spiderman tried to throw his own punch when he realized what the SRS pilot was doing, but Cooper was slightly larger in stature and had a bit more reach. The result was that the wallcrawler was stunned before the Marauder slammed into him, his momentum carrying them both towards and then off the edge of the roof.

The two men were still connected by the webline as they fell towards the street. Spider-Man began landing blows on the Marauder's armor while Cooper sought to change the fight completely, firing his grapple into the side of the building opposite the precinct. The two changed directions as the Grapple reeled them, with the Marauders other hand grabbing the synthetic silk line and adding even more momentum to open the gap between the two and slam the Webhead into the building as hard as he could.

But the blow didn't faze the Wallcrawler at all, "Your form's getting better" Spidey quipped before he immediately severed the webline, jumped from the wall and fired another at Cooper. The Marauder released his grapple and fell to dodge before planting his feet on the wall and pushing off, his jump kit firing to boost him to the next building. He rounded a corner and looked back to see Spider-Man still in webswinging pursuit, he either had to completely give him the slip or fight him off. Neither option seemed terribly appealing. He ran along to the next building and made a left turn, activating his cloak and drawing his axe and burying it into the side of the building to bring himself to an abrupt halt.

"Got ya" said Cooper to himself as he watched the Spiderman shoot past before he set off in pursuit, using his grapple to build up speed quickly and begin to close the gap. As the Pilot bounced from building to building, it didn't take long for the Wallcrawler to realize the ruse as he pulled himself to a wall and stuck fast.

Cooper went on the offensive, leaping off the opposite building, poised to strike.

He wasn't the only one however, Spider-Man shot off with surprising speed and the two clashed midair, with Spidey having learned from the first blow to duck as Matt threw a punch that missed before the superpowered vigilante retaliated.

Matt began to miss his prototype armor very quickly as the blows began to pummel his old plate from what felt like multiple directions at once. He tried and failed to regain his bearings or retaliate in some way. His punches and kicks failed to connect, so he switched tactics and tried to grapple with the wallcrawler and managed to hook his arm around the Spiderman's leg and hung on for all he had.

That caused to two to plummet again as Cooper swung himself around and wrapped his legs around Spidey's chest in a John Wick like grapple as the street came up at them. But the webhead was not so easily defeated, he fired a webline and swung the pair towards a wall and it was Cooper's turn to bear the brunt of the impact, knocking the breath out of him and reigniting a lick of fire in his now reinjured ribs.

A spandex clad knee slammed into Cooper's helmet and knocked his head back into the wall as Spiderman fought to remove himself from the grapple, his superior strength and positioning against Matt's exosekeleton and sheer will. The writing was on the wall when Matt lost his grip on the webheads leg and found his right hand webbed to the wall. With all four of his extremities pushing against the wall there was no way Cooper could hold on for long. He needed some way to stun Spider-Man and enable him to escape and open up the distance.

He suddenly had an epiphany, instead of brute forcing his way out he would have to be devious. "Thank you, Cat" he said aloud as he brought his free hand to his belt and found what he was looking for.

"Is she the one who taught you to do this, 'cause it doesn't seem like…" began the webslinger only to be cut off when Cooper pulled the pin on the electric smoke grenade and the two were enveloped in the thick cloud of white before it began to crackle menacingly.

The initial surge of pain caused Cooper to grit his teeth, but unlike Spider-Man, he knew what was coming. Matthew ripped his hand from the webbing and activated his cloak as he fell towards the street, using his jump kit to spin himself around in midair as he pulled out another piece of equipment and hurled the Gravity Star at the smoke cloud. His grapple soon followed suit, pulling himself back towards the deep blue orb. He got closer as the lightning fizzled out and smoke cleared, revealing the red clad hero flailing helplessly against the pull of the gravity star. "You want more?" snarled Cooper as he brought his feet up and felt both connect with the Webhead's jaw, driving him into the wall before firing his jump kit and shooting away as the gravity star detonated and shot both apart.

Cooper immediately went back on the attack, firing his grapple, but missed Spider-Man, who dodged away from the hook as it buried itself in the wall behind the webhead. Matt charged forwards anyway, the Webslinger coming out to meet him in mid air, his own form tense to deliver its own strike.

"Got ya" snarled Cooper as he retracted the grapple and fired his jump kit, Spider-Man tried to react, but failed as the Marauder went high and shot past, but not before Matt was able to wrap his arm around the superhero's neck and draw his axe as the Pilot buried the pick in the wall and tightened his grip on Wallcrawler's neck, slowly cutting the oxygen to his head while the hero panicked.

Cooper only squeezed harder, knowing, _hoping,_ that Spider-Man's enhanced strength would prevent him from crushing his windpipe entirely. He really didn't want to kill one of his few friends. The Wallcrawler fought wildly, trying to pry Cooper's arm off and press his feet against the building to force himself away. But Coopers grip held fast, if Spider Man tried to press himself earlier or use his webshooters then he could have escaped, but any chance of that left with his consciousness as he fell limp in the Marauder's arm. With some effort, Matthew managed to sling the Webhead over his shoulder, thankful it was dimming outside so that he wouldn't be seen from below. "Alright BT" he said as he grappled his way onto the roof and caught his breath. "Change of plans, I'm on my way back to the barn and I'm bringing a friend."

* * *

"Ugh…." Groaned Peter Parker as he tried to move his hands, only to find no give in what was restraining them behind his back. He could tell he was leaned up against some sort of pole or column, arms wrapped around it. His legs were locked in a similar restraint with no give, even against his enhanced strength.

His vision slowly returned, and he expected to see the Marauder or some darkened interrogation room. The man whom he remembered battling lording over him about how the day was his.

What he did not expect was to be staring up at a 25-foot-tall humanoid robot. A singular blue light was at the center of the torso while there was a prominent missile launcher extended over either shoulder and pointed down at him. "Cease your struggles Mr. Parker or you will be terminated to uphold Protocol 3" said the machine sternly.

His eyes went wide, not at the threat, not even how it had been delivered, but the fact that this machine knew his name. Parker never doubted that the Marauder was a threat, but knowing his identity? Had MJ given it up? Where was she? Where was _he_?

"Ease off him BT" said a familiar filtered voice as the Marauder strode into the room. "His intervention was inevitable, and as it happens necessary. _Stand down_." The machine regarded the armored man for a moment, its light spinning and flickering before the rocket pods retracted and it stood straighter in a less aggressive stance. "Sorry about that, he gets awfully defensive when it comes to my well-being. And you did lay quite the hurt on me" said the Marauder casually as he grabbed a chair and spun it around, so he sat on it backwards, facing Parker.

"Oh, monologue time? My favorite" chirped Peter sarcastically as he kept an eye on both Pilot and Titan. "Is this the part where you explain your evil plan before you execute me?" he asked with mock chipperness.

The helmeted man simply shook his head, shoulders sagging, head low, almost as if he were the one who had been defeated. "I'm afraid you've misjudged me" he said calmly, with a tinge of hurt. "I'm many things, but not the bad guy."

"Then what do you think you are?" asked Peter, trying to keep up the happy tone, though curiosity was seeping into his mind.

"Not that different from you actually" he said as he rested his arms on the seat back. "I was just a normal guy, in the background, living day to day. And then, just like that" he said as he snapped his gloved fingers. "Everything changed. Life started over, with a whole new set of rules, ones I didn't know, still don't."

Peter shook his head, this guy had to be nuts, deluding himself. He was a psycho! A murderer! Nothing alike! "If that were the case then you wouldn't be gunning people down in the streets and kidnapping newspaper reporters."

Instead of telling him off, the vigilante nodded solemnly. "Maybe, but there was one rule I did learn, the first one. Kill or be killed, that was what kept me alive, simple and effective. My goal was similar to what you try to do, save lives. Only I did it in a very different way."

"Save lives by taking them?" asked a shocked Parker, the guy was clearly delusional. "Sounds to me like you became what you were trying to stop."

"Trust me, I am _nothing _like those I fought and killed. Their objective was the murder of 40 million people, men women and children" he sneered, as if he had taken Peter's words personally. "I did what I had to, sacrificed myself to ensure the destruction of the weapon that would enable that slaughter. Now? I'm playing a new game but using the same old rules."

He stood up and made his way towards Peter, who tried to move away, but only gained a foot at best. "I'm not going to hurt you, just take your mask off. I know who you are, just want to look at you eye to eye." The Marauder then did just that, taking his mask off with one hand, regarding it carefully before he dropped it in Peter's lap.

With slightly trembling hands, the Marauder slowly reached up and pulled his helmet off, leaving Peter's mouth agape. "Cooper?" he asked quietly, shocked. His suspicions had been right after all. "YOU! THIS WHOLE TIME!" he roared; his disbelief being replaced by anger.

Matthew flinched noticeably before he nodded, shame etched on his features as he looked down at his helmet and ran his thumb over the visor. "Yeah" he said weakly, "it's me." The easygoing smile reemerged, but his eyes remained downcast.

"But why?" asked Parker simply, unable to think of another question.

Cooper shrugged, "I'm not sure anymore" answered the Marauder grimly. "But right now, none of that matters. We both have a job to do and our best play is to work together. You wanna have a deep philosophical discussion? We can do that later."

"What on earth would make you think I would help you?" sneered Parker.

Cooper put his helmet back on, the visor activating and turning blue. "I know where Mary Jane is" he revealed as he spun his hand, causing the machine to produce a massive machine gun and load it before settling into a crouch. "When we fought the first time, Kingpin got a hold of the security camera footage and saw both of us talking with her. He's using her to get to us" he revealed grimly before his eyes turned back to steel and met Peter's own. "I'm about to stage a rescue effort. You in?" Peter's heart wound up in his throat and he couldn't manage to say anything. "I'm not asking you to do anything you wouldn't. Anyone you neutralize won't be harmed further, this isn't about revenge, this isn't about killing them. We need to rescue Mary Jane and have a limited window."

Parker couldn't understand what he was playing at. He thought he knew the Texan; thought he was a good person beneath it all. Never would the Queens Native have imagined he was capable of doing the things he had done and seem so uncaring about everyone he had killed. Though he didn't miss the part where Matthew offered to talk about it, he was willing to change, do the right thing, and Peter thought he was being sincere. That swung it.

"I'm in."

* * *

"_So, you decided to join Spider, I have to say I'm surprised"_ said Hardy over the radio, causing Cooper to chuckle. _"Didn't expect you to take a walk on the wild side."_

The Pilot was settled into the cockpit of the Vanguard class Titan, laying in ambush alongside the road. _"I don't want to talk about it Felecia"_ snapped Peter, still testy. "_How long until they get here?"_

Felecia, from Perrault's home and control center, was able to monitor what the Syndicate was doing. It hadn't taken long for the cat burglar to find Watson; she had been taken from her apartment and was now on the move. An armored convoy was going to be taking her out of state, but the Marauder and Wallcrawler had the route. _"Not long now. What happened to your patience Spider? You used to handle stakeouts so well."_

"_Not. Now. Felicia"_ said Parker through grit teeth, it was clear the super hero was having issues working with the Marauder. Truthfully, it hurt Cooper, this was one of his closest friends, and he couldn't even look at Matt.

But the SRS Pilot pushed those thoughts aside. He just had to make it through tonight in one piece. "Spider man, you in position?" he asked simply, trying to be businesslike.

"_I am"_ Peter replied flatly, the man was royally pissed off. Thankfully, the plan was simple, using BT, Cooper would step out and engage, stop the convoy and keep the gunmen occupied. Peter's job would be to go through the subsequent vehicles, find Watson, and get out, with Cooper covering their escape.

The Titan was fully combat ready, and Matthew secretly thought that the Titan was itching to be in the field. Likely to uphold protocols 2 and 3. _"Mr. Marauder, can you let me watch you work?" _purred Hardy over the comm.

"BT" said Cooper with a slight smile as he flipped on the connection that would allow the thief to see what he saw, almost able to hear Parker's fuming through his silence. "Let's give the lady a show" he said as his smile grew.

Through the array of screens on the inside of the cabin, he could see the white of the convoy's approaching headlights. _"Ready pilot"_ reported BT as the XO-16A2 was leveled, locked, and loaded. The mental link enabled Cooper to control BT just as if he were controlling his own body.

"_Now Marauder"_ growled Parker.

The trucks got closer. "No, steady" he replied calmly, despite the adrenaline seeping into his system, his finger poised over the button for the dash. "Steady…" he repeated more for his own benefit. "Now" he growled as he squeezed the control and the 40 ton hulk of metal shot out of the tree line and onto the road.

The Vanguards four fingered fist slammed down on the hood of the lead truck, a Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicle, the whole convoy was made up of the repainted military trucks. They may have been mine and bullet resistant, but not Titan proof. The truck went from 60 to naught damn near instantly as the engine was crushed and its momentum carried it into the Titan's legs, but BT shook it off without much difficulty before standing back to his full height.

"**Step out of your vehicles with your hands in the air and you will not be harmed" **announced BT once the screeching of breaks had faded and the convoy ground to a halt. For a moment, Cooper had hope that they would comply when men started rushing out of the MRAPs and filled the darkened street.

That hope was immediately shattered when Matt saw muzzle flashes in the night and his shields began to flicker, it was on now. "You want more then? Come and get it" snarled Cooper as he raised the vortex shield and began to catch the shells.

A large group had charged forwards at the Titan, and without hesitation the Marauder sent the accumulated ordinance right at them, cutting them down where they stood. _"Hostile infantry neutralized"_ reported BT flatly as Cooper went through the motions that had been drilled into him by hard expierence, swinging the 20mm chaingun around and unleashing a long burst. Armor piercing rounds cut through vehicles with ease and tore exposed Syndicate enforcers limb from limb. It didn't take long for the gunmen to realize that they couldn't stand up to the Titan in a straight up fight as they scattered to find cover. _"Enemy forces attempting to withdraw pilot, suggest you prevent their escape."_

Reacting instantly to the Titan's callouts, Matthew dropped an electric smoke screen, dashed away and triggered the acolyte missile pods, the two box like launchers popping up over the machine's shoulders as they searched for targets. "I see 'em BT" said Cooper calmly as the pods swung towards their target. The tail truck of the convoy was backing up and beginning to execute a three point turn while two men holding SMAWs tracked the Militia machine.

The guided missiles locked onto all targets as Cooper's finger poised over the trigger. "Hear that ringing in your ears son?" he growled before pulling the trigger. "SHOT!" he called as the weapons tore into the night, lighting up the road with their rocket motors.

The High Explosive Anti-Titan (HEAT) warheads impacted with devastating effects. Three slammed into the MRAP, two tore into the engine while a third hit the troop compartment, on impact, each sent a supersonic jet of molten plasma into the vehicles that melted anything they came into contact. The exception was that third missile that hid the troop compartment, penetrated straight through that and hit the fuel tank below, igniting it to incite a towering fireball. Each SMAW wielder got one missile in a spectacular display of overkill as they turned into a fine red paste in an instant. Through BT's sensors, Cooper could see the men that had been near that retreating MRAP run around and dance, trying desperately to put out the fires on their clothes that were slowly consuming them.

"**Drop your weapons and I will accept your surrender"** yelled Cooper, using BT's PA system to broadcast the command over the cacophony of gunfire. The only response was a for two RPGs to emerge and slam into the Titan, draining the shield and forcing Cooper to raise the Vortex shield once more as he fell back and crouched down behind one of the disabled vehicles.

Spider man appeared, kicking one SMAW wielder off of the top of an MRAP before webbing up another on the ground to buy Cooper some breathing room. With the Vanguard's shield recharged, Matt stood the Vanguard up and aimed the XO again as he dashed forwards, suppressing the remaining goons who now feared the Titan and its weapons.

In the corner of the screen, he saw Parker pull himself off the roof of the truck and yank the doors off. Hoping that he found Watson, Cooper pressed his own attack. The 40-ton Titan threw itself forwards with a dash it raised its foot and kicked the 15-ton vehicle back, crushing those who had taken cover behind it. "_I've got her"_ called Parker over the radio, Matt able to hear coughing and strained breathing in the background. _"Come get us and let's get out of here."_

He deftly dropped another electric smoke and dashed to the side, turning and firing bursts as he heard the sound of people clambering outside the cockpit_. "Pilot, allies are attached to the hull"_ reported BT dutifully.

"Hang on!" called Cooper over the radio as he dashed back again and activated burst core, hosing down the remaining goons before turning and sprinting down the road.

* * *

**7 minutes prior…**

Mary Jane continued to glare daggers at the two Kingpin enforcers who sat across from her in the back of the armored truck. She hoped Peter had gotten her message and that the two of them would be able to figure out just what the hell was going on. The only thing keeping her from cussing out the two men was the gag over her face.

'_Find the Marauder' _was all she had sent, and it was a good thing too, she had been spotted and her phone taken just as she sent the message. She knew that Peter would be too angry to accept a request from the Marauder to help, but she hoped their argument after the two men went toe to toe the first time hadn't meant that Peter would ignore her.

"_I can handle myself Peter! I know what I'm getting into!"_

"_He's not some hero! He's a killer! A nutcase who belongs in prison! And you're going to glamorize him to make yourself look good for Jameson? You can't do that!"_

"_What the hell gives you the right to tell me what I can and can't do?!"_

She knew he wasn't trying to control her, he was just trying to protect her, like he tried to protect everyone. But she knew her words had hurt him, she could see it, even behind his mask.

There was a massive crashing sound that brought her back to the present before the truck came to a halt, Mary Jane thrown against the restraints as the two men skidded across the floor. **"Step out of your vehicles with your hands in the air and you will not be harmed" **boomed a commanding mechanical voice. She could see the men's faces not go white with fear, but twist in anger as they readied their weapons.

Their reaction was seemingly universal, gunfire could be heard outside before a deeper report thundered in response, rounds pinging off of the side of the truck she was in before one punched clean through the truck, missing her by mere feet.

The two enforcers now had their weapons trained on the door as the strange mechanical sounds continued from outside, the truck shaking as whatever had attacked them continued its grisly work, for Mary Jane, not knowing was the scariest thing about her situation. **"Drop your weapons and I will accept your surrender****" **offered the same voice, though this time sounding more lifelike to MJ's ear.

And then the explosions started, and the guards really started to panic. They thought they were safe, but as they looked out the window at the burning remains of another of the trucks the color drained from their faces.

Then the doors at the back began to strain, bend, buckle, and then were ripped off completely and the color was removed from their faces when splotches of webbing covered them and yanked them to the ground, the impact knocking their weapons away before more bursts of webbing cocooned them to the floor. "Customs inspection" called out a familiar voice, relief washed over Watson as Spider-Man jumped up into the vehicle and came over to her. "You alright MJ?" he asked as he removed the gag and got to work on her restraints.

"Fine tiger" she said as she rubbed her sore wrists gingerly and grit her teeth. The sounds of a massive automatic weapon cut off any further conversation. "Looks like you got his help like I told you to" she added with a smile as the sounds of battle continued outside.

"Uh, yeah" answered Peter in a less than convincing manner as he ripped of the shackle around her ankles. "Time to go, and he really brought the cavalry out for this." He helped her out the opened doors where the area was covered in shrapnel, spent shell casings, and the dead. Peter pressed a hand to his ear. "I got her, come get us and let's get out of here!" said Parker as he scooped Watson up.

There was one more massive burst of gunfire as the source came into clear view, the twenty foot tall Titan towered over the burning and wrecked trucks, the massive gun it held in its hands firing a continuous stream of brightly colored tracers as it picked its feet off the ground and dashed backwards with startling agility. "What's that?!" screamed Mary Jane.

Peter shot a webline at it and pulled the pair up and settled in on top of the metal monster. "Our ride" he called as he banged on the top of the machine as it turned and sprinted down the road. MJ just watched as the lenses of Peter's mask furrowed before he turned to her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, though the deep pit of despair that formed in her gut gave a hint as to what was happening.

"Yuri called" said Peter grimly before looking up towards their home, the New York City skyline in the distance. "Cinderblock just started."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Vanguard Class Titan_

_As the Titan and Titan doctrine continued to develop on the Frontier, the bi-pedal machines came to replace traditional Main Battle Tanks in many roles. One offshoot of this evolution was seeing Titans go from independently operating units to working in groups, usually four or six at the small team level, all the way up to sixty for a full Titan Division. As a result, more specialized capability was needed, and the result was a shift away from the customizable chassis of old with overlapping equipment options into the modern system of different classifications meant to work in tandem with one another. _

_But for the SRS and the policy of small fast-moving teams that favored flexibility and adaptability above all else, such rigid Titan classes would not work. Thus, a requirement for a brand-new Titan was born and the result is the Vanguard Class. In addition to the most advanced sensor suite and AI core to give tactical advice and improved cyberwarfare capability, the chassis is tougher and faster than those of a similar size with its two lateral dashes compared to the usual one. The greatest boon is that because of its rapid fabrication technology it can duplicate the loadout of any other Titan Class at a moment's notice. Quad Rockets to Predator Cannons to Plasma Railguns, the Vanguard has them all._

_May God have mercy upon my enemies. Because I won't._

_Log – Titan Loadout: Expedition_

_If you don't know what kind of trouble you're getting yourself into, then the Expedition loadout will probably get you out of it. The primary weapon is the XO-16A2 chaingun, firing 20mm Semi-Armor-Piercing ammo, tungsten tipped with an explosive charge. A balanced weapon capable of dealing with infantry and light armor up to and including Titans. If I need to deal with something bigger, the Acolyte missile pods are loaded with lock on fire and forget missiles equipped with either High Explosive Anti Titan or Fragmentation warheads. The Vortex shield is my primary defensive ability, a shield that harnesses the same properties as the Gravity Star to 'catch' incoming fire before 'throwing back' the ordinance wherever I want. I would imagine two Titans with this ability would make for the worlds most dangerous game of catch. _

_The rest of the kit includes a 'rearm' that will overclock the flash forging equipment to reload the vortex shield, missile pods, and dashes. Useful when caught out or needing to press an attack. I can also make use of the Vanguard's Electric Smoke dispensers to break line of sight, missile locks, and give anyone who gets too close a nasty surprise. Lastly is the Burst Core, this special drum of high-powered ammunition will shred anything I point the XO at when it's loaded. The higher pressures produce a higher rate of fire and better armor penetration along with a more potent explosive charge mean they hit much, much harder. The ultimate 'fuck you and the horse you rode in on' card. _

_I know it may not look like it based on that description, but that's the 'Jack of all Trades, master of none' loadout, the others are even more insane. _

_I have the best toys._

* * *

**Closing notes: Next chapter will see the Kingpin's plan put into action and our heroes see what his endgame is. And while Spider-Man and the Marauder will go their separate ways, a favor owed to Kingpin means that the Pilot has a nasty surprise waiting for him in the wings.**

**This chapter also was the rematch of the Marauder and Spider-Man, this time with the Pilot missing some of his tools to even the odds. One of the main differences was to have the fight out in the open to enable them to use their mobility as a weapon. While I am more satisfied with this attempt there will be another down the line, only then both will have their entire arsenal of gadgets and abilities available. But that's _way _off. **

**This is also the first time BT gets in on the action. And yes, I will say with a straight face that Cooper snuck a 25 foot tall 40 ton robot several miles through New York state to the ambush site and then snuck it back and the only ones who saw it were the ones who were involved in the ambush. That's my story and I'm sticking to it...even if it is utterly ridiculous. **

**As always, don't hesitate to give me some feedback if you got it, until Tuesday (probably) when…**

**Well the devil may care, you toss 'em back and be a man, with the last time, Black Ice.**

**Stay frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	11. Chapter 11: Black Ice

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment etc.

We're finally here folks. This is the effective end of the first story arc with the next chapter serving as the epilogue/transition. The title is the title track from AC/DC's 2008 album. It's a good tune, rough and mean and fitting the brawl like fight I was going for. In the next arc there is only one AC/DC song, so I will prove that I do know other bands.

I would also like to take a moment to thank everyone who's favorited, followed, and offered feedback to this oddball of a story. Hopefully you all continue to enjoy it.

As always feel free to give some feedback, what you like, what you don't, what I need to do better. But first, let's get stuck straight in.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 11: Black Ice**

_Livin' long, livin' long_

_Sleep all alone, you're gonna take it all_

_And I'm gonna rip it out_

_I'll kick, I creep crawl down your street_

_I'll gouge your eyes out_

_Black Ice_

* * *

Cooper pressed himself against the cab, automatic weapons fire peppering the car as he slammed a fresh magazine into his G2 and released the bolt. As soon as he did, he dove away from the car and planted two shots into the chest of one hoodie wearing thug wielding an Uzi before the thug went down in a heap. The Marauder activated his cloak, having to break contact from the pandemonium that was taking place.

It had been nearly an hour since Yuri had called him to tell him that reports of gunfire were starting to come in from the locations found at the architecture firm. Parker had gone on ahead, directed by Black Cat to where the heaviest fighting was taking place. Matthew had deposited MJ and BT at his warehouse before heading to the island.

He didn't expect to find himself smack in the middle of a gang war, two well-armed groups shooting it out, and both sides not hesitating to shoot the SRS Commando when he appeared. Firing his grapple, Cooper scampered up the side of a building and switched to his backup weapon. The Pilot began raining grenades down on the advancing hoodies with the MGL, saturating the street with the deadly explosive rounds until he chewed through the whole belt. "Cat, any idea why the fuck these guys are here?" he asked as he closed the top cover on a fresh belt.

"_They want to break into that building, at least that's what they're being told to do"_ answered the thief as Matt went back to the G2 and began picking off the surviving attackers and any defenders that silhouetted themselves in a window with the semi-auto battle rifle. _"But get this, the defenders have a group sent to attack the base of the gang that's hitting the address Spider is at"_ relayed Hardy.

Cooper stopped firing for a moment, both to reload his rifle and to make sense of what Felecia had just said. "Wait a second…Kingpin armed all these guys, just to send them to war with each other?" he asked as a grenade launchers telltale string of explosions filled the air. The aggressors had regrouped and were about to make another push. "This some fucked up game of musical chairs?"

His exasperation was followed up by more rifle shots, but the tide had turned. Hoodies were flooding into the defender's hideout with Cooper only able to take a few shots at the trailing members before the area was clear and fell silent. _"I doubt it, not Fisk's style" _replied Felicia coolly. _"Decryption is still working on the stored files. I'll let you know when it's done."_

With that, the Marauder jumped down, his kit firing to slow his descent as he hit the ground and took cover behind a shot-out truck. Cooper strained to hear anything other than the muted gunshots from inside the gang hideout. When both that and his proximity alert said he was clear, the Pilot activated his cloak and sprinted to the entrance of the building. Slinging the G2 over his shoulder, Matt drew the Smart Pistol and fired his grapple to pull himself up into an open second story window. Creeping forwards, the Marauder swept the hall for any sign of movement but found himself alone. His pace quickened, the MK6 sweeping from side to side as he pushed deeper into the hideout.

The hall was littered with signs of recent fighting, shell casings and bloody bodies were everywhere, bullet holes were in every wall, and the smell of cordite was in the air. The living were notably absent, at least until Cooper's eyes picked up movement, shadows at the end of the hallway. Crouching, the Marauder moved forwards slowly, pistol poised straight ahead. "Yo man, we almost done?" asked one.

"Yeah, almost" responded the other as they finished and turned to head down the hallway at Matt, who cloaked. "Smoke is setting the last of the demo charges, then we get out of here and get our payday, courtesy of the Kingpin himself" said the hooded thug, waving around a sub machine gun excitedly.

The two walked by the cloaked pilot, unaware of his presence as the Marauder stood and approached from behind. In one set of motions he pressed his gloved left hand over the second hoodies mouth and kicked the back of his knee, forcing him to his knees as he triggered the MK6.

The other thug had turned to see what was happening just in time for the bullet to slam into his eye and cause him to drop dead. Cooper tightened his grip on the survivor and pressed the still warm muzzle into his temple as he dragged him into a room. "I'm going to ask some questions before I move my hand. If you do anything other than answer then I'm going to paint that wall with your brains, got it?" he asked calmly, getting a frantic nod that was stifled by his grip. "Good" he growled, "what the hell are you doing here?" he snarled before slowly moving his hand, trying to gauge the reaction until he finally uncovered his mouth.

"Li…lis…listen man" he stammered quietly. "When Kingpin tells you to hit another gang and gives you the shit to do it, you don't ask questions, ya know?" he said before stopping to take several rapid breaths to try to compose himself. "He told us to come here and plant the demo charges, he wants this building turned to rubble. That's all I know" he said. Cooper didn't know either, and now wasn't the time to try and figure it out. "Please man, don't leave me here, we're gonna blow the building any minute now."

It turned out they didn't even have that long, a string of explosions rocked the building, causing Cooper to stumble and release the thug, who ran towards a stairwell. Cursing, the SRS Pilot fired his grapple at the top of the window frame and slingshotted himself out as the building collapsed. He cleared the window, the structure already failing and falling apart as he did so. Coopers relief was short lived however, rubble from the collapsing building clipped him and knocked him out as the structure fell around him.

* * *

Watson became distinctly aware of a tapping sound some time before realizing it was her own heel clicking against the concrete floor of the armory at the Marauders hideout. She wasn't happy about effectively being a prisoner in the refurbished warehouse. "Ms. Watson, do not be distressed. The Pilot and Spider-Man have an 81% chance of completing the operation without sustaining serious injury" said the 40 ton mechanical warden. Glaring at the machine, MJ refused to answer, it wasn't what had her wound up to begin with. "Militia medical protocols include several breathing exercises to reduce stress" intoned the Titan, almost sounding concerned as the journalist huffed and turned away.

Peter and the Marauder had both come to her aid just to lock her in a building far away from the action 'for her own safety' while they went and did the hero thing. It was a script she was accustomed to, but not one she liked. At least the Marauder hadn't actually cuffed her to a table like he threatened. If she couldn't explore where the action was happening, then maybe she could at least explore where she was. "BT" she said, causing the blue eye to snap to her and spin inquisitively, "Is there a bathroom around here I could use?" she asked timidly, not sure if the machine could tell the difference.

The eye 'blinked' before one of its arms extended out and pointed to a door. "You may use the facilities in the Pilots private quarters Ms. Watson" replied the machine in the monotone voice. The redhead smiled apologetically and made for the door, making sure to close it behind her.

She found herself in a basic, if comfortable living room across from a small kitchen. Neither area looked like they saw much use, even if an electric guitar sat on the sofa. A disassembled rifle sat on the kitchen counter, the smell coming from it made her hope the Marauder didn't use the same surface for cooking, at least before wiping down the area.

The journalist continued further back when she came to a hallway, the first door on her right was the bathroom. Just beyond was the bedroom, a king sized bed with rumpled sheets at the center, but it was the walls which caught her eye. On either side of the tv in front of the bed was a flag, the Texas state flag on the left and 'Come and Take It' flag on the right. On the far side of the room was a simple framed painting, the Marauder's helmet alongside a black cat.

Watson recognized the style, she had seen a similar painting in Peter's apartment, a gift from his ex. "Marauder and Black Cat huh?" she mused as she saw the way the cat was rubbing against the helmet, "good to see her moving on at least." She then locked her eyes on the flags, "Seems the Marauder is a Texan too, I wonder what Cooper would say?" she said quietly before closing the door and turning to the one on the opposite side of the hallway.

Quietly opening the last room, her jaw dropped as she saw what it was, a garage containing a very familiar shape. The exotic looking, low slung, red and black Dodge Viper. It had to be a coincidence, but as she saw the license plate on the Viper any doubt disappeared. It read 'V8 EATR.' "No way in hell" she said in disbelief as the pieces fell into place.

Matthew Cooper was the Marauder.

* * *

"Come on, pick up damnit" growled Yuri as she drove her squad car through Manhattan, cellphone pressed to her ear. The call expired, "Damn" she cursed as she selected another number and dialed again.

"_Hey Yuri"_ said a chipper voice as gunfire could be heard in the background, _"kinda busy at the moment, can I get back to you?"_ asked the Webhead as the sound of punching and kicking took over.

"Not an option" replied Yuri as she approached her destination. "If you're busy then I need to know where the Marauder is. We're getting reports of a massive explosion in the Flatiron district."

Yuri began to slow the car as she heard a grumble on the other end of the call. _"That's where the Marauder was, he showed me what he knew. I'm doing what I can to stop the fighting, but these guys are belligerent and numerous."_

The Captain was surprised, to hear the two men who had been duking it out a few hours ago were working together. But that shock was nothing compared to the shock she felt as she saw the collapsed building. "We know what they're after, they're trying to destroy opposing gang hideouts. Kingpin's forced a gang war and given them the tools to bring down whole buildings, which is what they just did over here" she exclaimed as she got out of the car, two others coming up behind her, their array of lights struggling to make out much through the dust that covered the street.

"_Alright Yuri…wait, it seems like the Reds are abandoning their hideout, I'm going to go take a closer look. Talk to you later Yuri, good luck out there"_ said the Wallcrawler before the line was cut.

The officers from the other cars came up, flashlights out as they covered their mouths against the dust. "MARAUDER!" she yelled out. "Answer me damnit!"

The other officers gave her an odd look as they pushed forward. Her phone buzzed again as she answered. _"Hello again Captain"_ purred a familiar voice, though there was a faint tinge of distress in it.

"You" hissed Yuri as she directed the others to take the lead and begin searching the area. The cop remembered what happened the last time she listened to this woman. "What is it you want? To lead us into another trap?" sniped Yuri darkly.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a second. "_No_" murmured the mystery woman. _"The Marauder, he was inside the building when it went down. You need to find him and get him out __of there"_ she ordered. Yuri wasn't keen to take orders from the woman, but she agreed, there were four more gunfights going on, every place on the drive he gave her was being hit. He had been right on the money and they would need him in this fight.

The captain waded into the dust and saw the piles of rubble that covered the street, it would take hours if not more for them to search them all, and that was no guarantee they could get him out. Her eye was drawn to something odd, a flashing emanating from one of the piles. It seemed random, but her brain noticed something, it was a pattern, an SOS. "Over here!" she called, getting the others to come to the pile in question. "Marauder, you in there? Answer me" she called as she began digging, one of the officers heading back to get some tools from his squad car.

"You expected someone else?" came a mechanical reply as the light swung around towards her, staying on. "Kingpins ordering gangs to attack each other" he said as the cops began pulling back smaller pieces of rubble. "We also know why they needed those heavy weapons" he added wryly.

The Yuri and the others moved a larger piece to see how the vigilante was stuck. His torso and up was free, but he was unable to move his legs due to the steel beam propped up by a piece of concrete on his right side as he lay on his back. "We do" she agreed as they worked together. "Are you hurt?" asked the oriental woman as they all tried to lift the beam enough to free the vigilante.

They all tried to push the beam off of him. "I'll walk it off" he grunted as they pushed to no avail before his head cocked and he stopped moving. "Shit" he said suddenly, getting the attention of the officers. "We got more bad guys heading this way, y'all can't stay in the open" he ordered. "What are you waiting for? An engraved invitation? MOVE YOUR ASSES!" he snapped.

They all looked to the Captain, who nodded, causing them to run off to get behind rubble or wrecked cars. "The hell are you doing? YOU are still in the open" she said lowly, the implications obvious.

"On my back" he began, the x shaped visor looking directly at her, the words deadly calm. "There's a grenade launcher, take it. When those assholes pull up, you unload all eight shots into 'em. The rounds are magnetic, stick to metal" explained the vigilante as he wrapped his arms around the I beam and pulled himself up, Yuri able to pry the weapon out from under him.

The weapon was short and stubby, the belt of grenades on the left side flopped around as Watanabe shouldered it. "You better know what you're doing" she scolded before taking off, hoping she wasn't leaving the man to his fate.

* * *

Cooper watched the cop walk off before letting out a breath as his mind raced. _"Enlighten me, what exactly is the plan here?"_ asked Hardy over the radio, the thief sounded worried and intrigued.

Killing his helmet light and dimming his visor, the Pilot drew his smart pistol and steeled himself. "Thought I'd try shooting my way out" he drawled calmly as he saw the headlights of the approaching SUVs. "Mix things up a little" he finished. There was a mirthful, feminine laugh in response over the line as the Marauder narrowed his eyes, he could see several shadowy figures approaching. Thermal gave him some idea of their silhouettes, but he couldn't distinguish them. "That's a big bastard" he commented wryly as he saw a group move away from their vehicles and towards the trapped Marauder.

Biding his time, Matthew switched back to normal vision as he watched a group of them stay closer to their vehicles while the other group began to search the rubble, flashlights attached to rifles. "Marauder is here" declared a heavily Russian accented voice. "When we find him, he is mine."

More out of hope than any belief it would actually work, Cooper fruitlessly tried the beam again,

and it still didn't budge. Resigned to his situation, Matt lay in wait as the big Russian got closer, it almost looked like he was sniffing the air like a dog. He took aim with the smart pistol at some of the help, waiting for the weapon to lock on before he squeezed the trigger and three of the goons dropped dead. The action didn't go unnoticed as the weapon shifted to the three on the other side before he triggered the weapon again.

Despite the muffled report of the weapon, the Russian came right at him, and was on top of him before Cooper could register it. His foot clamping down on the Pilot's hand before prying away the MK6. "You are Marauder, da?" asked the Russian, who Cooper could now see was clothed in animal skins, a necklace made of various teeth around his neck. Now that stealth was of no use, the x shaped visor came back to life, looking up into the imposing figure. He jabbed a finger into his chest, "I am Kraven. Kingpin paid large sum for me to hunt you" he said casually as he looked down at the trapped SRS Pilot. "He promised a challenge...it seems he was mistaken" said the Hunter with a chuckle.

"Sorry to…sorry to disappoint" replied Cooper as he tried to work his hand free to no avail. "I tell you what, get me out of here and I'll give you the fight of your life" he taunted, hoping the bastard wasn't just going to take the easy money.

To his surprise, the Russian released his hand and moved to the end of the beam and cracked his knuckles before putting his hands under the beam. The Pilot prepared to pull out a firestar and hurl it at the Russian, but before he could, the man pushed on the beam and Cooper felt it _give_.

Thoughts of reprisal were replaced with him adding his own exo enhanced strength to Kraven's efforts as the beam lifted up first a half inch, then full inch, and then half a foot, allowing the pilot to scamper free, though he did have to leave his rifle behind. His breathing unrestricted, Cooper took in deep breaths, his helmet filtering out the dust before he was knocked on his ass, the Hunter standing above him.

"It's on now" snarled the Pilot as he fired his jump kit, shooting him backwards and opening the distance as he got back to his feet. Before the battle could begin, Cooper heard the familiar '_chink chink_' of the MGL before the SUVs exploded in a brilliant display. With that, Cooper attacked, breaking into a dead sprint and jumping through the dust as he came down at the Russian.

Quicker than he had any right to, Kraven shot forwards on all fours causing the Marauder to miss and hit the ground in a slide before he kept running, jumping up onto a wall before leaping off back into the fray. The police had engaged the other thugs while Kraven kept his eyes locked on the Pilot as Cooper bore down on him, axe now drawn. The Russian tried to dodge again, but Matt fried his grapple across his body and was able to get a slash and run attack in, the axe head ripping open the Hunter's side through his tiger skin vest. Matthew fired his grapple again to slingshot himself around a still standing lamppost and come back on the attack.

But Kraven was ready, he leapt up at the Marauder, taking Matt by surprise. Cooper tried to bring the axe down, but one of the Russians big hands had wrapped around his wrist, stopping the tomahawk. At the same time, the wind was knocked out of the Pilot as the Hunter rammed his knee into the armor-plated gut of Cooper. Matt thrashed as he tried to recover, the combat axe fell from his hand before he caught sight of the wound he had inflicted earlier. As the two fell towards the street, the Marauder began to pound on it with his free hand, not stopping even after the pair came back to earth. The Renegade Pilot became vaguely aware that Kraven was trying to pry his helmet off, but paid no heed as they rolled across the street.

Then he felt the helmet budge, and his senses bombarded by the dust and smell of the battleground as his mind raced for a way to free himself from the larger Hunter. Ignoring the smell and the dust through the broken seal, the Texan's free hand fumbled for his data knife before he buried that implement into the Russian's wound. That finally drew a reaction, a scream of pain pierced the night as Cooper twisted the blade before ripping it out and plunging it back in again and again. The Russian removed his hand from the Pilot's chest to stop him, Cooper taking the opening to bash his helmet into the man's nose, getting a satisfying crunch in return. He kicked and ripped his arms free as his jump kit fired, pushing him away as he resealed his helmet and activated his cloak, disappearing into the dust as he took cover in an attempt to disengage from Kraven and help the Cops with the last of the gangsters.

He made his way to the burning SUVs, one thug was holding down a flank with bursts of accurate fire from a machine gun, unaware of the Marauder approaching him from behind. Cooper shoved him out of cover and reengaged his cloak as the man spun around to find what looked like empty air. Matt took some small piece of satisfaction from the shocked look on the man's face as he decloaked, the data knife mere inches from his face before he jammed it in and pulled it out just as quickly.

Before he could gather his thoughts, Cooper was picked up and slammed against the smoldering vehicle by the snarling Russian, one massive hand around the Pilot's throat, his side bleeding profusely, and his nose crooked. None of that worried Cooper, the twisted evil grin did. Matt brought his legs up to try and push him away to no avail as the hand around his neck squeezed tighter. "I want to look you in eye as I squeeze life from you" boasted the Russian as he wrapped his other big paw on the top of the MCOR helmet and took it off and tossed it aside.

With the helmet gone, the link with his exo and jumpkit was severed. His strength fell further, and he now had to fight against the added weight of his gear. It felt almost like being paralyzed, he panicked as the equipment he had become accustomed to now served to hasten his demise. Cooper's breathing became labored and the edges of his vision darkened, attempting to fight back, he punched the man's elbow, but his tired blows accomplished nothing. As a reward for his efforts, Kraven used his free hand to snatch up both wrists and Cooper found his arms pinned over his head by the Hunter. He was vaguely aware of movement to his right, and his addled mind registered a gunshot.

It was Yuri, and her round had been aimed at Kraven's head, but missed, hitting the man's arm, causing him to release Cooper's as the Pilot poured everything he had left into moving his arms and breaking them free, his left coming out in a half punch at Kravens broken nose before he tried to press his fingers into the Hunters eyes. But that was only a distraction, his right grabbed a Firestar, and with a savage grunt, buried the incendiary into Kraven's face. Both of the man's hands came to his face as he ripped the shuriken like weapon out of his cheek, causing the remaining thermite to cover his hands and body as Cooper dropped to the ground and rolled away.

Kraven the Hunter writhed in pain; the crackling of the thermite matched the flickering flames that marked his suffering as Cooper watched the display with no remorse. "Fry you son of a bitch" he snarled as he slowly pushed himself onto all fours, only to be shaken from his stupor by the sound of his helmet hitting the ground next to him. He quickly slipped it on and waited for the filters to cycle before taking deep breaths and looking up at Captain Watanabe, her hand extended. He took it and got to his feet, exhausted despite all the STIMS, and ached through all the pain killers. "How bad?" he asked simply as the x shaped visor scanned the scene, burning cars, bodies, rubble and all.

"Last I checked? Every place on that list had been hit" she answered. Cooper nodded and walked over to retrieve his lost weapons, the Captain in tow. "We can't be everywhere, not after last night, we don't have the manpower" she explained as he nodded and put the last of his lost weapons back, his rifle still gone and MGL in police hands.

"Cat, you still there?" he asked tentatively as he followed Yuri to where the police cruisers were parked. "What's going on?" he asked as he pulled out a fresh dose of STIMS and injected them, his mind becoming more alert instantly.

"_Only if Kraven didn't ruin your handsome face"_ replied the Platinum haired vixen over the comm. Cooper sighed at the comment, hoping the thief wasn't being too serious, he probably looked like hammered shit. _"Bad news, most of the fighting's over, the survivors are all being directed to go to ground" _she explained.

The pilot hmmed in acknowledgement as he approached the Cops, Yuri holding a radio set to her face as she got an update from her superiors. "The fighting is dying down. Apparently, every building that you scouted out has been brought down. The gangs are running and hiding" she said as she angrily threw the handset back into the car, confirming what Cat had told him. "We're on damage control now, and…we're supposed to bring you in."

The Marauder looked at the other cops, none of which seemed any more thrilled at the prospect than Yuri did. "Good to see my efforts are appreciated" he answered sarcastically. "But I can't let you do that" he said simply. All of the regular officers nodded and slowly stepped back.

Yuri simply reached into the car and pulled out the MGL, tossing him the weapon. "Lay low for a few days, wait for the dust to settle. That Russian? He tangled with Spider-Man a few years back. Still wanted" she explained as she led him away from the police cars. Only there was no body, signs of thermite burning were on the ground, but the Hunter was gone. "Damn" cursed Yuri as both drew their weapons.

"Nothing on thermals, he's long gone" reported Cooper. Both he and Watanabe grimaced at the prospect of Kraven being on the loose, but there was little they could do about it.

Yuri holstered her Barretta, "best you get out of here. And remember, don't cause any trouble" advised the Captain.

Cooper chuckled wryly, "I make no guarantees" he said with a forced grin before sprinting forwards and firing his grapple, jump kit firing as he disappeared into the night.

* * *

Cooper skidded and stumbled to a stop outside his hideout, the ad hoc team had agreed to regroup and discuss their next move after the fighting had subsided on the island. The Marauder made his way to the door and waited for BT to unlock the small door before he came inside. He noticed the journalist sitting in a small chair, scribbling something in a notepad look up at him. "Ms. Watson" he said cordially as he limped inside and began to remove his weapons. "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, you should be able to be on your way shortly" he said, noting the cracks in her composure as she stood.

"Cut the shit Matt" she said bluntly, the Pilot stiffening for a brief second before turning to face her. "I know it's you, I found your car in the garage" she said as she glared at him, the force in her expression enough to convince Matthew not to argue. "You going to say anything?"

Matt shrugged as he removed his helmet, "I really suck at this whole secret identity thing" he said dryly before he sat down, this latest revelation adding to his physical and mental exhaustion. "First Hardy and now you" he said with mirth as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"The Black Cat knows who you are?" replied MJ in shock. "Listen Cooper, what's going on here? Were you guys able to stop Cinderblock or not?"

Cooper shook his head as he thought back, he looked on the screen the data he had been going through again and again. Cinderblock was a massive undertaking, there was no way to do it all in one night. "This was just the beginning" he said in realization. "Tonight, was about destruction, but the stuff we found, the building materials, the designs..." he began as his mind wandered. "What will happen to the property where the fighting happened tonight?" he asked suddenly.

Watson furrowed her brow, her mind starting to move down the same path Cooper's was. "The city will seize it for the police investigation and then…they'll…sell…it." She made a shooing motion as Cooper pulled himself back and MJ began tapping away at the terminal. "Fisk already has the shell companies in place to buy and develop the property. Osborn will do it too, people have suspected that there's been a connection between them for some time but no one could ever prove it. My money says Fisk _will_ get that property."

Cooper hung his head, "and we've been played like a damn fiddle this whole time. This isn't a criminal effort, it's a business enterprise. Fisk wanted to get those properties and push the gangs out at the same time, he's done that in a single move. All this shit for fucking nothing" he said bitterly.

Watson seemed startled by his words as he shook his head again. "I wouldn't say that" she said soothingly. "You rescued me, and we still know what he's planning, it's not over yet. Those weapons they were bringing in? A lot of them are off the streets now, thanks to you."

He looked at her and chuckled a bit, "You just want to make sure you get that interview, don't you?" he asked wryly. The reporter smiled but offered no denial. "You'll get it, but don't expect any of this shit to make it. I'm going to lie my ass off the whole time."

"I understand, this'll stay between us, and the Black Cat" she said in agreement, the conviction in her tone making Cooper feel better.

"And me" chirped a voice as Spider man rappelled down from the skylight, the other two craning their heads up to look at the webhead. "You told me too."

"Get your ass down here Parker" grumbled the Marauder as he stood up and began taking off his armor, sighing at the poor state of it. Taking a shot in the dark, the Pilot spoke up again. "You too Hardy, I know you're around here somewhere."

Sure enough, there was a distinct clicking of heels as Hardy strode from the still ajar door to his living quarters to join the others, though Spider man was still hanging by a thread, now eye level with the others. "So good to see you again Spider" said Felecia, Cooper able to see Parker gulp through his suit before Hardy came up beside Matt, leaning and resting against the Pilot with her elbow on his shoulder.

"My" said Watson as she eyed the Thief and Vigilante, "you two seem close" she observed, though the implication was obvious.

"Later" grunted Cooper, ending that conversation before it started. "I'll be honest, I'm out of my depth here. Any suggestions on our next move?" he asked the group. "Fisk is going to get his hands on that property he wants and we're on the outside looking in. Since my method of getting in BT and going until there aren't any more bad guys shooting at me isn't the best tactic, what are the alternatives?"

"That course of action has a 100% success rate thus far Pilot Cooper" reminded BT from his rack behind Cooper. The other members of the group glanced at the Titan before shifting their gazes back to the Pilot, who merely shrugged.

"As…reasonable…as that sounds" said Peter dryly, "I don't think the situation calls for it. The streets are safe again, no reason to start another war" reasoned Spider-Man, Cooper agreeing. "We need to do the same thing they are, rest recover, but stay vigilant."

"I can dig into this link with Osborn" said MJ, getting the others attention. "Maybe get a clue as to what the next part of the plan is" she suggested.

Cooper nodded, everyone seemed to agree with that. "I can help with that" offered Felecia. "Where would be a good place to look? Mayor's office? Fisk Tower? They all sound like fun. When do we go?" asked Cat happily, the Thief eager to stretch her legs and do some infiltration.

"Not now, we need to wait" said Cooper, not happy about it. "Next week maybe, but truthfully? I don't think we'll find anything that will require us to go loud" he said, knowing his heel was tapping on the concrete floor. "Slimy business deals and corrupt politicians" said the Pilot before snorting, "almost miss Typhon."

"Maybe we could expose them?" suggested Peter, looking to Mary Jane, who would probably be the one to do it.

The redhead shook her head. "Osborn is too powerful, nothing we have would be good enough to go public with. He's practically untouchable."

"Bullshit" spat Cooper. "He's mortal just like anyone else, we just need to make sure he remembers that too."

"You're not seriously thinking of killing Norman Osborn?" asked a stunned Spider-Man. Cooper shook his head and gave his best 'you are shitting me' look. "What are you thinking then?"

"I'm not sure, but if we do dig up dirt on him…" began the Pilot before trailing off.

But Felicia seemed to understand what the Marauder was plotting. "You handsome evil man. Blackmailing the Mayor is something that I can get behind."

"Effectively, if he knows we're watching then maybe we can keep the bad stuff in check without having to lift a finger or hurt a soul" the Texan suggested, the mentioning of limiting violence caused the lenses of Spider man's mask to widen, softening his expression.

There was a soft silence that fell over the group as they processed the suggestion. "It's a big risk" said MJ simply, everyone agreeing silently. "Going against the Mayor isn't something any of us are used to."

"We're not going against him" said Cooper. "We're not trying to put him away, just let him know he's being watched and enable ourselves to keep watching him without getting our asses thrown in jail."

"This sounds very exciting" said Felecia, though her tone made it clear she thought that it was anything but. "You all going to try and play hero again. How noble" she said with disdain. "You do know Osborn won't like this. How do you think he's gotten where he is? He can play this game with the best of them."

"Then we don't go into the shadows" said Cooper simply, everyone shifting shocked expressions towards the SRS Pilot. "We do it to his face. High profile if not public."

"But arranging that is going to be impossible. He would never agree to meet with any of us" said Peter with a knowing tone. "We've known Osborn for years, there is no way any of us would be able to get near him, especially behind closed doors. Even if we did, who would meet?"

Cooper grimaced, there was only one real choice. "I'll do it" he said simply. "You all have lives, it's a much larger risk. Spidey has his reputation, Watson has a career, and I don't think Felecia is willing to risk it."

"Still won't be easy" said Peter. "You sure you're up for this?" he asked.

Cooper smiled, "I think so. Even if it's different, this aint my first rodeo" he said simply as he and Hardy shared a knowing look. "And if worst comes to pass then all that needs to happen is you be conveniently indisposed; BT will have my back."

Just to prove that he was still paying attention, the Titan spoke up. "I will uphold Protocol 3 Pilot Cooper" assured the Vanguard from his nearby rack.

"I know buddy" replied Matthew, even if he was sure Parker wouldn't like it if this happened.

"Listen, Matt" said Parker suddenly, causing all eyes to go to the inverted wall crawler. "Not that I don't trust you, but I don't feel like a know you at all. No more secrets, who the hell are you really?"

Cooper shrugged, "It's a hell of a tale. Short version? I am really a kid from Texas who lost his family. Only it wasn't them who died, I did." He looked at the stunned expressions on Peter and MJs faces, even if Spider Man's shock was only expressed by widening his eye lenses. "I wasn't done just yet, there was…this woman, she became my 'benefactor' for better or worse. She sent me to the future or something, maybe an alternate dimension" he said with a shrug. "I was trained by SRS Captain Tai Lastimosa, briefly. After that our ship went down over our objective on a planet by Typhon, Lastimosa died and I was alone deep behind enemy lines, but I was still just some kid from Texas, even if I was good with a gun."

"How did you survive?" asked MJ, who was shocked and curious in equal measure.

Cooper threw his thumb over his shoulder and pointed at the hulk of BT-7274. "BT was Lastimosa's Titan, and he transferred control to me when he was killed. Our mission was to find out what the IMC developing that resulted in strange energy readings. It turns out they were building a weapon, a big one. Like they blew up the planet's moon as a _test_." Cooper took a deep breath, clearly trying to compose himself as he recalled what they had found on Typhon. "They were going to start targeting planets and kill the millions of civilians on them to end the war. So, we called in the cavalry, the entire Special Recon Squadron descended on Typhon to destroy the weapon before it could be used. Me and BT joined them on the final assault and were responsible for the weapons destruction."

He then leaned forwards, "BT was in bad shape, we took out the weapon by throwing his damaged chassis and cracked reactor into the core of the Fold weapon, with me inside." He chuckled mirthfully as he looked back at the Titan. "But it was called the Fold Weapon for a reason, it folded space and time. Whatever happened when the radiation from the reactor hit it…sent us to here. Here's the kicker, that tricky bitch, my 'benefactor,' had this whole place ready and waiting for us, like it had been planned from the beginning" he said, pointing to the space around them.

"I don't know how I'm here or why. All I know is that I want to help people and I love doing this pilot shit. The best way to do that is to use SRS tactics and strategy. Stop people from being hurt by destroying or capturing what enables criminal activity to take place, just like how we took down the Fold Weapon. I don't believe in sitting back and waiting for the other guy to come to you. The way to do it is to seek them out and hit them on their own turf, take them by surprise and prevent them from getting a shot off. If I have to kill a few guys in the process, then so be it" he said firmly before leaning back in his chair.

Spiderman was obviously not happy with that attitude. "Matt, listen to yourself, this isn't like Typhon, these are people like you. They aren't trying to blow up planets, you have to be better than them" said the wall crawler in a pleading but firm tone.

The Marauder shrugged. "I'm not trying to defend my actions, nor am I saying I won't change. But…" said Cooper as he sighed tiredly. "But I'm not you, okay? I will shoot back when someone shoots at me. I think that lethal force can save lives. Peter, face facts" he said as he glared at Spider man. "The bad guys that you saved and put away, how many got out? Out of that number how many killed someone after that? Like it or not we both have a body count, only difference is I know what mine is."

Peter visibly flinched at that, lenses narrowing. "That's not my fault. I didn't kill anyone and you're insane if you think I did" he argued, and Matthew agreed. "The solution isn't to start killing everyone though. You have to be better than that."

Matt nodded, tired and not entirely disagreeing. "You're right, no doubt about it. But you're gambling with the lives of good innocent folks" countered Cooper, sounding less sure of himself. "Those up against guys who have no qualms about shooting at you or police? Can you really call me the bad guy for taking every step to tilt the odds in favor of the innocent?"

Spider man nodded in understanding. "Matt, you're talking about what iffs here. If you play that game, you'll drive yourself insane. I quit doing it a long time ago, trust me, it's never a good thing."

Matthew took a breath and looked long and hard at the spandex suited superhero before his expression softened and the Pilot turned to his Titan. "BT?" he asked, causing the machine to focus on him intently. "What sort of less than lethal options do we have?"

"The SRS has developed arc cored stun rounds for use against automated infantry" replied the Titan quickly. "They are less effective at neutralizing organic targets but can do so without inflicting permanent damage unless the target receives multiple hits."

Cooper glanced over at Spider-Man, who nodded from his inverted position. "Phase some in tomorrow morning, all the calibers they have those rounds in" ordered Cooper before turning back. "I'll carry some of each, use lethal when I need to, and those when I don't. Good?"

The webslinger let out a sigh. "Good enough" conceded the Wallcrawler, not pushing the issue any further. He then turned to the redheaded reporter. "Come on MJ, I'll take you home" he said extending his arm and picking up the woman.

"One last thing" said Cooper suddenly, causing the two to look towards the tired pilot. "Thank you, both of you. For helping me settle in, with all this." They both gave him affirming nods before the wallcrawler pulled them up out of the skylight, leaving just Cooper and Hardy in the warehouse.

The Marauder relaxed a little before he was keenly aware that Felecia was leaning into him. "Now now, aren't you going to thank me?" she purred as she stepped in front of him, the Pilot looking up at her mask covered face.

The woman leaned forwards and placed a forearm on each of his shoulders as Cooper tried to smile nonchalantly. "You're right, but you've done a lot more. I was hoping to thank you by taking you to dinner" he finished with a cheesy grin.

"I don't know" she said, wiggling her hips as she tilted her head. "Can we do something a bit more…physical afterwards?" she asked seductively as Cooper did his best to maintain a straight face. "I know a group of maggia enforcers that need to be seen to" she said with a smile.

Cooper nodded in understanding. "I think that can be arranged, say Friday?" he offered.

Felecia then closed the small gap between their faces and kissed him, lightly at first before the kiss grew in intensity, their mouths battling for dominance before Cooper felt her tongue prying for entry, which he granted. He placed one hand on the back of her head and the other on the curve of her hip as she pulled him in to her.

As suddenly as it began, it ended. Hardy pulled back, both panting for breath as they eyed each other hungrily. "An appetizer, and a good one" purred the Thief happily as she smirked at him before turning and heading for the door.

Cooper didn't fail to notice the extra sway in her hips and the way her suit clung to her curves as she strutted out. After that kiss, the Pilot hated to see her go but loved to watch her leave. As soon as she was gone, he cleared the less than pure thoughts from his mind and got up to go get some sleep in his own bed. "Pilot Cooper" said BT suddenly, causing the Marauder to look at the Titan. "The human concept of love is comprised of four factors: Admiration, attraction, devotion, and respect. Recent interactions suggest you are at least 75% in love with Felecia Hardy."

Matt stared blankly at the machine before laughing wryly and disappearing into his quarters with a shake of the head, not seeing any point in arguing with the Titan.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – 2016 Dodge SRT Viper GTS_

_I've always loved Vipers and how there is exactly zero subtlety about them whatsoever. One look at it tells you that it is a very fast and horribly impractical automobile made for men to play at being cooler than they are. It is every one of those things, but none of that truly captures the experience of seeing that low slung shape and settling down into the bolstered leather seats and turning the key. The entire care shakes and rumbles like a beast being stirred from slumber, and when compared to the soft whines and smooth motions of BT, the car has an almost primal feel to it. When you press the gas and run that big 8.4 Liter displacement V10 to the redline, a coiled snake appears on tachometer that is your signal to shift gears. This is the same snake emblem that acts as your third taillight and lights up whenever you slow down, just in case the guy following can't tell what kind of car he's behind. _

_And despite being a pretty modern car with seat warmers, backup cameras, satellite navigation, and some of those pesky safety ones like Anti-Lock Brakes, this fifth generation 'VX' car has the same three key features as all Vipers. Big V10 that makes a lot of power up front. That power goes through a six-speed manual transmission with a clutch pedal and stick shift in the middle. After that all the power gets to the road through two massive tires at the back. _

_Even though this thing has gotten me outed twice, being recognized by both Hardy and Watson, I have no intention of parting with it. Simply because when you get to wherever you're going, assuming you survive, you feel like the absolute King of Cool. _

_At least until you burn your leg on the side mounted exhaust as you get out of the car. _

_Log – Assault Rifle: G2A5 Battle Rifle_

_This weapon proves that you just can't beat the classics. An old school gun from the far future, this latest iteration of a 50-year-old design is considered by some to be too heavy, too unwieldly, and too demanding. But those some criticisms are championed by those who favor it, sturdy construction that will never fail when you need it, the fixed stock gives the weapon a solid feel and integrated dampeners help tame the gun's kick, and the weapon can fire a big bullet as accurately as its user is able. There are no polymer cased rounds or fancy guided ammunition, just a 6.19x97mm LEC round, a small hunk of lead shoved up to velocities on a par with the Longbow DMR and just as accurate. This round will punch clean through car doors and even the ballistic glass used on Police Riot Shields. _

_The weapon does come from a time when individual marksmanship was championed by strategists, meaning that it is limited to semi-automatic fire, one shot per trigger pull. There are existing designs for a trigger group with a fire selector and fully-automatic capability, but I haven't fabricated it yet. Even still, a cool demeanor and steady hand are all it takes sometimes, because throwing steel down range doesn't win fights, putting steel __**on target **__does._

* * *

**Closing notes: Cinderblock is just about wrapped up. I hope that the tie-in to the main game is understandable enough, if not, the short version is that its the origins of all of the Fisk construction sites that serve as hideouts. If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking around and hopefully you've been enjoying the ride. There will be one more original story arc before the main game gets underway and will see Matt work alongside another Marvel character eventually. **

**Also, feedback on the fight with Kraven would be appreciated. Not the most original of setups perhaps, but a simple introduction for Cooper, and the story, to Superpowered villains. While Spidey does have a great rogues gallery, one ambition of mine is for Cooper to get one or two of his own that would be original as well. Any thoughts for powers and such will be heard. **

**Hopefully the resolution to the Spider-Man and Marauder subplot was satisfactory. Note how I didn't say satisfying, I'm not intending it to be because it crops up more later on. In fact, that debate about the line between good and 'evil' is still ongoing throughout the entire upcoming arc. **

**As an amusing aside, of all of the things to influence this upcoming story arc, one of the major elements took heavy inspiration from The Professional. **

**The entire arc will be darker in tone, at least that was my intent. Overall, I've been trying to ground the setting as much as can be expected considering the story is about fluke dimensional travel, a sci-fi commando and his giant robot, a superhero, and a sexy cat burglar. But at the same time, I don't want it to be too dark, all doom and gloom and angst. Hopefully I've been striking that balance to y'all's liking so far. **

**Before the weekend (probably on Friday), Cooper's going to get hit with an infectious disease. **

**The first time that I got it I was just ten years old. I got it from some kitty next door, Cat Scratch Fever.**

**Stay frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	12. Chapter 12: Cat Scratch Fever

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Darlok: Thanks for the kind words. Your predictions are mostly accurate for what's in store but only mostly, though it may take some time to get there. I will say that Cooper's interactions with Sable are interesting because while they are both, more or less, professional soldiers, there is one issue: Cooper _hates _mercenaries. His experiences with the Apex Predators on Typhon were not pleasant, they were the ones who killed Lastimosa and captured him. There will also be other happenings and reasons for his animosity towards her, but that one is the most obvious. For her part, Silver, who's defining trait is stoic discipline, doesn't appreciate the Pilot's maverick attitude.

Also, the story has passed 1,100 views. Two responses: 1. Wow, thanks for the interest. 2. Wow, do none of us really have anything better to do with our time?

Don't take that second one seriously, I'm being sarcastic.

You may have noticed the story description has been updated, I was never happy with the original and I've been meaning to get around to it for some time.

This is a mostly fluff chapter that I'm honestly still not happy with, as for why I'll explain at the bottom. The song is one of the best by the Motor City Madman, Ted Nugent. Obvious meaning is obvious, there is approximately zero subtlety or surprises or any tricky business going on. And that is not sarcasm. That also means that there will be strong sexual content present. The section with it has been marked at the beginning and end with ten asterisks if you wish to skip over it, or skip directly to it, I don't care.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 12: Cat Scratch Fever**

_Well I don't know where they come from b__ut they sure do come_

_I hope they comin' for me_

_And I don't know how they do it but they sure do it good_

_I hope they doin' it for free_

_They give me cat scratch fever_

* * *

Three days after Cinderblock, things were finally starting to begin the arduous process of returning to normal. FEAST had seen an influx of people coming in, many people were looking to get off the streets after the multiple gun battles that took place. Peter Parker found himself spending more time at the homeless shelter, trying to help his Aunt May with the extra work.

He was busy at the front desk, giving the people in the reception area a fresh cup of coffee when the door opened, and Parker was surprised at who walked in. The Texan definitely looked better, the bags that were around his eyes were gone, bruises healed, and any hint of the limp from his injuries nonexistent. The faint buzz in the back of his head meant that Cooper had a weapon concealed beneath his SRT branded jacket or the bag slung over his shoulder. "Matt?" asked Peter as he approached the vigilante. "What are you doing here?"

"Have a little free time, figured I'd take you up on your offer and help out a bit" drawled Cooper casually before he had finally stopped scanning the lobby. It was a habit Peter had seen, 'checking all of the angles and exits', though his spider sense meant he hadn't developed it. "Though I need to change and be out of here by seven o clock sharp" he said as he checked his watch. "I don't mind doing whatever needs doing till then" he drawled, trying to be casual.

"Yeah, yeah sure man" replied Peter as he led him back out of the front office and away from any potential eavesdroppers. "Why the rush, hot date?" he joked as the pair went upstairs.

Matthew chuckled and gave a knowing smile. "Actually, yeah. I'm taking Felecia to dinner" he said as they reached the second floor and Peter led him to May's office, she would know what needs doing. "After that she has something planned, something we'd prefer to do alone" said Cooper.

At first, Peter thought he had simply been around Hardy too much, but the comment came too far out of left field, and the delivery was unexaggerated, cool and calm. Parker looked at the blank expression on Cooper's face, though there was a harshness in his eyes that made Peter realize the man's words had been a command to his alter ego. "Don't do anything I wouldn't" advised Parker, getting a grunt of acknowledgement in return.

The webhead wasn't sure what to make of that relationship. The Black Cat was manipulative and intelligent, and he hoped she wouldn't take advantage of the Marauder. Cooper's heart was in the right place, the Pilot did want to do good, even if was willing to do things Peter wasn't. He could help keep Hardy out of too much trouble and at least straight morally if not legally.

Those hopes wouldn't stop him from keeping an eye on the Militia Pilot.

* * *

Cooper finished rewiring one of the ceiling fans that had broken at some point, a pair of pliers held between his teeth as he retightened a screw while laying on top of the ladder some fifteen feet up. One thing about being a pilot, if he had any fear of heights, that had been beaten out of him. Satisfied with his work, he pocketed the tools he had and shimmied to the steps of the ladder as he spotted Parker down below, talking with two older folks hunched over a chess board. "Hey Parker, give it a shot" he called down.

The Wallcrawler had been coming in and out of whatever room Matt had been in constantly. The Marauder knew the other vigilante was keeping tabs on him, which Cooper understood and did nothing about. Peter flicked a switch on the wall, and after a moment of inaction, the ceiling fan began to turn. "Coop!" yelled Peter suddenly, catching Matt off guard with the old nickname's sudden use. "Check the time." The Pilot looked down at his watch, eyes widening in realization. Sliding down the ladder with a Pilot's speed, Cooper grabbed his pack and tossed the borrowed tools to Peter. "Office next to May's is empty, you can change there" provided Peter as Matt gave a thankful nod before rushing upstairs and changing into slacks and button down shirt, his blazer and overcoat were in the Viper parked up the street.

The 8.4 liter V10 came to life with its reassuring rumble, the feeling of the car waking back up and eager to strike never failing to put a smile on Coopers face. Even if the car had winter tires on it, the Viper was always known to bite those who drove it if they weren't good. Lightning fast reflexes and nerves of steel were perquisites to handle the super sports car. Fortunately, a pilot needed the same, and the Marauder felt at home behind the wheel.

With a little bit of speeding and creative routing, he was able to arrive at Hardy's building right on time. The thief soon appeared, wearing a black dress, coat, and a rather unhappy expression. She dismissed the doorman with a huff and made a beeline for the Viper and slammed the door. "Drive" she commanded simply.

Matt didn't argue, his foot mashing the throttle and the rear tires spinning before the car got moving. The Pilot stole glances at her profile, it was obvious that Black Cat was going through a range of emotions. Her cold anger gave way to annoyance before she finally relaxed with a sigh Cooper heard over the exhaust. "Is my driving that bad?" he asked with a half grin.

Before Hardy could answer, Cooper dropped a gear and stabbed the throttle, kicking the tail of the car out before spinning the wheel and straightening. The rear tires dug in and the Viper shot forwards causing both occupants to be pressed into their seats. Cooper gave a grin to Felecia, who glared in return. "I was going to say 'no', it's the car I don't like" she began, "but actually, it is your driving" she deadpanned.

Cooper calmed down a little after that, shifting up and keeping the revs low as the sleek machine stalked through the streets. "I don't care for your art and you don't care for my cars, this date is off to a great start" said Matt sarcastically, drawing a small laugh from the platinum blonde.

"It's not that" she admitted. Whatever it was, it had caused her to not be her usual confident, flirtatious self, so to say it had the Marauder worried was an understatement. Despite the silence, Matt could hear the cogs of her mind turning, unless that was the engine. "I got a call from my mother. She's going to…" she began before taking a breath, "never mind, it's nothing" she said firmly.

Cooper gingerly guided the car into a parking garage adjacent to the restaurant, turning to see Hardy making it a point to look out the window and not at him. "Felecia" said Cooper, not worrying that she didn't turn to look at him. "Just say the word, and I'll help. I need you at your best if we're going to gun for Osborn."

"Trust me handsome" she replied, her usual confidence back in full force, "You'll get everything you need."

* * *

A blue blur streaked over Felecia Hardy's head as she swung by her grapple through the city. The Marauder running alongside the walls of a building, licks of flame coming from his pack as Hardy landed on the rooftop of the same building. This was the part of the evening the Black Cat had been looking forward to. Dinner had been fine, surprisingly pleasant even. Cooper listened to her explain why she liked certain art pieces, occasionally offering a question or dry remark.

_"Need me to wait up for you Cat?"_ asked the Marauder in her earpiece, _"It's getting lonely up here at the front." _

"Miss me already?" she replied as she pushed herself harder to catch up to the Pilot. It was nice to have a partner again, the fact that he was good looking even without his armor was a definite bonus. The fact that he didn't mind her sticky fingers or feel the need to convert her to be some hero only made their arrangement even better. This was what she had really been looking forward to when she accepted his offer.

She could see the signature of his jump kit toss himself across the street as she fired her grapple to close the gap. _"Just don't want to hog all the fun is all"_ drawled the Marauder as he fired his own grapple.

The SRS Pilot swung towards the line of rooftops Hardy was on, firing his kit to sling himself up onto the rooftop. It didn't take long for Felecia to realize why, they were rapidly nearing their destination, if she was going to catch up then she had to do it now. However, there was nothing she could grapple to that would work, leaving only one option. With careful aim, she fired her signature gadget, the hook slamming into the back of her companion, bringing him to a halt as she got closer, half running, half flying towards him.

Her Hail Mary move came to an end as he turned around just in time for her to slam into him at nearly full speed, knocking him off his feet and causing the two to roll across the roof until they come to a stop. Straddling the Marauder, Hardy looked down at the glowing visor and smirked victoriously. The helmet looked up at her, a gloved hand rested on her hip as the other pressed to the side of his helmet. Hardy had to conceal her surprise as the front of the helmet opened to reveal the Pilot, looking up at the thief with a bewildered look. "If you wanted me to wait" he began between deep breaths, "you could have just asked."

He tried to use his elbow to prop himself up, but Hardy wasn't had her fill of fun just yet. She pressed a hand firmly against his armor, pressing his back down against the rooftop as she leaned down towards him. "And miss out on this?" she purred as her hand roamed over to and down his arm.

Coopers hand trailed down from her hip over her rear and to her thigh. "Point" conceded the Marauder, clearly occupied with other thoughts. Hardy smirked victoriously before she placed her hands on either side of the man's torso before she went into a handstand and finished the flip right over the head of Cooper, making sure he got a show in the process.

"Time for some fun" said Hardy as she looked across the street at the illuminated top floor of the club. A contact of hers passed along that she was providing a few girls for the entertainment of maggia boss Tony Costa, as well as the time and place. "Ready to crash a party?"

The Marauder crouched next to her, helmet reassembled, and orange and white submachine gun slung over his shoulder. "Your show Cat. How are we doing this?" he asked, back to business.

This was, in all likelihood, going to be a cakewalk. "I'm going through the vents, I like to be on top" she said.

"Which means I'm going through the front door" finished Cooper with a nod of his helmet. "All we're doing is neutralizing everyone inside, or is there something else I should know?"

Even if she couldn't tell through the voice filter, the question made Hardy feel guilty. The last time she had asked for his help it had been deliberately leading him into a trap that nearly got him killed. She wouldn't hide anything from him, not again. "The one having the party, Costa, I need to have a chat with him, find out what he has on Kingpin for when we visit his place. The other maggia men are fair game." He hmmed in acknowledgement, listening as she continued. "This is a party, there are some…entertainers there, not associated with the crime family."

"Simple enough" responded the Marauder as he cracked his knuckles, lightning flickering as he did so. "United we stand, divided we ambush" he quoted off handedly before turning to look at the thief. "Ready when you are."

Felecia smirked as she readied her grapple, "I need a five minute head start" she said, not waiting for his response before she pulled herself to the rooftop of the club. In short order, she had slinked her way into the unguarded ventilation shaft and found herself peering into the main room, her black outfit making her invisible to the others.

There were ten suited men around the room, playing cards, drinking, or watching the dancers. A sound from the door that led to the patio caused all of them to focus on the door. The second bang drew a few concerned glances as some of the men got up and turned to the double doors just as they flew open. "The fuck?" asked one, "what the hell did that?"

In answer to the question, the Marauders cloak fell away to reveal the vigilante, blue visor scanning slowly, menace emanating off of him in waves. The Maggia enforcers stopped whatever they were doing as they regarded the Pilot, the standing ones stepping back slowly. "Bitches leave" ordered Cooper in his electronically filtered voice.

The girls didn't need any more prompting, immediately grabbing their belongings and running for the door, leaving the men to fend for themselves. "The hell are you doing here?" barked Costa.

The visor turned to the man of the hour and Felecia could hear Matt's faint chuckle in her earpiece. "I have come here…to chew bubblegum and kick ass" he said as he raised his fists and settled into a boxer's stance, "and I'm all out of bubblegum."

It took all of Black Cats willpower to not faceplant into the vent and give herself away at hearing the line, it sounded like something Spider-Man would say. Only the Marauder had a deadpan delivery that made it clear what was going to happen in contrast to Spiders chipper tone. It had the desired effect, one of the bigger maggia men shoved his way to the front of the group and readied a punch.

Setting the tempo, Cooper fired his jump kit and kicked, the heel of his boot connecting with the suited man's chin. The Maggia staggered back, reeling from the blow, he could do nothing when the Pilot landed two quick jabs before an uppercut knocked him onto his back. A smaller one was feeling brave as he swung a makeshift weapon, the pool cue snapping on the striped helmet. The suited man tried to swing the broken cue, but Cooper ignored it as he grabbed the man by the collar and heaved him into a third. With barely a second to breathe, a fourth came at the Marauder from behind only to receive an elbow to the stomach before the Pilot phased out of existence.

When he reappeared, the fight began again, but Hardy's eyes were fixed on Costa, who was fumbling around behind the bar before he produced a sawed-off shotgun. Taking that as her cue, the Black Cat emerged from her perch, claws out as she dropped down on the mob man. The big bores of the twin twelve gauge swung around to meet her only for the Cat to strike, knocking the weapon away and slicing up the wielder's hands in the process.

Before she could follow up, another Maggia enforcer slammed into the bar, reeling from a blow that Cooper had dealt. The suited man shook his head as his hand fumbled for a beer bottle, smashing it and clambering over the bar so he was behind Hardy. Throwing a grin over her shoulder, Felecia watched the man charge at her, waving the shattered bottle. Jumping up on the bar, she backflipped over the attacker, claws ripping into the back of his suit and pants, one slicing a tendon in his leg and causing him to crumple to the floor. "That all you got?" snarled Cooper from across the room as he threw himself into the next suited enforcer, fist crackling with arc energy.

He didn't see the man coming up behind him however, and the Black Cat jumped up and bounced off of all the wall and then the Bar as she leapt at the thug, grabbing him around the neck and using her momentum to spin him around and throw him to the floor. She looked up to see another rushing her, only for a grappling hook to bury itself into his shoulder and yank him away and into the waiting fist of the Marauder.

The Cat and Marauder took in their surroundings, six of the Maggia were down for the count, but the remaining four had them surrounded. Hardy then became aware that she was back to back with the Texan, both settled in their fighting stances as they rotated about each other. It was then that Hardy realized something was poking her ass through her outfit. "Bet you can't stick it" whispered Cooper over the radio.

Felecia reached back and took the gravity star, smirking under her mask. "You're on" she answered before hurling the weapon. The man who she hit with it screamed and tried to remove the star as it activated, pulling balls from the pool table and glasses at him as he flailed against the gravity well.

Tony Coasta's eyes widened at the sight, and things did not get any better when he saw the thief bearing down on him. A heeled boot kicked both of his legs out from under him before it was pressed into his back. "Admit it Tony, you look best beneath me" she purred as the man craned his neck to see if he would get any help.

He was instead greeted by the sight of the Marauder kicking the last of his men into the bar and then bashing him over the head with a barstool before discarding the chair. "That our man?" he asked as he surveyed the ruined establishment.

Cat merely hummed as she got the suited Costa to his feet, any thoughts the man had about fighting died when the Marauder glared at him with his visor. Cooper opened the door to the man's office, gun drawn and swept the room before he moved in. "Sit" ordered Hardy as the man instinctively made for his desk chair, only for the Cat to redirect him to the chairs opposite his usual one.

Hardy sat in the plush high backed leather chair as Cooper took position behind her and off to the side. She couldn't help but think that it looked like he was her bodyguard and would listen to her every command, which was a pleasant thought.

The mob man tried not to look intimidated, though he was shaking like a leaf. "Do you freaks know who you're fucking with?" he stammered as he looked mainly at the masked Marauder, whose arms crossed but otherwise still. "If you think the Costa family will let you get away with this…"

"Shhh" whispered Hardy as she pressed a finger to his lips, leaning across the desk to do so. "Big talk considering your position" she purred as she sat back down and folded her hands on the desk. "Now, as to why we're here, your sources inside the Kingpins syndicate" she said calmly.

The Maggia man sneered in response, "I'm not telling you shit, bitch. You can flash your tits and waggle your ass, but I won't grovel at your feet like him" he said, looking to the fully armored Pilot, who offered no response.

Hardy's lips formed into a thin line, any shreds of pleasantness vanishing in a heartbeat. It was odd feeling that she should stand up for him, even if the man was more than capable of handling himself. "Mr. Marauder" she said, surprising herself with how cold the delivery was. "It seems Tony is not being as helpful as I thought. Care to help fix that?"

The renegade vigilante strode forwards, drawing his knife and giving it a twirl as he approached the man and circling him before he sat on the desk next to the computer monitor. Hardy eyed him, trying to keep a straight face. She had expected him to start roughing up the man, threaten him at least.

"Many people don't know this" began the Marauder as he ran his thumb on the knife, "but I come from another dimension or something. I wound up here by accident, but this place has an interesting history" he explained casually as he continued to play with the blade. "From what I understand about the crime families, it's a state of Cold War between them" he continued as he held the blade up and pulled the trigger. "There's peace, but you all hate each other. Most importantly, every family is looking for an upper hand on the others."

With that, he jammed the blade into the computer, the hardware built into the monitor. "I'll give you a choice, either give us the information we want, or we'll buy it off another family with the data from your computer." Hardy smirked, not knowing if it was a bluff, but more than happy to play along.

"You wouldn't" stammered a shocked Costa as he stared blankly at the man before the orange interface sprang from the handle of the knife. The man's face paled when the blue rings and percentages continued to rise. "Stop! STOP!" he begged, "We have a guy on the inside. I can, I can, I'll give you his number, tell him to cooperate. Just Stop!"

The circles halted their progress as the x shaped visor turned to the Black Cat. "Good enough?" he asked simply. Felecia nodded and slid a pen and paper pad to him, Costa staring at it as if it were a hand grenade before reluctantly grabbing it. Cooper kept his finger poised over the button that would resume the download as Tony scribbled out the information and tossed the items back onto the desk. "Thank you for your cooperation" said the Marauder as he got off the desk and stepped behind the man.

With little hesitation, the SRS Commando drew his Smart Pistol and pistol whipped the man, knocking him out and causing him to slump to the floor. "That was fun" he remarked dryly as he finished the download from the computer. "Better than dinner" he deadpanned as he pulled the blade out and sheathed it.

"Handsome" she purred as she got up from the chair and brushed passed him, "after dinner is where I have the real fun" she declared as she made for the door, a suggestive sway to her walk. As she surveyed the ruined area beyond, her eyes settled on something behind the bar.

Picking up the bottle of fine wine, the Black Cat turned back to her companion and held up the bottle. "Hey Marauder, I have something else you can help me with."

* * *

Matthew had to admit that Hardy's penthouse was much more pleasant to be in when he wasn't beaten to shit and didn't have the prospective of Cinderblock hanging over proceedings. His armor and gear were removed, and he was sitting on the couch in his green fatigues and refilling his wine glass. While he had never been a big wine drinker, he decided that it was because he hadn't ever had whatever this was before, it was a Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, apparently. Filing that away for future use, he leaned back on the couch and turned to look at the woman he was sharing the couch with.

Next to him, and getting ever closer, was Felecia, still in her skin hugging catsuit as she held her glass in one hand and played with her ponytail with the other. Her back was arched in what Cooper was sure was an intentional ploy to draw his attention to her tits and ass, not that he needed any such encouragement. "Now where was I…right, so after that whole shitshow was practice, and Coach Higgins…Coach just fucking lost it right. He makes these two do fucking laps and we're all watching from the stands while he chases them around the field on a bicycle screaming at them like that guy from Full Metal Jacket." Felicia giggled as Matt took a sip of the sweet red wine before composing himself and doing his best impression of his old coach. _"'I know that your useless arrogant ass can't score off a football field if your life depended on it, but that doesn't give you an excuse to bitch!'" _recalled the Pilot as the Thief responded with a brilliant smile and similar laugh. Sipping his wine again and shaking his head at the memory, Matt continued, "this goes on for the rest of practice in the 100-degree heat. The rest of us never did a thing." Cooper finished the last of the wine and puts the glass down to refill it, only now noticing the bottle is empty before shrugging as he sits back. "It gets better, that guy's mother was up at school the next day bitching up a storm to the principal about all the pretty racist shit the coach said. And the best part was the school never did anything about it, you know why? He asked, looking to the Black Cat as she sipped her wine and gave it a thought before shaking her head. "Because we had won the state 3A title the last two years! They wouldn't have fired that guy if he worshipped Satan!"

Still smiling at the memory, Matt struggled to recall what had sent him down memory lane in the first place through after all the wine and the increasing closeness of the sexy cat burglar. If he was being honest, he was much more interested in watching Felicia lean forward to set her now empty glass down alongside his before she fixed him with a hungry look. "Been a good night Cowboy, you know how to show a girl a good time," purred Cat as she swung a leg over and straddled him, knees on either side of his legs as she placed her hands on his chest, "it would be a shame to let it end so soon."

"That it would," agreed Cooper as he leaned forwards gently to steal a kiss when it was the Thief who hit him with an all-out assault as she pressed her lips into his while her hands went to his chest and she threw her entire weight into pressing him down onto his back. Taken completely by surprise, Cooper was powerless to resist as Hardy didn't let up, instead going further as she straddled him. Finally, Matthew collected himself and pushed back, their tongues battling for dominance as he began to put his hands to work, one pulling the woman down into him while the other sought the zipper on her catsuit.

That was soon brought to a halt was Felecia reached back and grabbed both of his wrists, pinning them down beside his head as she sat up and grinned down at him. "I knew you had some fight in you," she breathed as she began to grind her hips on him and he had to fight to keep a straight face, which Hardy took great satisfaction in. She then leaned forwards as Matt tried to bring his hands up, but to no avail as she leaned in close and whispered in his ear. "You know you want me," she said as Matt bided his time, "what's wrong? Am I too much for you?" she asked. Instead of answering with words, the Pilot craned his head up and planted kisses on her neck, trailing down until he found a sensitive spot, drawing a moan as the vice grip on his hands eased up.

With a pilot's speed, the Marauder wrapped his arms around the Thief and rolled them over and turning the tables as he grinned down at the platinum haired seductress. Before she could get a remark in, he dove back down, reigniting the flames brewing in both of them. He could feel her hands yanking down on the zipper of his fatigues and roaming across his chest before he tried to pull back, only to find a pair of toned legs wrapped around him. Desire drove his actions as he wrapped one arm around her and easily picked up the smaller woman and pulled down the zipper on her back. Despite the change, Felecia continued to press his buttons as he worked through his addled mind to get that damn suit off of her. "Bed or table?" he growled lowly before going back to her neck, his manhood throbbing as she continued to grind against him.

In reply he got a moan, which elicited a grunt of frustration, if she didn't answer soon then he would be fucking her against the wall. "Bed" she breathed, needy as she worked to hastily get the fatigues down off his arms. Reluctantly, the Marauder sustained the assault as he worked his way to the bedroom when she got to work on his ear and he groaned, pinning her to the wall as he yanked her catsuit down. Unable to suppress the growl of anger he felt at seeing her breasts concealed behind a sports bra, Cooper brought his hand around to try and pull it up before Felicia helped him, quickly stripping off the garment and tossing it aside. "Like what you see?" asked the heiress, seductress out in full force.

A pair of perfect breasts filled his vision, full and perky, capped with bright pink nipples that contrasted with her pale skin and centered around erect nipples. "Fuck yes," replied Matt, but not to be outdone, Felicia was working to get the top of Matt's fatigues off, purring at the sight of his scarred and muscled chest. Only Cooper didn't give her time to gawk as he lifted Hardy up so that those tantalizing tits were right in front of his face and he was able to suck on one of those erect nipples. He was as spurred on as much by her continued moans and keens as by the fact that her hands ran though his hair, holding him close and guiding him to where she wanted his mouth's attention. Once he had his fill, Matt pulled back, smirking as he took in the disheveled heiress, face flushed, lips swollen, and hair mussed as those delicious tits heaved from her heavy breathing. "What's wrong? Was that too much?" he teased, throwing her own words back at her as he traced his fingers down her stomach and before sending them inside her suit. Able to feel the heat emanating from her womanhood, he slipped two fingers inside her panties, "I hope you have condoms," began the Texan in a low, husky tone, his fingers parting her nether lips and dipped into her moist cunt before withdrawing them slowly despite the whimper that came from the woman, and held them up, covered in her wetness that dripped down them, "cause I'd hate to have all that hard work go to waste.

"Fuck that, I'm on the pill," replied Felicia before opening her mouth and enveloping his fingers, moaning as Matt felt her tongue run along his digits, licking up every drop of her own arousal as her hips ground against him, Matt able to feel her heat through her suit like the kinky bitch was getting off on tasting herself. Her mouth released his fingers and she fixed him with her sexiest look before she leaned forwards and purred into his ear, "that means you get to fuck me bareback Cowboy."

Cooper responded instantly, stepping back and moving towards Felicia's bed with renewed purpose, the heiress nibbling on his ear the whole way while pressing her breasts into his chest. As his own arousal grew and with his erection throbbing, Matt finally reached the bed and practically dropped Felicia down on her sculpted bottom, drawing a startled yelp from the woman before his hands went down to the catsuit that was bunched around her waist and yanked it and her panties down her long, toned legs before throwing them off to be forgotten. For the briefest second, he allowed himself to take in the woman lying on the bed before him in all of her naked glory. Felicia's body looked like it could have been sculpted from marble, not only because of her pale skin, but because every inch seemed perfect. From her lengthy legs, to her firm ass, toned stomach, full breasts, and elegant face, every part of her seemingly made to satisfy every fantasy the male mind could conjure.

He could see in Felicia's brilliant emerald eyes that she was looking him over too before her face turned into a pout, "pants off," she commanded firmly as she sat up off the bed and two pairs of hands worked the rest of Matt's fatigues off with equal need. Freeing his hardened cock from the confines of his boxers as Felicia gasped at the sight of it, "definitely a stud with a cock like that," she purred as she wrapped a hand around it, causing Matt's member to twitch at the touch, drops of precum leaking from the head. Her hand didn't linger for long, trailing down towards his sack and cupping it before giving his balls a gentle squeeze and humming in approval even as Cooper grunted from her ministrations.

But he was more focused on the treasure buried between her legs, his own hand spreading those legs to get at it. "Definitely a Cat with a pussy like that," replied Matt, finger parting her immaculately shaven and meaty pussy lips to reveal the pretty pink folds inside, dripping with arousal. Slowly, Felicia scooched backwards, Matt bringing one leg up to get onto the bed when the Thief too him by surprise, pressing her lips forward to kiss him, tongue probing his mouth as one of her legs swung up and wrapped around the Pilot's hips. Using the surprise of the move and catching him off guard, Felicia twisted and managed to spin the off balance Texan around as he fell onto the bed and found himself staring up at the ceiling and trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

That view was quickly replaced by one of the Black Cat staring down at him hungrily and with a wicked gleam in her eye as she hovered over him on all fours. "I hope you're ready cowboy," purred the Thief as she reached back to grab his erect cock and line it up with her wet slit, "because when I see something I like, I take it." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she did just that, lowering herself to slowly envelope his cock with her cunt, shuddering at the sensation of the penetration as she slowly descended, drawing him in deeper and deeper. Cooper couldn't help but groan as inch after inch of his penis was slowly encased in Felicia's warm and wet womanhood. His hands grabbed hold of her hips, but he let her work at her own pace until he was fully inside her, the tip of his cock stopping just short of grazing her cervix. Neither moved for a moment, savoring the feeling of being connected so intimately as they adjusted to one another. Finally, Felicia began to shift, resting her hands on his shoulders adjusting her legs before saying, "and I like this dick."

Matt grinned cockily, "then ride it cowgirl," he quipped in his southern drawl, giving her ass an encouraging spank before she did just that, lifting her hips until she was almost off before coming back down and repeating the motion. Her movements were deliberately structured to give her everything she wanted as she lifted herself up with her legs while rocking her hips and coming back down. That didn't mean Cooper wasn't enjoying it as he watched her breasts bounce in time with her movements, further bouncing as Matt thrusted up to fill her completely as he felt himself plunge into her warm and wet tunnel on each beat of her rhythm. Felicia's attempts to stifle her moans soon failed as her tempo quickened, betraying her increasing need as the sweet sounds of her keens echoed through the room.

Her gorgeous body was soon covered in a sheen of sweat that reflected the moonlight that came through the windows, making the woman glow as if she was a goddess as her pace picked up again, her hips rising in falling faster still as she neared her crescendo when she threw her head back and screamed to the heavens. "Oh my god, yes!" she screamed as she came back down and her fingernails dug into his skin as she picked herself back up, cunt lips squeezing his cock greedily before she came back down, impaling herself on his rod one last time. "Oh YES!" she cried as she rocked back and forth, guiding his cock to her most sensitive spot and triggering her release, "I'm cumming!" moaned the Thief as her pussy clenched around him and his dick was coated in her juices as he grit her teeth and let her ride out her climax.

Felicia was still breathing heavily when she finally stopped moving, but Matt wasn't through yet as he rolled them over until he was on top, cock still stuffed deep inside her pussy as he took control. "You cum yet?" asked Felicia, grinning as Cooper shook his head in reply, "then go ahead and fill me up stud." Matt didn't need to be told twice as he slowly withdrew from her slick pussy before ramming back into her, confident she was already well adjusted to his size and girth. He was rewarded by a pleasure filled gasp that wiped the smug look off Hardy's face as she reflexively clenched around him. As she opened her mouth to say something else, Cooper cut her off by repeating the motion, rapidly pistoning into her with deep strokes.

Her tightness made each thrust a pleasure filled challenge that he happily accepted, and each withdrawal made easy by the slickness of her wet walls as the sound of their hips colliding soon mixed with moans, grunts, and heavy breathing to make an erotic soundtrack for their intimate dance. Hardy wrapped her legs around Cooper's waist and brought her hands up under his arms to grip his shoulders, surrounding him in smooth feminine flesh even more so than he already was. With the woman hanging on, he poured everything he had into his last series of thrusts as his cock plunged into her with enough force to make her tits bounce hypnotically. Despite his desire to continue, Matt felt his balls tighten, "here it comes," he grunted in warning before he buried his prick deep into Felicia's tight pussy with one last mighty thrust before he burst, and they both climaxed simultaneously. Cooper's manhood shot spurts of cum deep inside the Black Cat's clenched cunt as she gasped and squeezed her legs, keeping his cock pressed as far in as it could go until he was completely spent.

Slowly withdrawing, Hardy reluctantly released him, and Matt rolled off of her, laying on his back alongside the woman to bask in the afterglow. Still riding the high of his satisfied lust, the Renegade barely registered the feeling of bed as Felicia shifted beside him, now laying on her side and facing him. Turning his head, Matt eyed up the beauty next to him, the way her mouth was open to take in deep breaths, how those breaths made her boobs heave in time with each one, and the sight of her freshly fucked pussy dripping with their combined juices, combining to make a sight to truly behold. Rolling over to face her and propping himself up with his right arm, Matt reached out with his left and traced his finger up her side, "hope you don't mind if I stay the night so I can enjoy this view."

Felicia gave a husky chuckle, "I'll tell you what handsome," she purred, "you keep doing _that, _and I'll let you stay every night."

* * *

Cooper woke up to an odd mix of sensations, his head throbbed slightly, and he was exhausted, but all of that paled to the rest of what he felt. Felecia's curves were pressed into him as he looked as the sleeping face of the exotic beauty. Being careful not to wake her, he lightly brushed her cheek, smirking with satisfaction at his mark on her neck as his hand trailed down her body. His lips curled into a grin as he remembered how they spent the rest of the night. Hardy had been right, after dinner was when the real fun was had.

The Pilot got himself out of the king-sized bed after he got one last whiff of her scent. He found his boxers, discarded the night before along with the rest of their clothes, forming a breadcrumb trail towards the living room and the empty bottle of wine sitting on the coffee table. Hardy's penthouse was impressive in size, high end furniture filled the space and floor to ceiling windows that led to the small patio gave a commanding view of the city. Matt ambled lazily to the kitchen, in no hurry to leave, he rummaged around in the fridge until he found some eggs.

Ten minutes later, Matt was plating the scrambled eggs when Hardy emerged from the bedroom wearing a robe that exposed a generous amount of cleavage and barely covered her ample ass. "Making yourself at home already?" asked the thief as she leaned against the counter, letting Cooper have an unobstructed view of her breasts. Cooper shrugged as she just smirked, and she looked at him, still without a shirt, with a hungry expression he became familiar with the previous night.

"Those scars…where did you get them?" she asked, the Pilot looked down at the marks on his body. A mix of gunshot, shrapnel, and burn marks, albeit faint, pockmarked his shoulders, chest, and abdomen.

"Typhon mostly" he answered as he continued to eat his breakfast. "I was new, okay. I'm allowed to fuck up" he said with mock defensiveness and a forced chuckle.

Hardy smiled, but seemed bothered by something as she looked back to the Pilot. "Do you mind me asking…about Typhon?" she asked cautiously. Cooper shook his head while Felecia took a breath and asked her question. "At the end, when you took out the Fold weapon, what were you thinking? What drove you to throw yourself at it" she asked, her tone somber. "I mean…what caused you to sacrifice your life for people you didn't know. Spider, he does it because he's connected to the city, he'll always be from here" she said, as if she was trying to rationalize his suicidal actions.

Cooper nodded, frowning somewhat, he knew the answer, and he wasn't proud of it. "Do you know who the most dangerous man in the world is?" he asked. Hardy opened her mouth to answer before she saw the gleam in his eye and closed her mouth, correctly sensing there was more to this. "The one with nothing left to lose" he finished with a humorless smile.

Felecia frowned, pursing her lips. "And now, would you do it again?" she asked, concerned.

"That depends" he replied, setting the fork down as he leaned forwards, "do I have something to lose?" After a moment where the two were separated by mere inches, Hardy closed the gap and pressed her lips to his, the two sharing a sensual kiss.

When it broke off, any questions Cooper may have had about where their relationship stood were firmly answered, the grin on is face revealing what he felt about that. "There is something I need to ask you" said Hardy, still catching her breath. "My mom called me last night. She's throwing a large gala for New Years. I'm expected to attend" she explained, clearly not looking forward to the prospect. "Meaning my mother trots me out to show off for all the old men she takes money from, trying to set me up with their sons so they donate to whatever cause she's championing" she said with a roll of her eyes.

Cooper tried to keep a straight face, being concerned about her plight, but couldn't prevent a small snicker from escaping his lips. She glared at him, causing him to refocus and become serous again. "This time, I have a cunning plan" she said as she pointed a finger at him.

A shocked expression appeared on Matt's face as he pointed a finger at his own chest, Hardy nodding in affirmation. "You want me to…threaten your mother to cancel the gala?" he guessed, more hoping that she would say yes to that rather than the more obvious alternative.

The Platinum blonde shook her head, a devilish smirk on her elegant face. "I'm going to bring my authentic Texas cowboy to dissuade the snobbish rich assholes" she said, clearly taking a bit of pleasure in the pained expression on the Pilot's face. "Don't worry, I'll make it up to you" she purred as she stood up and turned around "Starting now, care to join me for a shower?"

Cooper didn't need to be asked twice.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Tactical Ability: Cloak_

_This old standby is what got me through Typhon alive, but it isn't perfect. While any sort of camera can't distinguish a cloaked pilot from the surroundings, the human eye can see the slight distortions. Even then, a split second can be life or death, and a single moment of hesitation can be the last mistake you ever make. _

_Admittedly, the value of this ability has only grown with some of the other tactical abilities complimenting it. Grapple and STIM for rapid repositioning or the Hologram for a more effective deception and misdirection. This is less of a stealth tool and more useful as a disengage or escape plan. _

_Also has very high practical joking potential. _

_Log – Shotgun: M1901 Mastiff Combat Shotgun_

_Ah, the Mastiff, if the words 'self loading energy shotgun' don't sound like the coolest four word combination you heard today, then I envy you. Originally developed for low gravity environments, this weapon isn't a true laser gun as it fires physical projectiles, albeit very tiny ones. The linear accelerators shove them up to speed before spreading out in a preset pattern as the end of the barrel opens up. To improve range, the projectiles are actually fired with a small amount of backspin to create lift and defy gravity. _

_The 'shell' holds the particles and the rest is devoted to a power cell to fire the gun and cycle the action, using a unique, almost steam locomotive like, mechanism to reduce kinetic energy transferred to the shooter. Even if the gun does kick something fierce, the cyclic nature of the action means it looks far worse than it is. The downside is that it doesn't fire very fast, so you have to make sure your shots count._

_It also has great nicknames, in my week in the Militia I heard it called, among other things, the Hammer, Breacher, Thunderer, Betsy, and Okay-47. In this regard it is second only to the EVA-8._

_But to me, this is my Boomstick._

* * *

**Closing notes: I'm not happy with this chapter, I went back and forth many many times on the inclusion of the lemon bit (I'm not too familiar with the correct terms, sue me). That part saw at least four or five rewrites and was sometimes cut completely. In fact the iteration you're seeing was only added back in a few minutes before this is going up and a part of me still wants it removed. So this is where feedback is important, not just as to this scene but on if any similar bits in the future are worth the trouble of writing and including. This is a test because unless feedback is generally positive then I won't bother in the future. Reason is because I don't think I'm any good at it and it is a serious drop in quality compared to everything else. But if you think I'm full of shit and you guys like it then let me know.**

**As an aside, this chapter was originally named _You Shook Me All Night Long _before being changed to _Rock You Like A Hurricane _before I finally arrived at this title. **

**The main 80's action movie I got the one liners from this time is _Robocop_, this is your reminder that if you haven't, you should go watch Robocop (The Original, not the shitty PG-13 remake). I guarantee by the end you'll be saying "I'd buy that for a dollar!" Also, a line from the greatest movie with a pair of sunglasses as a plot element makes it in, that's right, _They Live_ starring Rowdy Roddy Piper. ****In addition to that there's a nod to, of all things, the Halo 2 E3 Demo during the bar fight. And the last line of the Mastiff entry is from _Army of Darkness_. No, I have no idea why these things come to mind either.**

**I also need to add that with stuff picking up the updates are going to slow down for the foreseeable future, probably to one chapter per week. This isn't the story dying, quite the contrary, I'm just trying to establish a more sustainable pace as school picks up. **

**This also marks the transition fully into the next story arc and will end with that gala Hardy mentioned but that's a ways off. Next chapter then should come out midweek, probably Wednesday. It is very likely that Wednesday will be when new chapters go up for some time. **

**Things are about to get a lot tougher for our Short Change Hero. **

**Stay frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	13. Chapter 13: Short Change Hero

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

First order of business, thanks to ravens18 for betaing this chapter for me and making it better.

Second order, anybody have suggestions for coverart? I'm a complete novice when it comes to that kind of thing and any help would be great.

Alrighty folks, the second arc is now officially underway. This one is, in my opinion, a bit more ambitious than the last. Cooper will develop as a character, Hardy too, that isn't to say that other characters won't show up, but that those two are the main focus. The issue of right and 'wrong' is something that will crop up, so if you get easily triggered, know that there will be bad things, there will be bad people, and our protagonists will do bad things to bad people. I'm not saying that what they do is right or that it's what I think should be done, that's why this is a work of fiction. I know that may seem obvious, but I think its best to point out just in case.

Got that? Good, cause god knows I don't like stating the obvious like that. The title is the song by The Heavy best known as the one used to open Borderlands 2, and it's a nice little throwback with Borderlands 3 coming out not long after this chapter is posted. This is a song picked for tone, far more downcast then most of what's come up to this point.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 13: Short Change Hero**

_And what matters ain't the who's baddest but the_

_Ones who stop you falling from your ladder_

_And doin' things just to please your crowd_

_But I love you like the way I love you_

_And I suffer but I ain't gonna cut you 'cause_

_This ain't no place for no hero_

* * *

A week later, Cooper was about to begin the thing he had been dreading even more than the trip to the tailor Hardy had been pestering about, even the Gala he had to get the suit for paled in comparison to what he was about to undertake. "Let's get this over with" muttered the Pilot as he slipped the helmet on and turned to Mary Jane, the reporter setting up her recorder. "You're alright with me recording this too, right?"

"Yeah, sure thing" she answered, turning to Matthew. "You ready?" she asked, Cooper nodding as he continued to tap his foot nervously on the floor. "The story you're going to tell, it's not the one you told me, is it?" she asked.

The Marauder shook his head, "No, it won't be. It's safer this way, we both know that" he answered firmly, the notes for what he was going to say scrolling along his HUD. "I'm going to need you to help sell this, alright?"

"Yeah" answered MJ as she went back to making sure her equipment was ready. Far from a professional setup, they were doing it at the small breakfast table in her apartment. "No problem" she said as she sat down and composed herself. "Whenever you're ready."

Cooper took a breath and sat down in the chair opposite her, turning it around so his elbows rested on the chair's back. MJ gave him an odd look, but his jump kit made it awkward to sit in normal chairs comfortably. He gave a nod and the redhead turned on the recorder and camera before speaking. "Mary Jane Watson, investigative reporter for the Daily Bugle. November 25th, 2017" she declared before looking across the table to Cooper. "Interviewee, could you please identify yourself" she asked curtly.

"Callsign: Renegade Nine. Pilot, serial number 7 dash 416 3854" rattled off Cooper, "member of the Frontier Militia's Special Recon Squadron." He then tapped a gloved finger on the insignia on his armor, "Marauder Corps." He paused, lips forming into a smile behind his helmet, "around here? People have taken to calling me the Marauder."

Mary Jane knew all of this, but she paused for effect anyway before asking her first question. "Could I ask you to elaborate on that, I'm not familiar with…nearly any of those terms" she said, if Cooper was any judge, she could have been an actress with how convincing her delivery was.

"Any one in particular?" he asked, his acting didn't have to be nearly as good, helmet and voice filter to dull his emotions.

MJ shrugged as she tapped her notebook, "Uh, you said Pilot, so, do you fly?" she asked.

"No Ms. Watson" replied Cooper with a small chuckle. "Where I come from, pilot means two things, someone who controls an aircraft, and someone who controls a Titan. I am one of the latter." He took a breath, MJ giving him an encouraging look. "On the Frontier, Pilots are the true dominant force, walking one-man armies. It was recently I joined their ranks. Pilots move, fight, and think differently. Using speed, deception, and overwhelming force, even the most impossible odds are known to turn in our favor."

"You're a soldier then?" asked MJ, "Your equipment looks like that of a soldier" she observed.

The helmet bobbed up and down in a nod. "I joined the Militia five years ago, just before my eighteenth birthday" lied Cooper smoothly. "The Militia is the military force that defends the various worlds of the Frontier. These planets banded together when faced with the threat of the Interstellar Mining Corporation, the IMC, who sought to bring those planets and their inhabitants under their control. Exploit the people as labor and strip mine the planets for resources, often using brutal tactics and overwhelming force to do so" explained Cooper. None of that was technically a lie, exaggerated perhaps, but based in truth.

The redhead tilted her head inquisitively, just like they had planned, she had picked up on some of the details in the explanation. "Did you say _worlds_?" she asked, Cooper nodding. "You're not from Earth?"

"No" answered Cooper bluntly, "the Earth I knew was far different. If memory serves then there should be Hammond Robotics, one of the core subsidiaries of the IMC, but there isn't. As a result, I don't think I'm from the future, this future anyway." Damn, this was going to get confusing, and that was leaving out the part about where he was originally from.

"Then, how did you come to be here?" asked Watson, brow furrowed in curiosity.

"The SRS launched a mission to investigate anomalous energy readings at a supposedly uninhabited world on the fringes of known space. I was just a rifleman, and my Rifle Company was assigned as support for this mission" he began, memories flooding back to him of his first time in combat. "We walked right into a trap; the IMC was waiting for us. Our ship went down just after my unit deployed, right into the waiting arms of their mechanical infantry. The entire company was wiped out, I only survived because of the intervention of an SRS Pilot, Captain Tai Lastimosa. Lastimosa had been training me for a few weeks up to that point, he was cut off from his platoon and alone" recalled Cooper, his voice faltering. "The Captain died of injuries he sustained in that fight; his last action was to transfer control of his Titan to me. The two of us were deep behind enemy lines, cut off, with no communications with the Militia or even the other units scattered across the planet. We managed to find out what was happening though, the IMC was developing a 'Fold Weapon' that was capable of destroying entire planets and powered by an ancient, alien, power source."

"What were they going to do with that kind of weapon?" she asked.

Cooper continued the story. "At this point, the IMC was on the back foot, the Militia were poised to completely remove them from the Frontier. The Fold Weapon was going to target the planet Harmony and its 40 million inhabitants to break the back of Militia resistance and pave the way for an IMC counteroffensive."

"My god" breathed the journalist.

The Marauder nodded solemnly. "We managed to get word to the SRS, who responded with every available unit, including the entire Marauder Corps. The Corps was so shorthanded that I was assigned to it, despite having only been a provisional pilot for a few days. The Commander of the Marauder Corps, Sarah Briggs, personally led the assault on the weapon." The vigilante took a breath before resuming the fantastical tale. "We threw nearly everything we had at the IMC, when all was said and done, my battered Titan and I were the only ones anywhere near the weapon. With the weapon about to fire, there was only one option available to us."

Mary Jane had heard this story before, but it didn't stop the redhead from being on the edge of her seat. "What was that?" she prompted.

"My Titan's reactor core was damaged, leaking radiation. I thought that maybe, if I could get my Titan close enough, then the damaged core would destabilize the weapon" he recounted, thinking how foolish it sounded, even with BT running his millions of calculations. "It was a Hail Mary to be sure, but we were out of time. Thing was, I had to get the Titan there manually. I was still inside when the weapon went critical" he explained, clicking his tongue. "I thought I was going to die that day, but the reason it was called the Fold Weapon was because it folded space and time, albeit in a controlled manner."

"But when I did…that, controlled went out the window, when it went up, I was caught in the blast. What exactly happened after that I'll probably never know, but when I came to, I was thirty miles outside the city." He flashed a sardonic smile inside his helm "The rest, as they say, is history."

"Wow" breathed Watson as she took the expected amount of time to collect her thoughts. "That really is an incredible story, hard to believe any of it is true" she said skeptically.

"I know, believe me" he answered dryly, "but I also have the mission logs to prove it. I am leaving some stuff out for brevity's sake, the rest of the story is just as incredible" he assured, mainly because it included dueling the APEX Predators and his capture.

With his immediate backstory covered, MJ shifted to more recent events, all according to plan. "Since you've arrived in New York, you've been fighting the criminal elements in the city. How do you justify your actions?"

He took a deep breath, now came the time where he would have to lie through his teeth. MJ didn't know what he was going to say, so any reaction she had would be genuine. "I joined the Militia after my colony was raided by the IMC. They looted our belongings, rounded up the colonists, and killed any who resisted. I hid and watched as they summarily executed my family and rounded up my friends and neighbors like cattle. I lived in that ghost town for two days until a Militia ship came to investigate and picked me up. I fought for five years because of what the IMC did to my home, then I come here and see criminals stealing, taking advantage of people, and killing the police who try to stop them" he then shrugged tiredly. "The more things change the more they stay the same I suppose."

"I suppose" echoed Watson as she moved on to her next question. "Many people comment that you seem to seek out fights. They say you're less concerned with protecting the innocent and more concerned with just fighting. What do you say to that?"

Cooper snorted, "I think it's ridiculous. The Militia, and the Marauder Corps in particular, does not believe in reactivity. If you sit back, people like these, like the IMC, they will pick you off, one at a time. But we don't hide and let them come to us, we go to them."

"So…the best defense is a good offense?" ventured MJ, Cooper nodding in agreement. "Many are still concerned about you, however. An unknown entity using lethal force and completely unchecked roaming the city."

"Understandable" conceded Cooper, "Which is why I would like to make a statement, if that's alright."

"By all means" agreed the redhead, the time had come for his big gamble.

The Pilot cleared his throat before looking directly at the camera. "Mayor Osborn, if you're watching, listening, reading, whatever, if you see this. I am willing to come to the negotiating table with you in good faith, with the hope that a mutually beneficial agreement can be reached."

"You want to negotiate? With the Mayor?" she asked incredulously, despite being aware of his plans to stack the deck. "What do you hope to get from this?"

"Less people to shoot at me" he answered dryly, drawing a bark of laughter that was quickly contained by the interviewer. "In all honesty? I want to keep doing this; and will do it alone if I have to. I just figure that trying to work out an arrangement would be in everyone's best interest; and it doesn't hurt to try."

Mary Jane nodded and 'hmmed' in acknowledgement as the blue visor shifted back to her. "I for one would be in favor of such an agreement, I wish you the best of luck" she said honestly. Spiderman had never attempted such a move, despite her encouragement, she hoped he would reconsider if Cooper could be successful, relying in the good will he had built up instead of blackmail. "Now, I would like to ask you about your interactions with Spider-Man…"

Cooper groaned inside his helmet; it was going to be a long day.

* * *

When the three-hour long interview concluded, a mentally exhausted Cooper arrived at FEAST in street clothes. The Pilot had volunteered at the shelter every day that week, usually being a handyman of sorts. Stepping through the door he was met with the kindly old woman who ran most of the day to day operations at the shelter, her auburn hair and warm smile meant she stood out wherever she was. "Matthew dear" May Parker greeted warmly as the SRS Titan Jockey ambled in, "good to see you again. Here to help?"

"Sure am ma'am" he drawled in reply, only for the kindly older woman to wave him off.

"I've told you, call me Aunt May, everyone else does" she insisted. "You like exhausted, is everything alright?" she asked, her concern genuine. It was easy to see where Peter had gotten his upstanding nature from considering this woman had been the one to raise him. The apple didn't fall far from the tree it seemed.

Cooper nodded, "everything's fine ma'a...May" he corrected. "Just a rougher than usual day on the job, I had to work a different shift and it wasn't exactly what I'm used to" he explained, only half lying to the woman. "But it's over now, thank god, and hopefully tomorrow I'll be back to my usual schedule."

"You poor thing" offered the Parker matriarch, "well I appreciate you still coming to help out. It's good having someone with your skills around" she admitted honestly. Cooper meanwhile still couldn't believe how the skills he had developed maintaining BT were applicable in such a mundane setting. "I need you and Peter to finish up assembling the shipments that came in earlier this week" she said as the Pilot nodded. "And if it isn't too much trouble, I think something's bothering Peter, could you make sure he's alright?"

"Of course Aunt May" returned the Commando seriously, "sure thing." With that, the Renegade headed deeper into the shelter in search of the webslinging Queens native.

"Hey Matt" said Parker, "you look like hell, everything alright?" he asked. The Texan offered his friend a weak smile in reply.

"I just got out of an interview" he said as he followed Peter back to help assemble some furniture the pair had started on the previous day. "You know the one." As the pair continued and soon found themselves surrounded by half assembled desks, beds, and shelves. "I thought you'd be there, ya know. Hear the story and all that" mentioned Cooper casually as he set to work.

The two were alone in the backroom, and it was a thought that had been nagging at the back of the Marauder's mind since the interview began. Peter still didn't fully trust him, and _really_ didn't trust the Marauder, and Cooper was surprised that he would let MJ interview him without Spider-Man being there. The hero was a protective sort, especially those he cared about, and the Pilot had come to learn that the only person the Queens native cared more about than his girlfriend was his last living relative, May Parker, the very woman Matt had just spoken with.

It took a few moments for Cooper to register that the usually quick-witted Parker hadn't answered. He turned to see the vigilante look shaken, and a bit angry. "I wanted to" he murmured, forcing a weak smile, "you know how MJ is. Stubborn, headstrong, doesn't take no for an answer" he said, though the words were strained.

Matt's eyes went to Peter's balled fists and he took a step back, flexing his hand in anticipation of drawing his P2016, for what little good that would do him. "It all started with you. I helped her with her stories, checking out places and making sure she was safe, but when you showed up to her apartment…she saw an opportunity and took it. For the first time, she went behind my back, wouldn't let me protect her" he said, steadily breaking down as he recounted the decline of their relationship.

Watson was a formidable and capable woman Matt had come to respect. Confident, intelligent, and charismatic, she refused to be held back by anything, stretching boundaries in pursuit of her goal. Peter's protective nature had become another obstacle in that pursuit.

While he was working with MJ to halt Cinderblock, the reporter had been sacrificing her relationship with his friend to do so. Peters core belief that it was his responsibility to protect those he cared about and his insistence of carrying it out had put the two at odds. When Peter tried to be there for the Interview, it had been the final straw, neither Watson nor Parker was willing to back down and as a result they had split up two days ago.

Within a week, Parker had lost his girlfriend and had the foundation of his friendship with Cooper was almost irreparably rocked. Only now was the toll this crumbling of his personal life obvious to Matt, and Cooper felt pity for him but stopped just short of guilt. "Peter" he said firmly, getting the superhero to remove his face from his hands and look up at him, "listen to me, neither of you are wrong. I know you probably don't want any more 'help' from me; but trust me when I say that you can't take care of anyone when you look like…_that._"

"And what exactly do I look like?" he asked.

"Hammered shit" deadpanned Cooper with a small grin. "Listen, Parker, I get that you and MJ are close, I'm not saying forget about her and move on. But take care of yourself, and if you can't fucking do it then get someone to help you" finished the Marauder firmly, a firm shake applied to Peter's shoulder to knock him from his stupor. "Hell, I'd be willing to do it."

Thankfully, the sudden force seemed to do the trick. Parker straightened, scrutinizing Cooper for a few moments. "You would?" he asked, dumbfounded. "I've treated you with nothing but suspicion all week when I should be trying to help you."

"Parker, if anyone deserves to treat me like an asshole, it's you" said Cooper with a bark of laughter. "I'm surprised you're still talking to me. Christ, I've killed people in your city, beat the shit out of you, kidnapped you, threatened to kill you, and caused you and your girlfriend to break up. If I were in your shoes, I'd be trying to strangle me" he countered, gesturing towards himself. "I owe you, so let's get this done and then drinks are on me. No arguments."

Thankfully, there were none, the two diligently working until their they were surrounded by freshly assembled furniture, though Matthew had to almost drag Peter out of FEAST before he could ask his Aunt May for more work. Following that, Peter led him to a small nearby bar and the two vigilantes ordered a pair of beers, clinking them together before drinking. "I'm still not sure about this Coop" said a worried Parker between sips. "Is this really going to do anything?"

"Truthfully?" said Matt as he took a moment to check over his shoulder, that habit being hard to break, "no. But that's not the point" said the Pilot with a grin. "Great power comes with great responsibility, and that's true, but I think you're missing part of it" said Cooper, ignoring the glare Peter was giving him.

He took another casual sip, "How do you know that?" asked Parker, the gears of his mind clearly turning. "I never mentioned that."

Cooper worked his jaw, "We're not nearly drunk enough to discuss that" he answered with a dismissive handwave. "But my point is, you have a responsibility to yourself as well" he drawled as he finished the first beer and ordered a second. "You know that I don't have many friends" began Cooper honestly, "and to see one of the ones I have tear himself up like this…I don't know what else to do."

"Didn't know you cared Coop" said Peter wryly. "I'm fine though. I've been through the wringer before" he assured. "You're doing alright, you haven't had it easy either. Hopefully the worst is behind us and we can have a go at being normal."

That word, 'normal' felt odd to hear. What did normal mean? Such thoughts were pushed aside, he simply chuckled dryly as the two continued to drink for several hours, swapping stories about growing up, friends, family, all the things that Cooper had left behind. Matt heard about Harry Osborn, the friend that had departed for Europe a few months back, the Mayor's son, and the reason Peter was hesitant when it came to dealing with him.

Cooper understood, but he and Hardy had already been to both Kingpin's and the Mayors offices, well, Hardy had, and he had covered her with the Longbow, minor details. They had their connection, luckily, the two were arrogant and too reliant on their security systems. Emails and phone transcripts with both of their names on it, even discussing the sale of properties that had been targeted in Cinderblock.

It hadn't been money Osborn wanted either, that would have been too simple. No, Kingpin had Osborn convinced that the two could be partners, could both become more powerful. They had emails dated as far back as a year ago. As far as Cooper was concerned, Osborn had been complacent in if not partially responsible for Cinderblock and the deaths of 50 police officers and over 200 criminals.

Finally, the two called it a night, Peter seemingly not able to hold his alcohol nearly as well as Cooper, which struck the Marauder as odd. The Pilot helped Peter back to the wallcrawler's place, which thankfully wasn't too far, considering their current state prohibited any alternate forms of travel.

* * *

It was past one in the morning when Parker finally opened up the door to his cluttered apartment. But as soon as Matt helped him inside and the door closed, Peter turned on him. "There is one thing" said the New Yorker, any semblance of a slur gone, "how did you figure out who I was?"

Matthew couldn't suppress a laugh in his inebriated state. "You won't believe this shit" said Cooper as he flopped down on the crappy sofa. "Suppose I've had enough to drink to try and explain this. Back home, Texas home" began Cooper. "Spider-Man, everyone knew that story. Some high school nerd named Peter Parker got bit by a radioactive spider and wore questionable outfits while fighting people with cooler names and powers" said Cooper with a bark of laughter and slight slur. Peter frowned at the description of his life as the Marauder continued. "You were in comics, cartoons, even a couple of films, big blockbuster ones too."

Parker wasn't sure how to take the revelation that his life was entertainment for those in another dimension. The thought that Matt was messing with him crossed his mind, but was quickly dismissed. Cooper's story was crazy enough to be true. "So, you, just recognized me as soon as you saw me or what?"

The Marauder shook his head. "Not quite, but I knew Spider-Man was Peter Parker, just dumb luck I ran into you" he said with a laugh. "Don't take this the wrong way, I was never your biggest fan" rambled the Pilot. "So don't ask me what happens next."

Peter laughed at the inebriated sarcasm, though his curiosity about what else the Pilot could tell him prompted him to ask another question. "Was it…exactly like this?" he asked tentatively.

"I…I don't think so" replied Cooper after a second, rubbing his forehead as he pondered the question. "Watson was a super model…or was she an actress? Fuck if I know" he managed before laughing. "Though I think in one movie you shot webs from your wrists."

Peter laughed at the thought, looking down at his arms and imagined what _that _would be like. He was about to ask another question when he saw that Cooper had passed out on the sofa. The man had been running on fumes since he walked into FEAST, it was a miracle he had lasted this long. With an amused smile, he let the man sleep as he went to his bed and followed suit.

* * *

"Fucking Hell" groaned Cooper as he registered where he was, it wasn't his own bed, and it wasn't Felecia's. With the two most likely candidates gone, his eyes looked around at the messy space he was in and the lumpy sofa he was on as he shook his head.

The Pilot heard a laugh, "not exactly" said a friendly and amused voice. "I'd like to think hell would manage to be a bit more organized" quipped Parker as he walked over and handed him a glass with some odd colored tea. "Trust me, it'll help" assured the webhead as Cooper took the offered glass.

Taking a tentative sip, Cooper felt his head clear somewhat and began drinking eagerly. "I take it we didn't get into any fistfights?" he said as he looked at his intact knuckles and Parkers shaking head. "Pity" said the Marauder with fake disappointment and lopsided grin. "In all seriousness, did it help at least?"

"I think so" said Peter, "it was nice to relive memories and just remind myself that I'm still Peter Parker, not just Spider-Man." Cooper listened, his mind replaying the night as his memories got fuzzier the further on he went.

"Uh, Parker" said Matthew as the replay reached the place he currently was, "I didn't say anything out of the ordinary last night…did I?"

His hopes that he hadn't dropped rapidly as he scrutinized the man's expression, Parker really needed to work on his poker face. "You might have…something about Spider-Man movies" said Peter, causing Matt the sigh and deflate. "And that MJ was a supermodel?" he said with a raised eyebrow as Cooper buried his face in his hands. "Is that really true?" he asked disbelievingly. Cooper nodded, though his face was still buried in his hands. He didn't usually get that drunk, and was worried things would get even more awkward between the two heroes, somehow. "It's fine Coop, even with that you've treated me fine through all this" said Peter, as if he was reading the Pilot's mind. "Its odd to think that I'm a movie character in a parallel universe. My life sure is crazy enough to be though" he said with a weak smile.

Cooper barked a laugh in reply. "Maybe the next one will have me in it, shame I won't see it though" said the Marauder with a grin. "I wonder who would play me…Tom Hardy? Jon Bernthal?" Parker guffawed at the suggestions, earning him a glare from the Pilot. "Not one peep out of you, you were Tobey Maguire and then Andrew Garfield."

Any sense of humor evaporated, much to Coopers satisfaction in his hungover state. "Thanks for ruining any confidence the fact I was in movies may have given me" deadpanned Parker.

"You're welcome" replied Cooper cheerfully.

* * *

"You know Cat, if anyone else was suggesting this, I would say something was wrong with them" said Cooper, the Pilot sitting in his own living room couch with his guitar going through _For Those About to Rock, We Salute You _on the instrument.

There was an amused giggle on the other end of the phone. _"But that's why you like the idea"_ she said coyly, _"So are you in cowboy?"_

The Marauder shook his head, quote Bon Jovi once and she hadn't let him hear the end of it. "There must be something wrong with me because…yeah, I am" he replied. Part of him didn't believe he was actually going along with this crazy fucking idea. "Was that all you wanted to talk about?" he asked.

"_Now that you mention it"_ said the thief in sultry tone, _"I do believe I need to take you to the tailor tomorrow." _

Cooper's head fell back and slammed it into the top of the sofa as he suppressed a groan at the prospect. Wearing an uncomfortable suit and mingling in high society was not his idea of a good time. The more he thought on the prospect, the more he felt the urge to do some damage. "Can't wait" he said in dry enough tones to make a desert envious. Before the conversation could continue, there was a tone from his phone sitting on the coffee table in front of him. "Looks like I'm popular today darlin'" he drawled as he looked at the number of the other caller. "I'll see you tomorrow Felecia" he said as he switched lines. "Parker, what's up man?" he said casually.

"_Suiting up now, bout to head out for a patrol"_ explained the wallcrawler. _"Was wondering if you wanted to help, from what I've gathered you've been rather lazy lately" _he joked. _"Hope you haven't decided to hang it up."_

Cooper actually chuckled at the insinuation. "No, just haven't had any info on a good target. You got something?" he asked, already setting the SG aside. Phone in hand he was already heading into the armory to get his Vanguard Pilots kit on.

"_Nah, most of the heavy hitters have been put away or are laying low after Cinderblock" _explained Peter as Matt went through the now familiar process of getting his gear on as the Webslinger explained what he was scheming_. "Just wanted to make sure the rest of the city was still standing, maybe stopping some muggings and robberies, the usual"_ said the webhead casually. _"Anyway, I'll be lounging on the Chrysler building, meet me there when you can."_

* * *

An hour later, a loaded for bear Marauder grappled his way up towards the meeting point. Cooper's ascent stopping when he saw an out of place light, it seemed Peter had been waiting awhile for him. "Sorry I'm late" said Cooper as he made his way over to the wallcrawler, who was relaxing on the back of a stone goblin, "traffic was hell" he deadpanned.

The Webslinger turned to the other vigilante, eye lenses meeting glowing visor. "No problem man, just catching up on what the 'Bugle' has to say about us" he said as he held up his phone before he resumed scrolling. "Looks like JJJ is having fun going at you" he said before clearing his throat. "Murdering Marauder Missing in Action?" he read in an attempt to impersonate the editor.

Cooper allowed himself a chuckle at the headline. "Good to know that I'm missed" said Cooper wryly, "even if it's not true, me and Cat have been busy."

The Pilot saw one of the lenses widen in curiosity and chuckled. "How are things going with you and Black Cat? You've been together for a week or two now" said the superhero. Cooper tried to pick apart the tone, a hint of jealousy? Sadness? All understandable considering his relationship woes.

"She is a challenge" he said honestly, getting a knowing nod in reply. "But I don't think I'd want it any other way, you know? Hell if I know what exactly our relationship is, I suppose it's almost like being the Marauder" he mused with a smile behind his helmet. "If you asked before all this, back home, I would never had said I wanted this. But now? That I have it? I'll fight to my dying breath before I give it up." Matt shook his head while Spider-Man just watched silently, "the world works in mysterious ways I suppose."

"I never asked for this either, but you already knew that" tried Peter before laughing it off weakly. "If what you told me about Typhon is true, something like that changes people, but you're still trying to do good. That's what matters" assured the Wallcrawler. "Though, if you don't mind me asking, why kill people? That's not why you do it?"

The striped helmet shook a negative. "No, I don't enjoy killing, it just feels…normal. Pulling the trigger isn't a choice as much as a reflex" admitted the Pilot shamefully. "I don't think I've ever gone out with the intent to kill; I don't look forward to it or dwell on it after the fact" he continued as he pulled out and unfolded his rifle. "I brought a bunch of the arc rounds, maybe I'll get to try them" he said with a shrug as he pointed to the blue tape on the bottom of the loaded magazine.

Spider-Man cocked his head at an angle as he mulled over those words, eyes trailing down to see several mags tucked in their pouches marked with blue, though a few had red tape instead. "So you don't regret killing? Ending someone's life without giving them the opportunity to change? Face trial for their actions?"

Cooper pursed his lips at the questions as he pondered his response. "What's done is done, nobody can change that" he began slowly. The Marauder then licked his lips, as if trying to taste those words as they left his mouth. "I don't regret it. Not because of some speech about how they deserved to die for being evil men or anything like that. It boils down to the fact that we were fighting, and it was him or me. Life and death situations have a way of simplifying things like that." Memories of Typhon filled his mind, that was how he made it out in piece, at least that's what it felt like. "I don't _want _to kill anyone, if I showed up to destroy a weapons cache and the people defending it just stepped aside and let me, that would be an ideal world" he supposed with a mirthful chuckle. "Shame I didn't end up in that one."

Peter nodded in agreement, and Matt could see the conflict behind the mask, but didn't press him on it. He had said his piece. "If you ever do, come get me" joked the webhead lamely. "In all seriousness, lay off it for tonight, we're doing this my way" said the wallcrawler in a tone that brokered no argument. Cooper agreed readily, nodding as his friend continued. "Alright then, enough depressed monologuing, let's have some fun."

With that, Spider-Man put his phone away and jumped from his spot, falling before firing off a webline and beginning to swing. The Marauder wasn't far behind, dropping from his hold and leaning into the dive to close the gap, firing the kit to slow his descent as he neared the height of the rooftops below before firing his grapple, pulling himself to the nearest one and beginning a wallrun.

The pair of vigilantes made their way through the city streets, their different movement styles meant they traded the lead before BT came over the helmet, _"Pilot, Spider-Man is calling you"_ reported the Titan.

"Patch him in" ordered Cooper curtly before there was a slight bout of static. "Marauder here" said the Pilot, all business as he watched Spider-Man pull himself back in front of the duo before making a sudden right turn.

Cooper used his grapple to slingshot around the corner, firing his kit to help him reach the far building before wallrunning to catch up. _"Marauder, got reports of a bank robbery a few blocks away, police are on the way"_ rattled off the webhead. BT was clearly monitoring the conversation, a 3D model of the bank appeared on his HUD and the police response was indicated in real time because of their link to the network.

Cooper saw Peter slow down and perch himself on the corner of a building overlooking the bank. The Marauder slid across the roof, coming to a crouch and stopping nearby as he scanned the scene. "Police aren't here yet, looks like they have a getaway car parked out front" observed the Pilot. "How do you want to handle this?"

"Police are still a few minutes out, more than enough time for these guys to try and make a quick getaway" noted the Wallcrawler. The eye lenses narrowed as he scanned the bank, the sound of police sirens could be heard in the distance, "I see movement at the front door, looks like our friends are coming out. Shall we introduce ourselves?"

The Marauder grinned behind his helmet, "You grab them by the nose, I'll kick 'em in the ass" said Cooper. Peter nodded and fired off a webline as Matt grappled to the bank, taking out his axe and wallhanging above the entrance, lying in wait.

Four men soon exited the bank, the two in front holding AK rifles and the rear two had TEC-9s and a duffel bag slung over their shoulder. They came to an abrupt halt as the lead two trained their rifles on the red and blue suited vigilante perched atop their getaway SUV. "What are this place's hours? I didn't know you could make a withdrawal this late" asked the Webslinger.

The robbers were not amused, "We aren't afraid of you freak" snarled the leader. Both rifle armed men opened fire, Spider-Man gracefully rolling back and taking cover behind the car. The Militia Pilot took that as his cue, pulling the axe out, he fell towards the tail end Charlie, the sound of gunfire masking his approach.

His jumpkit flared to life, bringing him to a hovering halt just behind the bag toting man. The light had been noticed and the robber turned around just in time to get a facefull of boot. With a scream, he flew backwards, the bag was ripped from his shoulder and money flew out as he skidded along the ground and the others turned to the Marauder. "You should be" growled the Pilot darkly as he snapped his R-201 up. "I'm going to make this easy. Put your guns down and let Spidey web you up or die where you stand" he threatened. To emphasize his point, he flicked the fire selector from safe to auto. "What's it gonna be?"

Much to Coopers relief, one of the AK wielders looked like he was about to piss himself and threw down his rifle. "What are you doing?" asked the leader as the second bagman threw down his gun and dropped the bag. "You fucking cowards, I swear I'm going to…mmph" ranted the last resisting man as his rifle was ripped from his hands and his mouth covered with webbing through the hole in his ski mask.

"It's not nice to insult your friends, isn't that right Marauder?" asked Spider-Man as he looked at the pilot, who shrugged. "After this we're going to have to work on your banter" mumbled the webhead as he wrapped up the other three and stuck them to their getaway car with the driver webbed up inside.

Two police cruisers pulled up, skidding to a stop as the doors flew open. "MARAUDER! Hands up! You are under arrest!" shouted one of them as they pointed their guns at the Pilot.

"Woah, hang on, he's with…"

"Shut up Spider-Man, HANDS IN THE AIR!" yelled one of the cops as Cooper shook his head and pulled out an electric smoke grenade and yanked out the pin. As soon as the cylinder hit the ground, he activated his phase shift and sprinted off to the side to try and get out of the line of fire he was sure would would occur.

Sure enough, as soon as he popped back into the action, the sound of police unloading everything they had into the smoke meant he had gone unnoticed. He wouldn't be able to get away however, even with Spider-Man begging the police to stop trying to kill him. Sprinting across the street, he was spotted, just as he planned.

To observers, it looked like he had turned on a dime as very few could, coming to his feet and running at the police who fired at him while there was a faint shimmer and lick of blue flame along the building opposite the bank. Bullets found their mark on the Marauder but seemed to pass through uselessly before the hologram decoy dissipated into nothing.

Safely out of the way, Cooper looked down at the scene. Police were arriving quickly, and Spider-Man pulled himself up to the rooftop and stood beside the Marauder. "Were you really going to do it?" he asked suddenly, causing the x shaped visor to turn and look at him. "Kill them?"

Cooper didn't reply, but just held the Carbine up so Spider-Man could see the blue tape on the bottom of the magazine. After a moment of silence between the two vigilantes, the webhead spoke again. "And if you didn't have the arc rounds?" he asked, getting a noncommittal shrug in return. Matthew could hear the sigh building up inside his friend and felt a tinge of guilt. "This isn't Typhon, remember that…come on, scanner says there's a drug deal going down not far from here" said the Webhead before he turned and ran off.

The Marauder thought back to his time after assuming that moniker. Running through a burning building with shrapnel in his leg. The ambush at Lawton, cops dead in the street as they were assaulted from all sides, the severe injury he had sustained before his rescue before a rogue cop very nearly killed him, Hardy, and Watanabe. Ambushing the convoy with BT, practically invincible at the controls of his Titan, mowing down bad guys because they were trying to kidnap a friend. Then Cinderblock itself, a goddamn building being brought down on top of him before he slugged it out with Kraven. Only for all his effort to be for nothing, all of the buildings came down and Kingpin had the properties pile of dead bodies he wanted.

Spider-Man was right, this wasn't Typhon, but that didn't mean it was any better. "Right behind you" called Cooper over the comms before following the Wallcrawler.

* * *

It had been a productive night by Peter's standards, after the first robbery, the pair of vigilantes had stopped a drug deal, two muggings, a car theft, and two further robberies. He looked over to his partner during all of that, the armored man was motionless as the glowing visor stared straight ahead. The Marauders presence had a noted effect on the criminals the pair had encountered.

Many had immediately begun to beg for their lives if they caught a glimpse of the SRS Pilot. The lethal reputation of the Marauder preceded him, and only a handful tried their luck against the pair, with predictable results. Either webbed up or on the receiving end of arc empowered punches, they all regretted their hasty decisions.

The two vigilantes were on a rooftop looking down on a parking lot under an el train line, two groups were just getting out of their respective vehicles. His spider sense tingling, it wasn't hard for Peter to guess the lest than legal intentions behind this meeting. That, and this spot was such a common point for illegal activity it was a part of his regular patrol route.

The Webslinger turned back to his friend, "Last one for the night. Ready?" he asked, merely getting a nod in return. Cooper had been surprisingly quiet, brooding between encounters about something or other. Without another word, Parker pulled himself to a light post, causing the criminals to all turn and look up at him. "Hey guys, lovely night for some illegal activity, am I right?"

The eight thugs all turned to crane their necks up at him, with the one standing by the trunk of the car closing it with what Peter assumed were drugs inside. "You came to the wrong part of town Spider-Man! Its eight against one!" Called the man behind the car with the drugs, blissfully unaware of the vigilante who was descending behind him. All the men straightened as they heard the jump jet fire and the Marauders boots hit the pavement. The leader scowled as he looked at the new arrival, "This is your last chance to walk away, it's still four to one."

"Then it is an even fight" growled the Marauder through his voice filter as he raised his fists, lightning crackling from them.

The thugs hesitated, looking between each other before the leader pulled out a knife and charged at the Marauder. Without hesitation, the Militia Pilot fired his grapple into his chest and pulled the thug towards him, ripping him off his feet. An arc charged punch sent him down as the Webhead fired a webline and pulled himself to a group of thugs. Spider-Man slammed feet first into the unlucky criminal, pushing off as he disconnected the webline and back flipping as he landed between the remaining three. "Did you forget about me?" he quipped as he began punching the closest hooded criminal. "How? I'm much for fun than he is!" he complained as the Wallcrawler webbed a nearby garbage can and whipped it around before bringing it down on the head of the farthest foe.

He took a moment to make sure that the Marauder was handling himself, though he needn't have worried. One criminal had just gotten his head slammed into the car while a third lay moaning off to the side. Returning to the matter at hand, his spider sense sounded inside his head and he instinctively leapt skyward, flipping backwards and firing a burst of webbing onto his attacker's face before landing behind the assailant. "So someone didn't forget!" he shouted happily as he fired more bursts of webbing before the criminal staggered into an SUV and was webbed to the big Cadillac.

He then turned to see his friend pushing the leader down against the trunk of the car, holding him by his collar. "Open this up" ordered the Marauder with a snarl, "what is it worth to you? Is it worth your life?"

The thug laughed, his face bloody from the blows he had taken during the fight. "I'm dead anyway, you'll at least do it quick" he said before he spit out some blood over the car. "After that, they'll come for you, the people I work for don't like loose ends."

"Same shit, different day" muttered the Marauder before grabbing the man's hair and bashed him against the trunk of the car, knocking him out as he slumped off onto the ground. "You wanna do the honors?" he asked, the visor looking at Parker.

Peter rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles, "Don't mind if I do, idle threats never bothered me anyway" he said flippantly before firing a pair of weblines at the closed trunk lid and yanked.

"Holy Shit" breathed the Marauder as Peter turned around and saw a sight that caused his eyes to widen, the lenses doing the same as a pair of equally wide eyes stared back at them. The girl looked to barely be a day over sixteen, tape over her mouth, tape binding her wrists and legs. Torn and bloody clothes covered her, and the look on her face was one of pure terror.

The two men were knocked from their daze by the red and blue flashing of police car lights as a cruiser pulled up. Peter looked at the Marauder but found him planted to where he stood as the driver of the car got out. "Spider-Man" called a familiar voice, "what's going on?"

"Yuri?" replied Peter dumbly as the oriental NYPD Captain approached, "Yuri…you know, just out doing patrol, busting crooks, doing whatever a Spider-Man can" he said, even though he saw that she wasn't exactly listening.

The veteran worked her jaw, "uh huh, and uh, what about him?" she asked as she looked over at the Marauder, who had noticed them, but said nothing. "What's he doing?" she asked as the Pilot reached down into the trunk and pulled the girl out. "Oh my god, was this a kidnapping?" asked Yuri.

Peter shook his head, "I don't think so, I think…I think they were selling her" he revealed quietly as the Marauder carried the girl bridal style towards them, Yuri opening the passenger door and letting him put her down inside the squad car.

"I'll take care of those restraints" he offered, the girl nodded, and Cooper pulled out his knife and carefully sliced the tape holding her arms and legs together, the girl rubbed her bruised skin gingerly, but said nothing. "It's alright, you're safe now" assured the Pilot before closing the door.

Yuri frowned, saddened at the sight, but the woman's resolve was visible in her eyes. "I'll get her back to the station; get her all the help she needs" said Watanabe as she looked at the two vigilantes.

"Take care of her Captain" said Cooper quietly, yet still firm. "I'll be in touch. Until then, take care, both of you" he said simply before turning away and running off, pack firing as he scaled a nearby building and vanished.

Peter was about to do the same when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. "What's that about, the two of you working together?" she asked. "Though I guess that explains why our morgues are having a slower night" she mused tiredly.

The Webslinger allowed himself a small chuckle at one of the few jokes he had ever heard come from the hard nosed cop in spite of himself. "Yeah, I'm helping him adjust. He's a good guy, just needs a little guidance" said the webhead honestly. "The Marauder wants to help; he's just trying to find his place is all."

Yuri nodded, seemingly lost in thought as she stared off at where the Pilot had gone. "He saved my life" she said suddenly. "More than once actually" she continued with a small smile. "You two are more alike than most would think. Neither of you give up and nothing scares either of you" she said, "Christ, if either of you ever want a job, let me know, I'll find a spot for you."

"Thanks, but no thanks Captain, the badge would clash with my colors" quipped the Webslinger, only to get a glare from the woman, though it was betrayed by the slight upturn of the corner of her mouth. He knew she couldn't stay mad at him for long. "As for him, I think he prefers to do his own thing" mumbled Peter, hoping this was actually true.

It was Yuri's turn to laugh lightly, "I can see that" she responded, "till next time Spider-Man" she said before getting back in her car and pulling away. Seeing the cruiser round the corner, the Vigilante concluded that his work was done. With a distinct 'thwip' he was off to get some sleep before he had to go to work in a few hours.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Arc Rounds_

_After the destruction of the major IMC base on the planet Demeter, the Militia found that production of automated infantry, mainly the Spectre class, had been ramped up to keep combat effectiveness up. Instead of developing new weapons to deal with this threat, the Militia instead developed new ammunition for their existing small arms. Instead of a chunk of lead coated in copper and tipped with steel or tungsten the Arc round has a totally different construction. _

_The shell of the bullet is plastic and made to crumple on impact without penetrating but instead flattening to ensure maximum contact area with the target. Within the plastic is an arc cell, like one of the many on an arc grenade. The plastic has bits of a special conductor mixed in to make sure that energy goes where it needs to. At the very back is a ceramic plate to withstand the heat and pressure of the round firing and provide structure to the projectile. On impact, the arc core's discharge actually shatters the ceramic so it too doesn't penetrate, mainly because testing showed that if it did it would crush the core before it fully discharged. _

_Even if they aren't lethal, unless you eat a dozen of them in quick succession resulting in fried nerves and cardiac arrest, the impact still hurts like hell, never mind the sensation of the arc discharge. I don't care how tough you are, three hits from these things will put you on your ass for at least 20 minutes._

_The program was rushed to meet the new requirement and had a lot of money thrown at it to get it to the field as quickly as possible. Millions of rounds were produced in all calibers before anyone decided to test them against standard ammunition and they were found to have negligible benefits in their intended role. Few soldiers were eager to have to manage two types of ammo in a combat situation and many were concerned that if they carried too many arc rounds, they wouldn't have enough standard rounds to deal with human threats. And while standard ammo could kill Spectres well enough, arc rounds couldn't kill human targets at all, and so the project ground to a halt._

_At least that means nobody back there will notice that I'm taking a bunch of that stockpile._

* * *

**Closing Notes: So something that also radically changes this arc is that Cooper rarely operates alone for the majority of it. We've seen him work alongside Felecia and Peter, and someone else will show up later on. The patrol was inspired heavily by both the free roaming in the game mixed in the 'Bowling Night' from The Incredibles. A lot more of this happens once we get to the main game, and I enjoy writing Spider-Man's quips alongside the drier one liners of the Marauder. Also had a lot of fun coming up with ways for the pairs to synergize in combat, sorta like the old Arkham games where Batman and Catwoman worked together. Expect to see more of that as they get more accustomed to working alongside each other. **

**If one program in particular influenced the Logbook entry it would be of the M7 Medium tank. In World War II the US Army poured a lot of money, resources, and manpower into this project. It was designed, had prototypes built, and those prototypes were tested. The vehicle passed trials and orders were placed for several thousand tanks as a factory was built and tooled up, workers were hired and began training to produce the tanks.**

**It was at this point the Army realized that the M7 offered no advantage over the existing M4 Tank, and all it would serve to do was require new parts, new training for servicemen, and increase the logistical issues that were already facing the army. So as a result the whole program was canceled, the factory closed, and the workers laid off, total production was 7 tanks. Gotta love that effective use of taxpayer dollars. **

**Also, the last bit of the chapter is the kind of darker thing I was talking about. If Cooper is going to try and turn over a new leaf and operate 'cleaner' then it should be interesting to face down something that will make him want to revert back to his old ways and he has to decide what kind of man he will be. Truly, there is no right answer here and that is purposefully why it's being explored. Other's will weigh in obviously, Peter, Felecia, Yuri, and that someone else who will be teased next chapter. **

**As always, feel free to leave some feedback, review, whatever. If your happy with just reading then that's just fine too. Next chapter will come out next Wednesday, I liked how this worked so I'll probably stick to it. **

**Through the ages of time I've been known for my hate. But I'm a dealer of simple choices, for me it's never too late. I am the Shepard of Fire. **

**Stay frosty, Misfit Delta out.**


	14. Chapter 14: Shepherd of Fire

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Thanks to ravens18 for betaing this chapter.

iKoma: Thanks for the kind words, hopefully you'll continue to enjoy.

Howdy folks, it's time for everyone's favorite angry journalist to make an appearance, no, it's not Bill O'Reilly. Though I think JJJ expierences something that he usually doesn't in most Spider-Man media outside of the cartoons I remember watching as a kid. Hopefully it turns out well enough, I don't even remember how many iterations that single exchange went through.

There's also an odd time bit, make sure you're paying attention for that, I don't think it's _too _confusing but if you skim through it you will get caught out.

Our title today is provided by Avenged Sevenfold, and I will fully admit to only knowing two of their songs. This one because of its use in the trailer for a Zombies map in CoD: Black Ops II, 'Origins' if memory serves, and Carry On, because it was in the trailer for 'Tranzit' from the same game. If you are like most people and don't have a clue why that is amusing it is because Origins is one of the most beloved Zombie maps ever while Tranzit it one of the most abhorred.

I'm not sure why I felt the need to include that, but hey, I bet you learned something today.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 14: Shepherd of Fire**

_Don't you see I am your pride_

_Agent of wealth. Bearer of needs_

_And you know it's right_

_I am your war_

_Arming the strong. Aiding the weak_

_Know me by name_

_Shepherd of fire_

* * *

Matthew Cooper carefully guided his Viper into the parking garage beneath the building where Hardy lived, the woman sitting regally in the passenger seat. The couple was returning from the tailor, where thankfully Cooper didn't have to do much other than ask that a separate jacket be made to accommodate a shoulder holster. This request had been met with a simple "of course sir" as if that was an expectation. But considering that the Black Cat knew this tailor, it shouldn't have come as much of a surprise.

His girlfriend had taken care of the specifics of the suit, style, cut, that sort of thing. The Pilot was not ashamed to admit that Felicia was more 'fashion proficient' than he was, and she never let him forget it. That wasn't what was bothering him though.

In Texas, he had a sister, a little sister, and for a brief second when he looked down into that car, he saw her tied up and staring up at him. It took all of his self control to prevent himself from pulling out his Smart Pistol and executing every single man there, and if Yuri hadn't show up, he probably would have. Part of him was still telling him he should have, damn the reaction Peter would have. He just hoped…

"You in there, cowboy?" said an amused voice, knocking him from his thoughts as he looked around, seeing a smirking Felecia. "You going to ignore that call? Not that I would mind if I got some more attention…"

Cooper looked at the infotainment and saw BT was calling him and accepted the call as he parked the Dodge. "BT, what's happening buddy?" asked the Pilot as Hardy huffed good naturedly.

"_Captain Watanabe is attempting to reach you Pilot, I have her on the line"_ reported the Militia machine flatly.

Matt couldn't suppress a frown, if Yuri was calling him then it was either with really good news or really bad news. "Patch her in BT" he ordered after taking a deep breath and forcing a smile, though he wasn't sure if he did it for Felicia or himself. There was a crackle on the line, after a moment of silence, the Pilot spoke. "Captain, you there?"

"_Yeah I'm here"_ she said, _"That the real you Marauder?"_ asked a clearly irate Cop. _"And not…whoever the hell I just talked to."_

Matt and Felicia shared a knowing look before Cooper laughed, "It's me Cap. I see you've met my ah…secretary" said the Marauder as Hardy failed to suppress a slight giggle. "What can I do for you?"

There was an exasperated sigh from a woman who clearly did not get paid enough to put up with this shit. _"I need to meet with you, usual spot. I got developments from last night, come as quick as you can."_

Matthews face tightened at the mention of what he saw the previous evening. The part of him that regretted not pulling the trigger came back and caused him to hope he would get a chance to correct that mistake. "Usual place, 30 or 40 minutes" he read back. "I'll be there" he assured before hanging up and turning the car off.

"What's that all about?" asked Hardy, her tone serious as she scrutinized his features. "I'm not sure how I feel about that look" she said as she cupped his cheek and made him look at her. There was silence inside the car as the two locked eyes, the tension different than the usual kind. "Well whatever it is, go take care of it. Don't forget about me if you have any fun though, I'd love to get a piece of the action, especially if you're involved" said the seductress with her most alluring smirk.

Matt grinned as he leaned in for a quick kiss, "Of course darlin" he assured after the two separated. "You mind if I change in your place and head out from there?"

"Only if I can watch" she purred in reply.

Cooper couldn't help but grin as he gave a bemused shake of the head as he thew the door open and got out of the Viper, this woman truly was something else, but he wouldn't have her any other way.

* * *

Thirty seven minutes later, Cooper leapt over to the top of the Chinatown police precinct, sliding to a halt just behind the singular person on the roof. The Pilot stood and pulled out the SRS lighter out as he went up behind Yuri. "Need a light?" he asked dryly, causing her to turn around.

"That girl last night, what do you know about her?" she asked without preamble, the woman's expression serious.

Cooper shook his head, "nothing" he replied quickly. "Just came across the sale, thought it was a drug sale at first and got stuck in…when the dust settled, I wanted to see what they were selling…" he explained, his voice trailed off and he clenched his fists. "Just, tell me you have something."

Yuri shook her head, "No, just wanted to know if you knew anything else" she said quickly, unable to look at him. "If you don't know anything then you can go, the Police can handle this" she assured as the woman turned and tried to walk away.

Before he could register what, he was doing, his hand had reached out of its own volition and clamped down on the cop's shoulder and spun her around to face him. "Captain, what the _fuck_ is going on here? I am not sitting this one out, whether you want it or not" he said firmly. "Is the girl okay? You get anything out of those assholes we knocked out?" he pressed.

There was a moment of hesitation before she looked around quickly before getting closer and spoke in a whisper. "I sent a few cars out to get them…none of them came back. We found them this morning; every single person was shot dead, cops and suspects. Whoever these guys were, they were professionals, clean kills, every last one."

Matthew frowned, of course this wasn't simple. "And the girl?" he asked, his voice tinged with worry.

Yuri shook her head again. "We got nothing out of her before she…before she escaped" admitted Watanabe, clearly pissed by this development. Their last lead was in the wind, worse, it was someone they were trying to protect. "She didn't say a damn thing all the way back and went to sleep as soon as we got to the station. I left on a coffee run this morning and when I came back…" she threw her hands up in the air, "nothing."

The Marauder bit back a curse, "I'll look for her, got anything on her? An ID? Family?" he asked.

"Nothing, we took her prints and fed them through the system" she explained, "no hits."

Matthew furrowed his brow, "no hits?" he parroted, getting a nod in return. "Meaning she wasn't reported missing…."

"No, like she didn't exist at all" replied Yuri through grit teeth, the woman was clearly frustrated by her apparent failure. A hand came up and she rubbed her forehead before she ran it through her hair. "I tried everything, prints, description, I spent three hours going through a missing persons database and have nothing to show for it. The only thing I do know for sure is that the buyers worked for the Maggia here in New York. But I can't even tell you which family, they were hired guns."

"And the sellers?"

"Even less, no ID on them, and whoever they were, they had the same trick done to them as that girl" revealed the Cop. "Ran their prints through all the databases, IAFIS, Interpol, Eurodac, didn't get jack shit back. Same story with DNA." Yuri's expression became serious, "these aren't just kidnappers we're dealing with here; they make people disappear. My guys are already working on this, you don't have to…"

"You can't stop me" growled Cooper. "I'm getting involved, the only way I won't be is if you cuff me and throw my ass in jail right now."

"I should" remarked Watanabe instantly. "You're still wanted for…well suffice it to say, 'a lot'. But something tells me even that wouldn't do much to stop you" she said, smirking at the shake of the head she got in reply before sighing in resignation. "Alright then, we already have a BOLO out on the girl, but if could help search I'd appreciate it. I'll try to dig into the Maggia connection, see who exactly the buyer was and why. Could be personal, for extortion, or…." Neither of them could bring themselves to say what the other option was.

After a moment, Cooper nodded, "Alright, let me know if you need help. I'll check with a friend about the Maggia, they may be able to give me some insight" he said as he unslung his CAR and got ready to get moving.

"Keep me posted" ordered the Captain sternly. "And Marauder…" she called out, causing him to turn around, "Good hunting." Cooper gave a nod and quick salute before vaulting over the railing and setting off.

* * *

Two hours later, and his search for the girl had seen no progress, learning about the Maggia from Hardy on the other hand… _"That about covers the basics, was there something more specific you wanted to know?"_ asked the burglar. Cooper really didn't want to know how she knew some of what she had told him, but he wasn't looking a gift horse in the mouth.

"Is there any one of the families that likes to use hired guns more?" asked Cooper as he activated his STIM and shot forwards as bystanders below turned their eyes skyward to catch a glimpse of the Marauder.

He heard Hardy click her tongue on the other end. _"Most don't use any Handsome. They prefer to 'keep it in the family'" _she said with clear dismissal before pausing_. "Though if there is one who would, it's Hammerhead. He's always been the wildcard of the Dons."_ Cooper continued along the route BT had given him. The machine had accessed police data and figured out a most probable path of travel using traffic volume, the girl's lack of money, and other factors the Pilot didn't understand_. "What are you scheming?"_

Cooper wasn't really sure what he was going to do, but he knew what he wanted the outcome to be. "Hypothetical question, if you were going to tear the Maggia down, not just kill them, but eradicate all traces of their existence, how would you do it?" he asked. Sure, he could try to kill the dons, but chances were that he could get one, maybe two, before the others went to ground. Even if he forced them into hiding, their organizations would still chug right along.

That wasn't acceptable, not now.

"_Woah there, hold up Cowboy"_ she said. _"I'll say many things about the Maggia, but they didn't stay around this long by being stupid. Hurting them is easy, what you're proposing in on a whole other level"_ she explained.

"Are you telling me you can't do it?" he challenged, knowing full well there was little Felicia liked more than a challenge.

Sure enough, the Cat took the bait. _"I didn't say that"_ she said sternly, bristling at the insinuation. _"Just that it won't be a one and done thing. Rushing in guns blazing won't work, it's going to take time to plan this out. That could take months"_ she cautioned.

The Marauder continued his search, a new waypoint flashing up on his HUD indicating he should search this area, given by distance from precinct and time since she was last seen. "You know I can be patient" he reminded. "Something to work on between teaching me how to dance" he suggested as he scanned the dark alleys below for any sign of his mark.

Cooper pursed his lips, there was no sign of the girl. _"What's taking you so long Cowboy? Spend a little extra time with your Policewoman friend?"_ asked Hardy suggestively. _"Not like I can blame you; you seem to have a thing for leather clad women."_

The Marauder managed to keep himself from shaking his head, though he did roll his eyes inside his helmet as a fresh waypoint appeared with another possible spot. "She just wanted a statement and now I'm doing some recon. Should be back in an hour or so and we can have a little fun" he reported casually, though he was becoming increasingly worried where this girl might be.

"_I can't wait"_ replied Felecia in a seductive tone before ending the call, leaving the Marauder to continue his search. Though the missing girl wouldn't appear until the following day.

* * *

"Peter dear, could you check on Mrs. Gonzalez's computer, it's been acting up" asked Aunt May. The superhero looked up form the chess game he was spectating as the woman approached. "You know how we are when it comes to technology" said the woman with an apologetic smile.

The younger Parker understood, being the unofficial IT support for FEAST was something he was very much used to. "Sure thing Aunt May" said Peter as he tore himself from the game and went for the front desk. "Alright Rita let's see what's wrong here" said the Webhead as he set to work.

Thirty minutes of messing around with the OS with a little percussive maintenance for good measure, and Peter was confident that the problem had been licked. "Oh my god, what happened to you?" exclaimed the woman working the front desk suddenly, Gonzalez flying from her position out to whoever had just come into the homeless shelter.

Peter stood up and looked at who had warranted such a reaction, his mouth dropping as recognition slammed into him like a freight train. It was the same blond girl that he and Cooper had rescued two nights prior, she didn't look that much better than when the duo found her either. Filthy, ratty hair, tattered clothes covered by an ill-fitting police jacket and sweatpants, she didn't look like she was any less terrified than when the Marauder had pulled her out of that car.

"You poor thing, are you alright?" asked the older Hispanic woman, getting only a slight shake of the head in return. "Let's get you cleaned up, come with me" she said, ushering her back before the girl's stomach growled audibly. "And some food in you too."

There was an unpleasant buzz at the base of his skull, causing the webslinger to look out the window to see a bald man in trench coat and sunglasses staring at the shelter. The man frowned slightly before turning on his heel and continuing to walk down the street, the simple action sent a chill down his spine. "You alright dear?" asked May, startling him. "You look like you've seen a ghost" she said with a chuckle.

"Huh" replied Peter dumbly, "Yeah, yeah Aunt May, I'm fine" he answered dismissively as he tried to shake off the feeling but couldn't quite manage it. The buzz had settled to a slight hum, but still persisted, "Actually, is it okay if I go grab some food? I'm starving."

The kindly older woman smiled, "of course, I think we can manage for little while" she said before turning away. As soon as his aunt was out of sight, Peter made for the staircase that led to the roof and his stashed backpack, pulling out his phone as he took the stairs two at a time.

The phone rung a few times before the call was finally accepted. Parker spoke without preamble, "I'll explain when you get here, but I need you at FEAST now. You understand me Marauder?"

* * *

**Two Hours Prior…**

"Fuck" cursed Cooper irately as he over stepped and only barely avoided stepping on his partner's toes again. He could run along the sides of buildings at 50 kph, why was a three-step waltz so much damn harder? "Let's run it again darling, I'll get it" he assured as he shook off his most recent failure and took her hand in his while placing the other on her hip.

The pair had been at this for a few hours, and he was thanking every god he could think of for Felicia's patience with him. "You're definitely getting better, and we can practice more later, the gala isn't for another month" she reminded before her lips curled in that oh so familiar and even more enticing way. "And there are things I would much rather be doing."

Before Matthew could answer, his phone rang, his own rendition of the opening lick of 'For Those About to Rock' filling the living area of Hardy's penthouse. Sighing, the Pilot went to check it and picked up the cell after frowning at the caller ID. "Watson, didn't expect to hear from you, everything alright?"

"_Yeah, whatever, listen"_ she said quickly. Cooper couldn't recall ever hearing the redhead be this flustered before and stiffened. _"I need you down at the Bugle, _now_"_ she said in a tone that left no room for argument.

The Texan didn't, and began moving to collect his car keys, much to Hardy's dismay, "I'm coming, what's going on?" he asked.

"_Reporter voodoo magic"_ snapped Watson, _"Like you said Marauder, you do the shooting, I do the reporting. You need to come down here and help me help you. No weapons"_ she finished.

That wasn't an option, even as Cooper adjusted his course to gear up he gave his own interpretation of the answer. "Safety's on, got it. I'll be there shortly" he acknowledged curtly before hanging up. When he saw Hardy's questioning look, he gave a bemused grin. "You wouldn't happen to know a good publicist, would you?" The cat burglar shook her head, much to the Marauder's disappointment. "Damn."

* * *

Mary Jane Watson wondered who the hell was tapping their heel on the tile of the lobby of the Bugle building before taking note of all the people staring at her, annoyed. Heat filled her cheeks as she stopped tapping, instead trying to shrink into the background as she began to chew her lip. How long did it take for him to jet pack his way from Hardy's place? She knew he spent as much of his time there as at his refurbished warehouse, hideout, armory thing, probably even more.

The answer to her question was answered when she noticed a commotion at the front door. Judging by the screams and more than a few people who were running in panic, it wasn't hard to guess the source. She looked to see the Marauder stride confidently into the building, blue visor scanning the lobby before fixing on her.

She straightened and held her ground, the Titan Jockey crossed the lobby like he owned the place, politely nodding to those who watched him with wide eyes. "You're late" she scolded as she turned and led him towards the elevator. "And was the dramatic entrance strictly necessary?" she asked with a slight smile.

"Wouldn't be fun otherwise" replied the Pilot dryly as he followed the reporter into the elevator. "Mind telling me what's going on? Cops are probably already on their way." MJ pressed the button for the floor where the Bugle was located and let out a sigh. "That bad huh?"

The redhead sighed again and nodded before reconsidering. "Depends on where you rank the wrath of J. Jonah Jameson compared to what you usually deal with" she responded, getting a slight chuckle from the vigilante. "He doesn't believe that you actually gave me an interview, so he won't print it, and probably fire me unless the two of us can convince him otherwise" she said.

The Marauder nodded slowly, "is that all?" he asked dryly, shifting uncomfortably. It was weird to see him unsettled, almost like Matt Cooper was in the elevator with her instead of the Marauder. The helmet turned slightly, and he saw the look she was giving him in his peripheral vision. "Yes, I'm nervous" he admitted testily, "my usual course of action won't work here. Can't exactly shoot my way out of this one."

MJ allowed herself a small laugh at the dry humor before it fell off, the sight of the massive gun slung over his back and usual array of ordinance on his person was still unsettling. "I'd rather you not, even if it looks like you came prepared to" she answered with a forced smirk.

Before he could answer, the elevator lurched to a stop and the doors slid open, revealing a man wearing business casual and pair of glasses holding a cup of coffee. "Not now Robbie" said MJ as she bull rushed passed him, only catching a glimpse of his shocked expression as the Marauder fell in behind her. Doing her best to keep a straight face, she made a beeline for Jameson's corner office, ignoring the shocked expressions and gasps of her coworkers until the two reached their destination and she knocked on the door. "Mr. Jameson? I have that proof you asked for" she called, ignoring the snicker from the Pilot. "I need to show it to you right now."

There was a loud 'bang' from inside, JJJ likely banged on his desk again, the ensuing sound of a coffee mug hitting the floor confirmed this. "It'll have to wait Watson, I'm not having any more discussion about printing anything you claim that menace said. Now go away, I'm on a very important call" he barked before they heard him pick up an old-fashioned telephone handset. "Get me somebody, anybody" he ordered angrily before adding "and get me somebody while I'm waiting."

Suppressing a desire to launch into a swear filled tirade to rival her boss, MJ sighed before she heard the Marauder clear his throat. Turning to him, she saw him holding a satchel that read 'knock knock' in one hand while holding a detonator in the other. The reporter shook her head, waving her hands frantically. With a hint of reluctance, the Marauder replaced the two devices, his shoulders slumping in an amusing way. "It really is important that I speak to you right now" she said, trying to contain herself to keep Matthew from getting any ideas.

Sadly though, that didn't seem to matter. "Fuck this" muttered the Marauder before he unceremoniously kicked the door open and marched into the office. "Sorry about the door" he remarked wryly as he unslung his machine gun and leaned it against Jameson's desk.

"Yo…you?!" stammered Jameson, MJ fighting to keep a straight face upon seeing his stunned look. "What are you doing here you menace? You going to try to silence me from spreading the truth? I don't know why you're in this city, but I'm going to find out, and when I do…"

"By accident" said the Marauder quietly, cutting off the rant before it could get underway. "I'm in this city by accident, if you watched the interview then you would know that" he said, not irritated, not raising his voice, merely stating a fact. "I understand your concern, which is why I agreed to the interview" he continued calmly.

"The one I'm not going to print. I won't allow my paper to glorify criminal activity" he said gruffly. Doing his best to not seem intimidated by the armored vigilante, he put out his cigar and glared at Watson before turning back to his computer, seemingly ignoring them.

Watson stepped forward, leaning over his desk in desperation. "But Mr. Jameson, you have to respect the value of this. How can you not believe in this opportunity?" she asked, almost begging at this point.

"I don't Watson, because he" he said, an incriminating finger singling out the Marauder, "is a masked menace that is amongst the shallowest form of people. He doesn't believe in anything, he wants to use my paper for his own selfish ends, and I will not allow it. Do I make myself clear?"

There were a few tense moments before MJ felt a hand lightly clasp her shoulder and puller her back, the Marauder stepping forwards and standing at his full height. "I think you've misjudged me, and I will prove it to you" he said calmly, hoping to find some reason in the Senior Editor.

Sadly, he found none, JJJ regarded him for a moment before standing, throwing his chair back. "I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO!" he howled triumphantly before leaning towards the vigilante and staring into the glowing visor. "I, J. Jonah Jameson, WON'T BE STRONGARMED BY YOU!" He then sat back down and smiled up at the Pilot. "You vigilantes are all the same, doing it for fame and fortune, but as soon as someone challenges your fragile ego, the façade of righteousness crumbles to reveal the greed that lies beneath."

Without a word in reply, the Pilot drew his pistol and held it up for the two Bugle employees to see before dropping the magazine and opening the slide to deposit the bullet onto the desk and setting the gun beside it. "This…" he said, picking up the round, "is the 9X89M SGSR Mark III." He held the bronze and grey bullet up, letting the light reflect off it as he spun it, "and it costs about the same as what you pay Ms. Watson each month" he revealed before placing it back in the magazine. "12 of those in here, meaning I'm holding a year's salary for one of your reporters in my hand" he explained before tossing the magazine to the Editor.

MJ couldn't totally suppress a snicker at the sight of him fumbling and then dropping the loaded magazine, earning her a glare from her boss. "I can't tell you how many of those rounds I've shot, how many tens of thousands of dollars I've destroyed just by pulling the trigger, never mind the cost of what they hit. You know why? It doesn't matter" he said, getting the attention of both Jameson and Watson. "I've fought for a number of reasons, and looking back, I can say that they weren't all worth fighting for. I've fought out of anger, out of a desire to do my job, even just to survive. None of those are good reasons, and they aren't why I do what I do now, none of that keeps you going. Right now, I fight because I _believe_. In a better tomorrow, in there being fewer who suffer at the hands of evil, in doing what I can to make it happen, that _action _is what makes a difference."

"That's all well and good son" said the editor dismissively as he tossed the magazine back on the desk, "but none of that explains why you decided to play by your own rules. You run around and use the city as your playground at the expense of good law-abiding citizens. Get it through that helmet of yours that WE. DON'T. NEED. YOU!"

Silence reigned for a few seconds before the shoulder pads moved up and down in shrug. "Maybe, maybe not" said the Marauder quietly. "But I'm not here to play by your rules…I'm here to play by mine" growled Cooper darkly as he chambered and round in the Smart Pistol and grabbed Jameson's hand. "Have you ever seen something, and couldn't help but wonder if you could have made a difference? You think print makes a difference, but talk is cheap" said the Marauder with terrifying calm as he turned off the safety on the gun and slapped it into the Editors hand. "Action is where it counts, so…" he continued as Cooper forced Jameson to close his hand around the weapon's grip before grabbing the muzzle and pressing the gun to the crown of his helmet, "Take action, if you really believe that you don't need me then pull that trigger and be rid of me."

MJ subconsciously held her breath, a spectator as she watched a myriad of emotions cycle through J Jonah's visage. Shock, ponderance, anger, determination, questioning, and doubt before his expression softened and he slowly relinquished his grip on the weapon and stepped back. "Not so easy is it?" asked the vigilante as he placed the weapon back in its holster. "Hopefully that helps you understand how much I believe in what I do, even if you don't agree."

MJ watched the older man remain still for a second, staring at the table in utter disbelief before he began to slowly nod. "Fine, Watson, I'll run your damn story. Have it…" he began, only to be cut off by a knock on the kicked in door. "What the hell do you want Brant?"

The secretary frowned, "The police have arrived sir, they'll be coming up here any minute" reported the woman, her eyes darting to the reason they were here.

MJ frowned as well; in her panic she had forgotten that her friend was still a wanted man. "I won't impose any longer" said the Marauder before picking up his gun and slinging it back over his shoulder. "Mr. Jameson, Ms. Watson, Ms. Brant" he said politely before heading for the door. "Ms. Brant, would you happen to know if that elevator leads to the roof?" he asked, glove pointing at the shaft that brought the two up earlier. The woman nodded dumbly, trying to slowly back away from the heavily armed man. "Much appreciated" he drawled before heading back the way he came.

* * *

Cooper moved briskly through the office, ignoring the blatant stares at him as he arrived at the elevator and slipped his gloved fingers between the seam in the elevator doors. "I don't get paid enough for this crap" he grumbled good naturedly as he opened the doors, pressing his back into one while he used his exo enhanced strength to open the doors to reveal the dimly lit shaft.

The Pilot then turned around to the stares of the bugle employees bombarding him like bullets usually did and couldn't help but chuckle. "Going up, roof level, looking for toys, guns, and keys to superweapons" he quipped before leaping into the shaft, jump kit firing as it flung him to the far side, and he began his rapid ascent.

Beneath him, the elevators worked furiously, likely ferrying police up to the floor he had just vacated. Just because he had a Spitfire and a load of ammo didn't mean he wanted to use it, he had it more for the intimidation factor the gun possessed then its actual effectiveness. Like its namesake, the LMG was temperamental thing.

An alert flashed on his HUD, Parker was calling. Without a second thought, he gave the mental command to accept the call, but before he could speak, the native New Yorker cut him off. _"I'll explain when you get here, but I need you at FEAST now. You understand me Marauder?"_

"Yeah, but…Spidey? Spidey, you there?" he asked after hearing a recognizable click in the helmet. "BT, let's see what's up, waypoint at FEAST" he ordered as he pulled out his axe and used it to lever the top doors before stepping out onto the roof and seeing the waypoint appear on his HUD. "What's the situation at FEAST?"

"_Situation normal Pilot_" reported the Titan as the Marauder activated his STIM and slide hopped off the edge of the building and over the police cars that had gathered below. _"NYPD network as no reports of active crimes in the vicinity of FEAST. It is unknown why your assistance has been requested."_

Coopers mood soured; he didn't like being on the back foot like this. The Militia Pilot had become accustomed to knowing what he was getting into and being able to prepare beforehand. Despite that, he had his armor and equipment, his weapon, and backup he could rely on, the Marauder felt confident he could overcome whatever was waiting for him.

He soon arrived at his destination and posted up on overwatch, LMG out and scanning the area, but saw nothing of note. "Get Spider-Man on the horn BT" he ordered calmly before the Webhead picked up. "I'm here Spidey, what's going on?"

"_I don't see you"_ said Parker in a hushed whisper_. "Meet me at the terrace on the south side of the building and I'll explain"_ said the other hero before hanging up. Matt chewed his lip worriedly before complying, if something had the veteran vigilante worried then it wasn't to be taken lightly.

Leaping from the building, he fired his jump kit and rolled as he hit the roof before coming to a crouch and heading for the south side of the building. The Pilot jumped down to the terrace, looking up to see the red and blue clad Webhead sticking to the overhang. "What's going on Spidey?" he asked simply.

"That girl we found on patrol, what do you know about her?" he asked as the wallcrawler dropped down from his vantage and stood between the Marauder and door into the building.

The Marauder cocked his head, "You too?" he asked before his eyes widened with a thought. "Why? Is she here?" he asked, only to get nothing in reply. The Pilot placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and shook him more violently than he intended. "Answer me damnit" he growled.

The bug eyed mask nodded before Cooper shoved him aside and ripped the door open before rushing inside. "Marauder, what's going on? Nothing's happened yet, it's just a feeling I had. That's why I called you" explained the hero, only for his pleas to fall on deaf ears.

"We need to get her out of here _NOW_" said the SRS Pilot in a commanding tone. He had unslung the Spitfire and chambered the first tungsten cored .300 Blackout armor piercing round before he explained. "The guys we took down when we found her? After the cops picked them up, they were ambushed, no survivors" reported the Marauder as he continued down the stairs and into plain view. "That girl has a target on her back, and while she's here everyone else in the building does too, we need to move her now."

Thankfully, Spider-Man seemed to get the gravity of the situation and pointed towards an office on the first floor that was often used for counselling, "She's in there, getting checked out last I knew" explained Spider-Man as he took the lead.

The two vigilantes made for the door but were intercepted just short of the goal by the one person who gave both of them pause. "What is the meaning of this?" asked May Parker firmly, the steel spined older woman had no reservations about putting herself between the two formidable vigilantes and their goal. "Why do you think you have the right to barge into here and do as you please? Now leave before I call the police."

Spider-Man shrunk at the chastising by his aunt, Cooper however, did not. "No need ma'am, I'll do it for you" he said as he pressed his hand to the side of his helmet. "BT, get Captain Watanabe on the horn and have her get her ass down here ASAP" he ordered, much to May's shock. "Now ma'am, please excuse us, we have an HVI to secure." With that, he brusquely pushed past the woman and made for the door, able to hear the wince emanating from his friend.

"WAIT!" yelled May as the woman chased after them, causing the two to pause and turn. "Wait, you can't go in there, the girl's father just arrived. He's already speaking with her and about to take her home."

"What did this man look like?" Parker asked, the Pilot able to sense the worry coming off of the Wallcrawler in waves in his hurried, clipped sentences. "Yay tall, bald, with scarf and sunglasses, wearing a trench coat?" asked Spider-Man, getting slow nods at each point of the description. "Oh no."

The Webhead tore off towards their destination, firing a web at the ceiling to bypass the walk around the various beds and living spaces arrayed on the main floor. Matthew took the hint and fired his grapple before using his jump kit to catapult himself up and over the clutter. "That's not her father, is it?" asked the Marauder, Spitfire out as he returned to ground and slid across the floor.

"What do you think?" snapped the Wallcrawler in reply before calming himself. The two approached the door, "how do you want to handle this?"

Cooper pressed himself into the wall next to the door. "I'll get the door, you take him down" commanded Cooper, "We need him alive." The two exchanged nods before Cooper raised his boot and slammed it into the door before ducking to the side to give Spidey a clear shot.

Instead, the Pilot saw the spandex clad hero flip out of the way as he saw more than heard the result of several suppressed pistol shots that destroyed a coffeepot and slammed into a mattress. Screams of terror filled the building as Cooper pulled out the a-wall generator and tossed it down in front of the door. The curved orange wall of light sprung to life, the bullet impacts sending ripples across the wall as Spidey recovered quickly.

The hero got behind the cover and fired a webline, ripping the gun away and giving the Marauder an opening. Activating his STIM, the Militia Pilot charged in and cocked a fist, slamming it into the side of the man's face as hard as he could, throwing him against the far wall. The man looked up at him through broken sunglasses, a milky blank left eye glared up at the Marauder with unfiltered hatred.

Cooper glared back through his x shaped visor as the man reached for something, getting to stare down the muzzle of the Spitfire for his efforts. "Don't" said Cooper with calm clarity as the hand fell away. "Spider-Man, get in here" he barked.

The webhead came inside and scanned the room, lenses settling on the sight of the two females on the other side of the room. Out of the corner of his visor, he could see an older Hispanic woman, blood flowing from a bullet wound in her head as she lay dead on the floor. Curled into a ball next to the body was they crying form of the girl they were looking for, the webhead moving and trying to shake her out of her daze.

After a few tense minutes, the girl finally controlled her crying and stood, averting her eyes from the murderer Cooper was holding at gunpoint as she left the room. "Hold up" ordered Cooper before looking back at the man. "Hands out, keep them together…Spidey, web 'em up." The hero didn't argue as the man's hands were soon encased in an inch thick layer of sticky silk. "You wanna walk out or be carried out?"

The man is still glaring, only now Matt has the feeling that he's being studied as opposed to having the force of the glare drill a hole through his head. "I'll walk" said the man in far too calm a voice. The muzzle of the Spitfire hiked up, motioning for him to get to his feet before he made his way out into the central area of the shelter.

As they got closer to the entrance, Cooper noticed the Webslinger scanning, as if he was looking for something. "We alright Spider?" he asked, adjusting his grip on the weapon. They continued into the front lobby before he came to a complete stop. "Talk to me."

Before he could, a volley of grenades broke through the windows and rolled to a top on the floor, Cooper barely able to register them as he activated his phase shift and dove away. The world went to black and white as he ran into cover in the corner and shouldered the Spitfire when he shifted back. The whole lobby was filled with smoke, the vision obscurant did nothing to impede the pulse blade the pilot threw towards where he thought the door was. The sonar ping revealed the situation, Spider-Man and the girl were huddled in the opposite corner, holding their hands to their ears, while two armed men carried the trench coat wearing man out and two more gunmen were in the doorway.

"Let's rock" snarled the Marauder as he set about his gruesome task. His trigger finger squeezed, the LMG fighting him as the tungsten cored rounds it dispensed shredded the armor of two men in the doorway, pounding their bodies until they were bloody pulps. Finger still holding down the trigger, the gun swung towards the escaping trio, cutting down one of the gunmen just as the others made their escape outside. "Spidey? You with me?" barked the Pilot as he poked his head out to try and get a glimpse of what was going on outside, trying to peer through the smoke.

There was a somewhat encouraging groan the Pilot made out between frantic screaming of pedestrians outside. "One sec. Can't tell if my ears or ringing or my phone is" replied the webslinger blearily.

"You're with me" grumbled Cooper as he took another peak outside and managed to catch a glimpse of more gunmen wearing balaclavas, sunglasses, and body armor under trench coats in cover behind the abandoned cars. "We gotta move, they're surrounding…" he started before a shot barely missed him, forcing the pilot to cower behind the wall as a thunderous crack echoed up and down the street. "Sniper too" ground out the Marauder as he reloaded the Spitfire, realizing he would need every round he could get.

Spider-Man was back on his feet, keeping himself between the doorway and the girl, the Marauder able to make out his narrowed eye lenses through the dissipating smoke. "We can't let those guys in here, the building is still full of civilians" argued the hero, causing Cooper to mentally curse.

"We do both, get out of here, take the girl to my place" he ordered as he poked his head back out only to have the street erupt as a dozen weapons set to semi auto peppered the building in response. "I'll hold these guys off and meet you there when I'm done. Now GO!" he shouted as he stuck the LMG out and fired a burst blind, just trying to stall the enemy's advance.

The Webhead didn't argue thankfully, instead pulling the dazed and crying girl at the center of this shitstorm onto his back and looking at the Pilot, who fired another burst to cover him as he retreated further into the shelter. Activating his Cloak, Matt changed positions, moving behind the desk to try and get better cover. While he was moving, the attackers opened fire again, and the Pilot saw why, four gunmen had moved out of cover and were advancing to the door.

Once he was behind the desk, Matthew pulled out and primed an arc grenade. With a deft toss, the device landed just in front of the lead man, shocking two and scattering the others. The two that were affected writhed in pain as their bodies failed to respond before the Spitfire was turned on them and made that condition permanent.

Still, there were more out there, and Pilots were not good on the defensive. Cooper needed to break out of the claustrophobic lobby and use his mobility and gadgets to their fullest. "Come on Yuri, anytime now, gimme an opening" he muttered to himself as he vaulted over the desk and barrel rolled to the side to take up a different angle.

Coming to a stop on his belly, he sighted up another gunman and fired, cutting him down. The Marauder dragged the muzzle towards a car two more were in cover behind, forcing them down before the mag ran dry, and he jumped to cover. Inserting his second to last magazine into the ever-hungry gun, Cooper needed an opening, and needed one now.

* * *

A few blocks away, Yuri was trying, and failing, to give him one. The radio was buzzing with reports of shots fired at her intended destination and traffic had ground to a halt as the sound of gunfire echoed off of the buildings lining the packed street. "Why can't things ever be simple with this guy?" muttered the Captain as she pulled out her service pistol and chambered a round before getting out of the unmarked squad car.

The cop moved towards the source of the commotion, against the waves of humanity opposing her and whatever type of creature thought the obvious thing to do when a shootout was happening was to film it with their phone. As she got closer, the veteran could make out the situation. About a dozen men surrounded the homeless shelter, while the bodies of three others lay in the no man's land between the doors and cars parked on the side of the road.

The gunmen hadn't spotted her yet, so she rested her weapon on the trunk of a cab and took careful aim at the nearest man to her as he crouched to reload his gun. Steadying her breath, the cop fired two rounds that hit him square in the chest before she moved onto the next man, giving him three, the third went high and entered through his nose, blowing his brains out the back of his skull.

Yuri was then forced to duck back behind the car as some of the fire being directed at the shelter came her way. Most rounds pinged off of the car, though some punched through the thin metal and could be heard rattling around inside as the woman pressed herself to the back tire. A thundering 'crack' of a high-powered rifle sent a round straight through the trunk and slammed into the street mere inches from the Captain.

Going prone and peeking under the car, she could see the first man she shot get to his feet, the Kevlar vest he wore stopping her 9mm rounds cold as he shouldered his SMG and began firing single shots to keep her pinned as he closed the gap. Yuri took aim under the car, firing at the man's feet until one of her rounds found its mark, staggering but not stopping the attacker.

There was a strange blue light near the doors of FEAST before she heard an explosion, though the car obstructed her view, she saw a blur streak in, shoulder checking the gunman. Before Watanabe could process the event, her savior began firing his weapon, the chunky sound indicating it was bigger than what the criminals were packing as he backed up. She stood and added her own sidearm to the fire as she saw the Marauder retreat towards her position, bursts coming from the gun at his hip.

He was almost there when there was another 'crack' from the unseen rooftop sniper. The vigilante spun and fell to the ground before rolling onto his back and spraying his machine gun to suppress the enemy. Yuri ran from her cover, holstering her pistol as she grabbed the Marauders armored vest and began dragging him out of the open. "You're late" deadpanned the vigilante, his helmet tipping up to get a glance at his help before he resumed firing.

"Leave the jokes to Spider-Man" she shot back as she continued to pull on the pilot. "Christ, why are you so fucking heavy?" she ground out as she finally pulled him all the way back and got him around the car. Sitting him up against the vehicle she saw what had happened, the sniper shot had gone through his armored vest and sliced through his side. Blood seeped through the entrance and exit holes in the armor and the green fatigues beneath had already darkened.

The vigilante rummaged around in his belt and pulled out a tube with a blue gel and squeezed it into the hole. Yuri was able to hear a wince as she saw the blue gel come out the other side before beginning to harden. "Now it's a party" he muttered, laughing under his breath. "Time to dance" he said as he pulled out his pistol, getting to his feet and poking his head out to see the situation.

As soon as his head poked up, the Sniper fired again, only instead of killing the Marauder, the round landing nowhere near the vigilante or cop. Instead it entered a gunman through the top of his shoulder and exited through his hip on the other side. "What the hell just happened?" asked Yuri as she picked up the machine gun and the Marauder ducked back down.

"Looks like we got some help" replied the Marauder with a grunt, "bad guys are disengaging, time to stretch my legs" said the man before he stood and the pack on his lower back propelled him up over the car and he fired his grappling hook.

Yuri followed as he ran along a building, the pack spitting licks of blue flame to keep him pressed to the vertical surface before he jumped off, pistol firing. At the same time, the unseen and now friendly sniper fired again, though Yuri couldn't make out the results through the packed traffic.

She pushed forwards, lugging the big gun as she waded through the shot up cars and gunpowder smell that lingered in the air when the sound of car engines began to get louder. Up the street, three nondescript mid 2000s SUVs began moving, driving onto the sidewalks to escape the heavy traffic. Stepping in front of one, Watanabe triggered the LMG, fighting against the weapon to keep it on target as she poured rounds into the engine block and front seats before she was forced to dive away.

The Sniper fired again, the round entering the head of and killing the driver of the SUV as it sped past the policewoman and veered off, crashing into a storefront, smoke coming from the battered engine. After a moment to make sure everything was still working, Yuri rushed over towards the vehicle, the Marauder landing and sliding to cover pistol drawn. "NYPD! Exit the vehicle with your hands above your head!" she ordered.

There was an eerie silence as Yuri gritted her teeth, able to see some movement through the back window of the crashed suburban. "I'd do what the lady says" called the Marauder, "against the heat she's packing, a lawyer is better protection than that body armor." After a few more moments, the door popped open, Yuri training the weapon on it as two hands came out, empty.

"Nice and easy, keep your hands where I can see them" she commanded as one man in body armor and balaclava came out from the wrecked car, followed by a second in the same getup. "Good, on your knees, hands on your head" she ordered as she moved forwards slowly, the acquired weapon still trained on them. "Marauder, secure them" she ordered curtly, and tracked the vigilante out of the corner of her eye as he vaulted over a taxi and pulled out a set of his futuristic solid cuffs.

Wordlessly, the vigilante snapped the restraints to the first one, pistol trained on the other as he did so before he repeated the process. "I'll help you get them to your car, but don't expect me to stick around for the paperwork" remarked the vigilante dryly as Yuri came up. The woman's response was something between a grunt and a laugh. "Make sure you tell your sniper friend I said thanks for the help."

Yuri furrowed her brow as she looked up at the glowing visor. "My sniper? I thought he was with you" replied the Captain. The Marauder shook his head before craning it up to try and find the mystery shooter. After a moment, the still silent vigilante raised his hand and pointed down the road.

The Captain squinted and saw a nondescript black van with tinted windows leaving the area.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Light Machine Gun: Spitfire Mk. 2_

_Affectionately called the 'Pig' or 'Hungry Hog' by grunts and pilots alike, the Spitfire is a box fed light machine gun based on the action of the Hemlock BF-R. Like its more accurate brother, the Spitfire has impressive durability and reliability, and the rate of fire can be custom tuned by adjusting the computer controlled gas system. But with the gun's heavy kick and tendency to quickly chew through both ammunition and barrels means that most prefer to have the gun set to its most modest setting of 600 rpm. _

_The weapon's bulk, weight, and ability to function when covered in mud, water, sand, and other substances of nebulous origin is what prompted the nicknames. While the X-55 Devotion may have the edge in my eyes, the Spitfire is never bad option when you need to keep the enemies' heads down. And the amount of carnage an experienced gunner can inflict from a good position with the older and more reliable design is a testament to the weapon's excellence. _

_It's also proof that there are few issues that can't be put right with the liberal application of ridiculous amounts of firepower._

* * *

**Closing Notes: There isn't a whole lot to say really, simply because all of this was set up. Bit of teasing, a hint of what's to come, especially regarding Cooper's Guardian Angel: The Angel of Death. But we now also have our antagonist as well, no super villains this time, for now it's all about the human evil. **

**Things are only going to get more interesting from here. Next chapter will see a bit more setup before the Marauder gets roped into another of Black Cat's heists, so expect that next Wednesday. **

**Though a storm is brewing on the horizon, so you'd better Gimme Shelter. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	15. Chapter 15: Gimme Shelter

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

A big thanks to ravens18 for betaing this chapter and putting up with my bizarre requests for naming conventions.

I'm still floored by the continued interest in this story, all of my expectations have been exceeded and at this point I'm just curious as to how far it will go. Of course, story wise I have a solid grasp on the answer to that question. The arc is fairly solidified right now and it really only comes to the main game that I'm planning and brainstorming. So if you have requests for that, especially side missions or content you would like to see mentioned, it is imperative you let me know soonest. I do not want the story to drag because of side missions that I didn't care about except for the XP and think y'all will feel the same way. Especially since I'm mapping out another original story arc that in my notes I refer to as the 'Sabaton' arc. I'll leave it at that and let you folks speculate to your hearts content.

Fifteen chapters and we finally get to a Rolling Stones title, sheesh I need to diversify better. But yes, this is one of the great hits from the Stones that I personally really like. I don't think there's a whole lot to say, at this point I'm just trying to set up for the payoff that is coming up soon (tm). I know that the last few chapters haven't been all _that _exciting, especially considering how the previous arc concluded, but it had to be done and I personally think the conclusion to this storyline is far far better than the previous one.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 15: Gimme Shelter**

_Rape, murder!_

_It's just a shot away, It's just a shot away yea_

_The floods is threat'ning, my very life today_

_Gimme, gimme shelter or I'm gonna fade away_

* * *

It was dusk when she arrived, the garage door opening as she reversed the Viper into its home. Felicia turned off the car and slipped her Black Cat mask over her face before stepping out into her boyfriends' garage. It was nice having a partner again, and the Marauder was a different type of person than Spider had been. As much as he claimed he wanted to help people and do the right thing, Felicia knew he did it because he loved it and she cherished this intimate knowledge.

Yes, he did try to do the right thing, but he only judged the outcome as opposed to the actions that had to be taken to reach it. It was the kind of thinking she could get behind, he had expressed regret for his actions, or rather their results. _"When the first shot gets fired and the fight is on, a Pilot needs to be as light on his feet as possible. Morals, justice, righteousness, all that just weighs you down. Best to drop it and find it once the fight's over"_ he had said, though he wasn't exactly proud of it.

At least he had been more than willing to cut loose and have a little fun, even if he didn't share his past. Not that his preference for privacy bothered the burglar, she didn't want whoever he was, she wanted him as he was now.

And right now, it sounded like he was having an argument with her ex.

Hardy opened the door into the 'living quarters' of the refurbished warehouse, immediately getting an earful intended for her new fling. "So are you just going to go and kill everyone again? My god man, how many times do I have to tell you that you're not on Typhon anymore?"

Cooper shrugged, still in his armor, though Hardy frowned at the hole in it. "What the hell do you want from me? I didn't shoot first, I didn't kill anyone who wasn't shooting at me. No, it's not Typhon, but these guys were still playing for keeps!" He was leaning on the counter, it looked like he was pouring drinks while Spider stood in the middle of the living room, arms crossed.

"It's so good to see you boys behaving yourselves" interjected Felicia with her usual amount of modesty. Both men swung their heads to the new arrival, the bug eyes of Spider a contrast to the harsh glow of the x shaped visor. "I hope I didn't come all the way out here just to moderate."

There was an electronically filtered snort as the Marauder picked up the drinks and headed for the couch, motioning with his helmet for Hardy to join him. "Hardly, I asked you to come because I wanted to see your pretty face" he deadpanned.

Felicia strutted over and sat down next to the Marauder, draping her left arm over his shoulders as she took the offered bourbon with her right. "Flattery will get you everywhere" she purred with a smirk and taking a sip. Spider sat in the recliner while Felicia noticed the fourth person in the room.

The girl was curled into a ball on the small love seat opposite Spiders recliner. Through a small gap where her arm covered her face, Hardy could see a pale silver eye looking at her. The thief offered a reassuring smile to the girl, who simply covered her face in response. "Now that Cat is here, I'll tell you what Yuri told me. The guys the two of us ran into today are part of a group that made her" said the Marauder, pointing to the girl, "disappear."

The thief frowned at that. "By 'disappear,' do you mean kidnap her?" she asked.

Cooper shook his head. "Not only that, but also ensure she is no longer in any database at all. The only evidence that she exists is that she's sitting in this room." Hardy and Parker sat in stunned silence as the pilot continued. "Whoever did that to her is in no hurry to let her go, so, unless there are any objections, she'll be staying here" said the vigilante, helmet sweeping to Spider-Man and then the girl, neither of which moved. "The Captain managed to get an ID on two of the gunmen from FEAST, ex special forces. One was a US Army Ranger and the other was German KSK. Now, they're mercenaries, they were hired by an unknown party, and they're professionals."

Hardy cocked her head to the side, there was a force to Coopers words that wasn't present often. "You want to go after them" she said, it wasn't a question. The helmet bobbed up and down slowly.

Whatever Hardy was planning on saying, that it wasn't his place, that it was a wild goose chase, leave it for somebody else, the same things she had told Spider so many times, died on her lips when the heretofore silent girl spoke up. "Please" she said quietly, her voice accented heavily so that the three could barely make out the word. "Stop those…_men_" she begged shakily, as if the word tasted rotten on her tongue.

Felicia could see her face now, and it was as if a switch had been flipped. The girl looking up at the three outlaws had been beautiful once, but with part of her face terribly burned and the other side marred by a nasty scar, she wasn't anymore. One of her teeth was knocked out, which could be seen because she was snarling like a rabid dog. Her hands were balled into fists, though each had a finger missing, cut off at the first knuckle, leaving scarred stumps.

"No" said Hardy, in a tone that took her by surprise with how serious it was. "We won't be stopping men. We'll be stopping _monsters_" corrected the thief with a hiss. Felicia saw the girl's expression soften as she ducked back under her arm to cover her face. Seeing her made the burglars gut wrench at the thought of what she had suffered through, it made her choice simple. "I'll help."

She felt her cowboy wrap his arm around her waist and give her a reassuring squeeze, a simple sign of acknowledgement and affection. "How exactly do you plan to stop them?" asked Spider calmly, earning the ire of the couple.

"However we can" replied the Marauder in his electronically filtered voice. "They must be stopped. That's not up for debate" said the Pilot firmly, the Thief nodding her agreement.

The Webslinger's eyes narrowed in accusation. "What does that mean? Killing them?" he asked, getting a shrug from the gun toting vigilante. "There has to be another way."

The Black Cat leaned forwards and looked at the Wallcrawler. "These aren't purse snatchers or bank robbers Spider" said Hardy as her eyes narrowed behind her mask. "You can't just web them up and leave them for the cops."

"No, but maybe we won't have to" said the Marauder. "We need to find how they're doing this, whatever they have, money, hardware, needs to be taken out. I couldn't stop Cinderblock by killing henchmen, and we won't stop this group by killing mercs." As much as Hardy didn't like where this was heading, she couldn't disagree. "But if some of these people die along the way then so be it."

The silence that followed was tense, but Spider-Man knew he was outnumbered and relented. "Just make sure you don't become what you're trying to defeat" he simply cautioned.

* * *

Cooper walked out of the armory and into the living quarters of the warehouse. It had been three days since the shootout at FEAST and things had been quiet since then. The routine of being a vigilante was starting to feel normal, a patrol with Spider-Man, covering Black Cat as she stole a statue from one of Kingpins enforcers, maintenance on his equipment. The only change was his charge, she remained nearly silent, content to watch the Pilot and scribble in a notebook she had helped herself to.

He had learned that her name was Mathilda; she had been kidnapped over a year ago at a music festival in Europe. Well, saying he had learned wasn't precise, Felicia had taken a greater interest in her well-being than he expected. The couple had been spending time at the Marauders hideout, and when they weren't, BT had been told that his mission was to ensure Mathilda's safety, the machine taking the task as seriously as any other.

Now would be one of those times, "Ready when you are Cat" said Cooper as he looked at the two, Felicia brushing Mathilda's hair like the thief was an older sister. The Pilot smiled at the sight as he checked the Hemlock that was slung over his shoulder and the duffel bag he was holding in his hand.

"And you're always giving me a hard time about taking so long to get ready" shot back the burglar with a sly grin, drawing a giggle from the French girl. Matt ignored the comment as he waited for them to finish before the couple headed out for the evening. "We'll be gone for a long time, go to BT if you need anything, okay?" asked Hardy sweetly. The girl nodded as Felicia followed Matt to the garage.

The BMW arrived at Club Solar and the two vigilantes strolled in and found who they were meeting. Mary Jane and several of her coworkers from the Bugle had secured a booth off to the side of the club. Peter's absence stung, only serving as a reminder of how Cooper had screwed over his friend, the only other man in the group was one Eddie Brock. He was a big guy, bigger than Cooper, more muscular too, but something told the Pilot that all that came from time at the gym and was meant to show off as opposed to do something useful.

Felicia remained close to him at all times, much to Betty's disappointment. After an initial round of drinks, the group hit the dance floor, though Coopers dignity was thankful they didn't stay out there very long. "Dude, I thought you said you could dance" said Eddie with unabashed superiority as he looked down at the Texan.

"Different kind of dancing" grumbled the Pilot in reply as they sat back down.

He felt an elbow jam into his side. "Not ballroom dancing either Cowboy" said Hardy with a grin, causing Cooper to grumble good naturedly in response. The idle chatter continued on for a little while with the Marauder wondering why Watson had invited him, but he soon got his answer.

"Ok MJ" said Grant, "you've been putting this off long enough, you promised that you'd talk more about what happened on Tuesday. We've all been dying to hear you explain yourself" said the secretary. MJ blushed a bit and Cooper fought maintain his poker face while Hardy looked very intrigued by this.

The thief leaned forwards, interested in what was about to be said. Everyone had seen him enter the lobby and meet MJ, pictures of it had been trending on social media, very few got to see the vigilante up close, and even fewer walked away from those encounters. "Betty told me that Jameson was going to bury my story. When I called and told him that he wasn't very happy with triple J."

The other Bugle reporters were paying rapt attention, with Cooper having to feign interest and Hardy maintaining her usual aloofness, at least in appearance. "One of the conditions of the interview was that it would be published and treated as front page news, not ignored."

That got a few weird looks from around the table. "Why'd he want that? He doesn't strike me as the vain type" said Brant.

"I think you'll see why on Sunday when the story is published" said MJ cryptically. "But you're right, he's not a vain person. Yes Eddie, he is a person, no superpowers, but he is convincing. He actually managed to convince Jameson to run the story" revealed the redhead to a round of shocked expressions, except from two people.

"What's so special about that?" huffed Hardy, drawing the attention of every one of the Bugle employees and looks usually reserved for people who thought of Halo 5 as the pinnacle of the series.

"Let me put it this way sweet thing" said Brock as he tried to put on his most charming expression, only to have it falter when the heiress rolled her eyes at the attempt. "_Nobody_ can convince the big J of anything. You sure he's not superpowered?" asked Eddie, getting a head shake from MJ in reply. "Well that may as well be a superpower, unless he just put a gun to his head and threatened him."

Watson got a funny expression, and Matt tried to shrink away from his lover. "Not exactly, it was more like…the other…way…around." Without looking, Cooper could _feel_ the glare boring into the back of his skull from a pair of sharp green eyes. "Jameson always says cowards hide behind masks and do what they do for fame, right?" she asked, getting a round of nods. "The Marauder used that against him, made him hold a gun to his head and said if it's so easy to pull the trigger then Jameson should do it, right there and then. As you all know, the Marauder walked out of the office, you can figure out the rest."

The table descended into chaos as MJ was bombarded with questions as theories flew faster than bullets in some firefights. Silence, however, reigned in the corner where Felicia and Mathew sat. Cooper could feel Hardy press her fingernails into his side as a reminder of her feelings on what was happening. "What do you two think? Anything to add" said Eddie, sensing an opening.

After an awkward moment, it was clear that Matthew was going to have to step up to the plate. He made a show of shrugging nonchalantly, "Sounds like the guy has balls of steel I guess." The comment got a round of laughter from the Bugle group.

Felicia on the other hand, the cat burglar hissed "For his sake, he'd better" under her breath and right in Cooper's ear. The pilot gulped noticeably before he took another healthy drink, hoping the alcohol would calm his nerves.

It was a testament to how terrifying Felicia could be that it wasn't very effective.

Thankfully, MJ soon moved the conversation along. "One thing about the bastard, never likes it when I reach out to him, always has to come to me, makes telling him anything a pain in the ass" she muttered.

"What could you have to tell him?" asked Gloria, "You're not trying to move on already are you?" asked the woman with a coy grin.

The redhead shook her head furiously at the suggestion, "no, nonono, not that. Just that I've been flooded with emails about people who want to get in touch with him. They all think that I'm the way to do it if you can believe that" she said with a wry laugh. "If only the guy just had a twitter account or something, like the rest of us."

That comment prompted another round of questions, and it was odd to hear someone else explain his story, the half honest one, for once. It also served as a nice distraction for him to pull out his phone and send a message to BT to have him try and set one of those up before he noticed the time and showed it to Felicia. Without a word, the platinum haired vixen made to leave, with Cooper offering some rushed half-baked apology about having to be somewhere else. The drive to one of Black Cat's hideouts was in silence, the thief looking out the window the entire way. That uncomfortable silence dragged on once they were inside the apartment, with this one only needing a hole punched in a certain wall to allow access to a stairwell to a disused basement.

Inside were various stolen items, 'acquired' blueprints and schematics, as well as some basic necessities, food, water, medical supplies, cash, and fake IDs. There were also signs of the Marauder, a few guns, tools, ammunition, and equipment were neatly arranged in a corner where Cooper was changing into his Vanguard pilots kit.

Usually there would be banter that would quickly move into flirting territory between the two, a pre-mission ritual that he had come to enjoy, tonight however… "Awfully quiet tonight darlin" he tried, only to get nothing in return. The Pilot sighed; it was time to bite the bullet. "Listen, I know you're pissed. But please, can we talk about this? I want a chance to explain myself" he pleaded to her back.

She stopped moving, going stiff for a moment before she turned to the Marauder and strode over to him with calm strides. The woman stood maybe a foot from the vigilante and looked right up at him, Matt braced himself for whatever she would say.

But the sound that found his ears was a slap in the face, literally. The Pilot winced as he rubbed his cheek and worked his jaw. His desire to say something sarcastic died when he saw Hardy's expression. "You promised you wouldn't do that again, you asshole" she said softly, pain, not anger filled her voice. "How can you justify _That?_ Letting, no, literally _giving_ the man who makes a living trashing you to the public a perfect chance to kill you."

The Marauder took both of her hands in his and gave a reassuring squeeze. He then reached back and grabbed the MK6 off the table. "This is the gun I gave him, here" he said, handing it over. "It's called the Smart Pistol, for a couple of reasons" he explained as she examined the oversized 9mm, "one is the ammo it fires, another is the link that gets the bullets their targets, go ahead, try it" he offered.

The Thief took the gun and aimed it at some porcelain vase across the room and pulled the trigger without hesitation. Much to her surprise, nothing happened, she looked at the gun as if it were about to explode. She checked the mechanical safety on the side, that a round was chambered, that there was no other squeeze safety. "Part of it is that it fires its rounds electronically, a burst of electricity ignites the propellant, the battery is recharged by the slide recoiling back" continued the Pilot. "The last bit is an ID safety system keyed to members of the Militia; nobody can fire that gun but me" he said simply.

Felicia stared down at the weapon before looking at the Marauder, moving quickly as only she could, she was soon back next to him, giving him a warm embrace. She pressed her head into his chest, Cooper stroking his hair. "I'm sorry" she said quietly.

He laughed, "Yeah, me too" he said honestly.

Cooper knew that he had fucked up, but he was thanking whatever god had helped him unfuck himself so quickly. Soon, the couple had fallen back into the usual routine, the tension lessening as they were both fully suited up, "lean, green, and mean" as Matt had joked. Felicia being the lean, him the green, and both fulfilling the mean.

"At least your jokes are better than Spiders" deadpanned Hardy as she reached into her stash of stolen gear and pulled out a nondescript cardboard box about 5 feet long, one foot wide and one deep. "And you are more appreciative of my presents" she said as she set the box down on the table next to his helmet.

Cooper gave her a questioning expression as he slowly opened the box to reveal the padding inside. Hardy tilted her head in a 'go on' fashion as the Pilot removed the layer on top and his jaw dropped on the floor. "My Devotion?" he asked dumbly as he picked up the LMG and gave it a once over. It was scuffed up, and it looked like someone had tried to take it apart and failed. "Where did you get this? Last I saw it was when I gave it to Dirty Yuri…" That got a raised eyebrow as he quickly elaborated. "She reminds me of a cop from an old crime thriller back home" he explained quickly.

Felicia gave a simple 'ah' in return as she leaned against the table, "Well, the Police just had it sitting in lock up, figured it would be more useful to you than them. Especially if all goes well in the next few weeks." Matt gave her a thankful kiss before setting the gun he had just been reunited with aside. "Ah ah, you're taking that with you" said Hardy, her tone brokering no argument. As much as the pilot wanted to use the energy LMG, there was one problem. As soon as he opened his mouth to say it, Hardy turned and bent over in her usual manner and plopped a familiar ammo can on the table.

"That's funny" said Matthew, staring at the olive drab container before opening it to confirm his suspicions. "I coulda swore I didn't bring any ammo for this thing here. I'm usually pretty good with inventory too, so how could this have slipped through?" Felicia shrugged and gave a coy smile as Cooper laughed and began stowing the ammo. "Fuck you" he said simply.

"Later Cowboy, right now there's art to steal."

* * *

The couple soon found themselves overlooking a not at all seedy looking warehouse, because if there was one thing Manhattan wasn't short of it was disused warehouses. "If these assholes are going to cause us to drag ourselves out here, they could at least show the courtesy of arriving on time" groused Cooper, though it was good natured. "Got something I'd rather be doing."

Hardy smirked as she looked up at the visor, "Yeah, me" she said in a predatory fashion as she turned her attention back to their target. "Looks like the buyers are showing up" she said after a few minutes, a convoy of headlights coming down the road. A group of black Cadillacs came to a stop, men in purple shirts and black vests got out, AK rifles at the ready. "Kingpin's representatives are here, they're the buyers" explained Hardy as a suited man carrying a briefcase stepped out of the sole CT6 sedan in the convoy.

Cooper watched the men move calmly, only offering a cursory check of their surroundings before proceeding inside. But there was a feeling deep in his gut, one he had learned not to discount that made him pause. "And now the sellers" said Hardy, checking her watch as a pair of late 2000's Chevy Tahoe SUVs emerged from a side street one in front and the other behind a nondescript white moving truck.

"I got a bad feeling about this" he said wearily as the SUVs came to a stop and the occupants got out. They wore obvious Kevlar vests, armed with their own preference of SMG, PDW, or compact assault rifle, heads covered by balaclavas and none of those heads were still as the pilot dimmed his visor. His bad feeling was soon validated when a differently dressed man stepped out. "No fucking way" muttered the Titan Jockey as the bald man wearing a trench coat scanned the rooftops, a single milky white eye contrasted with the brown of the other one. "Who are these sellers again?"

The platinum blonde shook her head. "No real idea, learned about the buy when I was…exploring" she said with a shrug. "Do you know something?" she asked.

He felt himself tense as the eye fell on him, suppressing a shiver before sighing in relief as he turned away. "That's him" he said simply, getting a perplexed look from Hardy. "The guy who nearly killed Mathilda at FEAST. The hell is he doing here?"

That raised a whole bevy of other questions as a result. "You're sure?" asked Cat, the Pilot nodding in return. He knew she didn't doubt him, there was no hint of it in her tone, he could see the gears turning in her head. "That would mean those others with him are those ex-special forces mercenaries. This is going to be fun" purred the thief as her claws extended. "Shall we Handsome?"

With graceful ease, the woman fired her grapple and pulled herself to the roof of the warehouse, followed by a less elegant but equally effective move from the Pilot. Crouched low and moving as lightly as they could, the pair moved towards an access hatch and carefully opened it. Hardy's experience as a cat burglar was invaluable, using a bit of lubricant to ensure the rusted old hinges didn't give them away as they made their way inside.

Down below in the dim light of the warehouse, the two parties had exchanged pleasantries and began discussing the actual buy. "The payment, as we agreed upon" said Kingpins proxy as he held up the open case to reveal the bearer bonds stacked neatly within. "I would like to see the goods" he said simply, the two groups of armed men standing behind their respective leader as they met beside the mover's truck.

The Seller looked down at the offered payment for a moment before turning to his hired guns. "Secure the payment and open the truck" he ordered crisply, a refined American accent surprising Cooper with its appearance. The bald man calmly turned on his heel and went out of sight as he rounded the truck, followed by the suited buyer. "I trust you will find everything to be to your liking" assured the blank eyed man as the doors swung open.

Above them, the Marauder and Black Cat moved with them, weapons at the ready and poised to strike. The X-55's sights resting on the more dangerous mercenaries as the Kingpin's surrogate looked over the goods with a well trained eye. "Indeed, these will make fine additions to my employers' collection" assured the buyer as the two shook hands and the case was handed over.

The mercenary slammed the door shut and secured the cargo. "A pleasure doing business" said the seller gruffly, looking down on the buyer with a demeaning gaze. "Now if you will excuse me" he said with forced politeness.

The syndicate man smiled, "Of course, it seems your organization has other matters of some importance in New York" he said knowingly. "My employer would like me to make it known that the resources of his organization are available, should you need them" he added with a snake like expression. "Gratis" he assured.

The Seller didn't respond, simply turning to look at the gunmen that served as the man's escort before walking past the suited man and made for the door without a word. "Cut him off, I'll start the party" he ordered tersely. Cat didn't answer, she knew that it was time to be serious, and she wanted him taken down almost as much as Cooper did.

As soon as Hardy took off, Cooper dropped down and smashed the butt of the gun into the gut of the Syndicate representative, causing him to double over and fall to the floor, wailing in pain. "Drop 'em" roared the Pilot as everyone tensed at the sight of the armored vigilante with the big machine gun pointed at them.

Surprisingly, it seemed the other side was marred with indecision. The purple shirted men looked nervous, holding their guns tightly as they shuffled nervously. By contrast, the mercenaries looked completely calm, and the milky white eye was covered by a pair of sunglasses as they looked at the Marauder. Surprisingly, any hope of getting out of this without any shooting died when the buyer wheezed on the floor next to the Pilot, still clutching his stomach. "What are you waiting for?" he asked. "Shoot this fucker already."

The A-Wall was down just as the first shots rang out, shielding both from the gunfire as the Devotion swung around and began to fire. Cooper sprayed the blue tracers towards the gunmen as some returned fire and others simply ran as the LMG shrieked. The gunmen who stood and fought were cut down before the Marauder stood and sprinted forwards, reloading the gun as the other syndicate gunmen came in.

Cat wasn't idle, two of the mercs stopped to cover their employer's exit and were pounced on by the thief, acrobatically moving between the two, landing staggering punches as she swiftly disarmed them. But they weren't ex spec-ops for nothing, both reacted expertly, drawing sidearms and knives, keeping Cat busy until she finally got behind one and used her claws to slice his legs and send him to the ground, the other one followed shortly.

The syndicate reinforcements got a face full of arc grenade as soon as they entered the warehouse and were set upon by the SRS Pilot. Slinging the X-55 over his shoulder, he started landing blows that sent the stunned triggermen to the floor, taking out three before the grenade wore off. The other three didn't fare much better, Cooper grabbed one with his grapple while Hardy did the same with hers and both whipped their grapple victims together to smash the poor soul between them, sending all three down in a clump.

If Matthew wasn't so pissed about White Eye getting away again then he might have been amused by the sight. Instead he just did his usual of cuffing the syndicate gunmen and tossing them in the corner with Hardy's help. The two then made their way to the truck's drivers' side and Matt opened the door, but before he could climb in, he felt a clawed hand on his shoulder. "Not so fast handsome, what makes you think you're driving?"

"Uh…I always drive?" stammered Matt as he looked at Hardy, who was wearing an expression that plainly said 'you are not winning this argument' and the Marauder knew he was just delaying the inevitable.

"Yes, sports cars" agreed the thief as she gestured to the truck he was getting into, "which _this_ is clearly not."

"So?"

"So…the stuff in the back is fragile" said Cat as she smiled mischievously, "and if you…I don't know, tip the truck trying to take a corner like you normally do…"

"…that would be bad" finished Cooper before sighing in defeat and stepping down from the cab and making a sweeping motion as he held the door open for Felicia. Once the thief was in, the engine fired up and Cooper jumped over the cab and got in on the passenger side. "It's 106 miles to Chicago. We got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, its dark, and we're wearing sunglasses" quoted the pilot as he pointed towards the open warehouse doors, "hit it."

Hardy shook her head as she put the truck into gear, "Why do all the guy vigilantes have to be dorks?" she muttered as the vehicle set off with the take inside. The plan was simply to move the truck somewhere else and unload at their leisure, thankfully the place they planned to stash it wasn't too far away.

That should have meant that this was the easy part, but as Cooper checked the mirror again, he realized that there wasn't any such thing. "We have a tail" he reported simply as he checked that his Devotion was loaded.

"I see him" responded Cat as she checked the mirrors, "I'm going to pull over, if he gives us trouble, do your thing" she said as the truck turned off the street. Cooper watched the mirror and was able to make out a black van pass by without stopping before driving off into the night. "See who the driver was?"

The Marauder shook his head, "No, windows were tinted" he replied with a grimace. This was the second time that van had shown up, and always after the bald white eyed bastard did. "I'm going to get out and cover you from the roofs in case he circles back around."

It turned out there was no need, Cat stowed the truck and the pair exited through a hatch in the floor to maintained tunnels for a partially completed but now abandoned subway line that went all the way back to the hideout under the apartment. Hardy would take care of unloading the truck in the coming days and selling what she didn't want to keep, the two had already planned to split the money the sale made.

Soon, they were back in the BMW and on their way back to Cooper's warehouse. "Thanks for your help with Osborn" said Cooper as they exited Manhattan, "hopefully it'll pay off this week."

Felicia smirked, that really had been her show and it was thanks to her efforts that Cooper had nearly a terabyte of information he could use to leverage Osborn into a favorable deal for the Marauder. "You know me, always helping" said Hardy with a grin.

"More like you couldn't pass up a reason to break into the mayor's office" muttered the Pilot, getting a knowing shrug in response. "Still, if all goes well, I do want some help when it comes to legal mumbo jumbo. So, uh, you wouldn't happen to know a good lawyer, would you?"

The platinum blonde vixen tapped her chin thoughtfully before realization appeared in her sharp emerald eyes, "I know just the one…"

* * *

Monday morning, the day after his interview had been published, Cooper managed to find a street parking spot for his Dodge Viper in Clinton. Checking that his newly acquired Sig Sauer P220 was concealed in the shoulder holster beneath his coat, the Texan stepped out of his car and into the mild December air. The business suit clad man got his head on the swivel before he began walking down the street and into Hell's Kitchen, which was why he had the gun.

A short walk found the Militia Pilot outside his destination. "Nelson and Murdock: Attorneys at Law" murmured the Marauder before heading inside. It didn't look like much, and Cooper would be lying if he said he didn't have any reservations about this, but Hardy had been insistent. "Hello?" he ventured to the empty area.

Straining, Matt could make out footsteps down the hallway and what he thought was a cane as he turned towards the source. Emerging from the hallway was a suited man a bit shorter than Cooper, his eyes were covered with dark glasses and he held a stick in front of him that Cooper associated with the type that the blind used. "I'm sorry about the wait sir, I was taking a call" said the man apologetically as he approached with an outstretched hand.

The Pilot took it and shook firmly, "It's alright, I didn't exactly make an appointment" said Cooper with a smile that he realized the man couldn't see. He continued, shaking it off, "Matthew Cooper" he introduced.

A smile was returned from the blind man, "I just finished speaking with Ms. Hardy, she said to expect you" he explained. "Matthew Murdock; come with me please" said the now identified Murdock as he led the pilot down the hallway towards his office. "I didn't expect to have this opportunity so soon" he said as he led the pilot inside, and both took a seat. "Now, what can I do for you today Mr. Cooper?"

"I'm not sure exactly how much you've been told…" began Cooper, only for Murdock to hold up a hand.

The Lawyer smiled knowingly. "Matthew Cooper, age 23, born in San Antonio, Texas. Moved to the city about two months ago, no criminal record" said Murdock calmly, causing Cooper to tilt his head inquisitively. "Though, just because one has no criminal record doesn't mean they aren't a criminal."

Reflex had Cooper maintaining a straight face as he took a moment to contemplate the statement before shrugging. "You tell me, you're the lawyer after all" said the Pilot, hoping Murdock would change the subject.

"Quite so" agreed the attorney with a small chuckle, "because while I may not see as you do, I have learned to see in other ways Mr. Cooper, and I see many things. Like that gun in the shoulder holster" he said simply. The effect was instantaneous, Cooper tensed and grit his teeth as he looked at the smiling lawyer behind his desk. "A…P226 if I'm not mistaken, a fine choice. I've had enough of them pointed my way over the years."

An eyebrow quirked above a blue eye as Cooper looked at the utterly calm lawyer in his chair. "P220" he corrected, "I've always favored a forty five." The silence returned as the Pilot scrutinized the other Matthew. "Something tells me you know why I prefer to carry it when I'm out and about."

The blind man nodded and leaned forwards. "I understand the dangers of that line of work…firsthand" he revealed. "We do have more than our first name in common it seems. With that in mind I can guess why you're here" he said as he held up the Sunday edition of the Bugle.

"That's the sports section" deadpanned Cooper, even though he could see the headline, 'Marauder up close: Extra Dimensional Commando Interviewed' along with a picture of him in full armor and brandishing the Smart Pistol in a striking pose if he was honest.

Murdock snorted as he tossed the paper down on his desk and gave the Pilot a look that clearly said 'no it isn't'. "My associate was quite excitable about the article this morning, and I suppose you're here because you want legal advice regarding the upcoming meeting you requested with the Mayor."

Cooper allowed himself a chuckle, of course the Black Cat's lawyer was a vigilante who already had everything figured out. At least the Marauder believed that Murdock understood his unique requirements. "Something like that, if we do meet and do approach a deal, I would like someone I can trust to look it over. Someone who understands legal matters and can provide me with the needed discretion."

"Ah" replied Murdock, "off the books then, I assume all fees will be paid in cash?"

Cooper nodded before realizing his mistake. "That's correct, any other pertinent legal advice about this crazy idea of mine?" asked the Marauder with a laugh.

"Besides not going through with it?" asked the Lawyer dryly, getting a snort that covered the Marauders laughter. "I would say the less formal the better. Don't sign anything and be _careful_" urged Murdock. "Osborn is no fool and you can't be either. There's a reason nobody else has tried this" said the lawyer before leaning back in his seat. "I suppose you're set on this?"

"I am" confirmed Cooper.

"Then I hope you know what you're doing" said Murdock with a concerned look.

"I do too" murmured Cooper, "I do too."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook–Pistol: Sig Sauer P220 Carry_

_One thing about New York, it's a pain in the ass to go through the legal hoops required to legally own a gun in this city, so I haven't. Even if I do technically have a clean record it's just too much of a hassle and one of the many upsides of dating the Black Cat is that she can tell you where to get pretty much anything without any annoying paperwork. So, for a very reasonable price of $700 I got this Austrian classic in its full-size frame with a shortened barrel. Chambered in .45 ACP, the same round as the legendary M1911 and world renown as the primer semi-automatic manstopper, this weapon is single action only with a decocker, but doesn't feature a normal safety._

_So to carry, I chamber a round and drop the hammer. Should I need it, all I have to do is draw, thumb the hammer back, and pull the trigger. Do that and you get a seriously loud noise, a hefty kick, and a 230-grain jacketed hollow point round heading straight for a very unfortunate soul who probably doesn't have very much time left on this earth. _

_When your life is on the line there isn't anything that doesn't fire smart bullets around, there isn't anything I would rather have then a .45 on my hip._

* * *

**Closing Notes: Don't expect to see much more of Matt Murdock other than this brief cameo appearance. At this point he's not too active as Daredevil so don't expect him to try and give Cooper a moral argument or anything like that. Who you should all be focused on is the man in that black van who keeps showing up, though some of y'all probably already know who it is since it is an existing marvel character. A few have already asked about him and his obvious influence in the story so far, but sadly he's still waiting in the wings for two weeks, expect him to make a full appearance in Chapter 17. **

**Next chapter will be that meeting with Mayor Osborn and will not focus heavily on the bad guys. It's also all talking which I usually don't like, but it's the last breather before stuff starts to really happen. Go on ahead a leave a review of what you think of this story arc so far, I'm curious as to what y'all think. If there is anything you like and want to see more of, feel free to leave it in that review box down below. I never make any guarantees, but you never know until you try. Again, a reminder about any side quests or activities from the main game you want need to be sent now so they can be integrated seamlessly. At this point if its not the main plot then I'll probably skip it completely, I like a fast paced story and some of the side missions put me to sleep when I was playing through them, nevermind reading through them. Besides that, there isn't too much more to say until next Wednesday.**

**"I can see you're out of aces and for a taste of your whiskey, I'll give you some advice" said The Gambler.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	16. Chapter 16: The Gambler

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Alright, so it's the middle of the first round of tests and life is hell. But thank god I had these chapters ready ahead of time and a big thanks for ravens18 for betaing and helping take some of the workload off of me.

Sadly, we both agree on something else, that this really isn't the best chapter. This is very talky and exposition heavy and I wish I was a good enough writer to make this better in all honesty. The focus of the story has always been action oriented and character driven and my plan is to keep focused on that after this. Simply put I want to set up a lot of things and instead of spreading it out intelligently I kind of went "screw it" and lumped it all together here.

Of course the upside to this is that there won't be much more setup once you make it through this. I'm fairly sure there's an action sequence in every chapter following this right up until I come to the end of this arc and they are all pretty good with a few standing out in particular. This has been a more character centric arc when compared to the previous one and while it was an interesting challenge there will be less of it once we hit the events of the game.

The title is by Kenny Rogers, at least his rendition is the one I had in mind. Though others did record it, including Johnny Cash and Bobby Bare.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 16: The Gambler**

_You've got to know when to hold 'em, Know when to fold 'em_

_Know when to walk away, And know when to run_

_You never count your money, When you're sittin' at the table_

_There'll be time enough for countin', When the dealin's done_

* * *

Wednesday morning saw Cooper suiting up to answer the call put out by Mayor Osborn the day before. Like combat, he decided that the best approach would be shock and awe, which was why the Charge Rifle was on his back and sleek Volt in his hands. "In the case that this is a trap, I will be monitoring your helmet feed and standing by to assist Pilot" intoned BT, the Titan giving Cooper a thumbs up that was returned.

"Got it BT, hopefully it won't come to that" said the Pilot optimistically before turning to the only other person at his hideout. Mathilda was watching him as she often did when he was prepping for a mission. "Come here 'Tilda, I want to show you something" called Cooper, causing the girl to walk over to the pilot.

The French teenager looked up to the Pilot as he loaded and racked the slide of the Hammond P2016. "I know this place is pretty safe, but it never hurts to be prepared, here" he said as he flipped the gun around and handed it to the girl, grip first. "Time for your first lesson" he said with a smile. She had always watched him tinker with his guns and he figured she could use a little hands-on experience. The girl tentatively took hold of the grip only for Cooper to not let go. "This is a loaded and deadly weapon, it can kill, and it has no master but the one holding it. Do you understand?" The girl nodded, a determined look on her face, "That's not good enough. Say the words."

"I understand" she said, looking him in the eye as he nodded and let go of the small but very powerful 10mm handgun. The rounds giving the gun a punch well above its weight, though it could be a handful. Mathilda carefully looked the weapon over and gripped it with two hands, though Matt had to adjust it to make sure the recoil of the action didn't take off her thumb.

The Marauder had a range set up, it wasn't much but it was more than enough for a first lesson. "Now close your left eye, line up the front post between the two rear notches" he instructed as she took aim at the center target. "That's right; bend your elbows just a little, there you go. Alright, skin that smoke wagon and let's see what happens" said the Pilot with a smile and chuckle.

Matthew wasn't sure which sound was less pleasant; the echoing thunder of the Hammond or the frightened yelp that ensued as Mathilda almost dropped the gun. Cooper moved to help her but all he got was a nasty look that clearly read 'back off' as the girls face became determined once more. After three full magazines and only a little more instruction, Cooper felt confident she wouldn't accidentally kill someone or herself and got moving for his meeting.

* * *

It certainly seemed that they were rolling out the red carpet for the vigilante. Reporters and Police were all over City Hall in anticipation of the Marauders arrival. "No reason to keep them waiting" said the Pilot as he looked down from his vantage. The SRS Pilot fired his grapple to the next building and wallran along the side before jumping through the air right at the crowd, who never saw him coming.

As soon as someone saw him coming, they shifted their focus towards the Marauder as he barreled down towards the crowd. The Pilot activated his phase shift with a twitch of the hand and his world went black and white as he fired his jump kit again and slid through the empty phase before he jumped up and was on the steps of the hall before he went back to reality.

Behind him there was a barrage of camera flashes, the Pilot turned to look over his shoulder at shocked expressions worn by those who had seen his moves. "Slow news day?" he asked aloud, his voice filtered and projected by his helmet. He indulged their need for pictures, holding the Volt casually when he was approached from behind.

"You the Marauder?" asked an older man, balding head and white hair betraying his age. Cooper just stared at him, the glowing x shaped visor hiding the amused look on his face. After a moment of stare off the older man grunted and introduced himself. "Roy Benitez, chief of the NYPD. Follow me, don't do anything funny" he warned.

"Understood" replied the Pilot simply as the chief turned and led him inside. Waiting for him were more police officers, these were fully equipped SWAT who eyed him through their ballistic goggles. "All this for me?" he asked, getting a look from the chief, "While flattering it's not like it'd make any difference."

Benitez glared at the Marauder, "Sure you're not from New York? You brag like you're from the Bronx" said the old cop gruffly. The Marauder merely shrugged in response, causing Benitez to continue. "I suppose you're going to say it's not bragging if you can back it up?" he asked.

Cooper chuckled a bit, "Something like that" he replied cryptically as he was led upstairs to a conference room. Without preamble the police chief pushed the doors open and led the renegade into the room where the Mayor and his advisors were gathered. The large oak table served as a barrier between the Marauder and the Mayor.

Arrayed against the SRS Pilot was Mayor Osborn, flanked by a pair of SWAT officers, as well as Chief Benitez, his secretary, the district attorney, and a few others that Cooper wasn't familiar with. On the near side was a single oversized chair to accommodate the Pilot in his equipment. "Pleased to meet you, I'm Mayor Norman Osborn" introduced the ginger man with a forced smile, "Sit, make yourself comfortable" he offered as the Pilot took the offered chair, SMG resting in his lap. "I must say I was surprised to see you ask for a meeting, your whole interview was quite incredible" said the former CEO.

Matthew chuckled as he reached into a pouch and produced a CD and slid it across the table. "Trust me; the interview doesn't even come close to incredible. That however does, helmet cam footage from the last half hour on Typhon." Osborn picked up the disc and looked it over before handing it to his secretary with a nod.

The woman inserted the disc into a laptop linked to a projector in the roof as the entire room shifted their focus to the screen. Cooper watched the others with mild interest, it seemed that the entire group bar Osborn was eyeing the vigilante with unabashed contempt. Soon the file loaded, and everyone bar the two guards seemed focused on the footage.

_Open Record View_

_Pilot (Redacted):7-416 3854, SRS MARAUDER CORPS_

_Special Operation 217, D+6_

_Play_

_A knife pried up a keyboard of a terminal before being jammed into it, the doors soon opening as the man drew his pistol and sprinted past a small fire. It could have been anyone until a few yards down the hallway the soldier jumped up and ran along the vertical wall before leaping across to the opposite wall. _

_The radio crackled to life. "Cap**in, do *ou have a fi* on tha* signal?" asked a commanding female voice, a window in the top right of the display identified the speaker as 'CMDR S. Briggs' as the Pilot looked down at a squad of men in white armor. His HUD showed a line originate from the muzzle of his pistol until it landed on a soldier, a circle came into focus on his head before turning read. The gun bucked in his hand and the four white clad men fell to the floor, their heads obliterated by the smart rounds. _

_Without hesitation, the gun shifted to the next group of men below him as they saw their comrades crumple and tried to find their attacker as the gun locked on before firing again with the same gruesome results. "Commander! I have a lock on ******* location, he's got the SERE kit!"_

_FFW _

_|| Resume_

_The Pilot ran outside, the blue sky filled with massive starships and mountains topped with massive anti-aircraft guns. "This is Commander Sarah Briggs, if you can read me – get to the bridge one klick north of your position. We've got one shot to turn this around and you're it" said the woman as he reached up and grabbed a line and rode it down, pistol locking onto and gunning down the men running below."Our fleet's moving in on the Fold Weapon" reported the woman as the Pilot dropped off of the line and slid through the open door into the facility before leaping up to the second story and then jumping up and running along the walls as he moved from a loading bay to a cleaner research area. More white armored soldiers poured out of side rooms and were gunned down by the Pilot as he bounced from wall to wall above them. _

_Reaching the end of the wall, the SRS Pilot dropped down and slid through the doorway, taking the free moment to reload his weapon before moving to the next room and seeing more soldiers waiting for him. "You want some too?" he snarled as he raised the pistol._

_FFW _

_|| Resume_

_The Pilot reemerged out of the indoor facility and into the bright sunlight. "******, Your Titan's standing by! Call it when ready!" shouted the woman as the pilot looked at a spot and a blue circle appeared on the ground a hundred yards ahead of the pilot as he slid up the small incline. _

"_Standby for Titanfall!" shouted Briggs as the Marauder looked skyward._

_A flaming object trailing thick smoke fell before it exploded to reveal something with a more defined shape that slammed into the marked spot. The impact kicked up a massive dust cloud that obscured the object, but the man wearing the helmet seemed undaunted as he slowly approached the point of impact. _

_A shape began to form as the dust settled a massive black machine with orange around the joints of what was very clearly a humanoid robot, a 'Titan'. On the machine's chest a logo showing an alien creature ready to pounce with the label 'SRS' giving away the Titans affiliation as the Pilot raised his hand and inserted something into the open slot above the logo._

_The machine twitched as pieces around the assembly where the 'eye' was housed flared and spun before the pilot stepped back as the robot straightened and looked down to regard the man before it. "Hello ******" it said, the name censored with static in the recording. _

_The machine then stood to its full, towering, height, the Titan's complex machinery on full display. "Glad to have you back in one-piece BT" said the Pilot in his unfiltered voice, genuine fondness clear as the two were reunited._

_The titan raised his four fingered hand and articulated each of the joints to test the chassis. "Over twenty-five thousand actually" corrected the Titan in his standard deadpan before reaching back and pulling on an object that appeared over his shoulder that revealed itself to be a massive eight barreled minigun. "BT-7274 online and ready for combat" announced the Titan as the barrels of the gun spun and rocket pods popped up from above the shoulders. The Pilot holstered the pistol as the hatch opened to reveal a seat and controls inside. "It is time to complete our mission" declared the machine. _

"_God damn right" growled the Pilot before running up the length of the gun and jumping up to grab hold of the side of the cockpit and slinged himself inside. He soon settled himself in the seat as he flipped a few switches on the ceiling and the hatch closed, screens activating to reveal the outside world. _

_The reunited duo charged forwards to a cliff overlooking a massive and well defended installation on the far side of a chasm. "****** - I'm throwing everything I've got at the IMC but it's not going to be enough to stop the Fold Weapon!" called Briggs as the view focused on movement, a dozen similarly massive machines to BT were visible on the other side. "I need you inside the control room!"_

_The pilot didn't verbally acknowledge, instead spooling up the massive Predator Canon and unleashing a continuous stream of hot lead that tore into the nearest IMC titan. "This is Commander Briggs to all battle stations. I want close fire support on ****** and BT. Do whatever it takes to cover them!" ordered the woman as the Titan began to cross the bridge, a shield appearing around the gun as the Pilot deftly guided it into cover to reload before continuing the assault. The gun barrels glowed orange before discharging a power shot that caused one titan to explode spectacularly, the lead stream redirected towards the next as it fell to its knees and burst into flames, chassis riddled with bullets. _

_The Titan continued forwards as more hostiles appeared; there was still a job to do. _

_FFW _

_|| Resume_

_The door opened to reveal two Titans inside, red instead of the previously seen white. One had its hatch open to reveal the pilot inside as he turned to face a glowing hologram of an older man. "You have your money Blisk, now go" ordered the hologram. "My forces will take it from here" he assured before turning away, the hologram dissipating. _

"_About time they do something" replied Blisk dismissively, the mercenary closing the hatch on his massive Titan before turning his back to the Militia Pilot. "I think our Militia pilot's trying to be a hero. He's all yours, keep the salvage" he said as carelessly as if he was ordering his usual breakfast. _

_The hatch of the other red titan opened to reveal a woman inside, cracking her knuckles as she looked at BT. "Who said anything about salvage?" she replied with a psychotic grin and matching gleam in her eye. "I'll do this one for free."_

_BT produced a different weapon as the two titans squared off. "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough, bitch" snarled the Pilot as the duel began. More IMC titans dropped in, BT fired a barrage of missiles at the first as the robot raised its left hand, a swirl of energy catching the return fire before the ordinance was thrown back at the IMC machine that fired it. _

_The titan staggered as BT rushed forwards, knocking its weapon away before shoulder checking it to the floor and unloading the 20mm cannon into the chassis. Only then did the Apex Predator pounce, a barrage of splitter rifle fire draining BTs shields and forcing the pilot to deploy a smoke screen and dash away as the XO was reloaded. _

_Lying in ambush, BT pounced as soon as the red Ion charged around the corner in pursuit, right into a fusillade of guided missiles and 20mm cannon shots. His opponent staggered as the shields surrounding the titan popped visibly and the titan itself began to endure punishment. It did not fall, instead began to glow and crackle before a massive laser beam was emitted from the torso that singed the area and knocked BT back as he dodged into cover, red lights flashing while the machine and man inside recovered and prepared for the fight to continue._

_FFW _

_|| Resume_

_The two pilots were still locked in their deadly dance, trading shots as they maneuvered their machines around the packed room, though the red one opposing BT looked well worse for wear. The Mercenary machine was sparking and smoking as another barrage of missiles was fired, only to be caught by the Predator's vortex shield. "Nice try love, but I'm no pushover" taunted the woman before she threw the rockets back. _

_BT didn't move, instead standing his ground as the Militia titan deployed its own vortex shield. "Neither am I" growled the pilot before throwing the rockets back at the enemy. She dodged, but only managed to get peppered by 20mm fire as armor plate was torn away to expose the charred skeleton of the machine beneath. _

_The doomed titan fought back with everything it had, firing its massive laser again as the Marauder Titan ducked into cover and reloaded to make its final move. As soon as the core fizzled out, BT spun around the corner and charged forwards to the Apex Predator, ripping the machines weapon away and shoving it back. "I will not be destroyed by some pitiful excuse for a pilot…" began the woman, but her vow was never finished, BT dashed forwards and grabbed the raised arm and yanked hard, tearing it off at the shoulder. In a single, savage, stroke, the severed arm was bashed into the Titan it was formally attached to, knocking it down and shearing the hatch off to expose the bloodied pilot inside. _

_The pilot looked down on his vanquished foe and one of BTs massive legs was raised before being slammed down onto the cockpit of the titan, cutting off the terrified scream of the mercenary inside before the leg twisted as if squashing a bug. With the last opposition defeated, the battered but unbroken Vanguard class titan sprinted towards the containment unit for the ark. All around the chamber, warning lights pulsed, and sirens blared to herald the oncoming storm. _

_Two massive metal hands gripped the mount for the containment unit, hydraulic units strained as metal moaned in protest to the assault before the PA system crackled to life with dreaded news. "Fold Weapon priming sequence complete. Deploying the ark" announced the AI running the facility as a blinding flash covered the screen in a sheet of white and knocked the titan to the floor._

_FFW  
_

_|| Resume _

"_BT! ******! Our ground teams can't make it in time" reported Sarah Briggs. "You've got to find a way to destroy the Fold Weapon from the inside. There's no other way!" shouted the veteran Titan Pilot as the Titan staggered to its feet. _

_But BT managed it, the punishing the Militia machine had faced did not stop its movements. The joints of the machine moved jerkily as the optics flickered in and out of function, the screens being recorded were static every other frame. "Commander Briggs" began BT in his mechanical monotone, "I believe I have a solution. In its exposed state, my reactor core may be able to destabilize the Ark at the center of the Fold Weapon."_

_One of the legs of the Titan faltered as it staggered and barely managed to catch itself on the frame of the target. "What are you saying?" asked Briggs as the collective willpower of the man and machine caused the Vanguard to begin climbing up the frame. _

"_We can blow it up" answered BT instantly. "I'm sending you coordinates for a dropship rendezvous."_

_The deadpan monotone faltered from the damage the chassis had sustained. "Coordinates received" responded the Commander, "We'll be there, but I don't see how you can."_

_The machine pulled itself up and braced its feet on the IMC creation, one leg sparking as its joint struggled to hold together. "Trust me. I have done the math" answered BT calmly. _

_There was a sigh on the radio. "I sure as hell hope so. We're on our way. Good luck – both of you. Briggs out" said the fiery woman before the line went dead._

_With that, the panel the Titan had clambered onto began to move up and into line with the barrel like structure overhead as the Titan fought to stay steady on the moving perch and shaky joints. "Don't worry BT" said the Pilot as he sat back in the tight hugging pilot's seat and patted one of the control panels, "I'm not going anywhere" he assured as he readied himself for the final charge. _

"_Copy that pilot" responded the Vanguard, though it was clear the machine was speaking in a tone of despair. The lights in the barrel of the particle accelerator lit up until they were fully illuminated, and the mass of the Titan was shot forwards towards the massive glowing power source at the center of the weapon. _

_The seconds crawled passed and the Ark got closer, the inevitable filling the viewport. "End of the line" said the pilot to himself as he closed his eyes, the blinding light of the Ark encasing the two as the ancient power source destabilized and surged within the Titan before the two completely disappeared. _

_The screen was blank for a few minutes before the pilot started to move again, still trapped in the cockpit of the Titan. Panning down, the cam looked over the rest of his body, the pilot's gear he was in had seen better days as he moved each of his extremities in sequence. _

_When he looked back up, the display read: __**Power Overcharge Rerouted to Self-Repair Functions - Critical Systems Restored- Secondary Systems Repair Underway. **__After a few minutes, the conversation the pair shared muted, the hatch opened as the Pilot clambered out and slid down the side of the now mostly repaired titan and surveyed the landscape. The terrain of New York, leafless trees and the small crater surrounding him. _

_Halt x_

_End Record View_

The room was silent, there had been muttered curses and 'ahs' at points as the file played, but now that it had ended with him in a place that was recognizably Earth, there was nothing from the others. It was finally Osborn who spoke, addressing the Marauder. "I think I speak for all of us when I say that I found that rather compelling, wouldn't you all agree?" asked Osborn, getting a round of nods from others at the table. "I would also like to offer my sincerest condolences for your situation, I can't imagine its easy being ripped from your home like you have."

Cooper looked up at the entrepreneur; the look of pity on his face looked genuine. Matthew hummed in response, "I've been…busy with other things, trying not to think about it" admitted the Pilot. That was even true; he missed his family, shooting with his father and the other SWAT members on the weekends, and the veterans he talked shop with. "But I'm finally starting to adjust to this crazy world of yours" admitted the Marauder dryly.

"Ours?" responded the DA in exasperation, "Were you watching the same footage we were?"

Matt chuckled at the woman's comments. "Yes I was, but I'll tell you this, even the most backwater frontier worlds had lower crime rate than this city. One of the most advanced on this world with a bonafide badass in Spider-Man protecting it" he shot back. It may have been a boldfaced lie, the Pilot didn't know, but it made his point.

"And you think you can make it better by gunning down criminals in the street?" asked Benitez, "Is that what you did back home on your Frontier? Did you not have trials? This isn't war" asserted the Chief angrily, Osborn having to hold out his hand for calm.

"I'm not here to discuss how you think this should be done; frankly I don't care what you do. I'm just here to make sure you don't shoot at me and make an enemy you can't afford to have" said the Marauder calmly, the threat hung obviously in the air, the footage they had all seen proved how a confrontation would go. "And before you ask, BT is fully operational and monitoring my helmet feed, so if you try something, he will know, and he will come down here like a bat out of hell."

Osborn's forced smile was gone, replaced by a thin line as he scrutinized the Marauder. "Did you just come down here to threaten and strongarm us? What do you hope to gain from such actions?" asked another man in an accusatory fashion, holding his ground when the glowing visor swung his way.

"Fair enough" conceded Cooper, "that was not my intention; I just felt it was best to have all of my cards on the table, or at least the relevant ones. I'm a wayward soldier backed by a 40 ton killing machine that is hard programmed to ensure my safety at all costs. I do want to make this city a safer place because I am stuck here. I've been doing it the way I have because it's how I've been trained, it's what has worked, it's the doctrine programmed into BT, and because I have no better ideas" admitted Cooper truthfully. "That is the situation and it is one I want to improve by coming to an understanding at the least and an agreement at best. If that cannot be done, then I will not waste anymore of your time and be on my way."

Matthew sat back and tried to read the room, he didn't like to tiptoe around things, and he had just come out and said what he had wanted to say. It seemed to work, much of the tension felt like it had evaporated. The members of the City looked thoughtful as they regarded the Marauder differently; though Matthew wasn't sure he liked the look on Osborn's face. "Such candor is refreshing I must admit" said Osborn with a small smile as he tapped his fingers together. "What exactly were you hoping for?"

"The fact remains that I am a member of the Militia SRS, I don't want that to change, I…can't give _that _up too" he admitted. "But I would like to cooperate with the Police, have them be able to reach out for me should my assistance be required and vice versa" said the Pilot.

"What would something like that cost?" scoffed the police chief, thinking that it was a play for money.

Matthew allowed himself a faint smile like that behind his helmet; he might actually pull this off

without needing his trump card. "All I want is to maintain my privacy and independence. I have no desire to be a mercenary" he said firmly.

Sadly, Norman frowned at that. "That is unfortunate, I dislike working with those who hide behind masks, trust is an important part of business" said the former CEO. "Add that to the facts being your capabilities and experience makes you a variable that cannot be left to his own devices. It would be much better for all involved if you would be flexible and agree to work with the city directly."

The man said it with his most charming snake like smile as Cooper cocked his head, making a show of considering it before leaning forwards. "If we are going to discuss that sort of information Mr. Mayor, I would greatly appreciate discussing something like that in private" said the Pilot, resolving to his course of action.

Benitez scoffed, "To make it easier for you to try something? I don't think so" said the old Cop as he leaned forward to face down the Pilot, not flinching when the x shaped visor turned to him.

After a tense moment, the Marauder turned his attention back to the Mayor. "Mayor Osborn, trust me when I say that I'm not asking for my sake, I'm asking for yours." Surprisingly, Norman didn't flinch or falter when a lesser man very well would have; his only reaction was a slight frown. The Mayor then turned to the chief of police and gave a curt nod, the older man looked like he was about to argue before grimacing and getting to his feet.

The others filed out quickly; soon it was just the Mayor and the Marauder staring each other down across the large conference table. Once the door had been shut did Cooper reach into his pouch and pull out a flash drive and place it down on the table. "What is that? Your exact terms?" asked Osborn as he stared down at the little nondescript black drive.

The Marauder merely shook his head, "My contingency" he said simply. "I've been digging, and the trail has led me to interesting places. Though I suppose I had interesting questions" mused the Pilot as he picked up the drive and began rolling it between his gloved fingers. "Questions like: How did the man responsible for blowing up buildings end up owning the property they were on once the dust settled? How could he have known he would get them to justify the cost and risk? Stuff like that" said the Pilot, sarcasm flowing so thick it made its way past the filters and was still oozing. "Though, I imagine you already know all of that." Norman didn't reply, his lips pressed into a thin line as his eyes bore into the visor.

"I don't see the need to go any further on this path. I'm not a paragon of righteousness, I don't try to be, I'm not going to hold you to some ridiculous expectation" said the Pilot, deciding to be honest. Hopefully it would keep Osborn off balance, at least that's what Cat thought might happen. "I'm simply putting my cards out on the table and seeing if you want to play with the hand we've both been dealt."

"It appears" said Norman with a tenseness in his voice, "that you are stacking the deck in your favor" he observed with a certain respect. "I'll commend you for that, and your pragmatic view of my actions. There are many who would not view them so favorably."

Cooper snorted at the understatement, "Whatever" replied the Pilot dismissively. "I don't give a shit about politics or anything else. I still view Fisk as a threat that needs to be neutralized, the means for people like you to achieve their ends. If you can deal with that then you can be the one to claim you have a super soldier from the future on the people's side because of _you_. We both know it would be a big PR win, and if it goes well then maybe others would be willing to follow suit."

Norman smiled, "Piece of advice" he said as he tapped the table, "stick to fighting, you're not very good at negotiating" said the executive, getting an agreeing grunt from the Pilot. "That being said, you raise good points, but you understand that this is a give and take, I need you to give something to make it look like I wasn't strong-armed, appearances must be kept you see."

The Marauder nodded and let out of a sigh of relief, his gamble looked like it had paid off. "I'd be willing to donate samples of medical supplies and equipment I have to Oscorp to be reverse engineered, developed, or reproduced as you see fit. My only condition is that Oscorp does not profit off of them, the profits should go to charity of some sort" stated Cooper.

Norman stroked his chin thoughtfully as he considered the proposal. "A PR win for both of us? Shrewd, and should be effective" said the Mayor as he mulled it over a bit longer. "You can assure me what you're offering is unlike anything currently available?"

"At the very least it is far more advanced" replied Cooper simply. "Most of it is First Aid and combat related, but I'm sure it could be adapted to other uses" supposed the Marauder. Cooper was silently thanking Felicia more; the woman's cunning and aid with planning proved to be worth its weight in gold.

Norman nodded before standing and offering his hand to shake, "Oscorp never passes up an opportunity to improve the lives of people, and this sounds like a good one" said the Mayor. "I'm sure my company would be delighted to have to opportunity to learn from anything given. And as the mayor I would be honored to have you protecting the City" said Osborn with his smile back in place as he tried to clinch a deal.

Matthew stood and gave an affirming nod. "I would like to take a short break to discuss this with the others, shall we reconvene in fifteen minutes?" suggested the Mayor.

"Fifteen minutes" acknowledged Cooper with a half salute. "I'll wait outside."

* * *

Few things irritated Yuriko Watanabe more than having to wear the formal dress blues. Her position meant she could dictate her casual attire preference in her day to day work. Today however, she hadn't been told much, just to meet Chief Benitez and wear the uniform, which was why she was sitting outside his office doing her best to suppress her urge for a cigarette. The door to the man's office opened to reveal the man himself in his own dress uniform and in a rush. "On your feet Watanabe, time to go" he said as he locked his office and began to move with intensity few his age could muster.

"Where exactly are we going sir?" she asked as she followed him into the garage and into the passenger seat of a standard police cruiser, it was well known that the old man always preferred to drive himself.

"City Hall" he replied gruffly as he slammed on the brakes and honked the horn at a cab that cut him off. Yuri was torn between chuckling and wincing as Benitez grumbled. "We're going to be a part of the Mayors press conference today, though Osborn wanted to keep it hush hush" he grumbled. They both knew why, the topic of the conference, despite not being officially revealed, had been speculated to be the results of the negotiations with the Marauder earlier in the week.

She finally asked the obvious question, "So has the Mayor reached an agreement with the Marauder, Chief?" asked the oriental cop carefully, Benitez's dislike of New York's vigilantes was well known, but he didn't go against the Mayor's wishes, he didn't feel that it was his place to do so unless the law was being broken.

"He has" replied Benitez gruffly, Yuri surprised she had gotten that much out of him, but he continued. "You read the papers captain?" he asked, causing the black-haired woman to nod in return. Benitez grunted, "The Bugle got it right for once, he really isn't from around here, I'm willing to cut him some slack for that. That and I will admit he is one hard son of a bitch" said the Chief.

Yuri allowed herself a small knowing smile considering she had seen him in action. "Frankly, I'm happy he's offering to talk, which is what makes your new responsibility so damn important" he said as the car came to a stop in a nearby parking garage. "The way he pitched it and the Mayor agrees, is that he's still a part of his 'Frontier Militia' and that gives him the authority to act how he sees fit."

Yuri maintained her best poker face, "And you agree with this?" she asked.

The older man furrowed his brow, "I'm not really sure what to think, I spoke with the DA and this isn't something there's precedent on. Osborn is taking that to mean he can make a deal with this Marauder" explained Benitez tepidly.

"Where exactly do I fit in with all of this, sir?" asked the junior cop.

The older man sighed, "That's the simplest part, the arrangement will be that the Marauder will be recognized as an independent with a cooperative relationship. Osborn wanted one of ours to act as a liaison and work directly with the Marauder, and, well, your name came up" he said simply, though it wouldn't take much of a detective to deduce that there was more to it than that.

The woman smiled a bit to let him know she was on to him. "If you don't mind me asking, how exactly did my name come up?" It was a dangerous question, but Watanabe had to know.

Benitez snorted out a laugh before looking at the woman with a wry look. "I don't know what it says about him, but the Marauder's the one who put your name forward. He said 'a lot of cops have shot at me, but she's the only one to have actually hit me. I won't work with anyone else' if you can believe that."

Funny thing was, she actually could, Watanabe hadn't met anyone more comfortable being shot at than the Pilot. Though if his interview was accurate, and the chief seemed to think it was, then a firefight was the most familiar thing to him. "Come on, let's go" beckoned the Chief as he got out of the car with Yuri following soon after.

The two cops charged through city hall until they reached the room where the press conference was being held, a small stage at the front, and the chairs below were packed with reporters. The two cops took up their spot on the stage alongside several others including the DA and Mayor Osborn.

Though if there was any doubt that the reporters were truly there for, it vanished when the Marauder appeared in the doorway and was met with a barrage of flashes from the cameras as reporters tried to stand. The Pilot raised an arm, shielding his visor with his forearm seemingly in an attempt to ward off the pictures, though the pace didn't let up. Osborn stood and moved to try and calm the reporters, but the Marauder did it in his own way.

Bending his knees, he jumped up, the pack firing its licks of blue flame as he pressed one boot into the wall next to the door and pressed off, his kit firing again as he soared over their heads and landed on the stage, skidding to a stop as he came to his full height. "Fucking vultures" he said lowly to Mayor Osborn, causing the CEO turned politician to crack a slight sympathetic smile.

"Well said" replied Osborn as the Marauder took position, remaining standing behind the podium. The vigilante remained standing; arms crossed over his chest as he scanned the line of people on stage before he returned to glaring at the reporters.

With that, Osborn took command of the situation, the Mayor speaking on the details that Watanabe wasn't paying much attention to. The reporters paid rapt attention, Osborn relishing being back in command of the room. Yuri fought to keep a straight face, disgusted that the Mayor, who had effectively ordered the police to kill the Marauder, was now using him to claim that he was making the city safer by working with a future Special Forces soldier. As the conference pressed on, Watanabe wondered what the Marauder thought of this change of mind, though she mused she would have a chance to ask him after this.

Finally, Osborn finished his presentation on the agreement and took a few questions until the Captains ears registered something that indicated this press conference might get interesting. "Mr. Marauder, would you like to address the press? Maybe take a few questions?" asked the Mayor.

The Vigilante stiffened and the x shaped visor fixed on Osborn, "Honestly…" began the Pilot, "I would prefer being shot at" deadpanned the Marauder without a hint of exaggeration. The crowd didn't seem to pick it up, but Watanabe knew the man well enough to know that it was only half a joke.

However, very reluctantly, the armored vigilante stepped up to the podium, and pointing to a raised hand at random. "Why is it you haven't shared your name, only callsign and ID number?" asked a reporter.

"The SRS does not release the names of active duty combat Pilots" he responded instantly. "It's not my decision, even if I do agree with it, next" he stated flatly as the questions came for the better part of an hour.

One exchange stood out, "Marauder!" shouted a reporter, "How do you justify your actions? Do you think the people you kill deserve it?" The man was from a cable news network and the glowing blue visor fixed onto the suited man. He flinched and Yuri suppressed a smirk, knowing just how unnerving that gaze was.

The SRS Pilot's filtered voice was ice cold, "Deserve has nothing to do with it." The room fell silent as the answer settled in. "When you've been out there, it's hard to really 'justify' anything that you do…especially to those who haven't been there." Many grumbled at that, but Yuri knew how true it was. "I'm no judge and there aren't enough of me to make up a jury. The only thing I worry about when I'm in action is if someone is a threat. If they are then I neutralize them. If I can do that by asking for them to reach for the sky then that's just as good" he said before leaning forwards, hands braced on the podium. "But if that doesn't work and lives are on the line…no matter what actions or lack of, the lives you take will be on your conscience. Only difference is which lives those will be" he said before standing straight and seemingly relaxing. "And _that _is God's honest truth" he finished calmly as the room remained silent. Questions soon resumed, but the Marauders patience was slowly getting thinner and thinner.

Thankfully, the Mayor saw this too and actually came to the man's rescue; Yuri could feel her skin crawl as she watched as the man who had ordered her to kill the Marauder came to his aid. Stepping up to the podium, he gave his most charming smile, "Thank you for your questions ladies and gentlemen. I hope this helped make clear that this is a bold new initiative I've put in place. We're all lucky to have the Marauder's cooperation; his skillset is second to none. This is just one of many innovative programs that I've made happen to make our city a safer place."

Yuri let out a barely audible groan at the Mayor's words, she really hated politics.

* * *

"Social media feeds indicate the arrangement you have come to with the Mayor has a 36% acceptance rate Pilot" reported BT as the Pilot sat entered the armory, at least there was that. At Spider-Man's recommendation he had a twitter account, SRS Marauder, and while he was the one who posted on it, BT monitored it for lack of anything better for the Titan to do. "The remainder is responding with skepticism or negativity; these figures are down compared to this time last week."

Matthew shrugged at that, he hadn't dealt with the human slime that was Norman Osborn for public approval, even if that was how he had sold it. He wanted to keep fighting, it didn't matter what he was going at, he always looked for it. Helping Felicia with whatever heist she was planning, going on patrol with Spider-Man, whatever excuse he had to suit up he happily took.

After taking his gear off he headed back into his living room to find Mathilda drawing in her notebook on the couch as he sat down in the chair and picked up his Gibson. "What are you drawing there?" he asked curiously as he tuned the guitar.

The girl looked like she might clam up, which she did half of the time the Pilot talked to her, but instead of answering, she shifted and stood up as she flipped through her notebook. Stunned, Matt looked up at her and gave the girl his full attention as she handed him her notebook. Carefully, he took the offered journal, he knew how much she prized her journals, this was her second, and she protected them with everything she had. Neither he nor Felicia had dared look at them, letting the girl have her privacy.

"Wow." He couldn't help the reaction; the word flew out before it registered in his mind as he took in the wonderfully detailed drawing on the page. It looked like him, or more specifically, his Vanguard pilot's kit, except…better looking, sleeker, and a bit more menacing to Cooper's eye. "This is…wow" he said again as he looked at the dark green suit, which still had its pronounced but sleeker pads and armor in a light grey. White striping was visible on the pads and armor, standing out nicely along with more MCOR logos on the suit.

He looked back up at the girl, who was averting her eyes as he wrapped his knuckles on the page, "Do you like them?" she asked timidly, a hint of excitement at the approval. "I wasn't sure you would, I always wanted to be a designer" she said, unabashed happiness in her voice that melted the Marauder's heart. She continued in her French accent, "Do you think you could make it? I would love the chance to help you work to make it real. Could you? Pleaseeee" she begged.

Cooper frowned, "I…I didn't make my armor" admitted Cooper, "I have no idea how to just make a set" he said, quickly noticing the defeat on her face. Matthew furrowed his brow, his armor was great, he had no complaints, but that didn't mean he couldn't make it better. "I will say that I wouldn't be opposed to the idea though" he amended quickly, the downcast eyes slowly coming back up to meet his.

"So… you'll do it?" she asked hopefully, clasping her hands together. Cooper had never seen her like this, almost as if she might burst from happiness at the possibility.

Her mood was infectious, "No" said Cooper as his own beam appeared on his face, "we'll do it. You're the one with the fashion eye, clearly. You leave me to do it and I'll just fuck it up" he joked. "I'll bring in some spare pieces for us to work on, give you a feel for how the suit works and what needs to be kept as is, okay?"

Mathilda's head was locked in a rapid nodding motion, so quickly that Matthew wasn't sure that she had heard more than his initial affirmation. Once she had collected herself, the girl gave the Pilot a hug before taking her notebook back and spending the next half hour going through dozens of sketches, slight variations of designs and iterations of her work. Cooper simply took in each one in awe, the level of detail and dedication in each and every one amazed him, each one had something he liked, and he told Mathilda as such.

Each observation elicited an excited response as she made note, in French, of what he liked and what he didn't, the girl promising to work on a design to incorporate the Texan's tastes. Likewise, Cooper noted what she thought she would need to make her sketches into reality and would likely be busy putting the cash he had gotten from Griffin to use.

Mathilda seemed intimately familiar with every page of the notebook, which shouldn't have been too much of a surprise, but her fingers, trembling with joy and excitement, did fail her once and so Matt saw something she probably didn't intend to show him. "Wait…go back for a sec" said the Marauder as the younger girl reluctantly complied.

There were equally detailed drawings of Felicia in Black Cat garb, though it was notably different, almost as if Mathilda had imagined the Thief as a Pilot. Her mask had been replaced with a sleek helmet that still left her nose and mouth exposed, a small visor in place of her mask and small cats ears on top of the helmet and a hood covering her hair. The bodysuit had the same white striping as Cooper's designs, but took more inspiration; her stomach was covered by a similar armor to the Vanguard chestpiece. The rest was broadly similar, form fitting with a few small pouches visible on the belt and a bandolier like setup across her chest. "You've been _really _busy, haven't you?"

Mathilda blushed slightly as Cooper took in the sketch. He wasn't sure of what Hardy liked in her gear, but he did know that he wouldn't mind seeing her in the set drawn in the notebook. "You were going to show these to her, right?" he asked, getting a shy expression as she looked away again. "Cat is way more worried about how she looks than I am, I'm sure she'd love to help you with these" suggested Cooper.

The younger girls face was covered in a myriad of emotions. "Would she? I wouldn't want to be a bother…."

A held-up hand cut off the teenager as Cooper offered a slight smile. "She'd want to help I think, I'm sure she'd love to see them either way, I'm less sure about the helmet though…" No sooner were the words out of his mouth then Mathilda had flipped to another page and begun a new sketch. "Some music while you work?" asked the Pilot, getting a quick nod as Mathilda resumed her drawing.

The opening riff of ZZ Tops Sharp Dressed Man filled the room as Mathilda drew away, Cooper's mind drifting to why she was here. Evil _things_ had taken her and were still hunting her, White Eye and his mercenaries were more than up to the task, if she remained here forever, they would track her down. That meant there was only one option to ensure Mathilda would be able to live life again, defense wouldn't do it, the Marauder had to go on the attack.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook –The Battle of Typhon_

_This is…a tough one to write about, it was my first real exposure to war, and everything that entails. There is a lot more to talk about then I could fit in one entry, but there are some things from Typhon that have stuck with me and should be mentioned. First was the massive intelligence failure that opened the battle. We had no idea what were going to find, and the result was a lot of dead Militia. I've tried to get ahead of this, hence hijacking the Police monitoring system and using it to know what was happening and what I walk into. _

_It was also a lesson in strategic thinking, because initially Typhon seemed to be nothing important, an unknown event. If it had been ignored by the Militia for just a week then it would have resulted in millions of dead men, women, and children. It goes to show that you can't overlook anything and a reminder that you should never become complacent and take what you have for granted. _

_But mostly it was a lesson in how to fight and not just shoot, but get shot at, wounded, and still fight. Short of sleep, exhausted, but still pressing on. To use what you have available to you and to react when the situation inevitably broke down. It was hell, and it is the hardest thing I've had to go through in my entire life. And that is coming from one of the lucky ones who survived it, there were a lot of good men and women who didn't. _

"_It is good that war is so terrible…lest we grow too fond of it." – General Robert E. Lee_

* * *

**Closing Notes: Sorry I had to put you all through that, all I am going to say was that if you made it down here is that next week **_will _**make up for it. You're just going to have to trust me on that. But the deal with Osborn, giving Oscorp Militia medical supplies, and the alliance with the NYPD are big things that will come up later down the line. Short term, that means we get more Yuri. I view this as great, I admit to being one of those who typically likes tough cops, Harry Callahan, Agent Gibbs, Roger Murtaugh, etc and I've been having Yuri fill this role. I'm also going to go with the logic provided by Dirty Harry that a badass cop needs a badass gun.**

**So, if you suggestions for what sort of armament she should get then leave a review and let me know. If I like it more than what I have in mind then I'll put it in. Also expect her to use it and actually kick some ass sooner rather than later. As always, any thoughts, be they positive or negative, are always welcome so this story can be the best it can be. Particularly in regards to the more internal conflict I've been having this story arc, do y'all find that interesting or is it too angsty and should I just go back to focusing on the external 'stop the bad guy' plots? Also opinions are the team ups and banter, does it flow well, sound natural, and in character for everybody? **

**As for that great chapter next week, it brings a new character that some people have mentioned in PMs, even if it isn't the one named in the title of the chapter. I still don't regret picking the song I did, simply because if there was ever a song that could work as a walk out song for him then this would be it. **

**So sleep with one eye open, gripping your pillow tight, because it's time to Enter Sandman. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	17. Chapter 17: Enter Sandman

All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

First up, reviews. I got two of them, and one of them prompted that huge response down below. This is my fault, I enjoy talking about this story and all the little things that influenced it. There are a ton of influences for this story and there are even more that I like that don't fit. The White Death, for example is one I would like to use but doesn't fit. As an aside, if I did another story it would be based on that story.

**West Dragon: Fair enough, honestly, I was just done with it, the last few weeks have been frustrating as all hell. As far as more sequences affecting each individual one's punch, I see where you're coming from, but that's also on me to continue to make each one unique. It's something I haven't done terribly well up to this point, but there should be more variety forthcoming which will hopefully keep the action sequences fresh.**

**Another goal I had when brainstorming and fleshing out upcoming events is to have the action sequences be affected by Cooper's internal conflict and vice versa. Unlike Peter, Cooper is a much more dynamic character and his shifting moral compass is something I don't want him to just talk and think about but be forced to act on. To do that there need to be places for him to act. Chapters 17 and 18 should give a good example of what I'm trying to do, please review those as well, let me know if I strike the right balance in your opinion.**

**There will be quieter moments, but long-lasting peace isn't really in the cards for the Marauder. Part of this is just who he is, two influences for this were SFC William James from _The Hurt Locker_ and Major Lauri Allan Törni (aka Larry Thorne), the real-life Soldier of Three Armies, which is a great song. If you don't know those people are then look them up, Törni especially. That should give some insight into Cooper. Though there are many other influences. **

**I want to do more of the human side of him and have him grapple with the kind of man he wants to be. That's a big focus in the coming chapters, 17-21 all touch on it at least a bit. This one especially introduces a new perspective on these issues so they will be explored. Though he's not written to have PTSD even if his experiences have changed him as he's still living a full life. That may change, but I'm hesitant because it is very heavy subject matter and I'm not sure I could effectively include it in this story as I forsee it. **

**Infernex: The sole reason we haven't had a "Stand by for Titanfall!" has been due to a lack of ships to drop titans out of. Though I do have plans relating to this issue…but those are way off.**

**Honestly, I'm as surprised as you are, but I'm glad you're enjoying it and hope you continue to do so, thanks for the kind words.**

Admittedly, I have been waiting for this for a long time, pretty much since the last arc finished this was the next chapter I was really looking forward to posting. Not because of a great action set piece or some mind bending revelation, but because we get to meet a new character. It's one I like and think adds an interesting new dimension to the story. Hopefully I do him justice.

To introduce him properly I gave the chapter a title befitting his stature and reputation. This 1991 track from the album _Metallica _by the band of the same name is one of the greatest heavy metal song ever made. I claim to not be a serious metal head but I can put my hand on my heart and say that this song kicks ass. Even if you aren't a rock fan or metal head give this 'anti lullaby' a listen, you won't regret it.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 17: Enter Sandman**

_Hush little baby don't say a word_

_And never mind that noise you heard_

_It's just the beasts under your bed_

_In your closet, in your head_

_Exit light, Enter night_

_Grain of sand, We're off to Never-Never Land_

* * *

"Lovely weather, it's a good thing I have you to keep me warm cowboy" purred Hardy sarcastically as she pressed herself into Cooper. Outside the cracked warehouse door, the night air had a formidable chill and was filled with pouring rain.

The Marauder's visor was dimmed, and its thermal imaging offered the only way to see, glowing was the heat signature of their only real lead. "At least I'm good for something" he responded dryly as he deactivated the mode and slinked back inside the warehouse with Hardy still pressed against him. "Looks like he's here" said Cooper as he grabbed the EVA-8 Shotgun and checked that the first shell was loaded.

"Good" said Hardy as she prepped her own equipment, grapple gun, claws, and emp grenades. "Let's go introduce ourselves then" she said as she slinked off into the night with Cooper following close behind. The pair didn't have much in the way of reservations, and Hardy was just as eager to see White Eye sent to an early grave with a Cold Fury that chilled the Pilot to the core.

Sadly, they didn't have any leads on White Eye, the only thing the duo had was the black van Cooper had spotted at both run ins with the bald-headed crime boss. A quick peek in the police feeds of the FEAST shootout had given him a closer look and a license plate, from there it had been easy to track. That was until it had gone to a deserted area near a port with no camera coverage.

Still, the Marauder and Black Cat were patient. A few hours ago, it had been spotted again, and the trail led them here as they prepared to follow up on their only lead, both were more than ready to do anything they could to get the ball rolling. Cooper approached the van, looking up to see Cat managing to run along a soaking wet rooftop in high heels, much to his amazement. The Marauder slowed and approached the van, weapon out as Cat crouched down in an overwatch position and Cooper reached out for the handle and yanked the door open.

* * *

_1000 rounds, 7.62x51, disintegrating link belts. 900 rounds, 5.56x45, 30 round box magazines. 200 12-gauge shotgun shells, assorted buckshot, birdshot, and slugs, loose. 350 rounds, .45 ACP, various. _

The ammunition the owner was mentally listing off as he checked the labels was neatly stacked in labeled containers, the weapons lining the wall behind the man as loose rounds were stuffed into assigned magazines for the weapons. Off to the side was his other equipment, the reliable K-Bar knife, grenades of various types, and his armored vest, adorned with an oversized white skull.

Frank Castle, after nearly a year of trying to resume living a normal life, had been sought out to finish what he had started. There were people responsible for the death of his family that still drew breath, and they needed to be _punished._

Though, for the first time, the Punisher wasn't alone. A man had sought his help to ensure that what happened to Frank's family didn't befall his own, Micro had proven a valuable asset in pulling the veil of secrecy from the men he needed to hunt down, but there were more. The first of his 'crusades' as the papers called it had resulted in him running into several other of New York's vigilantes. Mainly Daredevil, but Spider-Man had made an attempt to stop Castle at more than one point, and he was vaguely aware that there were more masked crime fighters than ever before.

But Castle was knocked from his thoughts by the sound of something at the rear of his van. Without hesitation, he scooped up his preferred M1911 sidearm and racked the slide, the big handgun pointed at the rear doors of the van. The Punisher held his fire however, the doors were bulletproof, and he didn't want to lose the initiative. After a moment of effort, he heard the lock fail as the door swung open, the cold and rain outside soon filled the van, slamming into Franks face as hard as any punch as he squinted against the assault, his weapon unwavering. "Drop it" said a filtered, vibrating voice that seemed to be just outside, despite there not being anyone there.

"Not gonna happen pal" snarled Frank as his eyes began to push back and hold themselves open as he peered into the night. "You're going to need to do a lot better than that if you want me to give up without a fight."

Frank swore he heard a soft laugh through the downpour before a wall of orange light appeared at the door of the van. Gritting his teeth, the Punisher watched the rain hit something that wasn't there, outlining the shape of a man before he revealed himself. "How's that?" asked the Marauder, the glowing blue faceplate staring back at him, though Frank was more focused on the big bore of what looked to be a drum fed shotgun that was pointed the same direction. "Impressed yet?"

Castle growled, he knew the man's armor was tough, probably enough to stop the .45, even at such close range, and he himself had no protection against the scattergun, not that his vest would have lasted more than a shot or two. Reluctantly, the Marine safed his weapon and tucked it in his waistband. "What do you want?" he asked gruffly as he watched the shotgun point towards the ground.

"To talk" responded the man bluntly. "Though, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather do it in there, rain's pissing me off" he added dryly as Frank nodded to both comments. The standoff had lasted long enough that the cold filled the van completely, and the rain had done nearly the same thing. The armored vigilante stepped inside, and Frank judged his story about being a soldier of sorts to be true, he certainly was equipped like one. His gear looked like a futuristic version of the type he had in the Corps and everything had a utilitarian air about it as opposed to form over function. The Marauder sat on the floor of the van, back leaning against the now closed doors as he looked over the arrayed weapons stored in the van. An appreciative whistle came from the Pilot, "and you say I have too many guns" he drawled with a dry tone.

Frank furrowed his brow, wondering if that comment was meant for him, but before he could ask, the Marauder got his response. "You _do _have too many guns" purred a feminine voice from behind Castle, causing him to whip around to see a black clad and white-haired young woman sitting in the driver's seat of the van. She had a finger twirling in her long ponytail as her green eyes shifted to Frank. "Hello Mr. Castle, I must admit to not expecting to deal with the Punisher."

In the corner of his eye, Frank saw the Marauder stiffen as the helmet focused on him and stayed there. "No shit?" asked the vigilante, there was no awe, no fear, just recognition.

Castle merely shrugged, "no shit" he parroted gruffly, getting a satisfied nod from the Pilot. "You're welcome by the way, since I got that sniper off your back at FEAST, though it looked like he got one into you before I could" he said with a sardonic smile towards the other soldier, who merely shrugged.

"So that's where that scar came from" mused the woman as she eyed the Marauder, who merely chuckled. That more or less confirmed to Frank what many had suspected, that the Marauder and Black Cat were romantically involved to some extent. "You'll have to make it up later."

"If you kids are done" said the Marine gruffly, cutting off the banter, "what the hell do you want?"

Castle then listened as the Marauder recounted his story of finding the girl with Spider-Man, handing her over to the police, whom she promptly escaped from. His arrival at FEAST to come to the girl's aid, to find that Agent Orange had beat him there and killed a volunteer before he had been stopped. The following firelight that Castle had joined late that led to the girl residing with the vigilante, Black Cat learning of the same illegal art sale he had and the two interfering in it. A look of anger flashed across his face as he heard how the two allowed Orange to escape, though they didn't sound any more pleased about that detail.

"I don't think there's any disagreement about what needs to be done to these people" said the Marauder after he finished his side of the story. "This group needs to be eradicated from the face of the Earth, and the men responsible for its operation must be terminated with extreme prejudice."

Frank grunted his agreement; he was surprised at the stated goal from one who had seemingly been trying to be the archetypal superhero as of late. Spending time with Spider-Man and agreeing to work directly with police, that he should so willingly adopt the Punisher's policy was a shock. "As long as you kids don't slow me down" grumbled the Marine as he retrieved a laptop that Micro had left in the van with the information the two had accumulated. Once the laptop was on and the relevant information open did Castle explain what he knew. "The man you call 'White Eye' I know under a different name, Agent Orange. He's CIA, or was at least, and next time you see him make sure you ask him who gave him that white eye."

The Punisher sighed and sat back, leaning against the gun bench as he regarded the two vigilantes. "The group he runs is called 'The Market', middlemen, not much more. They sell anything, art, guns, drugs, and…people. There's more, but those are the big ones" explained Castle as he handed the laptop to the Marauder, who scrolled through the data. "Most of the infrastructure came from Orange's days in the Agency, my guess is that he was assigned to track down independent dealers, but instead of putting them out of business, brought them together."

"A wal-mart for crime" observed the Marauder dryly, "enabled by bribes, blackmail, and mercenary hit squads. Says here that Orange is active in dealings because he is only now moving into America" read the renegade pilot as he scanned the laptop before passing it back to the Punisher, who in turn gave it to the Black Cat. "Certainly explains why the Kingpin was so eager to curry favor at least."

Castle 'hmmed' his agreement, it seemed that Wilson Fisk had his fat fingers in every criminal pie in the city and more than a few beyond. He hadn't found him linked to the murder of his family, and between Spider-Man, Daredevil, and now the Marauder and Black Cat all arrayed against him, Fisk had more than enough on his plate. Micro had theorized that it had been Castle's initial crusade that had delayed the Market from coming stateside, Castle's wife, Maria, had been the one to propose that the uptick in drug, gun, and human trafficking was all linked. She had been as headstrong and determined as her husband in getting it noticed by her superiors, who Frank now knew had been in Orange's pocket.

His fists clenched reflexively at the memory, the loose threads he still needed to pull, the Punishing that needed to be done. "Don't worry" said the feminine voice of Black Cat as she closed the laptop and placed a hand on his shoulder, "we'll get them" she assured.

Frank kept his head down, foot tapping as he looked at the floor of the van. "Micro and I haven't been able to track Orange or his sales" admitted the Punisher. "So I'm going to draw him out, bring him to us. One of the warehouses up the way has most of the stuff he's brought in. We go in, kill everyone, and burn the warehouse" he stated simply, "any complaints?"

"Yeah" said the Marauder, causing Frank to glare at the vigilante, who, to his credit, didn't flinch. "I want to search for any intel before we burn the place" he said simply. Frank doubted there'd be any there, but the younger soldier wanted to be thorough, which was understandable.

Castle gave permission with a curt nod when Black Cat spoke up. "Quit wasting time, we have work to do."

Castle turned to look at her, gone was the flirtatious tone and expression, replaced with a serious one. Opposite her, the Marauder had come to a crouch and was checking his weapons, the strange pack on his lower back whooshing as licks of blue flame were visible. "You heard the lady, suit up old man, time to dance" said the younger soldier confidently as he slung the pump gun over his shoulder and pulled out a gun that expanded into a shape Franks military mind attached to an Assault Rifle.

The Punisher pulled on his own vest and webgear, the 1911 going into its cross-draw holster on his belt and his own assault rifle, an M4A1 with underslung M203 grenade launcher, being his weapons of choice. His knife, grenades, ear protection, and boonie hat to keep the rain from his eyes. "Normal mission template Cat, you scout ahead and let us know what we're dealing with" said the Marauder, the thief giving him a nod as her lips curled in the smile. "Castle, that means we get the fun part. Hot breach, clear the area, Cat will take care of the perimeter, ensure nobody gets out that we don't want to."

To emphasize the plan, the thief extended a set of gleaming razor sharp claws from her fingertips before smiling devilishly. "Don't keep me waiting too long" she purred towards her lover before she opened the door and flipped out onto the roof of the van, Frank barely able to pick out the sound of her landing over the lightening rain. The driver's door was closed before the Cat vanished into the night, leaving the two men alone in Frank's Battle Van.

The Punisher noticed the other Vigilante looking over his weapons, probably comparing them to his own. The Marine looked over the other vigilante, judging him to be younger than himself, but dedicated to what he did. "Can I ask you something kid?" asked Frank, causing the visor to swing towards the Punisher. "Why do you do it kid? You got your whole future ahead of you. Go to school, get a job, if Cat is special to you then quit doing this shit and make a life for yourselves."

Cocking his head, the Marauder regarded the Marine for a moment before answering. "There isn't one reason for it. I don't have Spider-Man's Responsibility or your Code. But when I came here I had nothing, no friends, no purpose. And I fell back to what I knew, maybe I have a problem, but this, it's all I know that actually works, and I can't stop. Partly because I don't want to, and because I am the most powerful force in the city, every fight has to be my fight. 'Cause, what happens here will matter over there, I don't get to sit one out." Frank didn't offer any response, keeping his features still as he mulled the words over. "I want to keep people safe and free, give them the same chance that I got. That includes Cat. If I have to bust a few heads to do that then so be it."

Castle chuckled mirthlessly, he sounded like a lot of young soldiers the Marine had met, almost like a version of himself when he had enlsted. He liked to think his work as the Punisher helped protect people, but he'd be lying if he said that was why he did it. The Marauder was a good man, and nothing in his words indicated he wouldn't see the Market to its demise, which was good enough for Frank. "Alright kid" conceded the Marine, "but at least tell me that her flexibility is useful in other ways."

"Oh" replied the other vigilante, Frank able to see the grin beneath the helmet, "hell yeah."

* * *

"…_that means the East side is your best bet, go 40 yards south of the north wall and that's your breach point. Got good cover and lots of hostiles as soon as you come in"_ said Hardy over the radio. With a simple hand signal, Cooper indicated the east side of the building, the two gun toting vigilantes moving quickly and quietly towards their destination, one covering the other.

As they moved to their breach point, Matt kept an eye on Frank. The man was a professional, while Cooper kept the R-201 up and forwards, the Punisher kept his swiveling to cover their flank and rear. Coop held up a fist, bringing them to a halt before he tapped his helmet to indicate a breach. The Marine instantly pressed himself into the wall while the Pilot placed a Knock Knock.

The Punisher's lip quirked up, "subtle" he commented dryly as Matt took position in front of the Marine, clacker in one hand and EVA in the other. The Militia pilot felt a tap on his shoulder pad and triggered the charge. Bracing, Cooper felt the shockwave rock him to his core, his ears ringing from the blast as he charged in. Cat had sent the two men to the break room, a number of the mercenary guards were playing cards or grabbing a snack between rounds when the charge went off and were easy pickings for the two attackers.

With brutal efficiency, the two opened fire with their respective assault rifles. Their military experience showed as each fired short controlled bursts. When the guns fell silent, the two men were the only living ones in the room, the dead not even firing a shot back. As they pushed inside, weapons up, Frank put a round through the head of the mercs to confirm the kills. _"They heard you, looks like two are making a run for it, they're mine" _said Felicia over the comm, the coldness of her voice nearly sent a chill down the Marauder's spine.

The Punisher moved forwards to a line of windows looking out into the stuffed warehouse and opened fire, the M4 roaring in full auto as three mercenaries were cut down as they came to investigate. Not to be outdone, Cooper pulled out his own assault rifle and heaved a pulse blade through the now broken window. "At least half a dozen, armed, defensive perimeter about thirty feet out" called Cooper as he slid into cover behind a fridge and looked over at Castle.

"Where's the largest group?" asked the Punisher, not asking how the Pilot knew what he did.

Matthew made another quick scan before the orange outlines faded. "Two o clock, behind the orange shipping container" answered the Militia Pilot. Frank returned a grunt before hefting his rifle over the sill and taking aim. With a muted 'thunk' he triggered the underslung grenade launcher, the HEDP round had the desired effect, the three gunmen sent flying as the blast sent their bodies in different directions.

Not to be outdone, the Marauder leapt through a window firing his grapple into the low roof to swing himself past the line of gunmen and brought his rifle up. The jump kit on his back flared to life, holding the pilot aloft as the dot of the AOG settled on two surprised mercs before each got a burst of 8.19mm rounds. His position left him exposed, and he immediately triggered his phase shift as his hover cut out and he fell to the floor of the now black and white warehouse.

When he came back, he found himself staring down the barrel of the Punisher's M4A1 with a startled Marine behind it. "Crazy kid" muttered the vigilante before the two resumed their sweep. Frank pushed ahead while Cooper fell in behind the Punisher and covered the rear. Cooper could hear Castle's rifle bark in semi auto as he took down two more and ducked to reload as Matt sent his holo pilot around the corner to catch rounds from the remaining waiting gunmen. "Frag out" barked Frank as he heaved a baseball sized grenade towards the source of the shooting before sliding back behind stacked crates and waited for the explosion.

The pair moved in sync as the explosion echoed around the warehouse, each went around a different side of their cover and continued their sweep. Cooper had switched to his shotgun, the big bore of the EVA-8 would be the last thing anyone who was on the opposite end of it ever saw. Whipping the gun around a corner, he caught two guys looking the other way and quickly triggered the scattergun, with a pair of thundering shots, both men were sent sprawling across the floor, backs riddled with buckshot. The rapid chatter of automatic weapons fire caused the Marauder to dive for cover as bullets filled the air.

But the shots only found air and not flesh as the second soldier closed in on the source, rushing in and summarily putting a 5.56mm round through the first gunman's head before turning to the second, but the mercenaries were no slouch. Turning his PDW towards the Punisher, the empty gun only clicked ineffectually when the trigger was pulled before it was dropped, and the Market guard went for Frank's rifle. The ex-SAS member managed to get his hands around the muzzle and push it up and away, but the Marine countered by turning and ramming his shoulder into the merc. Twisting his whole body and yanking the gun down, the mercenary was flipped over Castle's shoulder and landed flat on his back. Raising a boot, the Punisher slammed it down on the man's sunglasses, shattering them and blinding him in the process before jamming the barrel of his gun into his throat and fired twice before leaving the man to blead out while silently screaming.

Silence was all that remained as both men regrouped and reloaded their respective weapons, Cooper going back to the more versatile SOAR. There was a strange air about a silent battlefield, though the scene could perhaps be more accurately termed a slaughterhouse, bodies and shell casings littered the floor and blood painted the walls of the containers inside the warehouse. It was a disturbing scene to be sure as they continued their sweep.

The sound of a breaking window caused both of them to look up as a Mercenary got to his feet, bleeding from the dozen slash marks in his shirt and pants as he shakily got to his feet. "Come back here! This kitty wants to play!" shouted the Black Cat as she leapt through the smashed glass and rolled up to her feet before giving chase as both men watched her and winced when they heard the screams of the mercenary as she sunk her claws into him and dragged him out of sight.

Leaving the woman to her own devices, the two soldiers split up and the SRS Pilot approached a pair of forty-foot shipping containers. His grip on the R-201 tightened as he poked it around the corner, only for it to be grabbed and twisted, yanking Cooper around the corner of the container and face to face with the last pair of goons. Shifting his grip, the Pilot and mercenary battled with the rifle between them, Cooper turning to keep his opponent between him and the other merc looking for a shot on him.

With the extra strength from his exoskeleton, Matt was able to manhandle the goon to make this happen until his fingers, unaffected by the implement, reached their limits. Relinquishing the weapon, the Marauder reached out with his left hand while he drew his Smart Pistol with his right. Shoving the man holding his rifle gave him the opening to put two 9X21 rounds through the others head before he fired his grapple at his rifle and yanked it back. "That's mine" he snarled as the Merc looked down at his now empty hands before the MK6 locked on and sent a guided round through his skull. "Clear?"

"Clear" came the gruff reply from the Punisher as the skull adorned vigilante slung his rifle over his shoulder and surveyed the carnage with a satisfied nod. "Where's your girlfriend? She get bored and run off?"

Cooper chuckled and simply pointed behind the Punisher; Black Cat was peering inside one of the wooden crates that had been damaged in the shootout. "Did you have to destroy all the good loot?" she asked as she held up a vase shattered by a bullet. "This was worth 80 grand you know."

Cooper smiled behind his visor and shook his head in feigned exasperation. "Fucking kids" muttered the Punisher, "ten minutes to look around, after that I'm torching this place" he said as he pointed out a bandolier of thermobaric canisters on his person.

When their allotted time was nearly up, Cooper admitted there hadn't been much to find. No papers or computers besides burner phones on some of the guards, little to give them a lead on another target. Felicia had a much better go of it, going through containers to find anything worth looting. A duffel bag stuffed with cash and jewels was given to the Pilot while Felicia helped herself to a small sculpture that she placed in a padded hardcase. "Surprised a hero like you is okay with stealing Marauder" commented the Punisher dryly as he began emptying cans of gasoline over what the two had left to be burned.

All that was left to check were the large shipping containers at the back. "My mission is to protect good guys; nothing says I can't make a living off of it at the bad guy's expense" answered the Pilot with a shrug. "You going to 'Punish' me for stealing or something?"

Castle shook his head, "Nah, just curious. I would've pegged you for being on the straight and narrow, ya' know? You won't think your new friends on the force will mind?" asked the Marine as Matt tried the lock on the containers.

"The agreement was that I was recognized as part of the Militia SRS, meaning I'm operating under SRS rules, not theirs" replied the Pilot as he took out his axe and smashed it into the chain. "Militia was once a ragtag group, only recently got really organized. Even still, making use of 'appropriated' enemy assets is fair game."

"Even if it's for your own gain?" challenged Frank. "You're not answering for your actions to your superiors and you're using them to justify your selfishness" continued the Punisher as Cooper turned to look at him but said nothing. "No, I won't punish you, not because your actions are justified, but because you aren't doing any harm, even if I don't like them."

Matt nodded at the rebuke, his morality was on a slippery slope, even if he never intended to be a paragon of righteousness it bothered him. "The money isn't what motivates me Frank, at least not more than doing the right thing. I said there wasn't just one reason I do this, and that's true. I do this because I love being a Pilot first and foremost. Nothing could persuade me to give that up, but directly after that is upholding the mission, protecting the innocent by destroying the enemy and his ability to cause harm. Third is for those around me, making sure those that walk into hell get to go home at the end of the day" explained Cooper, raising a finger as he listed off each reason. "If all I cared about was money then I would be a gun for hire, working for these guys instead of fighting them."

Frank grunted his agreement, seeming placated somewhat at the answer. "That's good kid, that's good. You got a good head on your shoulders, as long as you keep your eyes on the prize then you do what you got to do, just be careful you don't become what you're trying to stop."

Matthew threw open the latch on the container after removing the destroyed chain and padlock, "you say that, but most of this is going to the shelter these assholes shot up" said the Pilot as the door swung open. "Woah" he said in shock as he stared at the contents of the container.

The Pilot stepped inside as the Punisher had a look, letting out an appreciative whistle while Cooper took a closer look. Both sides were lined with lockers filled with sleek white guns that looked unlike anything the SRS Pilot had ever seen. Breaking open one of the lockers, Matt took one of the futuristic looking weapons in hand, it was about the length of the CAR SMG he liked, with an integrated optic on top. Stamped on the side of the spotless white furniture was a stylized 'S' logo, but no other identifying markings. "You recognize these?" asked the Pilot as he tossed the weapon to the Punisher.

The Marine got a feel for it and shouldered it experimentally as he felt how pointable the compact gun was before shaking his head. "Ain't seen nothing like it. Looks more like something you'd use" jabbed the Punisher, "more like a fancy toy than an actual gun." Cooper ignored him as the Marine messed with the controls, resulting in a piece dropping from the back of the gun.

Matthew picked up a second gun and replicated the act, inspecting the offending component as well as the slot it went into. "Holy shit, this is an energy weapon" he said in stunned realization. "Heat buildup would be immense and sustained accuracy would be a crapshoot, but god help anyone you hit" explained the Marauder as he thought back to his most similar weapon, the L-STAR. "We probably also want to get the fuck outta dodge, you don't want to be breathing the fumes those power cells will let off" he advised as he tossed down the weapon and exited the container.

Making a quick check of the other container to find more of the odd weapons, Black Cat and Marauder then gathered their loot. Frank, meanwhile, started tossing his incendiaries, the remaining contraband soon began being consumed by the flames. None of the three wanted to stick around as the fire spread and headed back out in the light rain and predawn glow covering the city.

The trio soon reached Frank's Battle Van, "you two need a lift?" asked the Marine, getting a shake of the head in return as he grunted and tried to shut the door, only for an exo enhanced hand to reach out and stop it.

Castle shot the Pilot an unamused look before quirking an eyebrow at the piece of paper being offered to him. "In case you need to contact us, it's my number. Don't worry about security, the line's encrypted and damn near untraceable" assured the Marauder as the Marine accepted the paper and stuffed it in a pocket.

With a pair of exchanged nods, the agreement was settled, neither soldier needing more than that to trust the other would do what was asked of them. Shutting the door and giving the armored van a smack, the couple backed away and the van drove off. "Hell of a night" remarked Cooper dryly as they began heading towards the Viper.

* * *

"Do you _have _to go so soon?" pouted Felicia from the bed, the covers barely concealing her nude body. It was Monday, start of a new week, and, officially, the start of the agreement between the City of New York and the Special Recon Squadron's Marauder Corps. As a result, Cooper had to report to his opposite number at the NYPD for introductions and other nebulous tasks. "We have time for another round" cooed the seductress.

He finished securing his body armor and turned to his lover with a satisfied smirk, "You said that before the last one darlin" he drawled without a hint of disapproval in his tone. "And after last night I'm surprised even _you _have it in you" he added with a cocky grin. Of course, he would never admit that he didn't have it in him either, but that was one of the things that he had come to appreciate about Felicia Hardy.

Smirking back, the platinum haired vixen slowly removed the comforter and extracted herself from the bed. Cooper had to suppress a groan as he watched her slink up to him, biting her lip as she looked up at him with her sparkling eyes and took his hand in hers. "Are you really going to say no…" she purred as she twirled around, letting him look her over "…to this?"

If he was being honest, it was fifty-fifty in his mind, but the mental coin flip came up heads, justifying itself by saying he'd get tail later. "No" he replied as he gave her a loving kiss before pulling back just as quickly, "which is why I'll be back for it later" he assured. With a grin he reached down and grabbed a handful of rear, "all of it."

Hardy pouted but didn't object as she did the same to him before returning to the bed and crossing her legs. The Marauder slung a CAR over his shoulder, put a black hard case into a satchel placed across his back, and slipped his helmet over his head. "Hurry back" called Hardy as he left the thief and made his way to the patio, leaping off and activating his cloak so as to leave unseen.

The Pilot was one of few people who could claim to enjoy commuting, running along the walls of the concrete jungle fifteen stories up. Cooper was effortlessly bouncing back and forth and slingshotting himself around corners with the grapple. He was able to Stim and slide across rooftops in a blur as the stimulant drugs were injected into his body before being purged just as quickly, long stretches of use would have permeant side effects.

A call came in and he accepted it, the no nonsense voice of Captain Watanabe filled his helmet. _"Where are you?"_ she said without preamble, clearly annoyed with his tardiness.

"Good morning to you too Captain" responded the Marauder wryly, getting a slight huff of irritation back. "I am as human as you, meaning I hate Mondays as much as the next guy" deadpanned the Pilot as he neared his destination.

"_That doesn't change the fact that you're late, nor does it matter to the small mob of reporters outside my precinct"_ she said tersely as the other root of her current problems was revealed to Cooper. The pilot winced at that mental picture as the cop continued, _"and if you could make it past them without the need to fill out more paperwork, I might be able to forget you were late."_

Matthew chuckled at the challenge, "You're on Captain, roof or window?" he asked as he came within sight of his destination and quickly decided Yuri had a knack for understatement considering the entire sidewalk was stuffed with reporters. "Got a preference?"

"_Come again?"_ said the officer, clearly confused and slightly concerned.

"How do you want me to make my entrance, after the Bugle and City Hall I sure as shit aint going through the front doors" he drawled calmly, "so roof or window?"

"_Roof I guess"_ replied Watanabe after a pause and muttered 'why me?' before she took a breath. _"But why are you asking me?"_

"Because" began Cooper as he turned away from the edge of the building and moved to the center of the roof so he could get a running start, "you can either open the door or have me kick it in, figured you deserved that choice" he said mirthfully before cutting the line.

Starting out, his pace was slow, but the Marauder soon picked up speed until he was at a full sprint and fast approaching the edge of the roof. A few paces out was when he activated his cloak and planted his right foot, jumping and falling well short. Without a hint of hesitation, the Pilot raised and fired his grapple, his direction soon reversing as he shot towards the top of the precinct.

Just as it looked like he might slam face first into the building, the jump kit fired and threw him directly upwards, the grapple creaking in protest to the move. The hook held fast however, the slingshot move sending him up and over the edge of the building before the line disconnected and the Marauder came down on the roof in a baseball slide on his left thigh, feet out ahead and straight at the door that led further into the station.

He was still moving at a good clip, but not enough to dent the door, probably, and he would stop and wait to be let in. That was the plan, but that quickly fell through as the door swung open to reveal an irate Yuri who quickly locked eyes on the Pilot. There was barely a split second before the two collided, Matt taking her feet out from under her before he planted his boots and shot up. More by luck than judgement, Cooper was able to grab one of her flailing arms and prevent her from hitting the floor, quickly pulling the woman back to her feet as she brushed herself off. "Admittedly, not my best entrance" said the Pilot with an unseen grin under his helmet.

"No" said the Captain as she moved past the Pilot and closed the door, relocking it before turning back to the stairs, "it wasn't." The SRS Pilot chuckled a bit as he followed the woman down the stairs in what became a test of patience as he was confined to a normal human pace. Much to Matt's relief, Yuri only took him down four flights of stairs before making for the door, opening it to reveal the inner workings of the station.

Activity came to a halt as every cop in every office like cubicle turned to the door and saw the Captain stride in with the formidable looking Marauder armed to the teeth and in tow. "Whatever y'all are all lookin' at" drawled the Texan as he made an exaggerated show of looking back over his shoulder, "must be really interestin'."

"Then there's no way in hell they're looking at you" said Watanabe without missing a beat and just loud enough for the whole room to hear her. The other police officers laughed heartily at the joke along with the Pilot as the corner of Watanabe's mouth quirked upward. "Alright everyone, back to work" she said before she got moving, her words spurring everyone back to action.

Cooper soon followed, taking the moment of embarrassment in stride, "first Spider-Man and now you, I swear everyone in this city thinks they're a goddamn comedian" grumbled the Pilot good naturedly. He kept his head on the swivel, visor turning to the numerous men and women staring at him, some matched his gaze and others looked away from the vigilante. "Though that was better than _anything_ I've heard from the webhead" conceded the Marauder as Yuri opened the door to her new corner office.

Shutting the door behind them, she turned to look at the Pilot and shook her head. "With that being such a low bar to clear I'm not sure to take that as a compliment or an insult" mused the Captain dryly. Matt gave a bark of laughter as he leaned his back against the doorframe and crossed his arms casually. Looking back at his liaison, it was clear she had flipped the switch back to hardnosed Police Captain, all traces of levity were gone as she picked up a trio of files from her desk. "Before we get started, you're going to tell me why you asked for me specifically" she said, her tone brokering no argument.

"Fair enough" conceded Cooper with a shrug as he let out a breath. "Combination of factors, you're a good cop in my eyes, a known quantity like I already told you. There's a familiarity between us that should make this less awkward, and I trust your judgement" he finished before looking back to the oriental woman, who quirked an eyebrow.

"Judgement?" she questioned.

The Marauder nodded, "I love what I do, being a Pilot. Trouble is I probably love it a little _too_ much, if I was left purely to my own devices, I'd be a bit too quick to pick a fight" he admitted with only a hint of shame. "I'm hoping that you'll be able to give me some direction, put me where I can do the most good. Of course, that counts on you knowing where that is, but like I said, I trust your judgement."

There was a silence as Yuri nodded and opened the first file, "I can work with that, probably should have guessed it with you being a solider." Matt nodded, not too sure of what to think that his stretching of the truth was taking so well. Any thoughts were pushed aside as the Captain was keen to get down to business. "Over the weekend there was a serious arson case, we don't have many leads, but evidence suggests the warehouse was assaulted before it burned, the attackers were well armed and trained. I need you to be ready…"

The Captain was cut off by the sound of laughter emanating from the Marauder, "No need, that was my handywork" he revealed simply, "at least, most of it was" he corrected. Yuri now focused fully on him and gave a grunt that clearly said 'explain' and the Pilot obliged. "I tracked down that van that fled FEAST to the area. Cat and I had a look, it turns out White Eye has more problems than just us…" he said before explaining what his new ally had told him about Orange and the Market.

Yuri simply listened as he described the raid in no great detail before finishing by saying "…we searched the area and appropriated cash and other valuable assets before denying the remaining contraband and weapons with incendiaries, _a lot _of incendiaries."

The cop nodded as she simply took it all in, the gears turning in her head as she lined up what he told him with what she already knew about the case. Finally, she put the files aside and looked back at the renegade Pilot, "who exactly is this source of yours again?"

Matthew inhaled sharply before biting the inevitable bullet, "Frank Castle" he said simply before holding up a hand to stop whatever response was brewing inside Yuri, "Who did nothing I wouldn't have and has agreed to work with me on this. I did look up what he's done, and I wouldn't do the same. _**But**_ the alternative is sending cops against Spec Ops, and there's less chance of me doing that."

There was a tense silence in the office as the Captain tapped her heal, "damn it" she cursed, "I guess you're right, but you **will **keep me in the loop on this" she stated firmly. Matthew nodded; he had no intention of doing anything else. "Good" she said with a sigh, "do you trust him?"

"I do" answered the vigilante instantly. "He's lost everything, just like me. I don't agree with his methods, but I understand them. Where you and I see shades of grey all the Punisher deals with is black and white, keeps things simple." There was a slight pause as Cooper remembered mulling over the same predicament when he started, and if it wasn't for Peter Parker then he may have very well ended up operating like the Punisher. "Cat also checked with some of her sources, everyone she talked to came back with varying degrees of confirmation, depending on how much they talked at all."

"Damn" muttered Watanabe as she began to take a cigarette out before remembering she was inside and thinking better of it. "This is one way to start the week, a Spook led black market dealer moving into New York and the Punisher coming out of hiding" she summed up with a shake of her head. "Send me the info you have when you can, as far as I'm concerned these guys are the kind of thing I'd send to Spider-Man or you anyway" she admitted.

After that the two talked about what to expect from the odd partnership, though it was all more speculation than anything. The whole of the NYPD had been told if they had something that might warrant the Marauder's involvement then they should send it to Yuri, and the woman had spent the whole weekend going over the requests.

The requests for him to patrol areas were all shot down due to the time and effort it took to maintain his equipment that meant neither Cooper nor Watanabe were willing to potentially waste valuable uptime. Both agreed that the Marauder was best when living up to his namesake, striking something with speed and force. Some did stand out, mainly cases with cops working undercover in various criminal outfits, meaning all that was left was the takedown.

With replies sent, the meeting was nearing the 45-minute mark and its conclusion when the Marauder removed the satchel he was carrying. "One last thing, I got you something" said the SRS Pilot as he set the satchel down on her desk. "So hopefully the next time you shoot someone they'll actually feel it."

He stepped back and gestured for the Cop to take a peek. With a bit of hesitation, Yuri finally opened the bag and pulled out the black hardcase before giving the Marauder a look he couldn't quite decipher before spinning the case to face her and undoing the latches. Her eyes widened as she looked at what was sitting inside the padded case. "Do I want to know where you got this?" she said as she ran her hand over the item.

"Nope" said Cooper, "though I checked, you couldn't find out if you tried" said Matthew as Yuri picked up the gun and got a feel for its weight. "Chiappa Rhino revolver in .357 magnum, 5-inch barrel, blue steel finish, and six shots, more than enough to kill anything that moves. Hell, I even got one for myself." Cooper had indeed bought two of the Italian wheel guns from one of Felicia's contacts he liked the gun so much. Internally and externally it wasn't that different from the B3 Wingman revolver, though the B3 fired .454 caliber slugs.

Yuri gave the hand cannon a once over, aiming down the sights and swinging the hexagonal cylinder out to the side, "it's lighter than I thought" admitted the Cop with a bit of surprise as she moved to the two boxes of ammo Cooper gave her as well, one was .357 magnum, the other .38 special. "My father carried a .38, said it was sweet to shoot, but useless to shoot at someone" she said before chucking the box of .38 in a drawer to be forgotten before holding up the magnum rounds. "These however, these I like" she said with a grin.

Matthew smiled behind the visor, "I wish all women were as easy to shop for as you Captain" he deadpanned, getting a bark of laughter in return.

* * *

Peter smoothed his hair as he fixed his lab coat on the way into the lab of Octavius Industries, it was the start of Wednesday, the halfway point of the week. That also meant he had spent last night with the Marauder on patrol, the two having come to a mutual understanding about how they operated and there was respect between them. Parker accepted just how formidable Cooper was and, in some ways, respected how he put the mission ahead of everything else. The SRS Titan Jockey was willing to give up a piece of himself to do what he felt was right, even if Peter didn't agree with the lengths he was willing to go.

At the same time, if even his methods were questionable, Matthew's goal was not, which was why he had asked the Pilot for a favor. Octavius and Parker had been exploring possibilities for developing an improved type of prosthetic. His boss had friends at Oscorp and one of them had mentioned that an off the record part of the much-publicized agreement between the Marauder and Osborn included Oscorp receiving samples of the Pilot's medical technology. Peter was surprised to hear that the Militia Soldier had given up anything he had to be reverse engineered.

Peter knew that his employer had some animosity towards Osborn and that soon extended to the Marauder when he got wind of this deal. Using the fact that his ex was the one who interviewed the vigilante, he told Dr. Octavius he would try to reach out to the Marauder and see if he would be willing to help them with this project.

"Parker, you're late" said Octavius flatly, the kid from Queens wincing slightly at the mild rebuke. "No matter, were you able to call the Marauder? What did he have to say?"

Otto's optimism was infectious if Cooper's opinion of Parker was anything to go by, though Spider-Man had yet to replicate the infectious part and give some to his fellow vigilante. "I did call him, and we talked, briefly" said Peter as he checked his station to make sure everything was as he left it before continuing. "He seemed receptive to the idea, though he's hard to read" admitted Peter, "but he did promise to come by this morning, he wanted to speak face to face before coming to a decision."

The elder scientists face cycled through several emotions and questions before one finally managed to separate itself from the dozen others flying around in his head and work its way to his mouth. "He's coming _here_? When?" asked Octavius frantically as he looked at the messy space. Materials and tools covered every bench, and any free space on the walls was packed with whiteboards and drawings with sketches and ideas. It was only slightly cleaner that Peter's apartment.

A firm knock on the front door of the work area caused both men to swing their heads to the source before Otto looked at Peter. "Now it seems" said the younger main sheepishly.

"Alright, well then" said Octavius as he straightened his lab coat and fixed his turtleneck shirt, "let's introduce ourselves, shall we?" said the Doctor as he led his protégé to the door. Otto led Peter to the entrance and opened the door to reveal the Marauder, dressed in full combat gear and holding a long rifle in his hands. The sight was far from new, but the Wallcrawler reflexively checked his wrists to make sure his webshooters were still in place, just in case.

The glowing blue x-shaped visor turned to regard them both in turn before the SRS Pilot addressed Otto, "Doctor Octavius?" he asked in his filtered tones. Otto nodded and the vigilante shifted the rifle to his left hand and extended his right. "Pleasure to meet you Doc, you can call me Marauder or Pilot, either works" said the gunfighter as the two shook hands. The visor then turned to stare down Peter, who stiffened noticeably, "that must mean you're Mr. Parker, nice to meet in person" said the Marauder as Peter kept a straight face and shook the offered hand.

The two scientists then spent the next hour going over everything Peter and Otto had been working on. Every theory, every bit of research, every concept the two had concocted was presented while the Pilot merely listened and nodded. Peter knew that most of the stuff went well over Cooper's head and the chances of his friend outright refusing them were practically nil, but nonetheless did his part of the explaining.

"…Our facilities may not be on the level of Oscorp but rest assured that we can overcome that" said Octavius, addressing the elephant in the room, or rather, that was the room. "If you help then we could use that to secure the funds needed to upgrade our facilities and take advantage of the donation" assured Otto.

But the Marauder held up a gloved hand to cut off the scientist. "Calm down Doc, the way I see it, the dynamics of your profession are much different than mine. In mine, manpower is expendable. Facilities and equipment is the key that determines who is successful and who is not." Both men nodded, with Peter having heard similar thinking before as the Pilot continued. "Yours, however, is the opposite. Quality minds are the important part. As for this place, I like it. Seems like the sorta shop where actual work gets done, what's that phrase y'all have?" he said as he snapped his gloved fingers after a second, "Where the rubber meets the road, it reminds me of home" he mused wistfully.

Peter internally questioned which 'home' that his friend was referring to. The cluttered workspace did share an atmosphere with the Texans own workshop that was his home, but it could have been Texas or the Frontier, Peter wasn't sure. "Oscorp was impressive, no doubt, but I couldn't shake the feeling that…" he began only for the sentence to falter. After a moment he simply said, "I didn't like it."

Peter's feelings towards Oscorp were understandably…mixed was probably the best word. He was more aware than anyone of the morally grey experiments conducted within, hell, he was the result of one gone wrong. At the same time, they made incredible advancements that even Parker would admit usually outweighed the screwups, it was another question to ask the Marauder when he saw him next.

The helmet then swiveled to find the one vaguely open table and the vigilante made a beeline for it, taking the bag off his shoulder and putting it down on the table before unzipping it to reveal the contents. "Hopefully this will be enough" said the filtered voice as he pulled out a piece of what Peter recognized as the exoskeleton he wore, mainly the strip along his back and the left arm. "The rest of this exo was damaged and I was just hanging onto this for parts, I think y'all will put it to better use though" said the Pilot as he passed the exo to Octavius.

"Incredible" breathed Otto as he examined the piece, "so this is made to exactly replicate the human range of motion? Powered as well, I assume, the source of your enhanced strength?" asked the scientist, getting a nod in reply.

The next item was a new one to Peter, a glowing green cylinder about the size of a D battery. "Power cell, since I'd link that into my jump kit to power it and you don't have that option, I jury rigged an alternative" he said simply as he set the power cell down. "But this…this is the most important piece" he said as Parkers mouth dropped open at the item held in the Marauder's hands.

It was the helmet he had used during Cinderblock and when they fought, the one he wore on Typhon. Similar to his current helmet but with different logos on it and looked like it had been through hell. Scratched and dented, the paint was faded in places and worn off completely in others. "This is my old helmet, it contains the hardware to complete the neural link with the pilot that enables the exo to work" explained the Marauder as Otto reached for the helmet, only for it to be pulled closer to the vigilante. "Unlike everything else, this has _serious_ sentimental value. I want this back just like this and I do eventually want it back. You have free reign with everything else, but this…I'm sorry."

With those words he handed the helmet to Octavius who looked into the dimmed visor and breathing apparatus before spinning it around and running his hands over the neural control node at the base of the protective headgear. "What are we allowed to do with it exactly?"

"Anything, so long as you can undo it. If you want to take it apart that's fine, just put it back together" said the Pilot before pulling the last items from the bag. "I also dug these out to help with that. They still make printed manuals in the future if you can believe it" said the Pilot wryly as he set the inch-thick volumes down.

"That is very generous, thank you" said Otto genuinely as he passed the helmet to Parker, who was almost tempted to put it on just to see why Cooper enjoyed it so much. "I promise that I won't let you down, we'll make the most of this. When we make it big, I'll be sure to give you a share" joked Octavius with one of the largest smiles Peter had ever seen on his face.

The Pilot chuckled a bit, "don't worry about that Doc, I'd prefer if you didn't have to advertise the fact you have this in order to get funding. I'll lean on Osborn and try to get a grant thrown your way" said the Marauder as he noticed the sour expression. "I don't want to make a habit of doing stuff like this, and I don't trust people to leave you two be, so I want to keep this low key" said the Marauder as the glowing visor swung to Peter.

After a moment, Parker understood, it was why he kept his alter ego a secret. He also knew that Cooper was only going along with it because Spider-Man would be here to watch over his stuff and protect it should someone find out about this. "You can trust us" assured the young scientist.

The Marauder nodded "I really hope so" murmured the Pilot, only Peter realized that those words weren't filtered, and Otto didn't react, only his enhanced hearing allowed him to hear that. "Don't worry about paying me back, just, if the worst happens and I need one of your products, bump me to the front of the queue, okay?" he asked with some mirth, but getting two serious nods in return. "Thank you, gentlemen. If you need anything else, Mr. Parker, contact me the same way" he said firmly with the filter back on as he stuffed the empty bag behind his chestplate. "Doctor Octavius, Mr. Parker, good luck" he said with a nod before he left the way he came.

"Parker" said Otto in awe as he watched the Marauder leave before looking to his protégé and the arrayed items left behind by the vigilante, "we have work to do."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Assault Rifle: R-201 Special Operations Assault Rifle (SOAR)_

_If pilots don't know what gun to take on a mission, then chances are the R-201 SOAR will get the job done. This carbine length assault rifle is standard issue for grunts of the IMC and Pilots on both sides for its accuracy, reliability, compact size, and low weight. Able to collapse in a way the older Hemlock and G2 rifles can't capable of fully automatic fire, and using a lightweight, polymer cased 8.19mm round means the R series is better used with a specialized weapon like a sniper rifle or grenadier weapon, as it doesn't have any inherent weaknesses to begin with. _

_While there are some who prefer the older and bulkier R-101C, I find the -201 to be more pointable and the upgraded internal CPU is a godsend, meaning the reticle of the optics considers factors such as barrel and ammunition temperature. While the weapon itself is somewhat more fragile than others, it's a tradeoff I'm willing to make. _

_And that 8.19 mm round is fantastic, polymer cased for lighter weight, and a heavier round grants better energy retention over distance, despite a lower initial velocity to start with. And that is the base round, when using lethal ammo, the load I prefer is a +P Armor Piercing 'green tip' with a tungsten core. The +P identifies it as a magnum load with extra powder helping out the weak velocity. That means I have to run the gun at a lower cyclic rate, and it chews up recoil buffers about 15% faster, but even with that the SOAR is the single best assault rifle on Earth right now._

* * *

**Closing notes: That will do it, and this is the longest chapter I've posted to date but there is a lot of stuff here. Of course, as you can guess, 'Sandman' is Frank Castle. Funny thing, I hinted at his appearance as far back as the opening authors note of the first chapter where I say the story will include a Marine, and it is none other than Marvels most famous Devil Dog. Though in another way, the title befits the first appearance of Otto Octavius, one of Spider-Man's most famous villains. **

**The story is really about to pick up from here until the conclusion of this arc which will be around chapter 22 or so. Spider-Man will admittedly be playing less of a role for a while, though that might change. After next chapter I want you all to let me know how Frank and Matthew's interactions sound and if you enjoy them. **

**Also, Yuri's gun does exist, it is a real gun. It's a really cool Italian revolver and I feel that this .357 Magnum revolver suits Yuri, Magnum Revolvers are a symbol of authority, but also have an underlying streak of rebellion. Imposing and powerful, but with an air of refinement, a slice of order in a less civilized age. I'd recommend the youtube video titled 'Magnum Revolver.' by Ahoy, that video is why Yuri got that .357. And if you watch it to the end, you might hear a familiar phrase...**

**But that's all for now, the next chapter will be posted next Wednesday and will feature more Frank, and more Punishing. **

**When the time comes I'll have you know that I've become Indestructible.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	18. Chapter 18: Indestructible

Author's note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

First thing, remember when a few chapters ago I said that there was going to be some things that could be triggering? This is what I had in mind. I'm just going to call it a Frank Castle Advisory because its Frank Castle doing what Frank Castle does to a really bad person. I don't have regrets about including it, but figured it warranted a heads up.

Thanks to Ravens18 for betaing this chapter.

So I have taken a break from Borderlands 3 to post this this chapter which was originally titled 'Under My Wheels' and while I do need to have some Alice Cooper eventually, it didn't quite fit the tone. So while last chapter you saw my pick for a walk out song befitting the Punisher, this one is the title of a song a friend of mine picked, and I'm inclined to agree. Like I mentioned last chapter, I'm not the biggest metal head, in fact I wouldn't call myself that at all. However, Indestructible by Disturbed is pretty good, it is every bit as brutal and unrelenting as Castle is. The album that this is the title track for was released in 2008, so as you can tell I am up to date with music. In the words of Joe Bob, "Four stars, go check it out."

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 18: Indestructible**

_Another reason, another cause for me to fight_

_Another fuse uncovered, Now, for me to light_

_My dedication, to all that I've sworn to protect_

_I carry out my orders, With not a regret_

_A declaration,embedded deep under my skin_

_A permanent reminder, of how we began_

_No hesitation, When I am commanding the strike_

_You need to know, That you're in for the fight of your life_

* * *

Matthew Cooper knew once he was in New York with his full arsenal of weapons, abilities, and BT, he would go to a few interesting places and do things he had never done previously. This however, this was far beyond anything that he could have imagined. He reflexively squeezed his left arm to make sure his Sig was in place before checking to see that Mathilda was in tow. "At least you're excited enough for both of us" he grumbled good naturedly as he led the girl down the sidewalk.

It was her first time in public in nearly a year if you didn't count her escape from the NYPD, and they were doing their best to conceal her identity. Generic jeans, lumpy coat, mittens on her hands, beanie on her head, and sunglasses concealing her face, the teenager was more likely to be mistaken as a spaceman from Mars than who she actually was. The scarred girl nodded excitedly, the beam on her face warm enough to pierce the cold and distract Cooper from their destination.

Matthew wasn't thrilled about any of this, but the ends justified the means, or, at least he hoped they would. The Pilot pulled open the door to the shop and stepped inside, frowning as a well-dressed woman approached them. "Good afternoon, welcome to Zenith Jewelry" she said with a forced smile.

Hardy had mentioned the place in passing, 'The nicest stuff she ever stole' she said, it had gotten the thumbs up from 'Tilda too. So here he was, the Marauder, Special Recon Squadron Renegade Pilot and vigilante, jewelry shopping for his girlfriend. "Yeah, hi" he said as he chuckled at the absurdity of this, "I'm in the market for something, I'm taking a lovely lady to a gala next month. I was hoping to have a custom piece made" he said. The woman's expression was fixed, but Matt didn't miss how she saw him as a large commission on a lucrative sale.

"Very thoughtful" she complimented as she led the two over to the display cases filled with enough expensive items to make Cooper understand why Felicia would rob this place. "Did you have something specific in mind?"

Matt didn't answer, instead gesturing to Mathilda, who was energetic enough to bounce off walls without the aid of a Jump Kit. The teenager and the store clerk went back and forth for nearly ten minutes about the exact nature of what he wanted. Felicia had come to his place the prior evening to spend time together and the two girls discussed surprise, surprise, fashion. They started with Mathilda's designs for a new Black Cat suit and soon moved onto the dress she would be wearing. Secretly, Matt and Mathilda had conspired to get Hardy something from the beginning, and after their conversation, the girl had all the info she needed to advise Cooper properly.

After they were done, the clerk looked back to Cooper, "Yeah, what she said" he answered as the woman nodded and began removing several pieces and placed them on the counter. "These are all in the right style?" he asked, getting bemused nods from both girls at his ignorance.

After a bit more back and forth and some notes taken by the clerk, Cooper revealed the last part of the custom job. "There are a few diamonds I would like to have in there if possible" he said, pulling out a few of the stolen jewels from the Market warehouse, black diamonds. The woman examined them, and Cooper held his breath, all of them had been coated in a film like the bolt of his weapons, mainly to protect them as the coating was nearly impervious, but an offshoot was that the film itself could be tracked. He had done this to throw off his clever girlfriend, telling her he was going to use the diamonds to track market supply lines and coated them in her presence to throw her off his trail.

Thankfully, the nearly indestructible coating passed scrutiny and the woman introduced their specialist who confirmed what Matthew wanted and that he'd have it done well before the gala. That was enough to offset how much lighter his wallet was when he left.

The good news was that he survived and didn't screw up the purchase. The bad news was that he was walking through New York in broad daylight and looked like he had some money, which he did, just no longer on his person. Naturally, the thug following the two couldn't have known this, but that didn't piss the Pilot off any less. Without warning he veered into a deserted and out of the way alley and slowed down, ears perking up as he heard the sound of rapid but quiet footsteps behind them.

"Hold it right there, hands up" said the thug in an attempt at a commanding voice, Matt almost pitied the poor bastard, almost. "Take out your wallet and throw on the ground behind you or I'll gut you like a fish" growled the mugger as Cooper tried to remind himself that he was supposed to be scared.

Stealing a glance at Mathilda it seemed she was having similar problems controlling her smile muscles, she had always wanted to see him in action, and it appeared she would get her chance. Slowly, Matt brought his right hand down and reached into his coat before he felt the textured grip of the P220 and thumbed off the strap that kept the gun in the holster. Without a word he slipped the weapon free and held it out of sight. "Listen buddy" said Cooper dryly, "you ever learn the lesson 'bring a knife to a gunfight'? No? Here's why" he said before he jumped forwards to get out of range of the blade and spun around.

Just as he sprang into action, a distinct 'thwiptwhip' filled the alley as a prelude to a bone crunching impact. Before he laid eyes on the cause, Matthew already knew, but had the gun up and pointed and the spandex clad wallcrawler. "Don't bring a knife to a webfight either" quipped the vigilante as he webbed the mugger to the street, getting a moan in response.

"I had that handled you know" informed Cooper dryly as he shoved the handgun back into the shoulder holster and redid the strap before closing his coat.

"I know" responded Spider-Man chipperly, Matt shaking his head and laughing. "I wasn't saving you from this knucklehead, I was saving him from you" informed the webhead as he jumped up and stuck to a wall. "You could hurt someone with that thing you know."

Matt and Mathilda both laughed knowingly, "Yeah, yeah I could" agreed the Pilot as he holstered the weapon before cracking a mischievous grin, "you on the other hand _Toby_…" Spider-Man just shook his head in exasperation before firing a web and swinging away.

* * *

That evening, in Coopers refurbished warehouse, he was strumming his SG, the recognizable opening of CCR's Fortunate Son giving Mathilda something to work to as she worked on his new gear. Replacing his olive drab fatigues was a two-layer system, the skin tight bodysuit was something the Militia had for starfighter pilots to regulate climate and provide protection against CBRN threats. The second was her current work, an outer layer in a rich dark green that reminded Matthew of British Racing Green.

On the bench beside her were all of his pads and a second set of his Vanguard body armor and webgear. Some of it had already been detailed with white accents, the armor was still grey and the other bits were a light desert tan. The green outer layer also had sections of the same armor his chest piece did, but only one layer instead of three. Even still, Cooper wasn't turning down the added protection for his extremities. His favorite tan shemgah would remain covering his neck beneath a dark green helmet with a single white stripe bisecting it. On the left side of the helmet was a stylized version of the MCOR skull emblem. The skull had more human proportions, was looking straight out, had an eyepatch over its left eye, and its mouth was open and dripping blood in a more gruesome and stylistic interpretation of the unit logo on his chest piece. On the opposite side was a stylized writing of 'Marauder' beneath his callsign during his one Titanfall with the Militia, Renegade Nine, which was in smaller print. At the base of the back of the helmet was a favorite Latin phrase of his, 'Primo Victoria,' which translated to 'Foremost, Victory.'

The teen had been working on it nearly nonstop all week, and she was working hard to have it done was quickly as possible and Cooper was relieved to see her focus on something besides her ordeal. Mathilda had been opening up to him and Felicia with shooting and suit work for Cooper and a shared love of fashion with Hardy. "So, when are you going to go back after that fucker" she said far too calmly considering the subject and language she used.

Cooper stopped playing and looked up to see Mathilda hadn't stopped concentrating on the suit when she spoke. He understood why she wanted to get back at them so badly, every scar on her body was enough reason for her to, and even now that she was out of their grasp, their mere presence confined her to the warehouse or with the Marauder. The girl hadn't spoken about home or family, but it seemed that she was deliberately avoiding the subjects. "As soon as I have something on them. Frank will call, don't worry about that, and when he does…well, he was an even more well-deserved reputation for taking no prisoners than I do."

That assurance placated Mathilda somewhat, and Matthew felt a pang of sadness as he began playing the guitar again. If his own harrowing experience on Typhon was anything to go by, what happened to the girl would never leave her, she was changed forever. Cooper wasn't a psychiatrist, and he didn't know one, but for her sake he wish he did. An hour or two later, he got a text on his phone that simply had an address and time.

The Pilot couldn't suppress the evil grin or slight surge of adrenaline as he set the guitar aside and cracked his neck, "Go time."

* * *

Castle was happy to see his backup wasn't skimping on firepower, the vigilante walked out from behind one of the many gravestones with a rifle slung across his back and a weapon he had explained to be a belt fed, fully automatic, micro missile launcher in his hands. The grizzled Marine actually chuckled at that description and the mental picture that came with it. "You come alone?" asked Castle as he searched for signs of the feline burglar. The pilot nodded but offered no further explanation as he looked at the graves they were standing over.

His wife and children.

The Marauder kneeled in front of the markers and placed a hand on Maria's, "For us, the storm has passed... it is over. But let us never forget those who faced the howling dark and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure; sacrifice, and unshakable conviction. They emboldened all of us, and they shall not be forgotten" said the vigilante with conviction that the bit of shakiness in his voice did nothing to undermine. He stood up and stepped back next to Frank, still staring at the gravestones. "Does it ever get easier?"

Frank had read his story, the one he told the Daily Bugle, it sounded incredible to be sure, but Frank had seen the young soldier do incredible things. "No" he said gruffly, trying to keep the memories at bay, he needed to focus. "No, it doesn't."

The Marauder nodded solemnly, "Damn, I miss 'em. Hope they're doing okay" he said to nobody in particular as he stared up into the night sky.

The Punisher clapped a hand down on his shoulder, "They're doing fine kid" assured Frank, the glowing visor swinging around to look at Castle. "Trust me" he said as the Marauder nodded and looked back to the gravestones before checking his strange weapon.

"I hope I didn't get all dressed up for nuthin'" he drawled, "You have a target?" Castle grunted and turned away, leading the Marauder through the cemetery towards his Battle Van.

"Sure do, hop in and I'll explain on the way" he ordered curtly, the vigilante jumping clear over the van with the aid of his jet pack thing and getting in the passenger seat, though it was clear he wasn't exactly comfortable. He placed his 'Sidewinder' in the footwell and held a blocky assault rifle in his lap as Frank began to drive. "Orange has a guy here in Manhattan he's been using to set up his shell companies" explained the Punisher. "Here's the kicker, Micro found out that he does more than that, he handles his personal shit too. Taxes, investments, even his goddamn retirement fund is handled by this guy" finished the Marine in his gravelly tones.

"Meaning this guy has a name to go with the fucked-up face" replied the Renegade Pilot quickly. Frank had to admit, the kid was sharp. "What's our play old man? We going to his office to have a look through his files? Or are you betting he'd keep Orange's shit off the books?" asked the Marauder as if reading the Marine's mind.

Castle chuckled as he came to a stop sign and waited for an opening in traffic before turning onto the road to their destination. "You're pretty smart kid, and here I was thinking the pretty lady was the one with all the brains" said the Punisher dryly, getting a chuckle from his passenger.

"You're not entirely wrong, Cat's as cunning as, well, a cat. The difference is that I prefer a more direct approach, different kinda brains" countered the Marauder with a drawl in his filtered voice. "Personally, I'd rather keep things simple, point and shoot. I didn't get through Typhon by outsmarting the IMC, I just kept moving and shooting till I was the last one standing."

He sounded like a lot of young Marines Frank had met over his career that had seen combat. They either hated it or loved it, Frank was one of the latter and it was easy for him to tell that the Marauder was as well. "This is as far as the van goes kid" said Castle as he pulled it off the main freeway and onto a wooded side road. Frank slipped out of the drivers seat and went into the back, slipping off his coat and putting on his skull adorned armored vest. "Our man is Theodore Robinson, rich pompous asshole who lives in one of the mansions here" explained the Punisher as he strapped the Kevlar into place and pulled his jacket back over it.

"Lots of civilians" noted the Marauder as he inspected his weapons. "Looks like they have private security too, they catch wind of either of us and this could get real exciting real quick." Frank didn't reply, he had made the same mental notes when Micro had come to him with this info and none of that concerned him. "Good news is that his house backs up to the wall, should be able to scale that and be right in his backyard."

"Why do you think I called you?" asked Frank humorlessly as he inserted a 20-round magazine into a silenced MP7A1 before placing the PDW into a large thigh holster. With that, the two men got out of the Battle Van and sprinted across the road and crept up to the wall. They followed the wall around the neighborhood until they reached their destination. "Go, I'll cover you" whispered Frank as he turned to keep a lookout in case any of the roaming patrols the two had skirted made their rounds to this spot.

The Marauder placed his rifle on his back alongside the Sidewinder before pulling a small tomahawk from the clip on his left thigh before taking a running start at the wall. He leapt up, kit flaring as he scampered up and swung the axe, using the reverse end hold the top of the wall and pull himself up. Crouching on top of the 15-foot barrier, the Pilot scanned the area before signaling Castle that it was his turn. The Punisher replicated the move, running at the wall as his partner leaned down and extended a gloved hand.

Frank planted the toe of his combat boot in the concrete and reached up to grab the hand of the Marauder who twisted to swing Frank up and pull him closer to the lip. "Lot easier…doing this…with Cat" muttered the Marauder as he caught his breath while Frank looked at the house. The two men looked at the lavish backyard complete with pool and several small but well-furnished covered areas.

Reaching into his belt, the Marauder pulled a small knife from its sheath before slinging the kunai shaped blade into the yard. Frank watched the knife slice through the air before falling into some bushes near the house. "Two of them inside, coming this way. Man and a woman if I had to guess" said the Marauder. The glowing visor then turned to look at Castle, regarding the quirked eyebrow before he explained. "Pulse blade, subsonic sonar pulse that is disrupted by human bioelectricty, highlighting the source, shows me an outline on the HUD" he explained simply, like such a device was standard issue. Hell, it probably was for him.

"Could've used something like that in the sandbox" muttered Frank, getting a small chuckle back as the prediction came true. Robinson came out in dress slacks and shirt, but it was the woman that caught both of their eyes. The petite Asian woman was wearing a barely there set of lace underwear with a leash around her neck as Robinson led her to a spot under one of the roofs. "High dollar escort. Robinson paid for one for the evening, if the order he put in is accurate, he should take care of the witness for us" said Frank simply.

Micro had cracked the escort services server to find the order, that was how Frank knew where the man would be and when. "Fair enough" said the Marauder simply as the woman was handcuffed to the overhang, blindfolded, gagged, and had earmuffs placed on her head. The whole process took too damn long for Frank's liking, the Punisher constantly checking over his shoulder for the guards who should have been patrolling. Finally, the escort was restrained and unable to see or hear what was going on around her, nor able to call for help. "Maybe it's a good thing Cat isn't here; she'd probably be taking notes" deadpanned the Marauder.

Frank ignored him as the two dropped down off the wall and moved through the shadows and behind the concealment offered by the huts, furniture, and rock effects as they neared their target. Every so often they could hear the muffled cries of the woman or the impact of leather on skin, "I'll get close" said the Marauder, "ten second count, then get his attention." Before Frank could ask what he meant, the fully armored Pilot disappeared before his eyes.

Looking around frantically, Castle saw a distortion in the air that moved with poise and purpose towards the man as he circled the restrained escort. Standing to his full height, Castle unzipped his jacket and walked out into the open. "You're into some kinky shit asshole" he called out, causing Robinson to turn around, a look of pure bewilderment on his face.

But before a word could escape his gaping mouth, Castle saw the Marauder appear behind him and throw a trio of punches, the first two slammed into the man's kidneys, causing him to turn before a right cross put him on the floor, groaning. Moving swiftly, the Marauder picked up the unconscious man and threw him over his shoulder while Frank opened the back door into the house and went inside, leaving the escort struggling against the restraints.

* * *

Matthew watched Castle restrain the man to a chair with sets of his own fur lined cuffs that had him chuckling inside his helmet before Frank stepped back, cracking his knuckles. "How're we playing this? Good cop, bad cop?"

While Frank had been prepping the man for interrogation in his bedroom, Cooper had taken the opportunity to dig through the man's computers. Neither of the two former soldiers liked what was found. There were several large spreadsheets detailing money trails, though they had no way of knowing which one was the one they wanted. More disturbing was the unsettling child pornography that Cooper could have very happily lived without seeing or knowing it existed to begin with. Most disturbing was an email chain detailing part of his payment was an item from the Market.

Mathilda.

Cooper didn't believe that torture was the best way to extract information, that hadn't changed. What did change was the belief that this man deserved to suffer."I prefer bad cop, worse cop" deadpanned the Marine before stepping forwards and swinging. The punch connected solidly but didn't have the Punisher's full force behind it. The bald black man's eyes slowly opened before widening in recognition as he looked at the two vigilantes. "Yeah, that's right asshole" growled Frank as he made sure Robinson got a good look at him. "You pissed off the wrong people, us."

"We're only going to ask one question" said Cooper as he pulled out a cell phone and thumbed through it until a photo of White Eye was staring back at him. The Pilot turned the phone around, "What is this man's name?" asked the Pilot with cold simplicity.

Robinson flinched at the image, trying again to break free from his restraints. "My clients pay for confidentiality. Cut the tough guy act and let me go, I might not even press charges" he said smugly.

"Bit long for a name, don't ya think?" asked Matt as he charged up the arc knuckles and rammed his fist into Theodore's stomach, knocking the wind out of him before the arc discharge caused his body to convulse for two seconds as he eventually screamed through grit teeth and the Marauder pulled his balled fist back. "Let's try this again" said Matthew as he pulled out his axe and used it to tilt the man's chin up so he was looking at the two vigilantes. "Who. Is. This?"

Still defiant, the money mover spit at Cooper, who worked his jaw inside his helmet. "Fuck. You" he said, Matt running the razor-sharp blade of the axe head along the underside of his jaw. A hairline slice appeared in its wake, causing a small steam of blood to fall onto the man's crotch.

Matthew then felt a hand on his shoulder, "Here kid" said the Punisher, holding out his hand and gesturing to the axe, "let me have a crack at 'em" finished Frank without any discernable emotion. Cooper nodded and handed him the weapon before stepping back. The Marine got a feel for the weight of the axe before flipping it around and abruptly slamming it down, driving the pick through the pedos hand and clean into the wood of the chair before yanking it free. Both ignored the pained scream from Robinson as he looked at the gaping hole in his hand with wide eyes. Castle then spun the axe around, so the grip was extended towards Matt. "That's good steel" he complimented as Cooper took the weapon back and Frank drew his K-Bar, "but I prefer this."

The combat knife was driven into Robinson's thigh before Frank sliced through it and freed the knife, the inch-deep gash pouring blood all over the chair. "FUCK" bellowed Theodore in pain before Frank silenced him with a punch. The man hung his head, spitting out a tooth as more blood trickled from the corner of his mouth before he looked back up. Two more blows came down instantly, the man's head snapping to his each of his shoulders. "Rawl….ugh…" moaned the wounded man pain.

The Pilot's gloved hand was on his throat in an instant. "What was that?" Growled Cooper as he squeezed, threatening to crush the man's windpipe in an instant. The man tried to answer through wheezing breaths before Cooper let go and stepped back.

"Rawlin…huh…Rawlins. Bill…Rawlins" said the battered money launderer, every syllable a struggle as BT was already hard at work going through the files Cooper had already pulled and displaying anything with that name on it. The files all detailed lots of money, off the record, everything financial he had done, business or otherwise. Everything seemed to match up, they had their man.

Frank turned to look at him, "We good?" asked the Marine gruffly. Matthew simply gave a curt nod before the Marine pulled out his MP7 and put an armor piercing round between the man's eyes.

_"Pilot Cooper"_ said BT suddenly, causing Matt's head to snap up as Frank looked for the bullet that had gone clean out the back of Theodore's skull. _"Private Security has triggered its alarm; unknown hostiles have breached the front gate and are approaching your position"_ informed the Vanguard Titan.

"Shit" cursed Matthew as he moved to take a look out the window to the road in front of the house. "We got company coming, not the good kind" he called back.

Castle found the bullet and pocketed it before pulling his coat back on, "We got what we came for kid, let's get outta here" said the Punisher before heading back down stairs three or four at a time. Cooper was hot on his heels, vaulting over the bannister and letting his jump kit and exo break the fall before the men sprinted out the back door.

They ran past the escort, still hanging limply, tear stains down her face as she shivered uncontrollably. Not wanting to waste any time, Cooper grabbed the hood of Castle's coat with his right hand as he fired his grapple with the left. The two shot forwards as the Marauder's jump kit spat its blue exhaust and launched them over the wall, Matt letting go as they gracelessly tumbled on the ground before recovering and getting to their feet.

Legs pumping like pistons, the two gave up all attempts at stealth during their hasty retreat. The sounds of sirens and gunshots covered their escape as they ran towards the Battle Van which they reached thankfully without incident. The pair hadn't even caught their breath as the vehicle rumbled to life with the Pilot riding shotgun. It was only once Castle began driving that they were spotted, a pair of grey SUVs pulling fast U-turns to follow the van, rounds pinging off the armored panels. "You gonna take care of them kid?" asked Frank.

Matthew grinned under his helmet as he opened the passenger window and hung his entire torso out, shouldering the Sidewinder SMR. "With pleasure" called back the Pilot as Frank swerved the van hard left onto the other side of the road as Cooper took aim. A barrage of High Explosive Anti Titan rockets sliced through the night and hammered the road before Matt walked the shots onto the lead vehicle. The impacts caused jets of superheated plasma to bore through the engine block and other vital components until one nicked a cylinder. The volatile air fuel mix ignited, causing a chain reaction that soon reached the gas tank, turning the entire car into a fireball. "Scratch one" snarled Cooper as he ducked back inside the van and reloaded the SMR.

Frank had to swerve back to avoid oncoming traffic, at least one of the oncoming vehicles was twinkling as more rounds slammed into the armor plate. "Getting sick of this…SHIT" growled Frank as he stuck his hand and the MP7 out the driver's side window and cut loose a burst while Matt clambered into the back of the van and opened the door.

"Get some" snarled Cooper as he held down the trigger, anti personnel rockets peppered the front of the second chase car, the range so close he couldn't possibly miss. A few sailed through the front window and detonated in the midst of the occupants of the vehicles. Cooper was able to catch a glimpse as the windows were painted with gore before the vehicle veered off the road, out of control.

The two weren't out of the woods just yet, Matt tossed the SMR back into the front seat, the grenadier weapon out of ammo as the final SUV closed to ram the Battle Van. Luckily for the Pilot, the Van was stocked in a way befitting its name and the Marauder grabbed a M60 from the rack and closed the lid on a 100 round belt of 7.62. "You want some more" he called out as he charged the Pig and held the gun at the hip, letting the big gun chew through the belt, casings and ammo links clattering to the floor as the big rounds gnawed into their pursuer.

The gun fell silent as the SUV in pursuit slowed, spewing thick white smoke. Cooper dropped the empty gun, its barrel glowing a soft, eerie red from the continuous 100 round dump. As the SUV came to a stop, so did a Battle Van. "Finish them off" called Frank form the front seat, the Marauder reaching down and pulling out a Frag grenade. Pulling the pin, he looked at the face of a wounded man struggling to get out of the car before tossing the explosive.

Cooper felt nothing as the ordinance bounced off the bullet ridden hood and through a hole in the windshield, sealing the fates of the men inside. Knowing the grenade had found its mark, he didn't even wait to see the detonation, closing the reinforced doors before he heard the muffled explosion. "We're clear" he reported simply, Frank grunting in response as he stepped on the gas, the two killers vanishing into the night.

* * *

Most of the SRS Marauder twitter feed was packed with people praising or condemning Matthew's actions, though occasionally someone would ask a legitimate question with the Marauder taking the time to give a legitimate response. Though, for the first time, Matt was shocked by one of the messages that had been sent to him.

That message started a chain of events that had him fully suited up and on top of the roof of a children's cancer center waiting for the man who had messaged him. The contact was from 'Fulfill a Dream,' a nonprofit that helped make terminally ill children's dreams into reality before the worst happened.

In the building beneath his feet was one Hayden Warren, a 13-year-old who had wanted to be a soldier before he had developed cancer that wasn't caught in time and had spread. Now, there was nothing else they could do except buy him time. Cooper snorted at the thought, going from torturing and murdering a pedophile less than 36 hours ago to comforting a dying kid, he had a strange life. _"Pilot, Mr. Parker has requested to meet with you. Suggested time and location are Club Solar at 9 PM tonight"_ said BT in his helmet suddenly, shaking him from his thoughts.

Cooper grimaced, he had a feeling what the Wallcrawler wanted to talk about. The only thing that had been on the news Thursday had been the happenings at the Robinson house. Somehow, no news source had reported the presence of the Marauder or Punisher. The predominant theory was that it was a Maggia hit gone wrong, with Robinson being one of the targets. Meanwhile, the shootout on the highway was that the Maggia botched the hit and some of their targets escaped, which probably wasn't wrong. Even with this error, it wasn't hard to guess that Spider-Man had connected him to it, or at least suspected it. Matthew was going to get an earful.

The sound of the door opening knocked the pilot from his thoughts as he turned to see a smartly dressed middle aged man with a beard that made him look a few years older than he probably was. "Mr. Vickers?" asked Cooper as he made a check that all of his gear was secured, he didn't want some kid getting curious and activate a grenade by accident.

"That's me" affirmed the man as he looked nervously at the armored Pilot. "You the Marauder?" he asked with clear concern. Cooper merely tilted his head and gave him a deadpan expression behind the glowing blue visor. "Yeah, alright, stupid question" admitted the man, "don't have to be such a smartass about it."

"You said it, not me" replied the Pilot without a hint of sarcasm.

Cooper got a dirty look in reply before the guy shook his head to clear it, "Sorry, it's my first time doing this with someone like you. Usually its superheroes like Spider-Man or Hawkeye" admitted Vickers as he looked over the Pilot nervously, his eyes pausing on each of his many weapons.

"Don't worry" said Matthew with a grin, "it's my first time doing something like this too." A gloved hand gave his back a friendly slap, nearly knocking him off balance. Vickers did not look reassured by that admission as he grumbled something Cooper didn't hear as he led the vigilante into the elevator.

"Some ground rules. No firing weapons, no threatening, no swearing" rattled off the man from a mental checklist as the pair descended further. "Know that anything you do I'll have to answer for, so the less paperwork and fewer angry phone calls I get would be appreciated."

Cooper allowed himself a small laugh, even if the tired delivery meant that Vickers didn't intend that as a joke. "Understood" he said simply as they reached their floor and the elevator doors opened.

Ignoring the plethora of stares, the two went through the clean and orderly halls of the Oscorp funded research hospital. "Normally, the visitors don't come here in their full get ups" said Vickers conversationally, trying to focus on something other than all the attention. Matthew just shrugged, he had what he needed for what he was planning. "Any reason you are wearing yours?"

"It's home" replied the Marauder instantly. It was the truth, Matthew Cooper, the son of a SWAT officer in San Antonio was long gone. In his place was Pilot Matthew Cooper of the SRS, and even more so, the Marauder of Manhattan. It felt weird to be called by his own given name, he _was _the Marauder, there was no separating the two of them. Marauder wasn't a character or persona, it was a callsign, an identifier on the battlefield, but one he would answer to anywhere.

The pair reached the door and Vickers opened it, holding his hand up to tell the Marauder to stay put. "Hey Hayden" said the man as he stepped inside, "got someone here to see you" said the social worker before sticking his hand back out the door and waving the Marauder in.

Cooper took a breath and strode inside. Hayden looked sick, pale, his hair grown out and in messy curls. The hospital room had a bed and TV, as well as several posters on the wall, it was clear that he had been living in there for a while. The visor finally settled on the kid himself, his eyes wide in awe as he looked up from a journal at the Pilot, jaw slack at the sight. "You came" he said as awe turned to elation. "You actually came."

Cooper grabbed one of the other chairs that went with the small breakfast table and spun it around before sitting down. "You were expecting somebody else?" he deadpanned, getting a small laugh from Hayden. "So Hayden, you're the one who asked me here, why?" said Matthew, genuinely curious why a kid who want to see a vigilante from a different reality.

"You're a soldier, you've seen combat. I want to know what it's like" said the sick child, unabashed optimism causing Cooper to grimace beneath his helmet. "Can you tell me?"

Vickers flinched at that, "Uh, I'm not sure that…" he began, only for Cooper to hold up a hand, "you're sure?" asked an unconvinced Vickers. Matthew nodded, "alright then, remember what we talked about. I'll be outside" he said before leaving and, with one last glance, closed the door.

"As far as your question goes…a smarter man than me said that 'It is good that war is so terrible, otherwise we should grow too fond of it' but I am smart enough to say, considering what I've seen, that he's right." Cooper wasn't sure how the kid would take it, but Hayden just stared at him, confusion covering his face. "What brought this on?"

"I'm always being told to be brave" began Hayden, curiosity and innocence mixing as he began to walk through his thought process, a dangerous combination. "I _want _to be brave…but, I need to know how" he said. "You're brave, the things you've done, can you tell me how?" Cooper's mind was reeling as he tried to think of a response, leaning forwards, resting his elbows on the back of the chair as he did so. The silence dragged on, the hope in the kid's face turning to worry after 20 seconds of no answer. "Please" he begged quietly. "I'm afraid."

"It's alright to be afraid. If you weren't afraid, _then_ there would be something wrong with you" said Cooper honestly. He saw the kid look like he was about to argue, but spoke up before he could. "Fear isn't something to be afraid of. All bravery is, really, is not letting fear control you. Everyone does it differently, some have bravado, some have anger, others rely on their pride. It doesn't matter which you use, as long as you use it."

"And when you know you're going to die, no matter what you do, then what?" he asked. Only such a young boy could ask such a question so candidly that it sent a pang of sadness through Coopers stomach.

The Pilot nodded, the kid knew what would happen, either he had been told or had figured it out. There was no use in denying it, at least in Cooper's mind. "I'll admit, there have been times where I was sure I would die" he said, "Even if, for some reason or another, I didn't, I would have bet everything on it at the time." Of course, two of those times he had 'died', only to be saved by Griffon. "At that point, it's a matter of pride. Do you want to die hiding or die fighting?" he asked, not expecting an answer, and he didn't get one. "Fighting doesn't mean combat. It just means imposing your will with action. You simply have to choose which action to take. Do you follow?"

The boy nodded slowly, "I think so. If I want to read, then I should read. Is that it?" he said, not sure of himself. Cooper nodded as Hayden worked through the words for a few minutes. "How do I be a soldier then? I want to be a soldier" he said, defiant, but still confused.

"There's more to a soldier than combat" said Cooper simply; the questioning look on the kid's face wasn't unexpected. "Being a Pilot, well, it's the best job I ever had. But what makes it special isn't the fighting, a lot of people fight, probably too many. The difference is what you're fighting for and who you do it with" explained Cooper as he held up a finger with each of his two reasons. "What exactly you do isn't as important. Learn something, create something, work towards a goal. Just do it with good people and make sure it matters to _you_" finished Cooper with emphasis on the last word. "If you can do that, well, I think you'll be okay" assured the Pilot, "Can you do that?" Hayden took a moment before nodding and smiling. "Good kid, now, there are other parts to soldiering, would you like to learn about those?"

The cancer patient tilted his head in confusion, "Like what?" he asked curiously.

Matthew unslung the Hemlock on his back and removed the magazine as well as the round in the chamber. "Weapon maintenance" he deadpanned, holding the Burst Fire Rifle up, the kid's eyes widening at the bulky weapon. "Know anyone who wouldn't mind helpin?" he drawled, the kid couldn't clear the table off fast enough as he almost reached across it for the gun. "Slow down there, kid, now let's see, first step is to pull these pins here…"

* * *

"Hey Parker" said the southern drawl of Matthew Cooper as he took the barstool next to Peter and looked for the bartender. "Whiskey on the rocks" he ordered, half chuckling, half snickering at the glass of water Peter was sipping from. Neither spoke for a minute until the bartender returned with the Texan's drink before he took a healthy sip and chuckled mirthlessly. "I know what you're going to ask me, and the answer is yes" he said simply before taking another sip.  
Peter wasn't surprised, he knew that the Marauder wasn't stupid, still, the bluntness wasn't expected.

At least they were at the end of the bar and the music was loud enough to prevent easy eavesdropping. "The Robinson thing?" he asked, getting a nonchalant nod back from the vigilante. "What happened? Reports are still sketchy, and Yuri won't tell me."

Matthew shrugged as he took another sip from his drink before looking down at the dark liquid. "Got a lead on White Eye" he began, the mention of the killer of the FEAST volunteer caused Peter to tense before Cooper's set his drink down and continued. "Robinson did his money; heard he might even know the man's name. With that in mind I went to ask him a few questions" he answered cryptically.

"So…" began Peter as he wondered what his friend might be hiding, "did you get any answers?" he asked.

Cooper nodded, "Yup" he said, "William Rawlins, ex-CIA" revealed the Marauder casually. "Already have a list of holdings that have been sent to Interpol and shell companies with property here in New York, those I'm keeping for myself and a friend of mine. He's got a stake in this too, a personal one" said Matt, looking increasingly uncomfortable. The Pilot wasn't twitchy, more ashamed than anything, though Peter couldn't understand why.

"I know you want to do this Matt" said Peter, "but if you need to sit this one out, I can handle it, you can tell your friend." Parker was wondering if fatigue was setting in, he had been doing this for years, Cooper had only been at it a few months.

"No" he said quietly, firmly. That one word sounded surer of itself than any other he had said so far.

"But…"

"No" reiterated Cooper, his tone clear. "We're handling this our way. We don't want your help, so steer clear." Now Peter frowned, he knew what that meant, it meant that Cooper was going to kill Rawlins and probably more than a few others along the way. He understood why, it was easier, he wouldn't deny it, but it was his responsibility to do the right thing. Murdering people did not fall within that, no matter what they had done.

Still, there was one odd thing in the conversation he needed to know about. "Who's this 'we' you're talking about? You and Felicia?"

"And Frank" the SRS Pilot added quickly.

"Frank?" parroted Peter. Matthew nodded before taking another sip of his drink as Peter turned to fully face the Marauder. "You don't mean…

"Frank Castle?" asked Cooper, cutting Spider-Man off, "'cause, yeah, I do. He's the one who came to me with the lead, it turns out he has his own score to settle with Rawlins. The stipulation about you staying out his as much his as mine." Peter fought to suppress a scowl, the Punisher and his methods were extreme in the opposite end of the spectrum from his own. That he had been unable to stop Castle's rampage two years ago wasn't something he was keen to remember. The only time he had taken down the Marine was when Frank wanted to be caught so he could kill several men in Rikers before escaping.

Before he knew it, he was getting on top of his soapbox. "His way isn't the right way Cooper. You see that right? How can you believe that what you're saying you're going to do is right?" he asked, he felt he had been making headway with the Marauder. Matthew had been less trigger happy in recent weeks and when the two patrolled together he rarely ever pulled a gun, and when he did it was loaded with stun rounds.

Parker wasn't sure what to make of the wry chuckle that he barely heard emanate from the Marauder. "I know" he said simply. "Morally, legally, and reasonably, what we're doing is wrong. When we killed Robinson, and we did, it was the wrong thing to do. _But_, given the chance, I would do it again."

That admission wasn't one that Peter was expecting, and while it turned him off and made a spike of anger surge up through him, he had to know _why_ Matthew felt this way. "Care to explain that one Coop? What are you really accomplishing? What's your mission?"

The Pilot set his drink down and worked his jaw. "Overall? Destroy the Market, the organization for the black market to slow down drug, weapon, and human trafficking" rattled off the Pilot like he was reading the mission statement off of the big whiteboard at his warehouse. "And I know what you're going to say, there are other ways to do that. You'd be right, there are. But here and now? The ends justify the means Peter."

The Queens native bristled at those words. "No they don't Matthew" he retorted testily. "How can you say something like that? Is it something your new friend told you?" he asked seriously. He did not want to see his friend go down the path that the Punisher had, especially now that he had been trying to be more responsible.

The Pilot shook his head, "No, he didn't say much. That was all me" admitted the Texan quietly. "And if your ends don't justify your means then you should have different ends or means" he asserted before working his jaw, "and they do here, as for why? Part of it is that this is something that I need to be sure about, there can't be a chance that this gets back up and running again, would you agree?" asked Matthew, getting a hesitant nod before he continued. "Yes, in theory, putting Rawlins behind bars would do the same thing. But he's rich, he's powerful, connected. The odds that he goes behind bars and stays there? Well, I'm not sure, but considering I'd be betting with people's lives, I'm less willing to sit at the table" he reasoned.

That was one aspect that Peter understood all too well. People's lives were always on the line, but at the same time understood that this was different. As they spoke, people were suffering, and they would keep suffering and dying until Rawlins was stopped. "Yeah, but…is making that choice worth it. Can you still believe in what you do?"

"Yeah, I can" he said instantly. "If that's the cost to save lives then I pay it gladly" he growled. "Dude, I already died once, in 23 years I did _fucking nothing_ with my life. I'm not worried about 'myself' because I'm already on borrowed time as is." He took a drink before laughing mirthlessly, "I guess, in a way, Matthew Cooper died back in Texas" he finished sadly.

Peter frowned, he had lost people, life had changed, but for Coop, he had been ripped from his home at the drop of a hat, he had nothing. He was trying to be the anchor that the Pilot needed, and was sure Felicia was helping in that regard, but it looked like it wouldn't be enough. "That girl, the one you took to my place, her name's Mathilda" he said suddenly. "She's helping me with a new suit actually, she's getting better…talking…even started smiling a bit" Cooper explained. "At the same time, she's still a reminder of the evil shit out there. What would she have been like if she was never taken? Wasn't slated to be sold to some fuck financial adviser for his sick fantasies" he snarled. "Say what you want about supervillains, but most are just after power or money or something simple. That's nothing compared to what Rawlins does, its twisted, it's _evil_. There must be reasons for not blowing them away…but I can't think of one" he finished with a shake of the head.

Peter simply watched the emotion in his blue eyes, not icy cold and heartless, but dimmed, devoid of the glow that almost seemed to match his visor. The Marauder was not a boundless optimist, and after Typhon, Cinderblock, and the revelations about the Mayor, the action of Rawlins and the Market were causing Cooper to not see them as human. Not that Parker could blame him, the things that the Market did were horrific, but nobody deserved what Cooper was planning to do. Though he wasn't stupid enough to try and dissuade Cooper of his thoughts, the man would see this through. After that though, maybe Spider-Man could convince him to take a break and slow down.

_God I really can be a hypocrite sometimes _mused Peter, considering the lack of breaks during his near decade as Spider-Man.

"Does Yuri know?" he asked finally. Partly out of curiosity, and partly because maybe she would provide good enough reason to dissuade him. Any hope of that was dashed when he simply nodded in reply. "How much?"

"Enough" replied Cooper as he finished his whiskey and reached into his coat for his wallet. "She doesn't want to touch this with a ten-foot pole, leaving it for me, Felicia, and Frank, this is our fight." With that, he placed the bills on the bar and stood up, "Take care Pete, see you at FEAST on Monday" he said simply, like it was the most unusual statement of the evening before the Marauder departed, leaving the Webhead alone with his water.

But Peter couldn't shake the feeling that his friend was going to do something he would come to regret.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Grenadier: Anti-Titan Sidewinder Micro Rocket (A-T SMR)_

_No weapon is more terrifying to be on the receiving end of than a Sidewinder. Getting its name from the report, it sounds like the tail of its namesake as it spits out its 20mm rounds, each packing a lot of venom. HEAT, HEDP, fragmentation, and incendiary, are among the several types of ammunition available. Still, the sight of a hail of rockets coming at you is enough to deter even the most hardened the individual rockets are devastating against man sized targets their slow speed and lack of appreciable splash radius means the Sidewinder is most effective as an anti-vehicular weapon. Able to decimate light vehicles with frightening ease, it is still capable of chewing up heavily armored APCs, Main Battle Tanks, and Titans. _

_There are serious challenges getting a belt fed rocket launcher to work, chief among which is effectively cycling the action. To circumvent this issue, the SMR uses two stage projectiles, the first is a standard gunpowder charge, simply used to get the round out the barrel and cycle the fairly standard operating rod working a rotating bolt, very similar to the M60 GPMG. Once the round is out of the barrel, the rocket motor ignites and that is what takes the round to its destination. Since it doesn't have to accelerate the rocket from stationary it can be smaller, minimizing back blast._

_As effective at dishing out damage as is it as shock and awe, its only weakness is that everyone within a mile will know you're using one as soon as you open up. Though if you expected something else from a belt fed, fully automatic, anti-titan micro missile launcher then you need to have your head checked._

* * *

**As you all can probably tell, I'm taking a lot of cues from season one of The Punisher on Netflix, and Jon Bernthal is the portrayal of Frank Castle I have in my head and use as the basis for his characterization. Agent Orange is Bill Rawlins, just like the show, and the Market is an expansion and modification of the heroin smuggling from the show. In addition, this chapter features a sequence also based on one from the episode 'Crosshairs.'**

**The sequence directly following that was inspired by a story on this site, 'The Villain Wrangler', and its position is intentional. It's jarring to see Matt go from his most brutal to his most caring at the drop of a hat, even if in universe there is some time in between, but that was my intent. It's my attempt to force Cooper to reconcile the violence of his mission with the goodness of his heart. A reviewer asked for this internal conflict to be a larger focus and this is my attempt to make that happen. Let me know what y'all think.**

**In case any of you thought that the words Matthew said at the grave sounded familiar, then you probably played Halo 3. That sort of 'prayer' was based on the words of Fleet Admiral Lord Terrance Hood at the end of that game. Also, the phrase on the back of Cooper's in development helmet is the name of a Sabaton album, the track that bears that name is about Operation Overlord, better known as D-Day. I will be using a track from that album for Chapter 21. **

**As always, feel free to review and let me know your thoughts, be they good or bad. Next week will see one of my favorite chapters to date, simply because it has a little bit of everything, even a Titanfall 2 nod. It should be pretty good, trust me.**

**Swiss time was running out, it seemed like we would lose the race, Smoke On The Water. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	19. Chapter 19: Smoke On The Water

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

First off, thanks to ravens18 for betaing this chapter.

10/17/19: Minor update to word choice and grammar, somehow I missed some errors after three editing passes.

It's time for a stealth section! Unlike the games, I'm having it be led by somebody who actually knows what the fuck they are doing. That's right, its time for Felicia to show off what makes her such a good thief, even when she's encumbered with somebody who couldn't do quiet if his life depended on it. This is also the longest chapter to date, at over 14,000 words with the notes and formatting.

Also, despite my reservations about the last time I did something like this, this chapter will feature strong sexual content at the end of the first section. If you don't want that then simply skip down to the next section once it starts. I'm still iffy about including these since my original plans didn't have them, feedback is something I want regarding their inclusion. If nothing else, I don't want them to detract from the story, and I'm always curious as to what the audience (you guys) are expecting. Review and let me know.

As we get ever closer to the main game, I want feedback on what you guys want to see as I start putting pen to paper so to speak. I can already say that Silver Sable will be getting more screen time, as will Yuri and Felicia. Also, Osborn will be playing a larger role, though you should not be expecting any sort of Green Goblin action. What it comes down to is that there are a lot of things I want to do and I want all of them to at least be somewhat interesting. Also, verdict on the more personal internal conflicts? Worth continuing or should they be resolved and forgotten?

For this chapter title I went with a classic, the reason for why I picked it? It kinda fits an infiltration? Nah, you'll see why by the time you reach the end of the chapter. If you live under a rock and don't know this 1972 masterpiece by Deep Purple, well it's off the album _Machine Head _and was ranked as the #4 guitar riff ever. Oddly enough, its about a hotel that burned to the ground and serves as a warning that you should never give stupid people flare guns. Sound life advice if you ask me.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 19: Smoke On The Water**

_They burned down the gambling house, it died with an awful sound_

_Funky Claude was running in and out, Pulling kids out the ground_

_When it all was over, we had to find another place_

_But Swiss time was running out, it seemed that we would lose the race_

_Smoke on the water, fire in the sky_

* * *

"Not that I'm complaining" said Cooper as he looked at the scene inside the armory, not sure which of the two things he should direct his attention to, "but anyone care to explain what's going on?" Of all the things he had expected to come home to that evening after having a drink with Peter, this wasn't one of them.

"Mathilda and I decided to surprise you" purred Felicia as she sauntered towards the Marauder wearing her mask, black lace bra, matching pair of thong style panties, garter belt, sheer stockings, and nothing else. "Give you something to…remember me by" she purred as she ran her hand along his chest and pressed herself against his side as Cooper looked towards the teenager.

The French teenager was standing atop a small ladder near the Vanguard Class Titan. BT was not in his rack and instead down on his left knee with left arm back out of the way to allow space for the ladder while his right fist was bracing the titan against the floor. "Miss Hardy suggested this as a way to improve your morale Pilot" said BT as the blue light swung towards the Pilot, blinking in time with the words. "You have begun to show signs of fatigue."

Cooper suppressed a ghost of a grimace; he hoped his inner turmoil hadn't been that obvious after the whole deal with Robinson. Typhon, he had justified as it being do or die, either he killed the IMC or they would kill him and BT. Cinderblock had been abstract, Kingpin's men were up to no good, a nefarious plot that he was trying to discover. If he didn't act then innocent people could have died, he was trying to do the right thing and stop them. This time however, because of Mathilda, the Market felt like a personal affair, he could say it was about stopping the Market, but it really wasn't. This was about something more personal; payback.

Despite what he might have told Peter, he had been losing sleep over the prospect of killing Rawlins. Not because of Rawlins specifically, but because it seemed inevitable that after the Market was destroyed there would be something or someone else. Was this all his life was going to be? Killing whatever piece of human filth pissed him off? That wasn't the most appealing prospect, after Cinderblock he had hoped for something…more.

Not that he was going to weigh down either Felicia or Mathilda with his struggles.

"Maybe she's one of the reasons I am so fuckin' tired" muttered Matthew under his breath as he examined what Mathilda was painting on the side of the BT's cockpit. It wasn't finished yet, but Cooper could make out what it was going to be, the background was a red circle against the black paintwork of BT. On top of that was clearly the form of Felicia dressed as she currently was, in a classic pin up girl pose, back arched and legs out, her upper body turned to look 'out' as she gave a wink, her hair was just now being added and there was still some outlining to do, but it was really impressive. "Looking good" he called out, getting a blush from Mathilda.

"Wait" she said suddenly, looking back to her work and then Hardy, who was wrapped in Cooper's arm, "Do you mean this or her?" she asked, paintbrush indicating her in progress nose art.

The Marauder grinned back, "Yes" he deadpanned, hearing a murmured 'You ass' from his left that could have only come from his lover. He silenced any further words with a deep kiss before giving her a loving squeeze then letting her go. "Y'all have fun, I'm goanna leave ya' to it" he drawled as he picked up the Gibson and headed back to his bedroom.

Kicking his shoes off and tossing his shirt into a hamper, the Pilot sat on the bed, closed his eyes, and let out a breath as he sat the guitar in his lap and began strumming a tune. By chance, the opening chords of _Spellbound_ began to roll out of the amp in the corner of the room, slowly enveloping the Pilot. He had always thought the closing track of '_For Those About to Rock_' was fairly angsty as AC/DC songs went and considering that, it was no surprise his fingers had played it of their own volition.

Tonight had been another reminder of a truth he had been avoiding since he died on a cold night in Texas. He had acknowledged it verbally, but it was only after talking with his friend and fellow vigilante that he realized just how far he had slipped into the abyss. Only Peter and his steadfast resolve to his morals could make Matthew realize just how easy it was to pull the trigger. How flimsy of a justification it took for him to take a life and not feel remorse for his actions, only that they were necessary.

To trade the life of a wicked man for that an innocent one, never mind five, or ten, or more, seemed so simple. Was it the fact that he loved the thrill of a fight that his actions never registered during a shootout? Or was the fact that during a firefight these sorts of thoughts that plagued him seemed so far away that made him enjoy them?

"_I can do nothing right, I never sleep at night, Can't even start a fight."_

"_My feet have left the ground, spinning round and round."_

"_Spellbound, my world keeps a tumbling down."_

The lyrics had come out of nowhere; usually all he did was hum along as he played if anything. He shook it off as he kept playing, his mind drifting off again to what spurred those lines to be the ones he vocalized.

Maybe these thoughts had come back with a vengeance because the reasoning he usually used, while not false, was not the only line of reasoning. He didn't like that he boiled down killing to an equation, it made him feel like a sociopath, or perhaps it was a reminder that he was one? However, this mission to take down Rawlins and the Market, sure that simple logic applied, killing those at the top would heavily disorganize the black market they controlled and reduce crime in several continents, saving countless lives, but there was more to it.

During Cinderblock, he was emotionally detached, he had always been a little bit, and after Typhon he figured it was just him trying to settle in. Now that he was getting used to his new home, he was emotionally invested in his work as the Marauder. Not only did Mathilda remind him of his little sister, but his big brother tendencies had come back in full force to ensure not only that she was safe, but that those who had hurt her were shown the error of their ways.

He realized this as he watched Frank torture the man who had 'bought' her; the feelings began to creep up on him as he worked him over but only fully showed themselves as the Punisher lived up to his name. Matthew didn't know how to describe what he felt as he watched Frank make the man suffer, the only word that came close was that it felt _right_, and that was what scared him.

"_Spellbound, my world keeps a tumbling down."_

Even though his fingers worked their way through the last of the chords, he didn't dare try to match the famed wails of Brian Johnson and sighed a bit, fingers poised to start another song when he felt hairs stand up on his neck and looked up to see that he had an audience. "Hey darlin" he drawled with a forced smile as he set the Gibson aside.

She smiled back, but it wasn't her usual predator's grin, it was smaller, almost reserved. The thief made her way over and sat on the bed next to him, leaning her head onto his shoulder. "You're getting better with that thing" she said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and held her closer. He gave a grunt of acknowledgement as he ran his hand up and down her side. "How are you holding up, really?" she asked suddenly.

He nearly flinched, "Didn't know you cared" he replied with a chuckle.

Felicia just glared at him, "Why would you say that?" she asked calmly, so calmly that Matthew knew he was approaching thin ice.

The Pilot turned to the Thief and smiledas he looked at her green eyes, "You're a hell of a woman Felicia, tough as nails, damn capable, and of course…sexy as sin. But I don't think I've ever seen you do the emotional thing, it's just not you" he said candidly, it wasn't an insult.

"You should know by now Cowboy" she said as she cupped his face and traced the one visible scar he had on the side of his neck, "I'm full of surprises." There was a brief silence between the two as Cooper looked for the right words before Felicia spoke up again. "You're not having second thoughts about what we're doing, are you?"

Matthew shook his head emphatically, "No, not that" he assured her. "I guess there's still a piece of the innocent kid from Texas still in here somewhere" he said as he tapped his chest. "He doesn't think that we're not doing the right thing, he has a problem with feeling like it's the right thing" he said before laughing a little. "Even after everything else" he admitted with a shrug.

Felicia frowned at him as she tilted her head sideways at him. "This after you telling me you loved being the Marauder? After you committed to keep doing it? You've been around Spider and his 'no killing' rule too much" she said before her lips curled up into a seductive smirk, "Maybe I'll just have to keep you locked in here with me instead to correct it?"

"Maybe" he mumbled back as he looked away and pursed his lips. He had been hoping for a more serious response but he shouldn't have been surprised.

He felt a pair of soft feminine arms wrap around him and even softer breasts press into his back. "I understand Matt" said Felicia softly in his ear. "When I started stealing, having only been a silver spoon fed heiress, I wanted to make something of myself without it being given to me" she admitted with a hint of bitterness. "I didn't care who suffered, I just looked down at them like I had my entire life" she added sadly. "But I eventually realized that I loved being the Black Cat, the thrill of evading detection, the satisfaction of pulling off a heist and kept doing it with no remorse. Spider tried to get me to go straight, but all that did was tie my hands."

Cooper felt Felicia turn him around as she straddled him, sitting on his lap as she wrapped her arms around him and pressed her forehead to his. "The fact that you're willing to do whatever it takes shows what you're really made of. You put others above everything, even your own morals, and unlike me, it's for the right reasons. It's why you're special."

He could tell that the thief was being serious, there was hardness in the sultry tones that rarely came out, but hearing it here made Cooper pause and look into her eyes. The emerald orbs didn't glint with mischief or burn with desire but were as hard as the stones which they shared a color with. Tilting his head in thought, the Texan once again had to reconsider Felicia Hardy, he had underestimated her again, she _could _do the emotional side of things, but doing so made her feel vulnerable, just like him. And, also like him, she hated feeling vulnerable.

In an instant the air in the room changed as their lips hovered inches apart until she closed the gap and gave him a sultry kiss. Matt's hands began to roam before Felicia pressed him back down onto the mattress and hovered over him, fully in control. Breathing quickened for both as anticipation built, Cooper's hands finding their way to Hardy's hips. "It's not the only thing that makes me special, is it?" he asked huskily, a cocky grin on his face as one hand worked its way up her back. The platinum haired vixen leaned down in a fiery kiss as mouths and tongues battled for dominance and Cooper pulled her closer to him. Soon, he found the clasp of the bra and deftly released it, eliciting a gasp of surprise from Hardy as she pushed herself up, still straddling his hips as she removed the lace bra and tossed it aside.

Of its own volition, Matthew's hand began to fondle the exposed breast, thumb rubbing the hardening nipple while the other hand moves down to cup and knead her ass in an attempt to wrestle back dominance of the situation. But though Felicia moaned wantonly, she was not cowed as her eyes looked down on him, blazing with desire. "Do you mean this?" purred the thief as she finished undoing his belt and yanked his pants and boxers down, his manhood already erect before her hand closed around it and she began to stroke. But to the Texan's chagrin, the touch was light and the strokes even lighter, Hardy was teasing him as he groaned in frustration, "This big cock that you're so proud of Stud? I know you just love to split bitches in half with it" she purred. She had scooched away, out of reach of his hands before she leaned down to examine it, "and now it's hard and throbbing, just like I like it" she added wickedly before her tongue flicked out to lick a drop of precum from the tip. "But that cock isn't any good unless there's a warm, tight cunt for it to go in" she teased, hot breath shooting burst of electricity up his whole body.

Every time they slept together it was a back and forth struggle for dominance, and while Cooper had never lost, he couldn't say he had exactly won. She had taken everything he had thrown at her like it was nothing and while frustrated by it, he had satisfied her. Now however, his emotions in a flurry and needing to retake control of his life, he decided to start with the woman before him. "Get on all fours" he said calmly, but with all the weight of an order, "Now." Felicia gave him a sexy smirk and quirked an eyebrow before complying, sashaying into position, wiggling her hips enticingly until she looked back up to him.

"Is that all cowboy?" she purred between heavy breaths, "Now are you going to fuck me are you going to _fuck _me?" she taunted as her entire body called to him. Her magnificent breasts hung exposed while the curve of her hips led to her enticing ass, which extended up with her soft, plump, and pale ass cheeks being split by the minuscule black lace of the thong. That same thong was soaking from the juices of her pussy all while the rest of her body glistened with a sheen of sweat that added to the signs that she was ready to be taken, and taken hard.

Grinning at the challenge, Cooper slid off the bed, stepped out of his pants before getting in position behind Felicia, her stunning thong clad ass presented to him for the taking. Even with his eyes fixed on her sopping cunt, his hands worked their way up her legs, undoing the bands around her thighs before running over her thighs and along her back before reaching around to caress her amazing tits as he leaned closer and whispered into her ear. "It's not just my cock that's special…it's how it makes you feel when its stretching you out" he whispered, sending a shiver through her body as he kissed her, pressing his chest to her back and rubbing his cock across her panty clad pussy.

Here was where the couples size difference was most evident. It seemed like Cooper, with his broad shoulders, large arms, and muscle bulk, could almost crush the lithe Hardy easily. But he had no such intention, in the game they played; it was about making the other submit as much as taking control. Soon, he had managed just that, "_Matthooo…" _she moaned as he tweaked a nipple while simultaneously finding a pressure point on her neck, "Do it…_now_" she begged.

"Do what?" he asked with wicked ignorance, bringing a hand down to tease her clit through the lace thong. Just as she opened her mouth to respond he brought his other hand down on her ass, causing it to jiggle deliciously and drawing a sharp gasp before the pressure from his fingers turned it into a moan.

Finally, the woman's will powered her through. "Fu_uuuooo…_fuck me!" she begged, "Fill my cunt! Pin me down and take me!" she shouted, almost demanding. Obliging her, Matthew reached forward and pulled her arms back and held them behind her as he pressed her down to the bed, holding her with one hand as the other worked her panties down, though her garter and stockings were still in place, before he was ready with the image of the squirming, fully exposed woman beneath him, the only articles of clothing she had not granting her any coverage.

He ran his cock along her slit, teasing her a bit more for good measure as he grabbed the garter belt like reins, "If you wanted that, you should have just said so darlin" he drawled cockily before filling her in a single brutal stroke. A cry of pain and pleasure filled the room, but no further, the soundproof walls containing Hardy's screams. "You like this…getting your pussy…stretched…you minx" he grunted as he thrust into her and worked himself further into her moist womanhood, her moans stifled by the comforter that her face was buried in. The sound of slapping flesh and feeling of Felicia's hot, tight, wet pussy squeezing his manhood like a vice only made the Pilot more aggressive as he increased the intensity. Each thrust came harder and faster than the last, driving deeper into her until their release became inevitable. That didn't mean he let up as he slowed the pace, extending each stroke he had left to great effect, pounding her most sensitive spot unrelentingly as Felicia screamed in ecstasy, her face twisted and contorted in erotic pleasure. Behind her, Matthew looked down at Felicia with unabashed lust, as he worked himself in and out with measured, powerful thrusts.

In the final moments of their passion, he let go of her wrists, moving his hand to her shoulder, pulling her up to change the angle, drawing new gasps of pleasure. His other hand let go of the belt as it moved up her stomach to her chest, squeezing her left tit roughly. "Cum for me like a good little slut and I'll pump your pussy full of cum, just like you want it" he promised as he readied for one final effort. "Cum…now" he ordered in time with his thrusts as her pussy clenched around him, juices covering his cock and running down her legs as she screamed out in satisfaction.

Cooper was stunned to have made it this far, roaring as he felt his hot seed surge out and into her. "Yes!" cried Hardy, "Yes Stud! Give it to me, give me all of it!" she ordered, and Cooper was more than happy to oblige his lover, giving one hard thrust before he came in her. Finally finished, Matthew let go and Felicia flopped down tiredly on the bed as he climbed back on and lay next to her, pulling her close as they basked in the afterglow. "You've been holding out on me" she said accusingly as Matthew just smirked and shrugged, casually dismissive. Hardy was not amused though, "We've been together _how long_ until you finally do _that?_" she panted in exasperation.

The Texan chuckled as he gave her a wry grin, "So you liked it?" he asked dryly, getting a forceful kiss in reply. When it broke, there wasn't as much tension in the air, both of them having satiated their desires for the moment and content to not rush ahead but lay still. "For future reference, I love that goddamn lingerie. Your ass looked fucking amazing in that thong."

Felicia laughed lightly as she turned to face him. "My ass looks good in everything" she corrected.

* * *

The next morning, Cooper woke to the pleasant sensation of the naked form of Felicia Hardy pressed against him, the aroma from the previous night's activities filling the bedroom. Giving his lover a tender kiss before carefully extracting himself from the bed to not wake her, he took a quick shower and got dressed before going to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

Cooking was another skill he had been picking up slowly but surely during his time in New York, and soon a simple but tasty breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, and hash browns was nearly complete. "Smells good" said Mathilda as she poked her head in through the door to the armory. "Is it almost ready?"

Matt waved her in, and she sat on a stool at the counter as he finished up and quickly made her a plate before setting up his own. The teen dug into the breakfast, "You're getting better" she complimented before getting a gleam in her eye, "Not that you could get much worse" she teased in her accented voice.

The two enjoyed their breakfast, Mathilda updating Cooper on the status of his new kit. On the docket for the day was a test fitting for him and if that went well then Black Cat would be the next to get a revamp. "Mr. Co…Matt" she corrected, the Pilot trying to get her to not be so formal with him. "I wanted to say thank you…for everything" she said.

The Marauder waved it off, "It's no problem, really. Just me doing my job" he said with a smile, "Besides, with all the help you've been with my kit and the other stuff, we're even." He was really happy with how it was all coming together, the aesthetic was now somewhere between soldier and superhero, which was exactly what he wanted. The logos she had come up with looked wicked and sinister; the revamped skull logo in particular was one of his favorites.

But Mathilda was persistent, "I can never repay you, truly. You have been a friend when I needed it most, when I didn't think I'd have any after…after what happened. And now you're going above and beyond, both you and Felicia." There was a silence; it felt weird for praise to be dumped on Cooper, especially after how he had felt last night. Mathilda however, took the frown on his face as a signal to keep pressing. "BT told me what happened to you too. Felicia said to give you two sometime alone last night, so he told me about Typhon. I know this isn't as bad as that, and it doesn't mean as much to you, but it means everything to _me_."

He made to shake it off, insist that it wasn't a problem when he remembered who it was thanking him. "Okay" he said simply, sincere as he could manage. "You're welcome Mathilda, I'm happy to hear you aren't having second thoughts about this" he said with a small smile. The Pilot made himself busy putting away the rest of the food in case Hardy got enough beauty sleep.

"I also know you're having second thoughts" said Mathilda suddenly as he finished saving what he could and tossed the rest. "BT alluded to it when we were working last night, said the gesture might improve your morale. I will never understand how a machine could care so much" she said.

"You ever seen Terminator 2?" he asked as he pulled a pitcher of southern sweet tea from the fridge and poured a glass and took a long draught as Tilda shook her head, "It's like that" he replied with a grin, much to the teens exasperation as he passed her a glass. The Frenchwoman had taken a taste to the American beverage during her stay with the Pilot. "I think I have it, you'll have to watch it when you have a few free hours, now let's go try out the new suit, you come up with a name yet?"

Glasses in hand, the pair made their way into the armory, "Renegade" she answered confidently as Matthew got a closer look at the completed nose art on BT. "What do you think?" she asked as she turned to find him examining her work.

Matthew really was impressed, it was a stunning likeness of Felicia, and she nailed the style of a WWII era pin up girl perfectly. Next to the art was the phrase 'Back in Black' written by outlines in white. Moving to the opposite side he could see the beginnings of more paint work. This time it was the new 'Marauder' skull logo with 'The Marauder' written in large cursive underneath it and based on the outlines it looked like blood would be dripping down from the open mouth onto the writing. "I like it, like it a hell of a lot" he told her as he stepped out from behind the Vanguard and approached the table. "I also like what you've done with this" he said as he tapped the back of the chest armor.

On the back of the grey plate were dozens of markings that Cooper recognized as a mix of cannon shells, rockets, and a fist. Some of them had the logo of the Apex Predators painted over them, five of them. "BT gave me the exact tally" she said as Cooper recognized the marks as kill tallies, "It's…a lot" she said simply. Cooper chuckled at the understatement before they got serious. "This goes on first" said Mathilda, handing him the black skintight undersuit. "Then this before the jump kit, exo, pads and armor. Lastly is all the webgear, but you can come back for that, start with the first two layers" she said as he found himself with an armored version of his fatigues, her excitement at seeing her work finally come together evident in her hurried and high pitched tones.

Cooper took the offered items, unable to keep a proud smile off his face as he headed back out of the armory to change. He was about to head to the bathroom when he heard the sounds of the shower and figured Felicia had finally gotten out of bed. He quickly went into the bedroom, able to hear the shower turn off as he quickly threw on the under suit just as the door to the bathroom opened. "Meow" purred Hardy as he looked over his shoulder and saw where Felicia was looking.

"Calm down kitty, it's the under suit" he drawled as he finished sealing it up. The suit was surprisingly thick and was a sort of compression layer that was woven to look like it had musculature all its own, which it actually did. Made for use in zero-g, the suit was meant to move with the wearer via a link like the one Cooper had with BT. This reduced the exertion on the pilot during prolonged combat and would do the same for Cooper as well as increase his top end strength just a little bit more.

"Still" said Hardy, who Cooper turned to see was wearing naught but a towel as she licked her lips, "If you just wore that you'd have a few more female fans" she said simply as Matthew chuckled. "That ass…" she added with a small smirk.

"Maybe that's an argument for why I shouldn't" he said as he slipped into the two piece outer layer and began pulling it over his arms. "Wouldn't want you getting jealous, I know better than to piss you off" he said with a hearty laugh as he zipped up the outer layer.

"Aw cowboy, don't you know? _They _would be jealous of _me_" she corrected as she strutted up to him, her hips swaying and breasts bouncing under the towel. "Because this ass would belong to me, and they'd all know it" she said confidently. Cooper just rolled his eyes at his insatiable lover as she gave him a love tap and deep kiss before moving over to her away bag and dropping the towel without a hint of modesty, putting on a show for Matthew as she got dressed.

The couple then headed back to the armory and Cooper began putting on the rest of his equipment while Mathilda fidgeted nervously. "Alright, moment of truth" said Matthew as he put his helmet on, the last piece of the new kit before turning to Felicia. "What do ya think Darlin'?" he asked as Felicia looked him over before turning to Mathilda, who looked beyond nervous.

"When can I have mine?"

* * *

Sunday, December 7th saw Cooper donning that new Renegade kit once more, flexing beneath the thin armor that encompassed his arms and legs, the flexible scale like plate not hindering his movements. The downside was that the Renegade kit added about 10 more pounds to his load, but with the new undersuit, any long-term strain was mostly offset. Felicia Hardy was ready for action as well; her tight catsuit hugged her curves snugly while her grapple gun hung from her belt. "You ready for this?" he asked, getting an evil grin and her showing off her retractable claws. "Good, though I'll stick to this" he said, holding up the Volt SMG.

"So uncivilized" countered the Thief as Cooper chuckled and slung the weapon over his back as he inspected and holstered his MK6 Smart Pistol. After that he covered his face with a balaclava, he pocketed a pair of sunglasses before slipping on his helmet; he usually didn't wear the mask, but now required a change. "Not that I think where we're going will mind."

The Bar with No Name, watering hole for the worst of the worst in New York. Micro had been digging and Cooper had confirmed it with Yuri, the Maggia were being more active, mainly in conflict with the Kingpins Syndicate. Because the hacker hadn't been able to make headway besides more properties owned by Rawlins, The Marauder and Black Cat were going to pick up the slack.

Matt didn't want to waste more time working the ground game like Castle was committed to doing. He wanted to go straight to the top, Frank called him brash, but simply burning more stuff wasn't the answer. The men were what made the Market work and it was those men who Cooper wanted dead.

Arriving outside the infamous establishment with wads of cash, the couple dropped down and approached the door. The arc knuckles wrapped against the door in a firm knock before the slot opened to reveal a pair of accusing, beady eyes that went wide at the sight of the two vigilantes. "What the hell do you two want?"

"A drink" purred Felicia as she stuck her hip out and put her hand on it. The doorman's eyes narrowed as they focused on the Cat burglar before shifting to the Renegade Pilot.

"Listen pal" began the Marauder casually, "I was taking the lady for a night out and we're thirsty. Decided to stop for a drink, I'll even buy you one if you'd be so kind to let us in."

The doorman seemed placated by that, "No guns, no powers, no fighting. Do you understand?" The two nodded and heard the man sigh as the deadbolt was released and the door opened. "Turn in your guns at the counter and don't start any trouble."

The Marauder let loose a small bark of laughter, "I don't start trouble, I finish it" replied the Renegade darkly before heading after Cat who strutted in like she owned the place, catching stares from every guard posted on the staircase down to the subterranean bar. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" asked Cooper wryly.

Felicia just smirked as she turned over her grapple and walked away from the window Cooper stepped up to. A monster of a man was on the other side; he could have easily been the twin of the behemoth guarding the door into the Bar proper. "Turn in your guns Marauder, no exceptions" he said sternly as the Pilot unslung the Volt and removed the magazine before sliding the gun under the mesh.

He then pulled out the Smart Pistol and pulled out the magazine before holding the green and grey weapon up to the window. "You understand that this is the most valuable thing to me? If this or that other weapon is damaged, go missing, or disturbed in any way then it _will _be the last mistake you ever make" he threatened coldly.

The guard didn't seem fazed in the slightest. "Of course, sir, nothing will happen to them I assure you" he said calmly as Cooper nodded and passed him the weapon. To his relief he watched as the man treated them like any other pair of guns, placing them on the racks with all the rest. "Enjoy you're evening sir" said the man as he returned and gave the Marauder a reassuring nod.

"Shall we darlin?" he asked as he offered Felicia his arm, which the thief took before the doorman allowed them inside. The establishment fell quiet as all the attention was redirected to the couple as they approached the bar.

The barman eyed him wearily as Cooper looked over the menu, "Vodka martini" ordered Hardy, "You know how I like it" she added with a charming smile. The barman merely grunted before he turned to the Marauder.

"Whiskey on the rocks" ordered the Pilot before turning the see the opened mouth expressions on the rest of the patrons before clearing his throat. "Barman" he called out calmly, though loud enough for the whole room to hear, "awfully quiet in here, everyone must have dry mouths" he observed as he reached into a pouch and produced a wad of cash before beginning to count bills, "A round of drinks should cure that" he finished, placing ten $100 bills on the counter.

Soon the silence was broken as orders came in, the various hard men eager to take advantage of a free drink. Cooper removed his helmet and donned the aviators before exposing his mouth and taking a sip of his beverage. "Ready to get to work?" he asked.

"Ready and willing" she purred before taking her drink and heading over to a group of suited men that had been discussing something art related based on what little Cooper heard. Matthew meanwhile saw a booth full of Fisk Security men still in body armor and their purple shirts and made his way over to them, drink in one hand and helmet in the other.

The men fell silent as he approached, "Y'all mind if I join, seems my date found someone more interesting to talk to" he drawled as he set his drink down and pulled up a chair, sitting on it backwards before taking another sip of whiskey. "God this stuff is terrible; do they serve _any _good drinks here?"

"No" said one of the gunmen flatly, drawing a round of chuckles from the rest. "You sure you wouldn't rather be shooting us?" he asked wearily.

"Maybe later" replied the Marauder with a shrug, "but right now you aren't a threat to anybody, so it'd just be a waste of ammo."

The Marauder took another sip of whiskey as the others stared at him before one of them spoke up. "Speaking of ammo, what the hell do you use? Never seen guns like that…"

The other men nodded as a faint smile appeared on Cooper's face. "Depends on the gun, most use an 8.19mm tungsten cored round, polymer case" explained Cooper, the men's faces all showing looks of curiosity. "Armor piercing mostly, though I have a few other flavors if I want to mix it up" he added with a small grin.

The men soon settled into talking shop, each sharing descriptions of his favored weapon, only for the others to ridicule the choice good naturedly. More drinks arrived, with the Marauder picking up the tab before it finally came for him to describe one of his favorites. He gave a fairly detailed description of the R-201, it being a fairly conventional weapon overall, bar the collapsing nature of the design.

"Hot damn, wish we had stuff like that" said one of them, getting a round of the nods from the others. "You wouldn't be willing to share, would ya?" Cooper shook his head in the negative. "Worth a shot" said the man before getting a curious look, "what are you up to nowadays? Rumor has it you got into a few shootouts with the Maggia. At least they aren't doing any better than we did" he muttered.

"I have a new target" he said simply, "Kingpin wants to build some skyscrapers and I'm content to let him. The Maggia, well what I have is damning, they're involved in human trafficking. That won't continue, not if I have any say in the matter" he replied lowly, looking over his shoulder at a trio of men with suspenders and ties. "Specifically, they're working with another group, call themselves the 'Market'. You boys know anything about them?" he asked.

One of the men frowned, turning to the oldest, who was tight faced. "You think we should tell the boss?"

"Are you crazy!? He'll kill us if he knew we were talking to him!" said another, not so subtlety gesturing towards Cooper.

There was a tense pause as the men waited for their leader's verdict. He calmly took out a cell phone, "I'll call him, see what he says" he said simply as he dialed a number and put the phone up to his ear. "Boss, I got something you might want to hear about the Market…no, someone told me, it's just…alight, yeah I can put him on. One Sec" he said before sliding the phone across the table to the Marauder, "Boss will only talk to you" he said simply.

Cooper chuckled as he took the phone and placed it against his hear. _"Hello? Are you the one who has information on the Market? Identify yourself"_ said gruff no nonsense voice that was calm, yet with an unmistakable force behind it.

"Fisk" said Cooper dryly, "surprised you'd forgotten me already, it's your old pal, Roy Rodgers" he drawled, getting a small growl on the other end of the line in return. "Don't sound so surprised, I was just getting warmed up when dealing with you. But while I think you're an asshole, what I found _really _pissed me off…" he began before explaining what happened. Fisk just listened in silence, Cooper left out a few details, but took care to explain where Mathilda fit into the story and what would have happened to her had he not intervened. He also left out him working with the Punisher, unsure what kind of impact the mention of the Marine would have on the King pin. Also missing was Rawlins identity, he was mentioned simply as 'White Eye.'

"_Marauder"_spoke Wilson calmly after Matthew had finished, _"New York is my city"_ he said firmly. _"Not Osborn's, or Spiderman's, or yours, _mine_"_ he said, Cooper offering no argument before the kingpin continued. _"Everyone in my organization knows that we do not deal in that trade, it is deplorable and disgusting. I will not allow it to continue. Word will be passed down to not hamper you so long as you do not engage us."_

"Appreciated" drawled Cooper as he switched the phone to his other ear and scanned the bar for Felicia. "But not what I'm after. I need to know everything you do about the Market, the best way to keep them out of 'your' city is to tear them to shreds. I can do that; I just need to know where to go."

"_I see"_ said Fisk simply before taking a moment to ponder the request. _"My prior business with them is none of your concern" _said the Kingpin coldly. _"But the Maggia have been competing with my organization to support the Market, there will no longer be any such competition."_ Cooper waited, he knew that the Kingpin of Crime had to have more to offer, he just had to wait. _"Just before the competition began, a ship arrived at one of my ports, the _Cross Victorious_, and it will be ejected immediately"_ he said simply before the line went dead.

Cooper slid the phone back to the enforcer and bought the men another round of drinks before he found Hardy waiting for him at the door. "Enjoy talking shop?" she purred as he removed his sunglasses and put his helm back on.

"Enjoy showing off?" he shot back as they retrieved their weapons and made their way back outside. "I don't know about you, but the night is still young, and I have a target" he said once they had scaled the building and were a few blocks away. "Ever break into a ship before?"

* * *

Unfortunately, there was a complication in what seemed like a simple task. "When Fisk says 'immediately,' he means it Handsome" deadpanned Felicia with a smirk as she watched her lover check his weapons…again. _Boys and their toys_ she mused silently, at least she got as much attention as his guns and cars.

"Just makes this a little more fun" replied the Marauder as he screwed the sound suppressor to the end of his SMG before doing the same to a compact handgun. "You ready for the ride of your life sweetheart?" he asked, Felicia able to _hear _the grin behind the glowing visor before he turned to BT, who was flexing his right arm. "Trust me, it's the most fun you can have…with your pants on of course."

_Cross Victoria_ sat visible, a hundred and twenty yards from the shore of the abandoned port where Cooper's hideout was, between Manhattan island and the mainland. "Meaning that this would be more fun without pants?" she asked innocently, but with a wicked gleam in her eye as she adjusted the throat mic and earpiece.

"I wouldn't complain, the view is nice either way" he complimented flirtatiously, before turning serious. "This isn't going to be easy; this goes sideways, and we'll be up shit creek without even a toothpick" he cautioned.

"Which is why we're doing this my way" she reminded coyly as she strutted towards the Titan. "Nice and quiet, like a cat. United, we stand…"

"But divided, we ambush" finished Cooper with a nod, "alright, good luck, I'll see you on the other side darlin" he drawled, giving her a small salute before the burglar turned to BT and calling out "bring the heat buddy."

Felicia eyed the machine eagerly, "Let's see what you got big guy" said Hardy before she climbed into the open four fingered hand of the Titan. Suppressing a surprised noise as she was lifted effortlessly by the machine. Matthew had shown her his entire mission on Typhon, and she knew what was coming, and it was exciting.

"Please remain calm Felicia Hardy, vibrations could alter your trajectory by zero-point two seven percent" chided the robot in its warbling monotone. The mathematical exactness of the threat only making the Black Cat giggle even more. A stern look from the glowing blue eye forced her to at least make a show of being serious, but she was too excited for that to go past her face. She was finally getting to do some proper infiltration with her new beau, not the Neanderthal smash and grabs he preferred. "Wind: 2.8 knots, heading: 087, range: 108 meters, projectile mass: 69 kilograms" rattled off the machine as it stared out into the night at the target before clenching its left fist and looking back at Hardy. "Trust me."

With that, the massive 40-ton machine crow hopped before heaving the thief into the night, Hardy sailing effortlessly and freely over the water. She was unable to stop a small cry of pure joy as she sailed through the air, wind whipping at her platinum blonde hair as she reached the apex of her journey and began her descent.

Drawing her grapple gun, she took aim more by instinct than judgement and loosed the hook at the communications masts atop the superstructure at the aft end of the ship. After a moment where her heart spiked, she felt the hook connect and squeezed the trigger to reel herself in, the line going taught instantly. Her direction changed not a second later, adrenaline pumping full force as she swung around and past the target before pulling herself back up and coming to a stop, grabbing hold of the mast before checking her surroundings.

It didn't take long for her to notice the flashlight being waved around below, and not much longer for the Black Cat to trace it to its source. Another quick double check confirmed that the unfortunate soul was alone before the Cat produced her claws and pounced. Releasing the mast, she dropped down for a split second before she felt the solid impact of her heel on the guard's nose.

Felicia could feel the nose break from the sudden impact as her other foot hit the man's shoulder, breaking her fall as she twisted and slid down behind her prey. "Bad luck to cross the cat" she whispered as she wrapped one hand over the man's mouth and gave the back of his knee a kick, giving her better leverage as she placed her other hand on the back of the man's head and twisted before cradling the now lifeless corpse and lying it on the roof before dragging it out of sight.

Felicia then silently made her way to the edge of the roof, peering down to see the distinct signatures of a pair of lit cigarettes below. Waiting for the perfect opportunity, the Predator waited for her moment, a moment which came after a few minutes when one dropped his cancer stick on the catwalk and ground it out with the heel of his boot before turning and heading off with a wave.

With graceful ease, Hardy lowered herself down to the catwalk, silently landing mere yards from the armed man. The man was blissfully ignorant of the threat to his rear until it was too late, and the Cat's Claws were already at his throat, his mouth covered, muffling any screams before Felicia changed her tactic, pulling him back and down as she wrapped an arm around his neck and used her weight and leverage to crush his windpipe and strangle the life out of him.

The thief couldn't rest however; she turned at the sound of footsteps against the metal catwalk and immediately ducked into the shadows and stalked her way to the corner where the approaching sentry was. When he rounded the corner, he made out the crumpled, lifeless form of his comrade and immediately raised his weapon, scanning for the unseen attacker. Felicia held her breath until she saw the muzzle of the gun and leapt into action.

One hand grabbed the muzzle of the gun and yanked it down and past her, the other slashing the man's hands before she ripped the gun free and bashed her elbow into the guard's face, breaking his nose and knocking his head aside. Only now did the man begin to register what was happening, though his vision was blurred and head spinning as his throat was cut open, causing his screams to be gruesome, muted gurgles as he was pushed towards the railing and brought his hands up in a vain attempt to stem the bleeding before his eyes rolled back and he fell on the catwalk.

"Such a messy plaything" she purred disappointingly at the dead body, blood oozing from his sliced throat before she opened the lid of a container, found it empty and deposited both bodies inside before resealing the box. "Hey handsome, it's awfully lonely over here, none of these guys lasts as long as you do" she purred as she began to examine the door that would let them inside the ship.

"_I'm comin' in hot Darlin'"_ drawled her lover over the radio_, "Not gonna' miss this party."_ A few more seconds and she turned to see the Marauder in that rather dashing new suit of his streak towards her before he came to a halt, hovering for a brief moment to kill his momentum before falling to the catwalk with a small 'clang.' She made sure to give her hips a wiggle as she bent over to pick the lock. "You know" began Matthew over the comm, "I forgot how much fun that is, might be the best ride I ever had" he commented casually.

Without looking up from her work, she knew he was watching her ass in both senses of the phrase. "Then I guess I'll have to reclaim that title after this" she mused, a bubble of excitement and longing went through her at the prospect, even after so many nights together. The lock soon gave, and she allowed herself a satisfied smirk at the barely audible 'click' before she set to work on the wheel to open the watertight naval door.

When the wheel reached its stop, she turned to look at her companion, his visor dimmed and weapon at the ready as she opened the door and he surged through, gun swinging from side to side as she stepped in behind him and closed the door. "You got point" he said simply from a crouch before she took the lead, sticking to one wall while he pressed himself into the other and she pulled out the suppressed Five-Seven pistol she had acquired. She normally didn't like using the weapon, but in long narrow corridors with little cover and no other viable access routes it was the best option.

Just like having her take the lead, for all his well-deserved big dick machismo, Matthew did know when to ease off, and stealth was not his forte. He'd admitted as much, he was 'Brute Force and Ignorance' while Felicia was 'Stealth and Cunning'. This mission required the latter, so she was in charge. They continued along the barren corridor until they reached the bridge and Felicia's experienced eye picked out a fuse box that had wires coming out of it and leading into the room they wanted to get into.

A few seconds and slashed wires later, and a couple sparks leapt out at Hardy signaling her success as a few shouted curses came from the bridge. Crouching down, Cooper did the same as the door between them opened, obscuring Cooper as the man stepped out, holding up a lighter to see while Cat slunk back out of sight before her partner stepped out with his 10mm pistol drawn as he crept up behind him.

Without remorse, the gun coughed, and the subsonic round went up through his brain stem and into his skull before cradling the body as it fell back before placing it gently against the floor. "What the hell?" said a woman in the bridge, hearing the sound as Cat carefully stepped over the body and crept through the blackness and onto the bridge, ducking behind consoles as she peered for any signs of the woman. A flashlight soon illuminated the bridge, "Felix, what the hell man?"

Seeing the light point towards the door, Felicia stepped out behind the woman and readied her claws only for the light to whip around and flash straight in her face, blinding her as she surged forwards and slashed wildly. Hardy felt her claws dig into and slice through skin easily as the woman stumbled backwards at the assault. Her vision began to return as she raised her hand to strike, only to see the Marauder was behind her, kicking her knee before wrapping one of his exo assisted arms around her neck before twisting and yanking up.

The result was a disturbing _snap-crunch _sound as her skull was severed from her spine by the move and the body discarded carelessly by her killer. "Thanks" she said dismissively, "but I had it in hand" she assured, merely getting a silent shrug in return. Unable to not roll her eyes, she took out a small illuminator, which gave enough light for them to see without drawing too much attention. "Get rid of the bodies and cover the door, I'm going to have a look around" she ordered as the man simply did what he was told and left her to her work.

She knew what they were looking for, black box, personnel records, and manifests, anything they could use to find out more about the Market. Minutes crawled by, with Cooper quickly depositing both bodies into a closet at the aft end of the bridge as Hardy began going through all of the usual places to store valuable items and became frustrated. Never mind not being able to get at the loot, she couldn't even find the loot!

Her mind raced, the captain's cabin would have been another logical place to look, but as she thought back to the passageways, she realized that she saw very few doors inside, and she was sure that there were no doors on the backside of the bulkhead on the aft end, yet the bridge seemed much smaller than it did from the outside. In a second, the pieces all fell into place. "You conniving bastards" she said in a mix of a snarl and glee as she tapped her claws on the bulkhead, slowly moving across the room and tapping every few inches.

The entire ship had been unremarkable, a small tramp steamer that was so normal that it would be forgettable if Felicia didn't know who owned it. There was no way it could serve as the base for a criminal empire, or even smuggle illegal cargo, unless there was more to the ship than met the eye. When the claw tapping returned an ever so slightly different tone that the burglars experienced ear knew the meaning of.

Giving the bulkhead a few more taps to confirm it, she soon began trailing a claw until she found the smallest seam in the seemingly solid metal. "Secret door…haven't had one of those in a while" she said with a smile, another challenge overcome as she could add William Rawlins, ex-CIA spook and international smuggler, to the list of people she had outsmarted.

After a little more exploring and she found the lock to the door with a handprint scanner, only she didn't recognize the make or model. It was only a second look that saw her notice the thumbprint scanner hidden in the center of a used dartboard; the darts permanently stuck in to guide the user. The handprint scanner was a ruse she realized, probably meant to trigger the alarm or to be used under duress.

Taking a page from Matthew's playbook, she chose to go with the simplest line of thinking, going to the closet, she grabbed the smaller woman and dragged her to the scanner, holding her thumb up and placing it over the bulls-eye when she heard a slight hiss and click form the secret door.

Cooper was at her side instantly, taking the body back to its hiding spot and covering the new opening with his SMG as it revealed a small room that was nowhere near as large as it should have been. Hardy stuck her head inside and noticed a pair of buttons on the wall, each marked with a simple arrow. "It's an elevator" she murmured in realization as she beckoned Cooper inside. "Go, up top" she ordered, pointing towards the emergency escape hatch in the roof.

With a brief nod he planted one foot in the silvery-grey wall and punched up through the hatch, pulling himself through the hole as Hardy hit the down arrow and took Cooper's hand, the pilot pulling her up with ease before resetting the hatch in place. By the time that was done the elevator had already begun its descent, and it kept going for some time. Felicia mused that they were well within the bowels of the ship, the entire superstructure a useless façade.

The lift slowed rapidly before it came to rest with a soft 'ping' as Felicia went into action. Drawing a snake cam from her belt, the thief moved the hatch a mere inch and sent the small spy camera down to look out of the open door through an attached screen. "Mess hall, empty" she whispered before retracing the camera and slipping back into the elevator and out into the empty room.

Checking to see that Cooper was just behind her, Felicia frowned at the well-lit halls she could see leading to the mess, stealth could be difficult unless they could find another way to navigate. She could see that everything was ornate, fine trimming, deep, plush carpets, and several art pieces on the walls. This didn't feel like a grungy gang hideout, this felt like the office of a well-off lawyer or entrepreneur. "Plan?" asked the Marauder simply in her earpiece, his SMG never still on one spot as he scanned, ready and waiting.

"Security room" responded the Black Cat instantly, no doubt this place would have security feeds, but those worked two ways as she well knew. She got a small tap on the shoulder; the indication Cooper was ready to move, no later was she up from her crouch. The duo was moving fast, but not as fast as she would have alone, quickly _and _quietly wasn't something the Pilot behind her could do.

Thankfully, the first four-way junction they reached from the mess was labeled. Hardy turned to head down to 'engineering', which sounded promising, when her arm was grabbed. "CIC" whispered Cooper, who wasn't even looking at her as he pointed his gun down a different hall. "It means 'Combat Information Center', engineering is the engines and machinery" he explained crisply. Felicia only had to give it a brief moment of thought before conceding the point. With her pride mildly bruised, the burglar took point once more before she stopped suddenly. "Contact?" asked Matthew, the tension emanating off of her lover in waves.

"We're clear" she assured as her eyes locked on the object of her attention and she approached it. "Just need to check something" she said as she approached the painting on the wall and she ran her hand along it, her breath hitching as her mind finally accepted what her eyes were seeing. This painting was currently missing, presumed stolen, Felicia knew that to be true, because she was the one who had stolen it, and now it was staring right back at her.

She quickly suppressed the spike of anger and the feeling that she had been personally attacked by that piece's presence, but once she did, she noticed something else odd about it. "What are you hiding?" she purred as she ran her fingers behind the frame and found a small button, her lips curling slightly as she pressed the button.

"We got incoming" warned Cooper with a hint of worry as Hardy gave the wall a push and let out a small sigh of relief as the secret door opened swiftly and silently before she stepped into the dim passage. Matthew was hot on her heels, grey SMG already covering the door as it closed rapidly before it sealed itself, leaving the couple in blackness with racing hearts as they waited to find out if they had been discovered.

Nearly a minute had elapsed as the two waited, not daring to move a muscle as the muffled footsteps and voices could be heard outside. Whatever flurry of activity had happened, it seemed to have passed and the two allowed themselves to relax and catch their breaths. "Bad news" said Cooper, "I can't reach BT, we're on our own" he informed, not even bothering to ask the question that might have come with that development.

She gave him a confident grin, "Just means we can't screw up then" she reasoned flippantly before sliding past him, rubbing against him slightly more than she had to, even considering the confines of the corridor. Felicia didn't mind that he copped a feel before following her through the dimly lit passage.

Hardy was familiar with maintenance areas, but with no real sense of where they needed to go, it was a tall order. Despite that, the two pushed on until the passage finally came to a dead end, an obvious handle and button on what was likely another hidden door on the other side. "Pulse Blade" she ordered, her throat mic ensuring the words didn't have to escape her lips for Cooper to hear them. A second later, the Pilot had drawn the Kuni and jammed it into the floor, his helmet scanning, staring at blank walls to see if the pulse revealed anything to be behind them.

"No contacts" he reported simply, but kept his SMG pressed tightly against his shoulder anyways as she opened the door and slipped inside the room to find herself in a large circular space. Screens lined every wall while the center held a table that glowed, revealing the tabletop to also be a display. "Do your thing darlin', I'll pull security" said Cooper before moving to take position to cover the main door into this place as she picked a station at random and set to work.

She made her way around the stations lining the walls of the room. Each one was personalized by the man or woman who worked there, with some exceptions. The Helm, weapons, and internal security stations were barren, likely because multiple people rotated through those stations. She focused on the last one, the experienced burglar able to navigate the system and erase the last hour of footage and spoof the system to not save the next six hours of footage.

The personalized stations proved more difficult nuts to crack, though one did reveal something of note. On one was a copy of _Clear and Present Danger_, with the bookmark having an eight-digit passcode on the back. Except the terminal clearly needed a ten-digit passcode, memorizing the pin, Felicia moved to the table in the middle, smile only getting larger as she saw the eight blank white boxes looking back up at her. Inputting the scavenged code, the table soon switched to reveal a home screen as she pulled out another device that had served her well.

A system like this would know if a drive was inserted into it or data link established, and since the Cat and Marauder didn't want to lead a trail that could connect back to them that meant a different tool needed to be used. A camera modified to take images of digital screens, specifically to gather information about guard rosters and patrol routes on some of her more planning intense heists.

She quickly flipped through anything and everything that looked like it might be important, maps, manifests, and … "Jackpot" she whispered as she found a personnel list, snapping a pic of the overall list as well as the four section heads for New York operations.

Rawlins had turned over New York to these four and gone to ground after too many run-ins with vigilantes. That meant that there was now a specialist in charge of Security, Networking, Finances, and Inventory. Knowing the details could be examined later, she just busied herself with getting all the info she could before she flipped back to the internal security feeds and saw a group of people coming down the hall that the map on screen had just outside the CIC. "Incoming" she whisper hissed over the mic, Cooper's dimmed visor snapping to her as she scanned the economical CIC for a good place to evade detection.

There was no time to go back to the maintenance passage across the room, the table was solid, and the workstations were all built into the bulkheads. But Felicia had been in tighter situations than this and hadn't been nailed yet, she had no intention of letting that change. "Vent" she ordered, the two heading for the wall, the Pilot removing his axe to get the grating free as she shimmied inside with him following, replacing the grating as he entered the confined space next to her.

Unfortunately, there was an upward bend that Hardy couldn't navigate eight feet down, she would have had to crawl in headfirst instead of feet first like she was. The result was the two infiltrators were pressed into each other as they heard crew enter the CIC. "Get on the camera feeds, Wallace, Lincoln, and Ross are missing. If there are stowaways on this ship, then I want to know where" ordered a British accented voice.

Moments crawled by, "Camera feeds are coming up blank, nobody is here who shouldn't be" reported a woman in reply. "Should I order the ship to go on lockdown sir?" Felicia then realized that Matthew had activated his Cloak, and she could see 'through' him and the boots of the man were visible through the grate.

"That's cheating" muttered Hardy, getting a small snort in reply over the mic, though it almost seemed as if the man outside could hear her, his boots pointing towards the grate for a second as time slowed to a stop.

Hardy let out a shallow breath slowly as the boots turned and moved out of sight of the grate as the man outside growled in frustration. "No, no reason to scare everyone. Have all teams check in and remind them to keep on the lookout, they are to report anything out of the ordinary" said the man before they heard a door open and close.

Another minute passed, the woman left in the CIC worked the radio, Felicia noting the number of teams she spoke with, a few of which were even kind enough to report their position, which greatly aided future planning. At one point, Cooper moved to exit prematurely and likely silence the woman for good. Hardy put a stop to that by squeezing him tighter and fixing him with a glare, which worked, _damn Texan and preference for shooting his way out _thought the thief.

Their patience was rewarded a couple minutes later when the radio chatter came to an end and the woman got up, the door opening and closing a second later. Thirty more seconds passed before Hardy moved, sliding past Cooper before removing the grate and pushing it aside before pulling herself out and helping the Marauder to his feet. "You know, I was wrong" he said over her earpiece as he shouldered his SMG, "Your way of doing things is nice too" he said dryly, though she could imagine the gamely grin behind the helmet.

She flashed him a seductive smirk, "Glad you agree" she answered before refocusing on getting off the ship. "One of the radio reports mentioned a moon pool, that's our way out" she said, getting a nod before Felicia turned and made for the door. The duo moved much quicker, absolute stealth traded for a bit of speed aided by Hardy having a chance to examine the labyrinth and moving with a clear destination in mind.

Matthew had the advantage of his cloak to help scout ahead and ensure they wouldn't stumble into unexpected trouble. The precaution proved useless however, nobody was roaming the halls hidden behind the unassuming exterior of the cargo ship. Hardy had done research on the Market with her own sources, part of the reason the group had made it so long was that nobody could ever find their base of operations, and now Felicia realized why. It was hidden in plain sight, traveling the world and able to depart on short notice as it carried cargo, probably both over and under the table, between various ports.

Those thoughts were on her mind until they reached a door labeled 'Moon Pool' and crept quietly inside, their luck holding as there were no signs of life within the massive space. By Hardy's best guess it was near the front of the ship, and the purpose of the space was clear. Hanging from the ceiling were several submersibles of varying size, no doubt able to smuggle cargo past even the most observant port authorities. The massive space took up the whole width of the ship, with both walls lined with small launch bays for several smaller crafts ranging from jet skis all the way up to a 50-foot attack boat that took up the entire port side of the room. The center was taken up by the moon pool, with the floor able to open to allow the submersibles access into the ocean below.

"Looks like I'm going to get to steal something tonight after all" she purred happily as she moved over to the array of smaller craft before coming to a stop next to a black Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat already in one of the smaller launch bays. Cooper took cover, crouching behind some crates as she looked over the controls and frowned. "Once we open up the launch our hosts are going to know it" she said the visor that looked back at her glowing soft blue once again.

"I'm game for a high-speed getaway…provided you know how to drive that thing" he said as his gaze shifted to the craft between them with a slight bit of nervousness in his tone.

Felicia put her hands on her hips, "Me? Why can't you drive it?" she asked. "You insist on driving everything."

"Because if our hosts decide they want their boat back…" he began before holding up his grey SMG, "I'd rather do the shooting" he deadpanned. The thief rolled her eyes, of course he would prefer shooting to driving.

That was unless… "_Do _you know how to drive a boat?" she asked, a bit surprised to see the helmet shake in return, which explained it. "Well hopefully you don't get seasick because…it's time to go" she said as her fingers danced on the controls and soon water began creeping into the launch bay and the armored Pilot vaulted over the float and into the boat before lying flat, only the top of his helmet and weapon peaking over the inflated collar. As soon as the door opened to reveal the choppy waters outside and a blast of cold air slammed into Felicia's face, she joined her lover in the RHIB, claws wrapping around the controls as she was forced to wait for the green light to launch, all while knowing the entire ship was converging on them with unpleasant intentions.

She was reminded of that when she heard the sound of the rapid fire suppressed sub gun cut loose, hot shell cases pooling near her feet as she peeked up to see a body sprawled out dead on the floor before a green sphere arced through the air and bounced through the doorway before exploding, painting the walls beyond red. The light above the door out turned green and Matthew immediately tossed the mooring rope off the boat before Hardy gunned the engine, the RHIB shooting out and catching air before slamming down into the choppy water below and shooting forwards.

"_BT!"_ yelled Cooper over the earpiece, _"we've commandeered a small boat and are out in open water, can you guide us to you?"_ he asked, as Hardy looked past the large outboard at the massive form of _Cross Victoria_ and the small light at the water line that hinted at the incredible facilities within. She quickly guided the boat around the stern of the cargo ship, the Manhattan skyline off to her left before she turned away and headed back towards the nearer shore.

A moment later, and the slightly unnerving deadpan of BT flooded through the earpiece, _"Ms. Hardy, adjust course 18 degrees to starboard"_ he ordered flatly as Hardy quickly pulled the handle right, the nose of the boat veering left before she realized her mistake and quickly corrected. The glowing x shaped visor swung to look at her, though she fixed him with a glare that silenced any quips before they came her way. _"Alert"_ said the Titan suddenly, causing Hardy's head to snap up, _"Numerous watercrafts are approaching your position. Evasive action recommended."_

Felicia immediately threw the steering lever in the other direction, the boat cutting hard, throwing the two of them up before slamming them back down on the floor as Cooper shoved a new magazine into his weapon and dropped the bolt. It turned out that the move had been just in time, bullets slammed into the water as gunshots echoed through the night, Felicia able to make out the twinkle of muzzle flashes from their pursuers. _"Shake a leg sweetheart"_ said Matt over the mic before returning fire as Felicia swung the boat back around, able to hear the impact of a body slamming into the water at high speed as the RHIB went nose to nose with the jet skis in pursuit. _"BT, get into cover, stay out of sight of the waterline, I have an idea."_

The pilot then shifted within the RHIB, climbing over Felicia to get to the other side as she worked the controls to swing the boat around, cutting the throttle for a moment to turn the craft on a dime before gunning the outboard again. "How much am I not going to like this?" she yelled.

"_A lot"_ deadpanned Cooper before he cut loose again with his SMG, a series of short bursts were countered by long strings of gunfire as the men from the Market tried to send the couple to the bottom. The smaller craft were quicker and nimbler, Felicia tried to juke them by feinting left before turning hard right so Cooper could keep his gun trained on them, but while it threw one off, two were hot on their heels with the third boxing them in.

Felicia bit back a curse as her options were limited before Matthew fired again, another loud splash coming as a result. "You better make it up to me later" she threatened as the Black Cat pushed the boat as hard as she could; with no room to maneuver she had to power through the gauntlet.

It wasn't enough however; the hull had a string of holes punched in the port side while the starboard collar deflated as more gunshots poured in. _"BT!"_ barked Cooper, _"Launch Acolytes, autonomous IR seeking"_ he ordered.

"_Pilot…"_ began BT, only for Matt to cut him off as he slung his gun over his shoulder and crawled up alongside Felicia.

"_I know BT"_ said Cooper, apparently dead set on whatever plan he had cooked up. _"Six missiles" _he said as Hardy's head tilted sideways and gave her lover an astonished look that he couldn't see before he spoke again, his words meant for her as much as BT. _"Trust me."_

There was a moment of pause before the Titan responded, _"Affirmative Pilot, launching missiles"_ deadpanned BT as Felicia saw the rockets streak up into the dark sky before turning and spreading before each seemed to lock onto a target and attacked like mad dogs in a meat locker.

Except two of those missiles had locked onto them, but before Hardy could react or shout a warning, she was aware that Cooper had wrapped his arms around her waist and was pulling her upward. The next thing she knew, they were airborne, his jumpkit tossing them both overboard as Hardy held her breath a moment before they both hit the water and went under, the sea above flashing orange as the missiles impacted, blowing all the small craft to smithereens before she shot back up to the surface, gasping for breath.

A moment later, Cooper popped up, his suit sealing and jump kit keeping him afloat as she fixed him with a glare, the cold-water biting at her skin beneath her skintight costume. The two swam to shore in silence before using their respective grapples to pull themselves out of the water and onto the abandoned dock, the freezing night air not much better for the burglar than the water she had just emerged from. "Back to your place then, I need to get out of this…" she began before having a thought. "Wait, did you do that just to get me out of my costume quicker?"

"Maybe…"

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook –Submachine Gun: R97-CN Compact SMG_

_If you look up the phrase 'bullet hose' in the dictionary, next to it you will see a picture of an R-97. With the base model having a rate of fire of 1080 rounds per minute it can empty a standard 40 round magazine in 2.22 seconds. The -CN model was developed by the IMC Colonial Navy to reinforce and streamline the weapon's furniture, so it was less likely to get snagged during boarding operations, nor was it as likely to fail during the extremes of zero atmosphere combat. _

_This model also featured a modified gas system, meaning the CN 'only' fires at 900 RPM. Still, it only takes one 4.6x30 mm armor piercing round to kill someone, and the air will be full of them whenever you pull the trigger. Despite the small size, the rounds can easily cut through Kevlar and other light body armor, and the shear weight of fire means follows the philosophy that if you throw enough shit at the wall, __**some **__of it will stick. Of course, if you want even more shit, there exists a mod named 'scatterfire' that will allow you to throw out 1200 potentially life threatening projectiles every minute. _

_When combined with the reliability inherent when based on the tried and true R-101 platform and the strong CQC performance, the R97 is a formidable weapon in spite of its diminutive size. Being one of the few weapons I have that can fit a suppressor that actually makes a difference, it allows for a modicum of stealth. But that doesn't mean its lethality is harmed. The R97 has earned the nickname 'Mulcher' for what it does to the insides of bad guys caught in the lead storm it dispenses._

* * *

**Closing Notes: Hopefully you all enjoyed that, because I really enjoyed writing this one. I had reservations about an infiltration sequence, but it came out better than I was anticipating. Though, I'm not sure how stealthy it would be to be thrown by a Titan, but brushing that aside, I've been waiting to include that sequence from the game, it was one of the best. This was a chapter very focused on Cooper and Hardy, and hopefully you guys are enjoying their interactions and find them believable.**

**The _Cross Victorious _was based on the _Oregon _from Clive Cussler's 'The Organ Files' books, it was just too cool of a concept to not use. **

**Feedback on that, the stealthier bits, and whatever else you think is worth the time and effort to write a review over is appreciated as always. **

**We are very quickly approaching the end of this story arc, next week's chapter is all about what our heroes found on the **_**Cross Victorious **_**and putting it to use. After that it's the day of the gala that will mark the end of the arc, though its being split into two chapters. There will be a large time jump obviously, and only events of consequence will be included in the transitional chapters. **

**But next time will see sniper rifles, webs, suppressors, and Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	20. Chapter 20: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Tip of the hat to ravens18 for betaing this chapter and catching my stupid mistakes.

Howdy folks, time for the next chapter of this story in the Spider-Man section that is an oddity because it actually has the Webhead making a substantial appearance. If you were expecting that to start a trend for future chapters then you clearly haven't been paying attention. However, I can guarantee that there will be more Spidey once we start the events of the actual game in a few chapters. Though this chapter will show just how different Matthew Cooper can be from Peter Parker. You can take a good guess besides the title, which is partly why I picked it.

Well besides that, it's been too long since we had some AC/DC so it is time to fix that, and since this chapter will feature a few amoral actions and a down and dirty feel to it, no song fits that better than this title cut off of their 1976 album. Known for the guitarists heavy breathing and being from the perspective of a hitman, Bon Scott's vocals may lack the brute force of Brian Johnson, but when it comes to tracks with an intimate feel, nobody has ever done it like Bon.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 20: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap**

_If you're havin' trouble with the high school head, He's givin' you the blues_

_You want to graduate but not in 'is bed, Here's what you gotta do_

_Pick up the phone, I'm always home_

_Call me any time, Just ring_

_36 24 36 hey, I lead a life of crime_

_Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap_

* * *

Yuri Watanabe, coffee in hand, strode towards her office in the Chinatown precinct, the floor nearly dead as only one or two other officers were there at this early hour. Dressed in a baby blue shirt, her preferred black leather jacket and black slacks, with wool pea coat over it to ward off the cold of the first day of December. Her gifted .357 Magnum was snugged tightly in a shoulder holster, the big revolver wasn't comfortable to carry, but provided a different kind of comfort.

Entering her corner office, she tossed her overcoat on the back of her chair before looking around; something didn't sit quite right with her as she scanned the space to look for anything out of the ordinary. "Morning Captain" came a vibrating voice, the Cop whirling around to see the Marauder leaned casually in the corner, arms crossed. He was wearing a different outfit, a darker green with grey accents and sleeker look with more light armor plates on his extremities between the pads on his joints. Largely unchanged was the heavy chest piece, still covered in ammo and equipment.

Most striking was the artwork adorning the helmet, his moniker of 'The Marauder' written in cursive script on one side with a gruesome image of an eyepatch wearing skull with blood dripping from its open mouth on the other. "Wha…how the…" she sputtered as her mind quickly put two and two together. "Cloak?" she asked simply, referring to the ability of his suit to render him invisible for a short period of time. When he had gone over _some _of the things in his bag of tricks, Watanabe had been floored, and seeing them in use elicited a similar reaction. The Pilot nodded, glowing blue visor hiding humorous eyes, or so she assumed. "How long have you been waiting there anyway?"

The armored and padded shoulders shrugged, "'bout half an hour" he drawled in reply as Yuri shut the door, checking to ensure that nobody noticed the vigilante's presence. If he was sneaking around like this, then whatever he had come here to discuss he wanted kept quiet.

"Doing what? You didn't mess with my shit, did you?" she asked, the helmet shaking a negative as he chuckled lightly. "Good" she responded with a small smile, "Wouldn't want you to find the secret letters professing my love to you" she quipped, getting another chuckle from the Pilot as she sat down.

"Don't let Cat hear you say that" he warned, "I spend enough time listening to her try to convince me we should spice up our relationship with 'that police chick in the leather'" he said, the electronic filter not able to conceal how he was rolling his eyes at the comment. "So please don't give her any more ammunition."

"Why not? Afraid you have too many strong, confident women in your life? Is your masculinity threatened?" she teased with a laugh. Nothing could have been further from the truth and they both knew it, but the banter between them had become more friendly over the few weeks they had been working together, the Marauder had become almost like another coworker, just with more guns. "I'm sure you didn't come in this early to tell me that, what's up?"

The Marauder reached behind his chest plate and pulled out a slightly bent manila folder and tossed it down on the desk. Yuri opened it and pulled out four profiles, "Rawlins has gone to ground, but he has four Lieutenants still working to establish a foothold for the Market in New York" explained the vigilante as the Cop looked through the dossiers. "Those four" he confirmed, "will all turn up dead in the coming weeks" he said simply, the words were jarring for Yuri, causing her to look up at the visor.

The cop narrowed her eyes and glared at him, she didn't like giving him and the Punisher free reign on this, especially considered what it had resulted in so far. Sure, the Marauder had done as she asked and kept her in the loop, but he had been as vague as possible when doing so. "Where did you get these?" she pressed, "and are you sure they're the right people?"

"Remember that lightshow on the water a few nights ago?" he asked, Yuri nodded, reports were varied and conflicting, some witnesses said they heard gunfire and saw a boat chase. Others said they saw missiles streak into the sky. All the harbor patrol found were pieces so small that they could have been from almost anything, and the case was pushed aside. "That was Cat and I escaping from the _Cross Victorious_, all those names were on a central computer hidden deep within the hull. I've included pictures of the interior and cargo manifests we pulled along with the manifests provided when they arrived here…as you can see, they don't match."

They did not. Left off the official one was crates of 'sugar', 'industrial equipment' and 'fragile chinaware' that could easily have been a dozen different less than legal items. Watanabe frowned as she skimmed through them, "I can't act on this, not in any appreciable way anyway" she said, her mind going through any option she could come up with. "A raid is out of the question, but we might be able to keep up surveillance, if we see something suspicious…" she mused. She looked to him for any reaction, despite the full covering armor and bulky pads; he could usually project what he was thinking without nearly as many words as Spider-Man.

But the vigilante merely shrugged, "Do whatever you think is best, taking the ship would be one hell of a prize" he replied. "Word of warning if you do, secret elevator hidden in the aft wall on the bridge" he said simply. "My focus is on those four and then Rawlins" he finished coldly.

"And you're just going to kill them?" she asked, getting a nod. "Don't you think that's a bit much? I'm pretty sure that your agreement with Mayor Osborn doesn't enable you to become a serial killer, no matter what the reason is."

"Which is why I didn't do it, officially at least" he replied. "Castle will take two, I have the others. None of those people have any relation other than their employer, which the NYPD won't know about because of the structure of the Market, and the plan is to take down each one differently. At best you'll be able to pin one on the Punisher, I don't know how Frank will be handling his targets."

"What you're talking about doesn't sound like fighting" observed Yuri, gaze locked on the visor. "It sounds more like…assassination." She carefully gauged his reaction and wasn't sure if it was downplayed by his suit, or if the small shrug he gave her was all he had to say about that. "And you're alright with that?" she pressed.

"Honestly? I don't like it" he admitted, his conviction wavering just for a second as he thought about his answer. "But my agreement with Osborn is to continue to conduct SRS-like missions to ensure the safety of the city. Executing Kill/Capture orders on HVIs aren't an uncommon SRS mission" he defended lamely, like he was trying to find justification for himself just as much as give it to her.

It seemed he was of a like mind to her, in the heat of the moment, killing people was an unfortunate necessity of crimefighting, but seeking out criminals like this was crossing a line. Even when he started, the Marauder had raided weapon and drug stockpiles or some material target and simply killed anyone who got in his way, but never attacked them specifically to kill them. 'Punishing' them was something Castle did, not the Marauder, it was an odd loophole, but one Watanabe understood. "Why now? What's changed?"

There was a brief silence before she got her answer. "I got a lot less sympathy for these guys considering I go home everyday to a girl robbed of a year of her life, hell, her humanity, because of these assholes" he snarled, fists clenching at his sides. "I will never claim that it's the 'right' thing to do" he said with a sigh, "but it sure as shit feels like it is."

Yuri understood that, there were some criminals she had arrested over her career that probably warranted that kind of attitude. But the law was what separated being a Cop from being a vigilante, while the Marauder…was something in between. "I'm guessing this is all off the record then?" she asked, getting a nod. With that, Yuri packed all of the info back into the folder and handed it over. "You have a timetable on this?"

The Vigilante stuffed the information behind his chest plate, "If all goes well, and with a bit of luck, my New Year's resolution can be to not have to do something like this again" he said with a bit of optimism.

"You're selling yourself a little short there, Marauder" said Yuri encouragingly, "See if you can have Rawlins' head on my desk for Christmas." The two shared a small laugh as he made for the door, but before he opened it the Captain called out "Good hunting." The visor turned around and gave a curt nod before he vanished into thin air and the door opened on its own.

* * *

"Looks like Frank's drawn first blood" observed Mathilda as she sat on her knees, the coffee table in front of her covered with her latest project, Felicia's new suit. There was a bit on content in the tone of the French teen as she fitted armor plates like the one on the Renegade set to the black suit. On the TV in front of them was a news report was a bulletin about a hit and run the previous night, the suspected vehicle had been found, stolen, of course. The man who had stolen it had also been found, shot in the head at point blank range, ruled a suicide.

Only the person killed in the hit and run was the Market Lieutenant for Inventory, of course he wasn't identified as such on the News, but the name was one of his aliases and face was the same. Mathilda was happy at the development; Cooper hadn't hidden anything from her, not that he could with her obsessive asking now that they had a plan. Poor girl had fixated on the people who tortured her for a year, working constantly on Hardy's suit and tweaking the Renegade kit as her way to ensure their demise.

Matthew was no psychologist, but he hoped that by finishing this fight, destroying the Market, and killing Rawlins, he could help Mathilda bury her demons and return to normal life. Even then, severing a pipeline of illegal goods into the city was in everyone's best interest, which is why he was watching the news from the kitchen counter. The head of Security's profile splayed across it, including his movements that Cat had been tracking for the last week since his meeting with Watanabe.

That meant that the Marauder had already selected how the former SAS operator would die. A single slug, 14.5x114 mm, but not the usual armor piercing incendiary 'RAUFOSS' ammo. A special fragmenting 'Black Talon' round that would go from a bullet into razor blades to cause as much internal damage as possible. Even with the best medical care, there was no way anyone could survive being shot by a Black Talon from a Kraber, arms, legs, feet, didn't matter, blood loss and shock would do even the toughest person in.

Was it overkill? Yes and no, Cooper was trying to kill a hard motherfucker, and it wasn't going to be an easy shot, even for him. None of that changed the fact that shooting a man-sized target with a round of this caliber, never mind this type, was technically a war crime. _Good thing I'm not technically at war then_ he thought dryly as he stuffed the black tipped rounds into the large box magazines and began assembling the rifle after the thorough cleaning he had spent the last hour giving it.

The most powerful ballistic weapon in his arsenal, the big bolt action weighed in at an eyewatering 55 pounds unloaded. Its bulk didn't help either, which was why a diminutive Alternator was also on the table, the twin barreled SMG an ideal PDW and backup.

"Well, I'm about to go even the scores" he assured as he set up the automatic zeroing process and let the massive 12-25x scope link to the CPU buried in the guts of the rifle. "Just, we need to have a talk when I get back" he said firmly as he sat on the armchair. "You know that sooner or later we're going to have to talk about getting you home."

Mathilda ignored him and continued to work, not once in all her time at the hideout had she ever volunteered any information about her family, or even a surname. Felicia and Matthew had probed and pressed, but she just clammed up whenever they tried to breach the subject with the French Teen. "They won't want me home" she whispered, not looking up from the piece of suit she was working on.

Cooper frowned at the words. "And why would you think that? You haven't seen them in so long, with how hard it is to not know?" he asked, getting no response to the rhetorical inquiry. "My folks don't know about any of this" he began suddenly, "they think I died in a car crash, impossible to know for sure, because…well, you know."

She had stopped her work and turned to look at the Pilot. He had mentioned his past once or twice, though rarely elaborated to anyone how he felt about it. "Of course, you don't realize what you have until it's gone…the good and the bad. You know, a great philosopher once said, 'life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while…" he began with a wry grin, "you could miss it.'"

Mathilda frowned as she cocked her head thoughtfully, seconds passing before she finally spoke, curiosity filling her French accented voice. "I have not heard of that. Who is the philosopher?" she asked.

Matthew's grin grew from wry to full on shit eating status, "Ferris Bueller" he declared smugly.

Furrowing her brow, Mathilda's face was clearly betraying her mind deep in thought as she tried to place the name or, more than likely, the delivery of it. After a few moments of contemplation, her face lit up in realization, a beam plastered across her features. "That is one of your American movie characters, no?" she asked, though despite the phrasing she was quite sure of herself.

Cooper threw he head back and barked out a laugh that simmered down to a chuckle. "You're learning" he complimented as he checked the time on his watch and pushed himself up from the armchair and stretched. "Alright, time for me to head out, I'll be back in a few hours" he said as he picked up the Kraber and Alternator and began heading towards the waiting Viper in the garage, his kit stowed in the trunk.

"Bonne chassee!" called out Mathilda behind him as he opened the door into garage, pausing and smiling faintly before mounting up and heading into the twilight.

* * *

_CRACK!_

The distinct report of the anti-material rifle echoed around the high rise that was currently under construction. Cooper's perch offered a clear view of an abandoned lot with four parked cars illuminating the meeting going down. His visor was still pressed against the scope, watching as the massive Black Talon round found its mark, ripping a volleyball sized hole in the man's chest. The other men and women with the big SAS man drew their weapons and began scanning the area before immediately retreating to their vehicles and driving away.

Cooper cycled the Kraber, removed the magazine, and retrieved the shell casing, slipping it into a pouch as he prepared to abandon his sniper's nest; he had spent the best part of an hour setting up just to take that one shot. The table in the middle of the room that the 14.5mm rifle had been resting on was pushed back against the wall as he had found it, though there was nothing he could do about the 2x2 foot hole he had knocked in the brickwork with a sledgehammer.

Once he was sure that there was no trace of him in the camera free, unsecured building, the Pilot began to make his egress, leaping down several stories to some scaffolding below. The Marauder was moving slowly, taking care to not be seen as he left the building, sticking to shadows and not using his signature jumpkit. Soon he was making his way across rooftops, only using his Jumpkit when he was phase shifting to get between buildings.

He was moving towards where the victim of his shot had been, listening for any sign of Police response and knowing that Felicia was stalking these rooftops as well, waiting to potentially ambush any Market responders that showed up to collect their superior. While waiting, Cooper got a better look at the man on the receiving end of the Black Talon, or rather, what was left of him.

His chest was unrecognizable; a quarter sized hole in front hid the massive overlapping series of exit wounds in his back as the razor-sharp claws of the Black Talon went through, cutting everything in their path. The round had fully fragmented inside his chest cavity; chances were the best forensic scientist wouldn't be able to piece it fully back together even if he or she got all the parts. Matt's best guess would be that the round would be assumed to be a .50 BMG and not the more exotic Soviet developed chambering. Hell, considering the type of ammo, they might even assume it was a handgun and not even look for his sniper perch that was a kilometer away. If he was pushing his luck, he could hope that the construction workers would arrive tomorrow morning, scratch their heads at the new hole in their wall, and patch it up, thus eliminating the last trace of what happened other than the body. "And that isn't likely to be much help" mused the Marauder as he stole another glance at the bloody corpse on the pavement below.

Fifteen minutes after the shot, and there was no sign of any response from Police or the Market. Only then did Cooper make his getaway at full chat, wallrunning and grappling towards Felicia's nearest hideout to deposit the AMR and ammunition. When that was done, he was about to change into street clothes, walk a few blocks to his Viper, and join Felicia in her penthouse to get out of the cold and into a warm bed. "Scratch two" he drawled in content, after Frank killed the first Lieutenant and now this, they were halfway done.

Sadly, Captain Watanabe had other ideas. The cop's picture filled a corner of his HUD and his ringtone, the opening of _Back In Control_, performed by him on his own SG, filled his ear. "Captain" he drawled after accepting the call, "Hopefully this is just a social call cause it's really fucking cold outside."

He could imagine the glaring expression on the other end of the line matched the unamused and no-nonsense one on the face occupying the corner of his HUD._ "You're bitching about, of all things, the _cold_?" _asked an exasperated Captain flatly, _"when your suit is temperature regulated? You don't get to bitch about the cold."_ Cooper laughed lightly at the reprimand, conceding the point before Yuri cleared her throat and continued. _"Especially when we have a situation in Hells Stacks that we need you at."_

"What kind of situation?" he asked, the slow seep of adrenaline that entered his system causing his voice to sharpen and movements quicken as he began checking over his kit.

As he patted himself down to ensure his gear was in the correct places, Watanabe responded. _"I'll explain when you get here, suffice it to say its right up your alley"_ she said, causing Matt to roll his eyes as he completed his checks. _"Why do you ask?"_

"Well…" began Cooper as he checked that his MK6 was loaded before turning to one of the safehouse walls. The wall was filled with neatly organized weapons of various types, "I need to know what kind of guns to bring."

* * *

"…A three man team here, and another here" said Stoddard as he and a few other SWAT officers pored over a schematic of the building being used as a drug lab by the Reds since their previous one had been destroyed in Cinderblock. "Snipers here and here" said the SWAT Captain as he pointed to nearby buildings on either side of the target building. "We could get this done with minimal casualties and no help" assured Stoddard as he turned to Benitez.

The Chief nodded before turning to Watanabe, "Well Captain?" he asked as Stoddard's face immediately went dark and he sneered at Yuri. "What do you think? Is the Marauder really necessary and can he actually help?" asked the Chief.

Yuri pursed her lips, this operation had come together so fast and on the down low that she had only learned about it half an hour ago and the first thing she did was call in the big guns, even if she only officially called the Marauder. "The drug labs on the eighth floor, right?" she asked, getting an affirming nod from Stoddard, even if it was a reluctant one. "Then we need him" she said firmly. Benitez brought a hand to his chin and gave an 'explain' grunt. "Even _if_ SWAT gets in and even _if_ they make it through eight floors filled with god knows what, are they really going to do it before any evidence we need is destroyed?" she asked poignantly.

The white-haired chief of police 'hmmed' as he turned back to the blueprints, deep in thought as the SWAT Officer leaned forward, both fists pressed hard against the table. "Sir? Sir, you can't seriously be considering letting that freak anywhere near this investigation?" asked a stunned SWAT Captain. "He's a menace who can't be trusted, how can we be sure he won't just go off the deep end, pull a Castle, and kill everyone inside?"

"You could always ask nicely" remarked a filtered voice dryly, shocking every one of the police officers assembled as they craned their necks up to see the Marauder wall-hanging above them and the glowing x shaped visor looking down at them. He then pulled the axe out and fell to the small courtyard they were gathered in, his boots crunching on impact as his kit shot out blue flame to slow his descent. "You never know" he said as he placed his tomahawk in its sheath on his left thigh, "I might even say yes."

The green clad vigilante stepped up to the table, many of the fully armed SWAT team looking in awe, Yuri suspecting that some of them might need manhood counseling as they got their first up close look at the fully kitted out Pilot. Adorned rifle slung in front of his chest and the dozens of pouches containing a half dozen different gadgets that could cause the men to drool, Smart Pistol, Data Knife, Combat Axe, and every other high tech gadget critical to future warfare. "What are…what are those things on your back?" as one of the officers.

The Marauder didn't even turn around as he bent over to examine the diagrams. "Kill tally" he answered simply as Yuri focused on the dozens of marks. The helmet turned, the bleeding skull looking away from her as he caught sight of the gaping Watanabe. "Titan kill tally" he elaborated with a small chuckle.

It was the veteran Police Chief's turn to look like fish out of water. "Titans? Those giant robot things?" he asked skeptically, his thick accent and description of 'Titan' getting the attention of the others. The helmet merely nodded as it turned back to the diagram. "Hot damn kid, maybe you really are all you've been cracked up to be."

The armored shoulders shrugged, politely dismissive, "You're the only one who's seen helmet cam footage of me in action, you tell me" he responded wryly before standing to his full height. "Way I see it, unless you all got jetpacks or the Reds are comically incompetent there is no way in hell you'd make it up eight flights of stairs in time" he observed simply as he pulled a magazine out from one of his pouches and tapped it against his helmet before sliding it into the angled magwell of the rifle and turning to Benitez. "Put me in coach" he said with a grin making its way through the filter and he dropped the bolt on the Carbine, "I'm ready to play."

Stoddard's grumblings were halted by a glare from Chief Benitez as he thought for a moment before clearing his throat and turning to the vigilante. "Alright then Marauder, you're up. Here's what we're going to do…"

* * *

Peter crawled along the air vents of the apartment complex turned gang hideout. Legitimate tenants were mixed in with Reds operating in a half dozen different operations from drug manufacturing to arms dealing, loansharking to blackmail, they really were diverse as far as street gangs went. Of course, they had been expanding ever since Cinderblock, Yuri and Spider-Man both theorized this was due to the Kingpin helping them along, or at least his Syndicate.

The trouble was, they needed proof, and while the Police were focused on the drug lab and hopefully finding materials that had come from Fisk Industries to be used in narcotic manufacturing, Spider-Man would strike out on his own and look for alternatives. Originally, he had wanted to help the SWAT Team, but Cooper assured him that he had that covered.

For all Peter didn't agree with the Texan on, he still had absolute faith he would do his job and protect New York's Finest at any cost. That worked both ways of course, that trust between them never faltered even after the experience of working together, trying to make their different philosophies and styles compatible through the weekly patrols. His earpiece rang; an incoming call from Matt, "Yo Coop" greeted the Webslinger as he peered through an air vent and saw a lone guard smoking a cigarette with a SMG hanging at his side. With a rapid series of fluid motions, the distracted man found himself webbed to the ceiling, "Doing good over here, what's up with the Police?"

"_Stoddard's people are ready to go in"_ reported the Marauder as the Webhead resumed his crawl. _"No indication they know you're on the scene and once we go loud you should have a clear shot"_ he said, Peter knowing just how 'loud' the Marauder could be as he continued. _"Just be careful, SWAT Snipers are stationed on the northeast and southwest corners, they'll be shooting to kill on sight if they see anyone leaving the building, I'd steer clear of them if I were you."_

"Noted" replied Peter, suppressing a frown at the trigger happy SWAT Team that could easily shoot one of the innocent bystanders that may try to flee the fighting should it happen. "You got the main stuff handled? If this gets ugly…it could get really ugly" he said, concern permeating his voice as he came to a stop, looking out to a high-tech command center. "Jackpot" he breathed as he smiled behind his mask.

There was a small bark of laughter over the line, _"Sounds like you're in position"_ observed Cooper dryly. _"We're about to hit them, got a lot of breaching charges and arc grenades ready hoping this thing goes well"_ he said before taking a deep breath, _"and Arc rounds in the Carbine and hollow points in the Alternator if it doesn't." _The Marauder didn't sound very hopeful that his weapons wouldn't be needed, but Cooper had never been an optimistic type.

The plan for the Police was, simply put, 'Shock and Awe', have the Marauder burst into the drug lab while heavily armed SWAT came in multiple sides to overwhelm the Reds and hopefully secure the hideout without so much as having to fire a shot. To Parker it sounded like a good plan, and he had faith in the Police and Yuri that they could pull it off, and of course Matthew would do his part, but the Pilot's words kept coming back to him when he said as much to the Marauder: 'No plan survives first contact with the enemy.'

_Well hopefully this one does_ thought Peter optimistically as he watched the gang members inside the control room, clearly bored of the nothingness on the monitors of the perimeter cameras. Only then did the police scanner crackle to life in his mask, _"All units, this is Watanabe; Fury, I say again, Fury" _called his favorite Captain over the radio, the signal for the SWAT teams and the Marauder to move in.

Spider-Man also swung into action, bursting out of the vent and firing a series of webs at the one-armed guard not at a terminal. Before he could bring his weapon up, his arms were pinned to his sides and he was kicked against a wall, the sticky webbing holding him fast to the surface as the other Reds got to their feet. "It's the Spider!" called one as they surrounded Spider-man.

They all raised their fists, faces twisted and ready for a fight, "Get 'im" snarled one before charging forwards, the wallcrawler easily ducking the powerful punch and returning one of his own, though he held most of his strength back, the Red stumbled from the blow.

"Please guys" said the webhead mockingly as he fired a webline and threw a second Red towards the first to attack him, sending both to the floor in a tangle of limbs, "I'll get to all of you eventually, just wait your turn" he assured as he turned to the third and fired two weblines to the ceiling, pulling himself in a swinging kick that connected with the man's chest and sent him flying before he was webbed to the floor where he landed.

A mixture of moaning and snarls caused him to turn around as his Spider sense hummed and he leapt away, firing a glob of webbing into the Red's face and blinding him as he tried desperately to claw it off and the second got back to his feet. Just as he did, super powered blows rained down on his chest and stomach, forcing right back down again, his head impacting the floor with a loud 'thunk' and he was out cold.

The only Red left standing had torn the synthetic silk from his face and roared as he charged at the Webhead, face twisted in absolute anger. All of the anger couldn't overcome superhuman strength, speed, and reflexes however, one or two deflected blows and a staggering punch in the gut allowed Parker to slide between his legs and come up behind him, webbing his legs and pulling them tight as he tripped and fell face first onto the floor. "Better luck next time" said Spider-Man chipperly as he webbed the Red where he was, making sure to put a glop over his mouth while leaving his nose uncovered.

Humming a jaunty tune, the spandex clad superhero strolled over to the computers and set to work, humming evolving into whistling as he set up an uplink and began transferring files to Yuri and Matthew. With that working, Spider-man decided to see how the Titan Jockey was doing, cycling thorough the feeds, he soon came across one labeled 'Laboratory' right as an explosion rocked the building.

At first glance, the amount of smoke and dust obscuring the camera feed gave the impression the lab had been completely destroyed. That only lasted a few seconds however as it all quickly settled to reveal that only one wall was torn apart by three breaching charges and the glowing visor of the Marauder was visible through the thinning obscurement. The renegade Pilot began to move forward, carbine pressed tightly against his shoulder as he swept the room, able to see or, more than likely, hear the struggles of the Reds who had locked all other entrances into the space.

One of the gang members tried to grab his pistol and get to his feet, only for Cooper to leap across the room with the help of his rocket kit thing and smash him in the face with the butt of his rifle. At that point, the sound from the feed blasts into the room, static quickly replaced by the Gunfighter's filtered voice. "…If anyone else wants to try, feel free, I got a big enough can o' whoop ass for all of y'all" called out the Marauder tauntingly.

None of the Reds took him up on his offer and stayed laying on the floor as the vigilante made his way around the room cuffing the Reds while the other feeds showed the SWAT Team clearing the complex. So far everything was going perfectly, the one or two Reds that came out had to face down the Riot Shield holding SWAT man in front before a TAZER came back and sent the gunmen down. The NYPD had achieved total surprise and were seizing the advantage with ruthless efficiency.

With the first floor secure, the Police began ascending the several staircases when the plan walked face first into a series IEDs, literally. A series of muted explosions echoed through the halls, causing the lights to flicker as explosives built into the stairwells were detonated, firing hot shards of concrete and ball bearings packed between the walls and explosives. The SWAT Teams unlucky enough to be caught in the blasts were shredded, what were once fully armed Police were turned into hamburger meat in an instant as the Police Radios were filled with pandemonium as calls for paramedics and backup mixed with the cries of the injured. Spider-Man was somewhat thankful that there weren't cameras in the stairwells so he could see the carnage, but there were in the hallways above, and he could see Reds preparing to seize the advantage. "Marauder?" he asked as he pressed a finger to his ear, "we have a problem, well, about three dozen actually" he said as he locked down the system to keep the Reds out.

"_Hit me spidey"_ said Cooper as the Webhead pulled himself back into the vents, _"because by the sound of things the Police need us to buy them some time to regroup."_The webhead agreed, already working his way back through the air vents towards one of the stairwells packed with wounded and about to be besieged officers.

As he made a turn towards the faint sound of gunfire, Peter replied "Reds are awake now, I'm heading to the southwest corner, can you take the North?" Deciding to not waste words, the Pilot merely grunted in acknowledgement while the Webslinger pressed on and soon was overlooking a few gunmen in the hallway at the top of the stairwell with the wounded officers inside. "Heya!" called the Wallcrawler as he yanked the rifle from the hands of one thug before he fired his other to pull himself to the Red farthest away as hastily fired shots buried themselves harmlessly in the walls and ceiling.

As the Red used as an anchor was kicked in the chin and thrown back, the Superhero turned to face down the other armed men, just another day for Spider-Man.

* * *

Cooper snarled behind his helmet, fist grabbing the collar of the last standing Red unfortunate enough to be in the room he had breached following his leap out of the charge made holes in the lab and fired his grapple to pull himself to a window a few stories down. Blood matching the color of his jacket dripped from his broken nose and busted lip as he stared wide eyed into the glowing x shaped visor and Cooper lifted his feet off the ground, the Jump Kit throwing the two forwards and through the door and out of the small apartment and into the hallway. The gangbanger took the brunt of the impact with the opposite wall, his head slumping forwards before he was released, falling limply to the dirty carpets.

"Holy shit" breathed a stunned voice from Matt's left, the visor swinging around to the source of the muttered exclamation. A half dozen young men in gang colors stared back, clearly going through the process of rethinking their life choices that led them to staring down the formidable Renegade Commando.

Either the bravest or the dumbest eventually recovered his wits and fumbled with his shotgun, but the battle-hardened Pilot had a much clearer head, focused on what he had to do to get him out of this chillingly familiar situation. Before the Red had raised his weapon, the A-Wall sprung to life as the Pilot dropped to a crouch and reached back with his right hand, bringing the R-201 to his hip and dropping the hammer, spraying arc rounds into the packed hallway.

The impacting arc rounds sent bolts of lightning flickering across the bodies of impacted targets as their muscles seized and they fell to the floor in agony. Their screams were drowned out by the roaring of the Carbine as Cooper dumped the entire 24 round magazine before instinctively pulling out the Alternator when the -201 clicked dry and swept the hall to find the Reds neutralized. A commotion behind him caused the Pilot to spin around as he dropped lower and lay on his back, SMG held one handed with finger poised over the trigger.

But it wasn't pulled, a trio of SWAT officers burst into the hallway, both sides pointed their weapons away as one of them helped the Pilot to his feet. "Thanks there…Drake" said the Marauder, reading the Officers name from the tag on his uniform as he reloaded his assault rifle. "Hostiles neutralized, non-lethally. I'm moving east to assist teams there."

The helmet and masked SWAT member nodded, youthful green eyes, not much older than Matt's, stared back at him through ballistic goggles. "Copy, we'll secure the area and follow you ASAP" replied the officer as he gave hand signals to the two men behind him. With a curt nod, the Militia Pilot turned and got moving, bouncing off the walls and sliding along the floor of the narrow hall.

One poor gang member emerged just as Cooper was approaching, with no time to aim his rifle the SRS operator merely cocked a fist, knuckles crackling with lightning as he planted a blow that knocked teeth loose on the poor man as Matt shot past.

Cooper had learned of another difference between him and Spider-Man, because of the latter's immense strength, he had to hold back his punches lest he accidentally kill someone. The Marauder on the other hand, even with STIM and Exo at max, was not that much stronger than the strongest 'normal' human, meaning he could leave it all out on the field with little worry.

Not that the knocked out Red was able to appreciate that small difference, but to the three behind him that tried to rush the Marauder, who had slid to a stop, they had less of a chance as the Marauder reached into his bag of tricks and pulled forth an arc grenade. The sphere meant that the Reds never even got a chance to fight, their weapons falling from their twitching hands before they followed suit, the Pilot already moving on.

Like the cavalry of old, the Marauder rode to the sound of the guns, soon finding the staircase at the corner of the building and ascending two floors to the sixth to find the Cops stalled, determined resistance keeping them from the seventh. "You!" shouted one Cop over the chatter of SMG fire further up the confined stairwell, "do something! We're getting killed in here" he said amidst a trio of badly bleeding and probably dead cops. Cooper merely nodded, eyes darting to look for an opening before his mind settled on the most tactically viable option. Ignoring the shouts of the SWAT team, he turned and retreated down to the sixth floor.

He tossed his last breaching charge onto the ceiling and felt the cold surge of anger enhanced adrenaline that demanded he even the scores, not by sending Reds to jail cells, but to morgues. Alternator in his left hand and clacker in the right as he bent his knees, his jump kit hissing as if it were as ready to go as he was. "Get some" he growled as he pulled the oversized trigger twice before firing his grapple up through the fresh hole and trading the detonator for his Smart Pistol as he pulled himself up right into the middle of the Reds, gun in each hand and a cold fury behind his unseen grimace as the weapons were leveled with evil intent.

With barely a moment of thought he put two 10mm rounds through a wounded man on the floor next to his breach point that was going for a gun a foot away before the twin-barreled sub gun was directed towards two startled men. The rounds steadily worked their way up from stomach to chest from head and back and forth between the two before Cooper turned to his right, the MK6 having locked on.

The Smart Pistol fired a continuous burst of shots as Matthew squared up to the Reds, firing the remaining few rounds from the Alternator to add to the carnage. Different bodies had different wounds based on the weapon, the MK6 drilled neat holes between eyes while the Alternator tore chunks from arms, chests, and heads. Blood spattered the walls and floors as both guns' slides locked open, hungry for more, both ammo and targets.

Neither got any however, the corner of Cooper's HUD blinking threateningly as the Pilot whirred around before he activated his jump kit, throwing him to the side and out of the way of a gleaming serrated knife before he activated his phase shift to buy himself a second of reprieve. While in the black and white realm, he secured both weapons and drew two more, his left finding the familiar weight of the combat axe while his right twirled the Data Knife as he was pulled back with a static crackle.

Once back in reality, the SRS Pilot immediately went on the attack. A quick slash with the Knife was followed up with a swing of the tomahawk that buried itself in the man's shoulder, causing him to drop his knife as blood sprayed out from the wound as his free hand clamped down on it. The Marauder moved on to the next however, readying a pistol and actually getting two shots off that slammed ineffectually into his body armor before Cooper shot forwards in a slide, bootheel kicking the Red's leg out from under him before Cooper stood, seamlessly driving the knife into the descending Red's gut.

The last man resisting sprayed his AK at Cooper as he activated his STIM and charged over the six foot gap, roaring in rage and pain as a 5.45mm round went through the thinner armor on his thigh as he stumbled and clumsily dove at the gunmen. His jump kit ensured he had the power and distance behind the attack as he drove the Red to the floor. The Marauder raised the tomahawk while the man below him raised his rifle to defend his face as the axe descended, pick side first. With a savage yank, the pick found purchase on the firearm and ripped it away before the data knife was buried in the former wielders side, the resulting scream silenced by a punch with the axe still in the striking hand.

But it wasn't enough; the Red tried desperately to grapple the pilot as he spit blood into his visor and drew his pistol from his waistband. Cooper immediately redirected his efforts to the new weapon, but not before three rounds were fired in quick succession.

* * *

Watanabe heard the rapid gunshots as she tore past the wounded SWAT officers, Magnum Revolver in hand and death in her eyes meant none of them dared dissuade her from joining the fray. Stoddard hadn't radioed in and Benitez feared the worst, Yuri, on the other hand, feared what she would find at the top of the stairs, past the dead cops.

The Marauder had a phrase, _they put one of yours in the hospital, you send two of theirs to the morgue. _As Watanabe burst past the shredded door onto the seventh floor, Rhino held tightly in her grasp, she expected to see death and not much else. But she was immediately met with a sign of life, a Red storming towards her as she tried to bring her .357 to bear before he stopped dead in his tacks and fell forwards, the handle of a familiar axe protruding from his back.

A few yards down the hall sat a blood-stained Marauder on his knees, red on his helmet, chest, and leg, with the latter seemingly coming from him. With a bit of effort, he pushed himself to his feet, picking up a knife from the floor as he did so and inserting back into the sheath on his left shoulder. "I uh…I think that's most of them" he said as he got to shaky feet and took a tentative step. Yuri holstered her piece and moved to help, but being the macho man, the Marauder waved her off, "some of them might even still be breathing" he deadpanned.

Seemingly to emphasize his point, there was a low moan and cough from the hall as Yuri crouched down to check for a pulse on the guy that took the axe to the back and got nothing. The Captain frowned as she stood and pulled out the killing implement, offering it back to its owner. "Not this one though" she said as the Pilot chuckled mirthlessly and wiped the head off on his sleeve before placing it back on his thigh. "We can take it from here, you can have that looked at" she suggested as she nodded towards the bullet wound.

But the machismo came back to the forefront, "what? This scratch?" he asked as he produced a packet and tore away the plastic to reveal a square tablet of nondescript white foam and pressed it to the wound. A suppressed hiss emanated from the speakers as the white turned orange and what looked like circuity appeared on the square as the Marauder tested the fix by shaking his leg around before planting it firmly. "I'll walk it off, besides" he said, a grin in his filtered voice, "chicks dig scars."

Yuri rolled her eyes but couldn't help a small smile from appearing on the corners of her mouth. "Well that's all we needed you for Marauder, get out of here. See if Cat will kiss your scratch and make it all better" she teased, getting a small laugh back before he gave a half salute before heading for the nearest window to egress.

The following minutes were a blur as SWAT secured the building and CSI and MEs got to work processing everything. Yuri was being pulled a dozen different directions when her phone rang, and she took one look at the caller ID before immediately excusing herself to an empty room. _"Yuri"_ said Spider-Man,_ "did you get the data I sent? What about your officers? Are they alright?" _he asked, the questions rapid fire, worry mixed in with his usual carefreeness.

"Breathe Spidey" she chastised lightly, getting a few exaggerated deep breaths on the other end of the call as she rolled her eyes at the childishness of it. "I haven't had the chance to look yet, still busy at the scene" she explained with a sigh as she thought back to the numbers that had been reported to her registered. "We only have four dead, another seventeen are in critical condition though they're all supposed to pull through" _Thank God_ she thought silently. Though Stoddard had been among the dead and there were a total of 26 casualties, the Reds had effectively been wiped out as an organized group. "I don't say this often enough, but thanks for the help."

"_Aw, Yuri"_ said the vigilante, _"I knew you liked me"_ replied the webhead as she rolled her eyes again._ "One last thing, about the Marauder. Did he…"_

"He did what he had to" she defended brusquely and firmly. The policewoman had heard that the Marauder had literally jumped into the middle of a dozen armed Reds to allow the trapped SWAT team to evacuate their wounded. That had been what she had found him finishing at the top of the stairwell with the thrown axe. "We all know he doesn't like having to kill, but some good men are still alive because of what he did too. They aren't complaining" she said tersely, still finding the contrast between the two men odd.

"_I know"_ conceded Spider-Man wearily_, "just…could you talk to him. He respects you ya' know, if we both talk to him about it, he might change a bit"_ he suggested quietly, like he was responsible for the Reds in body bags and not the green clad Pilot. _"He keeps putting himself into situations where he has to do this, maybe…maybe we could convince him to stop_" he suggested.

"He knows what he's signed up for" she retorted shortly, "I'm not getting mixed up in whatever you two argue about. You both do your jobs and do them damn well, as long as that doesn't change then try to do whatever you want" she said dismissively before adding, almost as an afterthought, "though you telling him to not put himself in impossible situations might be hypocritical, don't you think?"

There was a bout of silence as Yuri let out a breath, _"I know"_ he said finally. His tone only reinforcing her decision to leave the two men to sort out their differences. _"Thanks Captain, I'll be on patrol, do you know where the Marauder is going?"_

"Home, or whatever counts as home for him" she answered. "He took a round in the leg and a few in the chest, probably bruised ribs since they didn't get through is armor" she reported with a shrug, one thing the two shared was a dislike of hospitals and any official medical help, each handled injuries with either a healing factor or advanced first aid techniques.

"_Still wish he'd give me some of that armor"_ muttered the Webhead quietly, Yuri not sure if he intended for her to hear that, _"thanks again Yuri, call if you need me"_ he said before hanging up and the Captain pocketed the phone. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

A red and black Dodge Viper nestled itself into its parking spot beneath the high-end home of Felicia Hardy as its driver stepped out, a jewelry boxed tucked into the pocket of the driver's overcoat opposite his shoulder holster. Matthew made his way past through the lobby, a friendly smile on his face as he passed the staff and entered the elevator to take him to the penthouse level. When he knocked on the door and was granted entrance to the luxurious space by a surprisingly fully clothed Felicia.

"Hey Cowboy" she greeted, leaning against the doorframe, hand on hip and dressed for a night on the town in an ensemble only slightly less suggestive than her infiltration gear, _slightly_. "Glad you could join me" she purred as she pulled him inside and planted a deep kiss in greeting.

When it broke, Cooper was grinning as he had an arm wrapped around Hardy's waist, "So am I darlin,' and, as you can see" he said, stepping back to spread his arms, "I'm back at 100%."

The heiress tilted her head and tapped a finger against her chin as her eyes roamed over his body before humming an approval and turning, beckoning him to follow. "Don't worry Handsome, I got Mathilda to fix up your suit, it's perfectly safe" she assured. After he had come back from helping Yuri with a new bullet hole in his leg and a few other smaller injuries, he wasn't able to participate in their usual nighttime activities, much to Hardy's ire. As a result, Felicia had taken his gear from him until he had fully healed.

Matthew then found himself in a massive walk in closet filled with more clothes than he had guns, Felicia beginning to sift through them until she came to a stop and pulled out a suit. "Ah…of course" moaned the Marauder as he looked at the three-piece suit the thief produced and the smirk on her face.

Faced with the inevitable, he took the formal wear and changed into it while Felicia waited, standing off to the side and not hiding her peeks behind the screen, which Matt found amusing and flattering. When he stepped out he got a look of approval, the predatory gaze that Felicia had wasn't as intimidating as it had been to him. "You clean up nice, almost like you might be ready for the gala" said Hardy, which was the reason he had to get the thing in the first place.

"I'm a man of many talents" he drawled as he reached into his overcoat, "I hope you're as happy with this as I am" he said as he pulled out the necklace box. "Merry Christmas darlin'" he said as Felicia took the box and opened it to reveal the custom-made diamond necklace inside.

"How much did 'Tilda help you?" she asked flatly, though her green eyes were still bright with happiness and amusement in her tone. "Quite a lot I'm assuming, because it matches what I'm planning to wear perfectly, and I haven't told you about that dress" she said with a smirk, sharp as ever. "And I already had my outfit picked out…"

"Yes…" interrupted Cooper with his most charming expression, "But I had that one custom made by an outfit you _stole _from with diamonds we took from that Market warehouse we hit with Castle. I figured you were always giving things you stole to me as gifts, so I'd try and return the favor."

"Aw, you're adorable when you're trying to be a gentleman" purred the Cat, "And a roguish one at that" she added with a soft laugh as she placed the box with her other necklaces. "But you weren't the only one with a gift ready" she revealed cheekily as she opened up one of the wardrobes and pulled out a cardboard box. "Since you don't have enough already" she pouted as she set it down on a small dresser and took a step back, "but at least now you can't complain about doing things quietly."

Curious, Matthew quickly opened the box and his jaw dropped as he ran his hands over the contents inside on cushioning foam. "Holy shit" was all he could say in surprise as he picked up the small of the two gifts and ran his hands over the black polymer and pressed stock of the integrally suppressed H&K MP5SD-N2 into his shoulder. The legendary 9mm sub gun was the greatest ever designed, and in this guise, with the built-in silencer, 'Navy' trigger group, and collapsable buttstock, was extremely rare.

But when it came to rare, nothing came close to the other German weapon in the box. Cooper had never seen one before, and if he hadn't laid his hand on it, he would think this one wasn't real. Produced in _very _limited quantities, the Heckler and Koch PSG1-A1 was intended for police use. While this one didn't have the original optic, the more modern and custom-made variable zoom S&B offered more capability. Even more incredibly, Felicia had sourced the original suppressor that came with the rifle. This 'Precision Sharpshooters Rifle' remained one of the most accurate semi-automatic rifles on the planet, even thirty years after its creation. "Do you like them?" asked Felicia coyly.

Cooper looked up at his girlfriend with the dopiest grin no his face as he pulled the charging handle back before performing the patented 'HK Slap' on the SMG, his grin only getting wider at the satisfying meeting of metal. "Oh you have no idea."

* * *

Cooper wasn't sure what he was feeling as he tracked a head of platinum blonde hair with a bright orange coat beneath it walk from a famous, or rather, notorious club that the Market Officer for Finances had been to every Wednesday without fail, the Asian woman never failing to leave with a lovely lady. She had originally been Franks target, but he called and asked for a swap after he had been hit on a few too many times and noted that her trips here were the only times the Market Lieutenant was in public, and when she was she had two guards with her.

Simply put, the Punisher wouldn't be able to do it without being noticed, and that wasn't wanted, so it made sense to call and audible. It would be much easier for a known bi-sexual heiress to wander into the club and walk out with the Asian. Her familiar and unique silver hair and brightly colored coat allowed the Marauder to follow her and, by extension, his target.

From a rooftop above, dressed in basic black infiltration gear and armed with his gifted MP5SD, Cooper watched as Felicia entered a high-end condo complex, likely a semi-permanent residence for the finance specialist. A tracker on Hardy's phone enabled Cooper to see her head to the top floor penthouse, "BT" said Cooper as the waypoint on his HUD came to a stop, "Got a way for me to get in there?" Without his usual equipment, like the Jump Kit or grapple, Cooper was being forced out of his comfort zone and had to do things differently.

His usual methods of infiltration had to be avoided less the murder of a woman in cold blood be traced back to him. _"Processing…the subterranean garage offers access through maintenance passages. They are unguarded Pilot"_ answered the Titan after a moment as his phone buzzed with a newly received GPS marker. Without question, the vigilante made his way down a fire escape to the street and then to a side entrance to the garage and crept through. Sticking to shadows as he passed the parked cars and entered the passage, weapon up as the Commando moved quickly through the empty corridors_. "Alert"_ warned the deadpan of BT, causing his progress to grind to a halt. _"Security hub in close proximity, recommend you neutralize" _said the Vanguard Titan.

Exiting the passages and into one of the basements, the Pilot passed a break room for the guards and drew a flashbang and collapsible police shock baton before knocking on the door. "Dave? You're here early; did ya bring the takeout like I asked?" said a muffled voice as Cooper heard footsteps approach the door and it swung open.

The disguised Marauder rolled the M84 across the floor until it bounced off of the guards scuffed-up shoes and he looked down at in confusion just before the magnesium filled device detonated. The stun lasted long enough for Cooper to cover the distance and put the stolen shock baton to use, disabling him before dragging him inside the office and restraining him with plastic flex cuffs.

Cracking his knuckles, Cooper stepped up to a terminal and used a flash drive to upload a virus that would play hell with the stored footage and chew up any new collected data. It wasn't the most effective tool, but it also wasn't nearly as unique as Coopers Data Knife or Felicia's modified Spider-Hack. While the black market bought cyberwarfare suite did its work, Cooper headed back to a small firefighting cabinet and pulled out the red headed fire axe and began to take it to anything that looked important in the security booth. Monitors, towers, servers, wire bundles, power strips, and everything else within the Pilot's sight was smashed before Cooper left the axe buried in a control board.

His HUD flashed with a text notification from Hardy that read 'Be at my place by 2 for bit of dancing practice. Eyes will be on you on your way in on Friday.' That of course meant there were just the two guards, but additional cameras in the hallway that he would have to take out. Making his way to the elevator, he called for it and waited patiently, planting a pulse blade as it got closer to make sure there weren't any surprises waiting for him inside.

That text also meant that in the hour it had taken Cooper to get to this point, Felicia had finished up and was heading home and clear of the area. That also meant that it wasn't a Pilot or Matthew Cooper that got into the confines of the elevator for its forty-floor ascent, but a walking weapon with the singular purpose usually imbedded into cruise missiles: Kill.

Which was bad news for the guard waiting for the elevator, expecting to meet a visitor who hit the wrong button or maybe even the latest of his employer's sexual partners who had forgotten something, because the Marauder didn't hesitate to put a 9mm FMJ round between his eyes before tossing out a few EMP grenades.

Having to force himself to not slide or wall run at all, Cooper simply crouched and leaned out around the next corner and stitched a burst across the second guard's chest and head before putting the remainder of his magazine into the three sparking cameras watching the hall. Not even bothering to reload, he drew a suppressed Glock 17 and pulled a key ring from a belt loop of one of the guards before using it to unlock the door. Pistol up and at the ready, the Gunfighter made his way into the darkened apartment.

Drawing a flashlight with his left hand, it clicked on as he made his way inside and found the woman fast asleep in bed, knocked out by Felicia who had roofied her drink once she was inside the penthouse before the heiress had slipped away. Matthew's features remained blank and unreadable as he raised the pistol and put two in the woman's chest and one in her head without remorse.

As cleanly as he came in, Cooper had a cleaner exit in mind, opening a window and calmly jumping out, Cooper pulled the string on a parachute he had on his back. The rectangular shaped special forces style chute allowed him to control his descent as he floated down and steered himself towards nearby rooftops. His landing was far from the most graceful, he tried to run along and stay on his feet, but a gust of wind lifted him back up for a second before slamming him back down.

His ensuing thrashing got him tangled up in his chute and ensured he would always prefer a jump kit in the future. After a minute of blind flailing and a bit of luck, Cooper got himself free and shucked the pack off his back and packed it as tight as he could before making his way down a fire escape. Once back on street level he unceremoniously dropped the parachute in a dumpster before looking up to see a red Viper waiting for him at the end of the alley. Quickly slipping into passenger seat next to his lover, Cooper let out a sigh of relief.

Scratch four.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook -Sniper Rifle: Kraber-AP_

_Technically, shooting infantry with a rifle of this caliber is a war crime, so if anybody asks, I just say I was aiming at something else. Firing a 14.5 by 114 mm round, or .57 Caliber, if the Kraber were sold on the civilian market it would be classified a 'destructive device' based on the sheer size of the slug it fires. Nothing hits like this thing, made to take down light armored vehicles with a single shot from a mile away, literally, the Kraber is a specialist weapon. While sniping at extreme range traditionally carries a pedigree of being a high skill feat, the system is made to make hitting targets at extreme range as easy as possible. Smart Scopes account for various environmental factors such as range, elevation, temperature, barometric pressure, wind speed, ammunition type, and many, many other variables mean its simply a matter of putting the crosshair on target and pulling the trigger. _

_And once you pull that trigger you can be sending out a round picked from a whole candy store of ammunition. From straight ball ammo that is reliable and versatile, incendiary for turning up the heat on light vehicles, explosive for light fortifications and materiel, sabot for armor piercing needs, and Black Talons if you want to kill a hippo or something. When it comes to stopping power, it is simply unparalleled. Not even the Punisher can claim to have a more powerful rifle in his arsenal._

_Still, even for all of that power, the rifle is long, measuring in around four feet. Combined with the weight means that in any sort of close range it's more practical to treat the rifle as a club. And god help you if you miss your shot, manually cycling that bolt while under fire is a far from pleasant experience. Of course, once you cycle that bolt and bring that rifle to bear, shoulder that big rifle, unleash the thunder as the muzzle climbs skyward, and watch as whatever pour soul earned your ire has his head vaporized into a fine red mist, you're reminded that…_

_With great stopping power, comes great volatility._

* * *

**Closing Notes: The detail of having Felicia wear the bright orange coat was lifted from when the FBI killed John Dillinger, the famous 20's gangster. They had an informant close to Dillinger wear a bright dress so that their agents could spot him. The resulting shootout ended with Dillinger dead in one of the first big wins for the then fledgling FBI.**

**Also, the 'Scratch two' and 'Scratch four' bits came from the Battle of the Coral Sea and the now famous radio message to "Scratch one flat top!"**

**For the sniper shot in the early part of the chapter was inspired by 'One Shot, One Kill' in CoD 4: Modern Warfare, even down to the choice of an anti materiel rifle to be used. Instead of the venerable Barrett M82 .50 cal, Cooper uses the Titanfall equivalent in the Kraber. The 'Black Talon' ammunition was inspired by the 1990's Winchester produced rounds of the same name, even if they weren't much more powerful than other types, the rounds maintain a fearsome reputation to this day. **

**This chapter was meant to have Cooper have to cross his own moral lines, if you go back he never did targeted killings before. Shooting people was always a reactionary thing that happened on the way to a different goal but that is not the case here. Again, trying to have that internal conflict manifest in how he acts. I'm really curious if this was something you all picked up on, especially since I went out of my way to mention it in the discussion with Yuri, or if it was missed. **

**As always, reviews and feedback are really helpful as we draw closer to the events of the game since there will be a sizable time jump after this story line is concluded. Feedback is how I know what you guys like or don't like, or see if something is being taken differently than how I intended. I'm of the mind that there is no such thing as bad feedback, so feel free to tell me what you think. Love, hate, or anything in between, it doesn't matter to me.**

**But with the four lieutenants taken care of it's time for our leads to take a breather and relax before they make the final push to take on Rawlins. Next chapter will see them experience high society and meet some interesting people. But that doesn't mean there isn't trouble on all sides. **

**Because in their own track, came the Wolfpack. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	21. Chapter 21: Wolfpack

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

I've been looking forward to this one, another chapter I really like because it's something new, at least for me. Hopefully y'all like to read it as much as I liked writing it. I want to get better at the more intimate character moments and I think I've finally gotten the hang of it. This chapter is all about those sorts of things and I managed to only need a little bit of gunplay in the whole thing. Also, any time I can feature the Dodge Viper in a big role is a good time. It really is a cool car and it's a shame that it's gone, it was too good for the world as it is.

As for the title, I know I've said in the past I'm not a metalhead, however, there is one battleship _Bismarck _sized exception to that and it is this Swedish power metal band, **Sabaton**. Unlike most metal bands they are very easy to listen to, not screamy or likely to make your ears bleed. If you're curious, give a listen to 'Bismarck' which is their best song in my opinion, it also has the coolest music video I have ever seen. This track is off of their first studio album released in 2005, _Primo Victoria_, which is where I got the phrase on Cooper's helmet. I'll elaborate on why I chose this particular track in the closing notes, but it is a good one.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 21: Wolfpack**

_And upon the North Atlantic,_

_Lies the silence of the seas._

_On the quietest night in the darkest hour,_

_The Kriegsmarine appear._

_Above the surface it seems quiet and calm._

_Deep down below the wolfpack lurks._

* * *

In the increasingly cluttered world of Captain Yuri Watanabe, the simple things became that much more appreciated. The no-nonsense Cop emerged from the subway station a few blocks from her precinct and began the next part of her morning routine. Pulling open the door into a small mom and pop diner that harkened back to a different era, the knowledge of two more murders that happened the last few nights was left outside.

One was an elaborate infiltration pulled off with military precision, the attacker destroying the security station and stored files before killing a woman and two bodyguards before jumping out of a window and parachuting to safety. The other was a mugging gone wrong, the victim found with two shotgun slugs pumped into him at point blank range, no leads on either and both chunked onto the backburner. None of her colleagues knew of the significance of these two killings, and part of her wished that she didn't either, since she had effectively condoned them. The kind middle aged woman on the opposite side of the counter looked up and saw Yuri's worried look and forced a smile. "Loretta" greeted the policewoman as she stepped up to the counter and pulled out her phone, "the usual please."

A simple large black coffee, while she enjoyed the more exotic blends often enough, nothing else had the kick that she needed to focus on her job on the mornings like today. Scrolling through emails and social media alerts as she waited, Yuri idly noted that the small establishment was more crowded than usual, a few other men at the various tables in addition to the regulars. "There you are Captain" said Loretta quietly as the cup was set on the counter before Yuri as the officer nodded in acknowledgement and pulled a couple of ones from her jacket pocket and set them on the counter.

"Keep the change" she said simply, her routine never changing as she opened an email from a friend and took the Styrofoam cup as she turned and left. She made it all of seven paces down the sidewalk before she brought the steaming liquid to her lips, expectantly awaiting the deep bitter flavor to roll over her tongue and warm her up on this cold day.

Instead, she suddenly spit the contents out onto the sidewalk in front of her, glaring daggers at the cup and the far too sweet beverage inside. Her mind replayed the last minute over and registered Loretta adding sugar to her coffee, a coffee that took far longer than usual to make. Yuri turned back but only made a step before she saw the signs flipped around to indicate the diner as closed, despite it being prime business time for commuters.

Yuri didn't have a 'Spidey-Sense' or whatever godawful name Spider-Man had given one of his abilities, but she did have a keen women's intuition and knew when to trust it. Turning on her heel, the Captain went down a back alley and shifted the cup to her left hand before opening the back door into the diner and making her way through a storeroom where she could hear the voices in the establishment beyond. "…I want everything, purses, watches, jewelry, phones, everything!" shouted a gun waving man as two others got up, one of which grabbed a businesswoman by her arm and began dragging her towards the back room.

"Come with me, we're going to have some fun" growled the man as the woman in his grasp struggled uselessly, the other patrons cowed by the guns the two-bit crooks were waving around. With a predatory leer on his features, he dragged to woman around the counter only to come to a dead halt, his leer changing into a sneer as he glared at Yuri, standing tall and defiant in the doorway. "What are _you_ doing here pig" snarled the bruiser as he shifted his grip on the pistol in his hand.

Hard brown eyes surveyed the scene, first over the would-be rapist closest to her, then the man wielding a cut down shotgun just behind him, and then to her right was the third and youngest, holding a cheap pistol on the far side of the diner with a fourth next to him. Yuri worked her jaw as the man tossed the woman aside and the Asians face hardened into stone as she spoke. "Nearly every week for the last six years, Loretta there has been giving me a large black coffee" she began calmly, gesturing towards the woman with the cup in her left hand.

Ignoring the confused looks on the criminals faces, Yuri continued, "today, she gives me a large black coffee…except, it's got sugar in it." Her eyes fixed back on the closest thug, ignoring the gun in his hand that was pointed vaguely in her direction, "A lot of sugar. I just came back to complain" she said dryly. The confusion continued to spread among the robbers and patrons alike. "Now you boys put those guns down" she ordered, her tone of voice not changing in the slightest, like the fact they were there was a minor inconvenience for her on her way to her main task.

The nearest gunman relaxed visibly, his face twisted in a mask to conceal how lost he must have felt as the muzzle of the weapon in his hand dropped towards the floor and he stood straighter. "Say what?" he said with utter uncertainty.

"Well" began Watanabe, as if it should have been obvious. "We're not just gonna let you walk outta' here."

The thug's brow furrowed as his confusion deepened, his head turning to his equally confused companions, the youngest of which might have been shaking. "Who's 'we,' bitch?" he asked nervously, Yuri not even flinching at the insult.

A corner of her mouth turned downward before quirking upward, adrenaline seeping into her veins as she reached across her body with her left arm to set the coffee cup down on the counter, her right hand creeping into her coat, concealed by the move. "Ghisoni, Cudazzo, and me" she answered as she set the cup down and the world went into slow motion.

The gun right in front of her snapped back up as the wielder fumbled with the safety. His butterfingers cost him as Yuri seamlessly drew her Magnum Revolver and aimed it as she settled into a shooter's stance, cocked the hammer back, and pulled the trigger.

With 584 foot-pounds of force, the Federal Jacketed Hollow Point round slammed into the big man's chest, spinning him around and causing his gun to fly comically from his hand. The report from the Rhino Revolver briefly overpowered the chorus of screams from patrons and staff as Yuri felt the world fall away and her training kicked in as she shifted her aim to the next target.

A second 125 grain magnum round was fired a hair after her foe loosed a salvo of buckshot from the hip, the 1/8th inch pellets slamming into a shelf filled with ceramic coffee cups and silverware before he was sent falling backwards into a table, blood oozing from the hole in his stomach as he screamed, scattergun clattering to the floor. The final two gunman finally came to their senses and fired errantly, rounds snapping past Yuri's head as she ducked into a crouch and pressed herself against the counter as a coffee pot shattered and a shelf broke from the wild gunfire.

She moved forwards to change the angle until the shop fell quiet and she stood, the sound of running attracting her aim to the youngest in a torn yellow jacket as she fired again, winging him in the arm as he dropped to the floor before turning to the fourth.

The two both had their guns in hand and so close to being on target, but with one look into their eyes, it was obvious who would emerge from this duel unscathed. With eyes as wide as the plates that lay smashed on the floor, the robber swung his gun around and fired, but in his fear, he overcompensated, and the shot flew harmlessly past. Yuri on other hand, her left eye was closed and right narrowed, breathing calm and aim rock steady as she brought the revolver to bear, was in complete control.

With a deafening report, the first shot hit the man in his shooting shoulder, though he gritted his teeth and pulled the trigger, only worsening the already massive amount of damage done. Yuri's reflex was to fire again and her fifth JHP shot found its mark, hitting center mass.

A noise brought her attention to the staggering form of the youngest as he reached out and wrapped his wounded arm around the neck of Loretta and began dragging her towards the front door as a hostage. His heavy breathing and frenzied state meant he thought it was his best shot at getting out of this botched job, but such thoughts were dispatched as quickly as his former crew when he turned to face Yuri and the big bore of her unforgiving revolver leveled at his face.

If the gun was unforgiving, then the expression of its master was downright murderous as she stared at him, face taut and eyes focused on the gun he had pressed to the middle-aged woman's head. The sound of her pulling the hammer back made him noticeably gulp, "go ahead" challenged Yuri through clenched teeth as a patrol car came to a tire torturing halt outside and the two officers got out, weapons drawn, "make my day."

Traditional wisdom held that you should never corner a wounded animal, and that was true, but Yuri had another piece of wisdom she was relying on, _only do that if you're the more vicious animal_. Slowly but surely, the eyes of the wounded criminal looked around him, to his wounded or dead buddies, the other cops waiting for him outside, and most importantly, the vicious woman and her unfeeling gun staring him right in the face. Instead of flight or fight, he chose to roll over and give up, slowly releasing his grip on the hostage and his gun as Yuri nodded, the beat officers rushing in to slap cuffs onto him and check on everyone else.

Yuri let out a breath as the adrenaline wore off, she dropped the hammer and turned the safety back on before holstering her pistol and turning to head out when she saw a familiar face approach. Officer Jefferson Davis was a good cop and shot her a questioning look as he jogged up. "Call Wilkson at the DA's office and ask him if coffee is psychic" she deadpanned before walking past him and his deepening confusion.

* * *

"Shooter ready" said Cooper calmly as both he and Mathilda stood at the ready line, an unloaded P2016 sitting on the tables ahead of them with six targets down range for each of them. The French teen looked at him and gave him a grin as she bounced on the balls of her feet.

"You're going down" she promised as she sifted her attention back down range and the timer beeped, sending both of them into action. Cooper scooped the gun up with his left hand and inserted the magazine with his right before taking aim. To even the contest, Matt was shooting with his off hand and no gear, he had to rely on instinct and the integrated laser sight of the sidearm.

It was a testament to how far Mathilda had come that she fired a gun a scant fraction of a second before Matthew. Both guns fired rapidly, barking with each trigger pull as the two were locked in friendly competition, winner would be the one with highest score divided by time taken, and both had ten shots. When the rolling thunder had quieted and the digital timers settled on the two shooter's respective times, both removed their ear protection and cleared their weapons before inspecting the targets.

Mathilda was beaming, she had become a formidable gunfighter, pistolero in particular, and she had finally grown confident enough to challenge the Marauder to this friendly duel. In the tradition of Americans, she kept up the smack talk even after a few rounds of her losing, though the margin of victory got tighter every time for the SRS Pilot. This time, she really thought she had him.

Cooper just sat silently, a small but smug grin planted firmly on his face, though it was concealing a small bit of worry that he might have been bested, his left arm was getting sore and his aim getting slightly worse while Mathilda had worked out her nervousness and was shooting better each time. "…that makes my score a 73, you don't stand a chance Mr. Cowboy" she taunted, using one of Felicia's favorite nicknames for the Texan. "Especially since you only got a…seventy…four…damnit."

While Mathilda's expression fell, her shoulders slumping and voice quieting, Cooper threw his head back and let out an exaggerated bark of laughter. After ten full seconds he made a show of wiping a tear from his eye and brought his right hand up. "which makes you the…LOSER!" he taunted as he formed his fingers into an L as Mathilda buried her face in her hands in exaggerated shame.

"Ass" she said not unkindly as a smile crept back onto her features. "One more, _pleeeeeaaseee?_" she begged to no avail, Cooper merely shaking his head as he collected the pistols and led Mathilda across to the renovated warehouse. "But why?"

Matthew chuckled as he began taking the pistols apart to clean them, "you know why 'tilda, got that thing with Hardy in a few hours. We can shoot more tomorrow" he answered without looking up from his ministrations on the 10mm handguns. Cooper still wasn't looking forward to his attempt to mingle with high society, but Felicia had taken pity on him and was letting him drive them there in his beloved V8 Eater.

The teen was still staring at him, crossing her arms and pouting, "_exactly_" she said, "in a few _hours_. More than enough time for another round" she pressed. "You're not just afraid you'd lose the next one, are you?"

Matt's face scrunched up at the prospect, "you, the _loser_, beat _me_? Pah-lease, trust me, it ain't gonna happen" he taunted friendly-like as he grinned victoriously before changing the subject. "I know you've been busy repairing my gear, but you finish up that suit for Black Cat yet?"

In response, Mathilda huffed and turned to pull out the complete semi armored suit from the top of her workspace and held it up for him to see. "Just one or two more finishing touches, I can give it to her for Christmas" said the French girl proudly. Her remark reminded Cooper of the errand he needed to run to pick up his present he had ordered for Mathilda.

The suit was an almost glossy black with white accents and stiff ceramic armor protection around the wrists, knees, shins, and ankles. The shoes were heels, obviously, but soft soled to aid in sneaking. Small sections of the 'Dragon Scale' armor covered her stomach, thighs, upper arms, and shoulders. Sleek storage belts were wrapped around her thighs and wrists to hold the tools of her trade, grenades, lockpicks, and various other items. The gloves contained her concealed claws, made of the same material as Cooper's own tomahawk, and her rappelling gear was slung across the suit's chest like an old school bandolier. Separate was a small mask that concealed reflective green lenses to cover her eyes and give her a HUD like Coopers, complete with low light, magnification, and IR capability. The final piece was a hood favored by some pilots to conceal her hair and streamline her profile, fixed atop the hood was a small pair of cat's ears that functioned as antenna for the built-in radios.

It was sleeker and offered less protection than his Renegade armor, but was less visually and audibly conspicuous, intended for stealth as opposed to open combat, which was why she had declined to include some of the more exotic tacticals Cooper offered. And, as Mathilda was so keen to remind him, "Felicia has a much better fashion sense than you, this is so deliciously subtle, your gear is so…loud."

Cooper was more amazed that Felicia, with all of her voluptuous curves covered in hard muscle and smooth skin, could fit in the damn thing, but was paying enough attention to feign offense. "I think the word you were looking for there was 'badass,' 'Tilda" he corrected. With that he checked his watch and decided to begin the arduous process of putting on his other suit.

It was fairly conservative overall, white shirt with tan vest, black pants, jacket, boots, and belt. The only eye-catching bit was the tie, in British Racing Green. He exited his closest/dressing room to grab his watch, wallet, phone, and keys before heading into the living room to find Mathilda watching TV and writing in her journal while Cooper stared slack jawed at the headline and accompanying photo. "Hot Damn, Dirty Yuri's still got it" he said with a chuckle.

The anchor went over the account of Yuri taking on four robbers at a small diner, killing two and wounding the others. There was a picture taken from a street camera of her in a standoff with one of them, the big Rhino in her hands pointed squarely at the poor bastard's head. Matthew knew what it felt like to stare down the capable Police Captain, though he fared a bit better.

With a jaunty wave and forced smile, Cooper turned and made his way to the garage, his smile turning genuine as he hit the engine start button and the V-10 rumbled to life and the door opened. The 8.4L engine roared with the fury of 640 horsepower as it propelled the car into the twilight and towards the bridge onto Manhattan.

He found himself at peace behind the wheel of the super sports car, able to take a breath and relax as he shot along at 75 miles an hour. All four of the market lieutenants were dead, two by his own hand, and he was thankful that was behind him. At least they had gone off smoothly, Felicia had been brought in for questioning the following day but quickly cleared. Staff had seen her in the lobby while the lieutenant was still alive and while he was destroying the security system. The drug she had used to knock the woman out had been missed in the autopsy and with it, any trace that Felicia had any part in the events that took place.

Before he could pick up Hardy, he had to run that errand, the Viper slithered between the skyscrapers towards an address that he had gotten by text that morning. Waiting for the Dodge in an abandoned warehouse was a nondescript white movers van with a hooded man leaning against the back of it. "Icepick" he said as Cooper rolled down the window.

"Phoenix" responded the Texan flatly as the man nodded and grunted before turning to throw up the door and climbed into the back of the truck.

A minute later he emerged from the back and jumped down with a pair of boxes, "nice ride" he complimented as he handed Cooper the boxes. Cooper didn't know his name, and didn't care to, he was simply the 'gunrunner' and he had been the one to procure any of the normal guns he bought like the Glock to kill the Market Lieutenant a few days ago or the Rhinos he bought for himself and Watanabe.

One box held a Glock 20 in 10mm Auto, the closest thing he could find to a P2016 that Mathilda had grown comfortable with, along with a few magazines, ammunition, and a laser sight. The other held another gun for Mathilda, its greater length betraying the rifle it contained. She had made it plain of her love of western movies, which had prompted the purchase of a New Original Henry lever action rifle in .44-40 centerfire.

These were going to be Mathilda's Christmas gifts and, more than likely, going away gifts as well. Matthew had enjoyed his time being caretaker for the teen, teaching her new skills, talking with her once she finally opened up to him and Felicia, and developing his new custom armor with her as she slowly recovered from her ordeal.

But recover she had, and she would have to go home to her family. He knew she wouldn't like it, probably would even fight it, but he would ensure she did. With the Viper back underway he shoved those thoughts aside as he eased the SRT sports car to a stop outside Hardy's building and turned to look for his date.

He didn't have to wait long, and whatever line he had planned to say died in his throat as Felicia walked out in the elegant skin hugging dress, her silver hair let down to flow past her shoulders and down her back, the black diamonds on the necklace standing out from her pale skin as she strutted confidently towards the waiting Viper. Her hips flowed from side to side as she sauntered up to the machine and opened the door before settling herself gracefully inside. "Howdy Cowboy" she greeted, emerald eyes gleaming as she smirked, "like what you see?" she purred.

Cooper gave a bark of laughter as he settled back into the leather seat and placed his head against the Viper logo on the headrest before giving her a grin, "you bet your sweet ass I do darlin'" he drawled before slamming his foot down on the gas and popping the clutch, the car lurching off the line with a screech of tires and growl of motor.

Matthew would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy life at that moment. Sitting next to a drop dead gorgeous woman in the familiar confines of his Viper as he tore through the criss crossing streets of Manhattan. Even if he wasn't sure what they were exactly, friends with benefits perhaps? Even more distressing, he wasn't sure what he wanted out of their relationship. Pushing those thoughts from his mind, Matt downshifted and eased towards the hotel where the event was being held, savoring every moment until traffic got heavy and he was forced to slow. Judging from the herd of S-Classes, Bentleys, and Rolls' the bright red Viper found itself in, the couple was in the right place. That was when he noticed a sign with an arrow pointing to their destination that read 'Fundraising Event for a Greener Manhattan' and his grin fell from his face. "Uh, sweetheart" he said, his throat dryer as he turned down the radio, "what's this fundraising event for anyhow?" he asked casually.

"Some environmental initiative or something" answered Hardy distractedly before she noticed Cooper's frown deepen, "why do you ask Handsome?"

"Uh…just…because…you know, we're arriving…in a Viper" he said, though he got naught but a confused look back in return. Felicia shook her head slowly as her eyebrows went up with each passing moment. Cooper finally sighed and elaborated, "in which I get an average of, let me see, 10.6 miles per gallon" he deadpanned after flipping through the trip computer, genuinely surprised it was out of the single digits.

Felicia giggled as she processed that fact before pulling him into a deep but swift kiss, "I knew I liked you for a reason. My mother is just going to _love_ you" she cooed happily before her eye gleamed with a familiar look, she was planning mischief. "Maybe I should get one of my own, she would like that even more" she mused before grinning towards him, "care to help me choose one?"

"Girl of my dreams" drawled Cooper happily as he guided the V-10 towards the entrance where paparazzi lined the opposite side of the street. Matthew had to resist the urge to throw the middle finger back at them and the salvos of camera flashes being thrown their way as he brought the SRT machine to a halt a car length and change past the entrance, gave it a few revs, the throaty exhaust echoing around them before he turned the car off. A valet rushed up, the young kid practically drooling at the prospect of driving the V8 Eater. Cooper opened the door, took one look at him, and made up his mind. "No" said the Texan flatly.

The Valet tried to respond as Cooper simply got out of the car and slammed the door shut as he straightened his jacket. "But…but sir, you can't just leave your car here" he protested as Cooper continued to ignore him, heading around the front of the car to open the passenger door.

An older gentleman approached the Pilot, an apologetic look on his face, "I'm afraid he's right, we'll take good care of your vehicle sir" he assured as he extended a gloved hand, which Cooper just looked down at blankly. "I can't allow you to just leave…_that_…there" he said hesitantly.

"I don't see why not Franklin" said Felicia as she took Matthew's offered hand and stood to her full height, leveling an icy cold expression towards both men. "It's a dashing vehicle, alluring, and I would consider it a personal favor if it was where you could keep an eye on it" she said as she took Matt's arm and Franklin closed the door.

"Very well Ms. Hardy" said Franklin, resigned to having to have one of the least environmentally friendly automobiles in front of the event, but was unwilling to go against the heiress, correctly sensing this was one of her ways to get back at her mother. With a nod to his subordinate, the two returned to their respective posts, Matthew having to use all of his willpower to not break out into celebration at his small and petty victory, today was just getting better and better.

That willpower didn't keep the massive grin off his face, though it soon settled into a confident smirk, how could it not? He had just rolled up to an event with a red and black Dodge Viper, in a _very_ expensive suit, and escorted a beautiful woman into the high dollar hotel, not at all minding that he was being ignored in her favor as he kept a small, cocky, smirk and checked corners and angles.

The couple soon found themselves in the ballroom off to one side of the second floor after they ascended a grand staircase in the lobby and joined the other attendees in their high-end clothes. Cooper eyed the others coolly, his steely blue eyes never lingering on one place or person for long, and though nothing was amiss, he couldn't fully suppress a feeling of unease. After a moment, he concluded it must have been how 'naked' he felt in his suit, with no HUD, armor, exo, jumpkit, and not even his Sig or Blackout Nemesis blade to fall back on, he felt vulnerable.

It was then he felt a hand squeeze on his arm and turned to give a reassuring smile to Felicia, though he knew it didn't make it to his eyes, which were darting from side to side, unable to rest on her. "Everything alright Handsome? You look nervous, still worried about your car?" she joked, though there might have been some actual concern in her quiet tone as they continued along the edges of the crowd.

Cooper didn't bother lying, shaking his head, "Not that, just…fearing the worst is all" he explained before grinning faintly, "with the size of those heels I think you're more heavily armed than I am" he quipped dryly. "That's a strange feeling."

"Don't worry cowboy" Hardy responded with a gleam in her eye, "I'll protect you." Cooper took a breath and collected himself, he was being ridiculous, BT would be calling him any minute to tell him to calm down and that nothing was wrong if he didn't get this under control. Before he could respond, Felicia gave him a quick peck on the lips, "I need to go speak to my mother, why don't you go fetch us some drinks and then come find me" she suggested before rattling off her elaborate cocktail order. "Don't be too long Cowboy" she purred seductively before heading off, all long strides and swaying hips as Matt tore himself from the alluring picture and made for the bar.

He got there, head still on the swivel, but decidedly less so as he spoke with the bartender and gave him the order before sitting down, being told that Felicia's drink would take even longer to mix than it did to say. The Pilot took a seat and a whiskey on the rocks slid its way over to him, taking the glass in hand, he raised it in salute to the bartender before taking a small sip, only to nearly choke on it as he glanced right and saw none other than Jolly Jonah Jameson himself sitting on the next stool, gulping a scotch down eagerly and muttering to himself.

The Editor in Chief caught the Texan looking at him and threw him a stink eye, "what are you looking at kid" he groused gruffly as Cooper just smirked and took another small sip of his whiskey, savoring the burn as he shrugged. "Say, I don't recognize you, you new or something?"

Swirling the drink in his glass, the Marauder nodded, "you could say that" he drawled calmly as he looked towards the mustached man. "First time at this sorta' rodeo, date's got me on a rum run" he said with a small chuckle.

"More fun than the 'socializing' most of these mamby pamby types get up to anyhow" muttered Jameson as he took delivery of another scotch. "I gotta be here to schmooze that rich bitch putting on this whole song and dance, see? My son should be here soon, her daughter would be perfect for him. Say, do you know of my son?"

"Can't say I do" said Cooper as he figured out what the man was thinking and had to stifle a laugh at the thought. Meanwhile, Jameson, with this small opening, went on about his son and his exploits in the air force. "Wow, that's pretty impressive" said Matthew, though it sounded somewhat more sarcastic than he would have liked.

"Yeah, it is" said Jameson as he took a drink of scotch, either not hearing or ignoring the sarcasm in the Marauder's reply. "But that's enough about me, J. Jonah Jameson is a humble man after all!" he said, Cooper managing to not snort into his liquor, which was a feat he was immensely proud of. "Tell me what you do son, and what brings you here?" he asked, genuinely curious.

Now, Cooper wasn't…who was he kidding, he could be _really _petty if he wanted to, and the Editor didn't have many nice things to say about him, 'The Murdering Marauder Menace', his girlfriend, 'Bad Kitty: Thieving Cat Burglar', or his best friend, 'Wall Crawling Threat.' So, with a beaming smile, he exacted a little bit of revenge. "I'm here with a lovely gal that goes by the name of Felicia" he said with a twinkle in his blue eyes, "Felicia Hardy" he confirmed as Jameson's mouth dropped open. "As for what I do? Well, that's complicated, in technical terms I'm a freelance combat pilot with a hell of a record to my name" he said as he took the two newly arrived drinks on the counter and stood. "But in my mind, I'm just an outlaw, quickdraw, evil talking bandit man" said Cooper with a confident smirk, "roamin' the Badlands."

* * *

"Honestly daughter, there is no need for this pettiness" said the smooth, refined tones of Elizabeth Rodney as she smiled calmly, "I merely want what is best for you." The woman, though she was decidedly middle aged, had beauty that made her the envy of women with half as many years, and desired by men of any age. Tall and poised, with long slender legs, large breasts, and a heart shaped face with full lips framed by auburn hair, she looked like royalty, and acted like it. As expected, Felicia merely narrowed her eyes at her, embarking to make this as difficult as humanly possible.

"No" responded the white-haired woman tersely, "you want what is best for _you_, my desires are not at the forefront of your decisions" she countered, not incorrectly. But the girl could only keep up the delusions she had of taking after her father for so long, the city already had one imitator of the Cat, and Elizabeth had no desire to see Felicia become the second. "If you think that I was the one who thought of the idea to leave the car parked out front, you're mistaken" she said with a Cheshire grin, "I merely went along with it."

A lesser woman would have rolled her eyes, but Elizabeth was no such thing, and merely stared at her daughter. "Dating your driver then? Just to spite me?" she jabbed, "that is beneath even you." Felicia just glared at her and huffed before her eyes went back to scanning the crowd, no doubt looking for the man she had brought just to spite her. "Or maybe you brought someone you actually think will win my approval?" she questioned, finding the angry silence radiating from her daughter to be telling.

The two put aside their argument as another suitable bachelor approached, the son of a millionaire who made his fortune in shipbuilding. The son was the head of an electric vehicle startup with self-driving tech to rival Tesla and was developing more environmentally friendly batteries. Elizabeth introduced the young man to Felicia, who immediately changed her demeanor. No longer standoffish, she was instead very forward, flaunting her sexuality wildly as she leaned forwards to speak, crossed and uncrossed her legs every few seconds, and batted her eyes. In no time at all, the once confident entrepreneur was a stuttering mess of nerves and quickly excused himself, leaving Felicia to smirk at her mother, "next" she said with a smile that managed to goad a spark of anger to flare within the older woman's chest.

Before she could scold her impatient child, a new voice startled her, though she kept that from appearing on her face. "Thanks for having me along for this Ms. Hardy, because _that_" said the man as he handed a glass to Felicia, "was hilarious to watch." Elizabeth took a moment to look the man over, he was tall, just over six feet, clean shaven and a head of well-kept but short dark brown hair and a confident smirk on his face. With his rugged features and bright blue eyes, he was attractive in a primal sort of way. His suit only hinted at the broad shoulders and toned muscle beneath, but that it was there, Rodney had no doubt.

Felicia returned his smirk with a brilliant smile, "glad you enjoyed the show" she said happily as he took his place in 'the hot seat' as some crassly referred to it, next to Felicia and across from Elizabeth. Unbuttoning his jacket to reveal the tan vest and green tie beneath as he looked at the two women, his confident smirk not fading in the least. "Allow me the…pleasure…of introducing you to my mother, Elizabeth Rodney" she said with a flourish of her hand.

"Pleasure to meet you ma'am" he said with a slight southern twang as he extended his hand, "name's Matthew Cooper" he introduced. Elizabeth merely glanced down disdainfully at the offered hand before looking back at the man who it was attached to. After a tense moment of silence, Matt shrugged and pulled his hand back, "the descriptions were off I suppose" he mused to no one in particular.

Elizabeth raised an eyebrow minutely as she tilted her head, curious. "And what do you mean by that, exactly?" she asked, this was most unusual for her, adoration, praise, and lust were. To be the object of a man's bemusement would not do.

Yet this Matthew Cooper didn't seem to notice her gaze, or simply didn't care, but _that _couldn't have been right. He simply grinned, "well I was expecting…I don't know, maybe a crown? A cape perhaps?" he said with a shrug, "definitely a scepter or staff of some sort, no doubt about that" he said, eyes flicking knowingly towards Felicia, who had a small smile on her face.

Elizabeth gave a small smile as well, but there was only disapproval in her eyes as she locked onto the cold blues of Cooper, the man's icy stare made his stance perfectly clear, he would not submit. Hardy and Cooper talked casually, and Felicia didn't treat him any differently, flirting openly only to get flirts back, though his were a lot more subtle. They conversed about cars Felicia may be interested in buying, and the man made it a point to focus on power and performance. Once, when Felicia asked about fuel economy, Matthew simply replied, "terrible" and moved on, as if such a value couldn't be less important.

Across from the Texan, Rodney was taken back over two decades. There was a familiar defiance in his eyes, it was not daunted by Felicia or her because there was little, if anything, that could daunt him at all. He was a rebel who would stand against anyone and anything he chose to, backed by the confidence that he would come out on top. There were many men and women who had confidence, but it was so often brittle and fragile, but Rodney had a feeling that his was forged by experience, tempered by failure, and honed by success, because he had plenty of all three. He reminded her of Walter Hardy.

The man who had turned her world upside down when he came into her life, was one she had mixed feelings about so many years later. She was completely smitten with the Burglar at the time, with his free spirited and untamable nature, promises of running off together to get married and so many other things. All broken of course, when she had become pregnant with Felicia unexpectedly, they decided to stay in New York. When she was born, he promised he would stop stealing, he didn't. In the end he caught the attention of the wrong people and she had to carry on alone, but by that point their relationship had been strained greatly, the guilt still panged from time to time though.

And now Felicia had her own Walter Hardy and her mother was conflicted by this revelation. It was one she hadn't expected and an incredibly difficult situation to deal with should she decide to intervene. Would she allow her daughter to make the same mistakes she had? Would she be able to stop her if she wanted to?

Before Elizabeth could decide or act on a decision, two men approached whom she quickly recognized, the mustached J. Jonah Jameson and his son, Captain John Jameson, USAF, who was in his dress blues. The newspaper editor looked down at Matthew Cooper with unmasked contempt, "you there, Mason Connor" he barked, drawing a snort and roll of the eyes from the man he was addressing. "Tell me what kind of pilot you said you were again."

"Freelance Combat Pilot" replied Cooper simply as he sipped his drink.

The USAF officer furrowed his brow and shrugged before his father turned back to the youngest of the three men. "What do you fly? My son here is going to tell me if you're talking out of your backside" he said haughtily, his plan to disgrace Cooper to Felicia obvious. Jonah thought he was cleverer than he was, or just was used to less capable company, probably both.

Cooper, however, didn't seemed perturbed in the slightest. "Ah, slight misunderstanding, I don't fly. I'm a Vanguard Pilot" he said, though Jameson Sr. merely gave a grunt as a prompt to explain. "Think Stark's Iron Man armor but…bigger. It was a private venture that went belly up and I got the prototype as payment" he said, though for the first time Elizabeth noticed his fingers start to run around the lip of his glass. _A tell_ she realized; it was a lie. No, not a lie, but a half truth, she had heard many before, he would rather be truthful, but couldn't. Was he protecting himself? Unlikely, if he was like Walter, he would happily face the consequences of his actions. Maybe he was protecting others, or lying was simply the more logical choice? Meaning the truth had consequences, even more reason to be worried about Felicia.

"I see" said the Captain as his expression hardened. "The US Military is very interested in the Iron Man armor, I'm sure they would be willing to make a very enticing offer if your Vanguard can meet our requirements" he suggested.

"Sorry pal" replied Cooper with a shake of the head. "While you seem like the type I could trust, at the end of the day you're beholden to people I don't" he said. When nobody understood what he was referring to a look of exasperation flickered across his face, "politicians" he said simply. Jameson, who looked like he was about to blow a gasket at the insinuation that his son was untrustworthy, calmed quickly. "Besides, the military already had their chance to look at it and turned it down for whatever reason" he said, finger moving on the lip again. "I will say, I've gotten to put it to task, and it's something else, just on a whole other level" he assured. "Plus, the thing's a chick magnet, that Viper parked outside? I drive that for fun, but if I want some action I just need to cruise up and down the boulevard in the Vanguard."

His grin had only gotten bigger as he talked, more animated than he had been prior, clearly getting a kick out of messing with the two men before she saw he was focused on one, J. Jonah. Felicia, meanwhile, finally burst with a short fit of laughter that she quickly controlled, though Matthew just indicated towards the white-haired woman and said, "see what I mean?"

Despite the deadpan tone, the gleam in his eye gave the joke away, and John grunted a small laugh. His father seemed much less amused however, and was determined to get John and Felicia together, no matter the cost. "Felicia" said Rodney, "I believe it is time to start the music, if you could show the Captain to the dance floor." The softly spoken words had the weight of a command behind them, and after a flicker of resistance in her eyes, subdued when Cooper placed his hand on hers, Hardy nodded and stood. "Mr. Cooper, I would like a word with you" she said, Jameson standing there dumbly until she had to shoo him off with a wave of her hand.

When they were alone, the two squared up to one another and analyzed the person across the table. Rodney decided the best way to get something out of him was to take a page from his playbook and be direct. "Cooper, tell me what you _actually_ do for a living" she said simply, no wiggle room in the request.

Matthew returned a faint, knowing smile as he finished his drink and set the glass down. "It's…close enough to what I said" he said sadly. "Even if I can't…be as open about it as I would like, Felicia does know exactly what I do if that's any consolation" he said, though Elizabeth's eyes darted to his hands, which were still on the tabletop, unmoving.

Content for the moment, Elizabeth decided to switch subjects, try to catch him off guard, see if he would slip up. "How do you feel about her relationship with me? You must have some input, especially now that you've been dragged into it" she said as she sipped at her martini.

It was only now that the smirk died, a small frown creasing his features. "I don't like it" he said bluntly and remorselessly. "I lost my folks a few months ago, woke up one morning and there was a message on my phone telling me that I would never see them again. We were close, but not close enough." His eyes were downcast at the memory before coming back up to meet the matriarchs, a fire in them, "it hurts me to see you two be so opposed. I've had to stare death in the face, and I can say that the stuff you two argue about is so insignificant in moments like that, I can't see the point."

He may have been crass, blunt, and more than happy to be deliberately unpleasant, but in that moment, Matthew Cooper earned Elizabeth Rodney's begrudging respect. "Will you speak to her about it? Try to convince her of the same?" asked the mother curiously.

"I can try" he said simply, though his tone wasn't optimistic. "Something I've learned about Felicia Hardy. She isn't the kind of person that can be controlled, you don't steer her, you just hang on for dear life" he said with a sardonic smile.

Rodney could understand that line of thinking, but it didn't quite mesh with his character, or so she thought. "And you're alright with being this? Being reduced to following her lead?"

"Not quite" responded Cooper quickly as he took a moment to choose his next words. "Sure, that's true sometimes…but only sometimes. You can't control Felicia Hardy, but you can lead her. I don't think there's anything she loves more than a challenge, someone who can go toe to toe with her and force her to be better." Elizabeth tilted her head as Matthew shrugged, "lucky for both of us, I'm kinda the same way. Our relationship is…challenging, a lot of give and take, and even more back and forth, but it works" he said simply.

Rodney felt that she had begun to understand their dynamic and it made some sense even if the way her daughter was portrayed concerned her. She nodded and smiled, one final question on her lips, "how long do you see this relationship lasting?"

"I don't know" he replied bluntly, though it seemed as if he was at the end of his patience as he stood and buttoned his jacket, "but I can imagine worse ways to spend the rest of my life than with Felicia Hardy."

* * *

Cooper weaved his way through the crowd, seeing where Felicia had gotten her cunning from, if it didn't come genetically it was definitely developed having to deal with such a bitch all the time. Still, he hadn't lied when he wished that they could overcome their differences, but he wasn't terribly optimistic. He had also meant what he said about the future, even if it was a spur of the moment answer that left a strange aftertaste in his mouth that meant he pushed it aside and focused on the task at hand.

Finally reaching the dance floor, it was easy to spot who he was looking for, her long white hair, black dress, and elegant profile made Felicia draw the male eye easily. Away from the overbearing presence of her Mother, the thief had become more standoffish and colder as she glared at anyone who made to approach her.

Matthew approached from behind her, unnoticed until he was a few feet away when she turned, though her look softened when she saw who it was. "Hey Cowboy, you survived" she said with a small but sincere smile.

Cooper returned it, chuckling a bit, "Can't kill me" he drawled back. He looked to see the quartet prepare to begin a new song and turned back to Hardy. "You know, I'd hate if you made me learn all those moves only to not have to use them" he said with a grin as he offered her his hand, "so, Miss Hardy, may I have this dance?"

Felicia gave him a demure look that he didn't know she was capable of as she placed her soft hand in his rougher one, only barely touching as they joined the other couples already on the floor. As a soft waltz began to play, Matthew placed a hand on her hip and took her right with his left as Felicia placed her left on his shoulder and the two began the three-step dance.

To Matthew's judgement, they were doing well, he wasn't quite sure how his partner could dance in those heals, but he wasn't complaining as she practically glided across the floor. Though, as Matthew had learned, he was the one leading the dance, there was no give and take, he couldn't pass the reigns to the more experience Hardy like his mind wanted him to, he had to bite the bullet and do it. "So what song are you using to keep time?" whispered Felicia with a small smirk, "because you're tapping it on my hip."

That was the other issue he had, he didn't have an ear for the kind of music that was being played, so he had to use a substitute. So, returning a smile, he answered by saying "_U-569_ makes the contact and lead them, _U-94_ scores a kill in the dark, _U-124 _sinking four in two approaches, _406_ suffers failure on launch again" in a quiet tone as he caught sight of a displeased looking Jonah Jameson and decided to step back and twirl the platinum-blonde heiress for all to see.

When she finished, she stepped closer as she hummed the next lines, "in their own track, came the wolfpack, _Gleaves _led the convoy into the hornets' nest." Cooper couldn't help but grin sheepishly and pick up the pace as he saw the proverbial wolfpack of suitors lining that were the floor, just waiting their turn.

As if reading his mind, Felicia nodded, "Show 'em cowboy" she encouraged as the two went through everything they had practiced. Cooper wasn't to prideful to admit that Felicia's skill did flatter him, though he did his part as he guided her across the floor, giving her ample opportunities to show off. He allowed himself a small smile as the number of single men on the sidelines began to dwindle.

When the music came to a close, there was a small round of applause for the two as Cooper got to play gentleman and kissed Felicia's hand before departing the floor, smirking as he passed the others, none of which seemed eager to try and top the Marauder.

He casually scanned the room and caught sight of the top of the stairs, where he saw a bald man wearing a trench coat scanning the room and felt his blood turn cold.

A blank white eye was staring right at him.

* * *

J. Jonah Jameson pushed his way unapologetically through the crowds to intercept his target as he left the dance floor. The new arrival had come out of nowhere to become the talk of the party, though nobody knew a thing about him. Ignoring the dirty looks shot his way as he shoved past another group of people, the gruff newspaper editor decided he would get to the bottom of this mystery man, no matter what.

At least until he heard the chatter of automatic weapons fire that caused everybody to begin screaming as the older man looked frantically for the source as he saw a group of men at the main staircase as he crouched low, raising his hands in the air. As his head swiveled, he saw more armed men, though these were dressed differently, cheap slacks, dress shirts, and suspenders as opposed to the first group who had a more militaristic demeanor about them.

The men in suspenders went around and pushed everyone towards the edges of the room, bantering lightly and leering at some of the women tastelessly as they did so while the other group merely watched from behind sunglasses and face concealing masks. Though one man stood out, he carried no weapon, and he was dressed in a trench coat, though is bare face and bald head were unremarkable, his blank white eye unnerved the editor.

When the crowd finally calmed down, it was this man who stepped into the center of the dance floor, cleared his throat, and addressed the room. "Ladies and gentlemen" he began, his voice poised, "sorry to interrupt your evening and hamper such an important cause" he announced, though Jameson didn't detect the least bit of apology in the mocking words. "However, there is someone here I need to come with us, would Felicia Hardy please come forwards."

"Fuck" whispered the person next to him as Jameson turned to see who it was. None other than the man he had been meaning to speak to. Though Jameson noted he wasn't looking at him, but rather the gunmen, tracking each one with murder in his cold blue eyes. "Don't you fuckin' dare" he said quietly, his body coiled like a wound spring.

"Don't" hissed Jameson, causing those eyes to turn to him, the cold fury in them startling Jameson for a second before he composed himself. "You do something stupid and you could get everyone, including her, killed" he argued, though that only got him to narrow his eyes in response before turning back to the center of the room. "Wait for the police."

"We don't have that long" he retorted, and sure enough, one of the masked men darted from beside the leader and grabbed Felicia Hardy by the arm, dragging her to the center of the room. "Please god don't let her die" prayed the man next to him. To Jameson's eye, it looked like the trench coat wearing terrorist was speaking to Hardy, who merely stared back in defiance before her hands were cuffed behind her back by one of the masked men.

"Thank you for your cooperation tonight" announced the bald man as Hardy was forced at gunpoint down the stairs before he continued. "That goes as well for my associates this evening, you are dismissed, good luck" he said before putting gloves back on his hands and turning towards the staircase.

"That wasn't the deal you one eyed bastard" yelled one of the suspender wearing gunmen as they all turned to the departing men. "Come back here, I wasn't done talking to you!" screamed the man, with him and his associates looking very confused by whatever was happening.

The next events happened so quickly that Jameson only registered that the man next to him and moved when he had already covered the ten feet to the nearest gunmen, wrapped his arm around the man's neck, pulled the gun out of the holster on the man's back, and put a bullet in his head.

From there, it was chaos, the other unmasked gunmen all turned to their fallen comrade, the newcomer still holding the limp body in his arm as he turned the stolen weapon on the others. He fired without hesitation, killing the next with a shot that caused the man's head to explode like a melon before the others fired back.

The newcomer began strafing to the side, holding the body up as a shield to absorb the rounds as he continued to fire with frightening speed and precision. More bodies began to hit the floor, bloody heads and necks made one thing clear, whoever had been next to Jameson was shooting to kill, and he was more than capable of doing so.

Eight bodies fell dead to the floor, the last one to do so was, ironically, the first to die as the shredded human shield was discarded along with the pistol as the man sprinted towards the stairs, "RAWLINS!" he yelled out with pure hate and anger with he ran out the door in pursuit of the surviving attackers.

* * *

Rage and adrenaline propelled Coopers hate filled charge out into the night, ignoring his blood-stained suit or the grazing wound on his left arm as he threw open the door and ran up to his Viper. He could see the last of the Markets SUVs at the end of the street and wasted no time coaxing the snake to awake, unleashing the full fury of the V-10 with a roar of the engine and a plume of tire smoke.

The Market may have had a head start, but with 640 horsepower under his right foot, there was little chance of them keeping Cooper off them for long. With a snarl, Cooper pulled the shifter into second gear as he guided the car out of the driveway and buried his foot in the carpet as the car dug in and _launched _forwards. Laying on the horn as he roared through the yellow light, he caught sight of the SUVs turning at the next intersection and didn't let off the accelerator as the tac needle went straight up to the redline.

He turned hard, the tail end easily kicking out as Cooper gave the Dodge a boot full of power to straighten the Viper out before upshifting to roar past 80 miles an hour as he ran his quarry down. Blocks blurred past as the convoy turned onto one of the ring roads around the perimeter of the island. Knowing the turn was coming, Cooper was able to slam on his vehicles massive brakes and was thrown forwards, only his arm strength keeping him from slamming into the steering wheel as he didn't have a seatbelt on.

As he worked the wheel, he noticed a flashing of lights in his rearview mirror, "Now it's a party" he snarled as he dropped the car into second. The exhaust note of the Viper filled the cool night again and the car shot off like a rocket and Cooper moved his right hand from the stick shifter to the center console and pulled out his P220.

Rolling down the window, the Marauder ignored the blast of cold air in his face as he stuck the handgun out the window and loosed a few rounds at the rear vehicle, shattering the tinted rear window. But it wouldn't be enough, "SHIT!" he yelled as he could see inside, a man wielding a SMG taking aim right back at him.

On reflex, he slammed on the brakes and threw the wheel hard over, the car responding smartly as he was thrown against the seat bolstering. While the move saved his life, it didn't cause the mercenary to miss completely.

A sound that the Pilot first thought was a massive explosion reached his ear, but that wasn't it. The Viper lurched right as a shower of sparks went up from the right side as the car careened that direction, Cooper frantically trying to correct as it began to spin.

The shredded front tire had flown off, leaving just the rim to keep the car up as it came to a stop, Cooper having been thoroughly tossed about the cabin. Getting his bearings, he looked to his left to see the Market vehicles drive off before turning right. Three police cruisers had stopped about twenty yards away, the officers inside getting out and aiming their weapons at his car.

Part of him broke as he looked down the road for any sign of the SUVs he was pursuing, or Felicia, and found none. On autopilot and not even registering the shouted demands of the NYPD, he turned the Viper off and threw door open before he stepped out of his car with his hands up and walked to the front of it . Getting down on his knees with his hands on the head, he was bathed in the light from the LED headlights. His broken bits of soul had been thrown into the furnace that fueled him, a plan coming together as he looked up at the officer approaching him, undaunted by the handgun pointed at him.

"When do I get my damn phone call?" he asked, his mind made up.

Tonight, when he found the Market, he would give no quarter and show no mercy.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Pistol: P2016_

_A simple and always reliable short recoil semi-automatic magazine fed handgun, the P2016 isn't that remarkable, even by modern standards. There is, however, one exception to this, its caliber. 10mm auto is nothing to shake a stick at, being even more powerful than a .357 Magnum round. With 12 shots on tap combined with advanced materials and construction enabling the gun to be controllable despite that meaty round, the gun doesn't take many prisoners, which is good because if I'm using it then I'm probably pretty desperate. _

_This is not a bad weapon, but when compared to the high-tech Smart Pistol? Or the magnum power of the Wingman? Or the pocket-sized bullet hose of the RE-45? Or the triple barreled devastator that is the SA-3 Mozambique? Well, it lacks a certain something. Of course, I have practiced with it in both hands in case I ever need to take a page from Max Payne's playbook. In this role the gun is excellent, almost like it was made to be duel wielded. _

_The Hammond is a weapon subdued charm, bold yet never brash. No showing off, just showing up and getting the job done. A far off descendant of the modern Beretta 92, it shares many of the same traits, reliable with a darker side, steadfast but instilled with a thirst for vengeance, and always has your back._

* * *

**Closing Notes: Yes I am ending it with that cliffhanger, you'll have to wait till the next chapter to see what happens. That being said, I had a lot of fun writing this one and it is chalk full of references, some obvious, some less so. **

**Yuri's shootout in the diner was lifted almost exactly from Sudden Impact, the fourth Dirty Harry film. The phrase, "Go ahead, make my day" even went on to be quoted by the President of the United States. Yuri does take some influence from Clint Eastwood's iconic homicide inspector in this story, this is probably the most obvious nod to date. Though I will concede that the names of the Italians responsible for the Rhino doesn't carry the same weight as "Smith and Wesson and Me."**

**The original title for this chapter was 'Badlands', which Cooper quoted when speaking with JJJ, and if I had to pick a walkout song for him, this AC/DC track might be it. However, I was listening to Primo Victoria again a few weeks ago and upon hearing Wolfpack again I swapped it in immediately. Wolfpack is about a real life event, Allied Convoy ON-92 was ****ambushed by Wolfpack Hecht, comprised of nine German U-Boats. For 48 hours the merchant vessels were hunted across the seas and seven were sunk, with an additional one damaged. The song is unnerving and its slow deliberate pace made it ideal for this chapter...though I'm not sure how well it would suit dancing, I am curious however. **

**I know I took some liberties with Felicia's mother, but I think the end result is one that works. As far as the name 'Elizabeth Rodney', I got that by combining the name of two Royal Navy Battleships, the _HMS Queen Elizabeth,_ a sister ship of _HMS Warspite_ which was perhaps the_ greatest warship of all time, _and the _Nelson _class battleship _HMS Rodney_, which famously shot it out with the German Battleship _Bismarck_. Let me know if you want to see more of her, because I'm not planning on it, at least for a while. **

**But that will do it for this week, next Wednesday will see the conclusion to the Market story arc. Looking back, there are some things I wish I had done differently, but I'm happy with it overall. And with the main game starting in a few weeks I hope to apply the lessons learned to those arcs. Any feedback is welcome, as always, so leave a review and let me know what you think. **

**Next chapter will see Cooper will ride to the rescue the only way he knows how, to go in with ****All Guns Blazing****.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	22. Chapter 22: All Guns Blazing

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

I'm going to make this brief, this chapter is action focused, but it isn't supposed to be a battle. 'Slaughter' would be a more appropriate descriptor. For that, we have this song to be the title, as action packed and viscous as the chapter. Originally by Judas Priest, I will flat out admit to not liking that version in the slightest. Which is why for the playlist I have for this story I instead have Sabaton's cover from the album 'The Last Stand.' Simply put, I find Joakim's baritone vocals much less grating to listen to. So strap in, crank up the volume, and prepare to get stuck in.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 22: All Guns Blazing**

_Forced into overdrive, Drawn out of anger_

_All talons poison dipped, Impaling spike_

_Heart pounding fever pitch, Blood pumping fury_

_Two fisted dynamo, Eager to strike_

_All guns, all guns blazing_

* * *

Yuri Watanabe was sitting in her office, typing up a report about what had happened that morning and drinking a proper black coffee, delivered to her for free by Louetta after she had been checked out and released. The channels were starting to die down after a charity ball had been attacked by a group of gunmen, detectives were on the scene and one of the fleeing vehicles had been stopped, its sole occupant arrested without a fight. Something that Yuri didn't need to concern herself with.

Until her phone rang.

She looked at the screen to see the number was from another precinct, accepting the call without hesitation she put the phone up to her ear. "Watanabe" she answered curtly.

The voice on the other end of the line wasn't one she recognized, with a slight southern twang and drawl, _"Evenin' Captain. Saw you had some fun this morning, got to put the piece I gave you to good use"_ he said casually, though it almost seemed forced. _"How'd she handle? I haven't had a chance to give mine a go yet."_

Yuri furrowed her brow, trying to place what was being said as she was silent for a moment before she remembered who gave her that pistol. "Marauder?" she asked hesitantly, though as soon as she said it the response made more and more sense. The tone and mannerisms matched what she imagined his voice would sound like without the filter. "Is that really you?"

There was a dry chuckle at the other end, _"Yeah Cap, it's me"_ he confirmed before she heard the phone shifted and a faint clinking sound. _"Look, I'm in a tight spot and need some help…please"_ he said, his tone flattening to where it almost sounded like he was truly begging her.

A dozen questions all lined up to be answered, but the veteran cop told her that by the sound of things time was of the essence. It all boiled down to a question for herself, did she trust him?

She came to her decision instantly, taking a deep breath before she spoke, "What do you need me to do?" she asked.

"_Thank you, Yuri,"_ were the first words back, relief pouring through the phone as the Pilot took a deep breath to compose himself before outlining exactly what he needed. _"Did you see that Viper in the car chase this evening?"_

The pieces fell into place very quickly. "No, that wasn't you" breathed Yuri in reply.

"_Yeah, it was" _answered the Marauder, _"I need you to find where they took it and get the two duffel bags that were in the trunk. Bring them to…where the hell am I again?"_ he asked to someone else in the room with him. _"The upper west precinct, when you get there you're going to want to see 'Robert Taube', you understand?"_

Yuri had been jotting notes down on a post-it and read back what she had written down to him. After he had confirmed that she had gotten it right, he thanked her once more before telling her to _"haul ass"_ and hanging up.

As soon as he did, she collected her reloaded Rhino and began dialing another number to find where the car had been taken as she made her way out of her office and towards a police cruiser.

Half an hour later, with the two unassuming black duffel bags sitting in the passenger seat of her squad car, Yuri pulled into the parking garage of her destination and grabbed the bags before heading inside. "Captain Watanabe" said a surprised woman as she entered the building, "what brings you here?"

"Robert Taube" she answered simply, noting the frown that formed on the female officer's face as she said it. "Could you take me to him?"

"You want to have a crack at interrogating him Captain? He hasn't said a word to us other than to ask for his phone call" said the woman. "I'm Detective Kennedy by the way, didn't know anyone else was coming down to help us with this guy. Reckless driving, public endangerment, assault with a deadly weapon, even his ID is a fake, damn good one too, and he hasn't said a damn thing to us."

Yuri merely hummed an acknowledgement as she was led through the precinct to the interrogation rooms before explaining her actual intentions. "Actually detective, I'm not here to interrogate him, I'm here to secure his release and see all charges dropped" she said flatly as they came to a stop outside the room that held the Marauder.

"But Captain" began the gob smacked detective, "How can you say that? You don't even know who that is! The DA would come down on you like a ton of bricks!" In reply, Yuri simply set the bags down and opened the zipper on one before stepping back, watching the woman look down and her eyes go wide.

Staring back up at her was the dimmed x shaped visor of the Marauder's helmet.

Slowly, as if the helmet might come to life with all the lethality of its wearer, Kennedy bent down to pick the helmet up, looking to see the rest of the man's armor inside the bag as she examined the helmet, the skull logo and writing on the other side and Latin phrase on the back.

As soon as Kennedy seemed to calm and collect herself, she put the helmet down and opened the other bag to find the various weapons, equipment, and ammunition. She recognized a few of the weapons he had used before, all had clearly been studiously cleaned and maintained, the smell of gun oil emanating from them. Then there were the more exotic items, ninja star looking things, strange looking grenades, and small packs with 'Knock Knock' written on them.

"You're telling me" began Kennedy as she looked up at Watanabe, holding the man's famed 'Smart Pistol' in her hand, "that in that room is the fucking _Marauder_? A super soldier from the future?" Yuri nodded slowly as the detective shook her head and muttered to herself before she finally addressed the Captain again. "And you're here to, what exactly?"

"Get some answers, and if I like them, give him his stuff and let him do his thing" replied Watanabe evenly. Kennedy sized her up before nodding and opening the door into the interrogation room and leading her in.

Sitting in the far chair, with his hands cuffed to the table was a handsome man in his early twenties, the fine suit he wore was torn and bloodstained, his mouth fixed in an easygoing smile even as his bright blue eyes burned with determination and rage. He had a rugged look about him; chiseled jaw and a small scar on his neck making him stand out. It was more than fair to say he looked like the kind of Hollywood interpretation of a figure like the Marauder. "Captain" he greeted with a slight drawl as she entered the room and set the bags down on the table, opening them so he could see the contents. "Thank you, now, little more help?" he asked, raising his hands until the cuffs stopped him from going any further.

"In a minute, but first, I need some answers" she said as she looked at the man in the chair, his expression unchanging as he sighed and lowered his head. After a moment of no response, Yuri slammed her hand down on the table. The Marauder didn't flinch but did lift his head enough for her to see his eyes. "Do you understand me?" she asked.

He nodded slowly, "But not here" he said quietly, eyes looking past her and into the upper corner of the room before flickering over to Kennedy. "We're losing too much time, but I can say that Rawlins was responsible for that mess at the Greener Manhattan fundraising thing. I was pursuing him when they shot out my tire and the cops were so eager to bag the guy in the Viper that they let Rawlins and his people get away."

Yuri's draw dropped, "Rawlins" she parroted, "You're sure?" she asked, dumbfounded as he nodded quickly.

Kennedy spoke up, "So this Rawlins is responsible for the mess of bodies there?" she asked, bulling her way past Yuri, glaring down at the Marauder.

"Ah, not exactly" breathed the Marauder, with a cocky grin, he continued, "I put those there." He looked up at Kennedy's shocked expression and shrugged, "You call it a shooting spree, for me…it's a slow night."

Yuri crossed her arms, "And you're not done yet, are you?" She got a shake of the head in reply and cursed under her breath. "Detective, this shootout, what happened that we know of?"

"Accounts vary" began Kennedy, because if they didn't that would be too easy, "but a group of armed men disrupted a charity event hosted by Elizabeth Rodney and were looking for a specific individual, one Felicia Hardy. They took her and fled the scene before one of the partygoers, somehow, got a hold of a gun and killed the men left behind…him…apparently. A few of the hostages were hit by stray bullets but nothing serious."

The two women turned back to the man sitting in the chair, "Like I said, slow night" he deadpanned. "Don't worry, it's still young, and they made it _personal_." There was a calm in his voice that chilled the Captain to the bone and something, maybe her survival instinct, stayed her tongue as she simply nodded towards the detective.

With a raised eyebrow, Kennedy pulled a set of keys from her belt and released him, the Pilot taking a moment to rub his tender wrists and reached out for the bags, only for Yuri to put a hand on the bag to stop him. "You can change in the bathroom across the hall, but we aren't done" she said, leaving no room for argument.

"Understood" he replied flatly as Yuri removed her hand and he took the two bags, Kennedy escorting him out and pointing him to the bathroom before rejoining Watanabe in the interrogation room.

"What have I just agreed to?" she asked rhetorically.

Kennedy merely chortled quietly as she looked at the captain, curious look on her face, "He always like that? Kinda…scary?" asked the detective, clearly casting worried looks towards the door.

Yuri shrugged, "He is dangerous, and he knows it." He was supremely confident, but that came from knowing exactly what he could do and, just as importantly, what he could not. "Though all he really wants to do is 'his job' and do it well. It's just that his job requires him to be able to kill everyone else in the room." She sighed and looked at the closed door, "But I've never seen him like this."

Kennedy laughed, "No wonder you two get along so well, you're both workaholics" she joked dryly, Watanabe giving her a slight but somewhat irritated smile. She was aware of her reputation as a no-nonsense cop who took her job very seriously, which was why she was surprised by the next question. "You are _just_ workaholics…right?"

Yuri wasn't sure how to respond as multiple emotions queued up to be expressed, indignation, anger, and embarrassment amongst them. "Yes" she answered brusquely, sternly, he was a handsome man, and that confidence was alluring. "Besides, he has…" she began, _Black Cat_, she thought as it dawned on her and the picture became clearer. Kennedy cleared her throat to get her attention, "Someone, he hasn't mentioned her by name" lied Yuri. But they had investigated Felicia Hardy when the burglaries started and found nothing, were they really one in the same?

_Another question for the Marauder_ she mused when her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Yuri opened it to reveal the Marauder in full armor, orange and white SMG cradled in his arms and visor glowing, "Thank you again Captain, I'll be heading out now." He said before turning and making to leave, only for Yuri's arm to shoot out and grip him by the arm, her hand turning cold as she grasped the metal of the exoskeleton.

"You're coming with me, I'll give you a ride to wherever you need to go, but until I say so you stay in my sight, clear?" she demanded calmly. He just nodded as she moved alongside him as they made their way to the police cruiser.

When the two got settled, Yuri noticed that his pack that he called a 'Jump Kit' prevented him from sitting in the seat properly as he placed his weapon in the footwell and gave her a general area to go to. "If you don't mind" said the Cop at a stoplight, the visor swinging over to look at her, "Where exactly are we going?"

"My place, a warehouse that has everything I need. I'm going to meet Frank and we're going to go take care of business" he said evenly. "I already called him and brought him up to speed, he doesn't have any objections, obviously. It'd probably be best for your career if you sit this one out."

Yuri begrudgingly agreed, even if she didn't like the thought of the two killers being turned loose. "And how exactly is that going to work?"

"I have Hardy's location" revealed the Marauder, "I'm not a creep, I swear, but I gave her a necklace that I sprayed with a protective coating that I could also track, not that I ever expected to use that particular feature" he explained bitterly, a bit of that confidence faltering as he heard what he said only after he had said it. "I'll talk with Frank and figure out a plan of attack, but I wouldn't hope for survivors."

The words sent a slight chill down her spine with the icy delivery and cold certainty. "Robert…Rob…Taube…"

"Cooper, actually" replied the Pilot with a small laugh, "or Coop if you'd prefer" he provided.

"Cooper" she began, "Is Felicia Hardy your girlfriend?" she asked, though he didn't say anything, his silence was telling enough. "Meaning that she's also Blac…"

"You will leave her out of this" he said flatly and in a way that made it clear that the topic was no longer up for discussion. "Honestly, I don't even know if she's still alive, or if they've done anything to her. At this point, it doesn't matter" he growled, "I'll tell you whatever you want to know about me, but nothing else."

With those boundaries set, the questions came in thick and fast. And by the time Yuri pulled up to a dark and abandoned looking warehouse she had learned all there was to know about Matthew Cooper. His story of growing up in San Antonio, dying that fateful night that saw him become a Pilot, and of the benefactor who had set him on this course, though he never denied that he loved what he did and wouldn't stop as long as he had any say in the matter.

He guided her to a door that, to her shock, opened on its own to reveal a blue BMW, another gift from this 'Griffon' as she turned the car off and the two got out and Cooper led her into his abode. Inside was a typical bachelor pad, though the sound of someone moving inside had Yuri reaching for her gun when she saw what was happening ahead of her.

The girl she recognized as the one the Marauder and Spider-Man had pulled from a car trunk that started this whole fiasco was hugging the Marauder tightly, ignoring all of the gear strapped to him as she sobbed, and Cooper tried to calm her. On the large TV, the news showed a reporter standing in front of the hotel with the headline announcing who had been taken, the significance of the name obvious to the scarred girl. With an assurance that he was going to get her back, Cooper got the girl to get a hold of herself and led the two into the next room, the sight of which caused Yuri's jaw to drop.

If the earlier areas looked domestic and normal, this one did not. Shelves, tables, and lockers filled the space, and each of those was packed full of weapons, ammunition, equipment, and other gadgetry that the Marauder used. "BT!" barked the Pilot as he strode into the space, a man on a mission, "SITREP!"

"Hardy is no longer moving Pilot; I have coordinated with Micro and have downloaded satellite images of the location" said a mechanical monotone off to one side of the room. The source, a massive black machine standing on two legs and holding a 40mm canon as if it were a rifle, turned to look at the Captain. "Greetings Captain Watanabe" it spoke, the single circle of blue looking at her, "I am BT-7274, Militia Vanguard Titan linked to Pilot Matthew Cooper of the SRS" he introduced.

"My secretary" deadpanned Cooper with a small grin before turning back to BT. "Show me" he commanded before the Titan projected a holographic image of a compound onto the concrete floor. Matthew whistled at the size of it, a mansion was at the center with several other structures around it. "Damn" he cursed, "Captain, what about the _Cross Victoria_? Do you know where it is?"

"Last I heard was that the ship was preparing to set off" she answered quickly. Pulling out her phone to check the email sent to her, she continued, "The paperwork they filed said they were heading for Iceland."

"Maritime shipping channels would take them past the compound" said BT in its warbling tone. "There is a small dock here" said the machine, pointing to one of the holographic structures, "According to information obtained by Pilot Cooper and Ms. Hardy, the _Cross Victoria_ is capable of receiving small boats." _Then what?_ Wondered Watanabe, before she remembered who they were dealing with. In a few weeks all records of Felicia Hardy would disappear, and the case would go from cold to frozen solid. "Other exit options exist, there is a motor pool and helipad further inland."

"Then we'll have to take all of them down" said the Pilot flatly, "how long would it take us to get there BT?"

"Approximate transit time for this chassis is 53.79 minutes" answered the Titan with amusing exactness as the Pilot mulled over the hologram, undoubtedly deciding how best to take the place apart. "Alert" said BT suddenly, "Mr. Castle has arrived Pilot."

"Let him in BT" answered the Marauder before turning to Yuri, "What's your take Captain?" he asked before turning back to the hologram.

Yuri narrowed her eyes as she examined the layout of the area and the size of the operation. In addition to everything else, there seemed to be a structure that looked like a barracks, enough for 30 or 40 men just on it's own. "It looks like a lot for just two men" she said honestly, even knowing who the two men in question were.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" asked the Marauder dryly, head inclining towards the Titan. Yuri was shocked for a moment at the overkill of using such a weapon before Cooper coldly reminded her, "Tonight, there's no prisoners."

Outside the compound, two men sat in a darkened car after following the cop, the larger thinking the same thing as he began dialing numbers on his cellphone.

* * *

"_Sitrep_" said the calm filtered voice over the earpiece as Frank chambered a round in a FN SCAR-H CQC, the compact Belgian made battle rifle, complete with suppressor and under slung grenade launcher, would be his primary armament for this final attack. On his back rested a holdover from his time in the Corps, what he knew as an M1014 semi-automatic 12 gauge shotgun.

Closing the door to the van, he checked that the throat mic given to him was in position before speaking. "Moving to waypoint, ETA three mikes" he answered his blood humming with adrenaline and hot with anger as he moved towards a small house off the beaten path.

"_Roger that, party starts on your mark"_ responded the Marauder over the link, the cockiness usually present replaced with an anger Frank himself was well familiar with. Even if the kid hadn't fully gotten to grips with it, it was clear to the Marine that the younger soldier had fallen for the thief, if his grief at her being taken was anything to go by. Knowing what the Marauder could do, the Punisher almost felt pity for the poor bastards they were going up against, almost._ "See you on the other side Frank."_

Clicking his mic, Frank crept up towards a small shed in the middle of the woods, battle rifle pressed tightly against his shoulder as he looked inside the window of the door before smashing the end of his weapon through the glass. Taking a moment to listen and check to see if he had been noticed, Castle was satisfied there weren't any surprises waiting for him and reached in through the broken window to unlock the door before opening it.

At the warehouse, he could see the thinly veiled rage in the kid's blue eyes when he took his helmet off casually. The kid was facing the prospect that he would lose one of the few people he cared about if they weren't successful. That was a feeling Frank understood, and while he couldn't hope to save his loved ones, he would be damned if he sat idle while the Marauder lost his.

The Punisher thought he had the easy job, though he didn't have a 40-ton mech at his beck and call. With the door unlocked, Frank rushed into the barren single roomed building and checked that it was clear. The plan was a two-pronged attack to break into the massive house where Black Cat was being held and secure her while also wiping out the Market.

Slinging the SCAR over his shoulder, Frank pulled a large rug back to reveal a trap door built into the floor. With a grunt, he pulled up on it to reveal the exit to a tunnel that led into the basement of the house as an emergency escape; Micro had found the paperwork the contractor had filled out when building it, along with news stories detailing the death of all of them not long after the tunnels completion. Descending the stairs, he activated the flashlight on his rifle before continuing ahead. "I'm in position kid."

"_Understood_" responded the Marauder as the noise of the Titan moving and preparing for battle was heard in the background. _"And Frank…Kill 'em all."_

The Punisher didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

With the Punisher being a live roadblock to the emergency tunnel that meant it was up to the Marauder to make sure Rawlins couldn't escape by boat, helicopter, or vehicle. The plan was for the Pilot to destroy the docks, helipad, and motor pool in the few minutes before the target could escape in spite of the few dozen heavily armed mercenaries. Payroll suggested these weren't _all _Special Forces, but they were all military, a mix of Australian, Canadian, and British marines. Piece of cake.

Dropping down from the observation point in treetops, he jumped up and was caught by the massive metal hand of BT before the pilot was placed into the cockpit and the hatch shut. The screens that gave him his window into the outside world flickered to life as the Titan stood to its full, massive, height and raised Cooper's weapon of choice, the 40mm Tracker Cannon.

"Let's make some noise buddy" said Cooper as he pushed the Titan into a full sprint, the 40 tons of war machine accelerating up to 30 miles per hour straight at the perimeter wall. The eight foot high concrete and barbed wire defense was little more than a minor inconvenience that the Vanguard stomped like a toy, finding itself in the middle of the lawn with alarms and spotlights coming to life.

A maelstrom of rounds leapt out of the darkness and pinged harmlessly off of the titanium ceramic composite exterior as Cooper found his first target, the docks. "My turn" he snarled as two missile pods deployed above the shoulders and hell was unleashed. A full Salvo Core, sixty laser guided missiles lit up the night before Matthew jerked his aim up for a few seconds, the missiles rocketing into the sky in response.

With a grim smile, he brought his aim back down to the docks as the missiles hit home, dotting the area like a death dealing meteor shower as shrapnel tore through structures, ships, and the men on the docks with remorseless efficiency. Fuel, either in storage on the docks or on the ships there, went off in a string of secondary explosions, the fireballs lighting up the night and illuminating the Titan as it spun around and tossed out a sonar lock beacon that highlighted the men defending the helipad and gave a partial lock on to the two helicopters there.

The Tone load out BT was equipped with was among the most technologically advanced. Shells from the 40 mm cannon and sonar beacons would relay targeting information back to the Titan, which in turn would feed that information to the guided rockets in the Acolyte pods. Combined with a particle wall to solidify its position on the battlefield, a Tone equipped Titan could dish out constant death and destruction with crushing accuracy. This wasn't going to be a battle; it would be a massacre.

With a bark of thunder, the 40mm sent one of its high-tech rounds arcing through the air as it turned a man next to one helicopter into a fine red paste, pieces of shrapnel slammed into the two choppers. The chunks of metal could be tracked by the avionics of the Tone package as Cooper worked the trigger again, sending more rounds out with the same results until his HUD showed a trio of red rings as Cooper worked the controls, thumb slamming down on a button that caused a smaller pod to extend and fire a salvo of rockets that homed in on the locked up vehicles.

Confident that their fate had been sealed, BT dashed away and sprinted towards the motor pool, trampling a few poor soldiers under the Titan's massive feet. Their deaths were instantaneous, and kind compared to those at the helipads. When the choppers exploded, shrapnel shredded torsos and tore off limbs, but the most unfortunate were covered in burning aviation fuel as they did one last dance as they burned alive. But the defenders were finally able to get a decent response up, a HMMWV with a Tow launcher shot out of the motor pool and fired a missile at the charging Titan.

Slamming on the brakes, the Marauder dropped a particle wall and raised the 40 mm to reply in kind; the first shot was a bit off, hitting the ground in front and knocking the nearby wheel off. The heavy vehicle buried its axle and bumper into the ground and flipped over just as Cooper adjusted his aim and fired again, emptying the remainder of the shells into the overturned vehicle until it was a twisted wreck illuminated by the towering funeral pyres at the docks and helipad.

Resuming his charge, a fresh belt of 40mm was rammed into the gun before the Titan reached the hanger like structure that housed the Markets vehicles and slammed a fist into it. Tearing through the corrugated metal like tissue paper before jamming the cannon inside and letting loose a stream of shells that obliterated the vehicles inside. His rampage was brought to a temporary halt when an RPG slammed into the machine's side, the blast absorbed by the energy shield as Cooper found the source, a man at the corner of the hanger. Without hesitation, the Vanguard nimbly dashed to the attacker and snatched the man up in its massive hand, bringing him up to the singular blue eye before Cooper carelessly squeezed, turning the man into a red stain on his machine.

The remainders of the rounds from the 40mm were fired into more fuel tanks before the gun was tossed into a tractor trailer and the Titan went to work with its fists. More men rushed to the Titan as Cooper overrode the safeties to unleash unguided rocket salvos at them while tearing into the remaining structures with the Vanguards hands. The few vehicles that weren't in the hanger were picked up and tossed across the lawn like toys, crushing men and buildings with equal effectiveness. "Frank, what's your status?" asked Cooper as he guided the machine over to retrieve the thrown weapon, the area around him falling deathly silent.

"_Could…argh damnit"_ grunted the Punisher as the sound of automatic weapons fire filled the comm line, _"could use a little help."_ Cooper turned to the mansion at the center of the compound, the telltale twinkle of gunfire visible through some of the windows.

"Alright BT" said the Marauder as he released the controls and grabbed an EPG-1 off the wall and slung it over his shoulder before grabbing the X-55 Devotion as the hatch opened, "time for a fastball." The armed pilot stepped into the waiting hand as he gripped the energy LMG pulled him back and aimed with his left hand, rotating about his waist joint as he accounted for the wind before clinching his left fist. "Yippy ki yay mother fuckers!" snarled Cooper as he was heaved skyward.

With unexpected grace, the fully kitted SRS pilot soared through the air towards the house, feet pulled up in a crouch and Devotion held at the hip as he descended towards the roof. His landing however, left much to be desired. His boots failed to find purchase and he slipped onto his chest and slid down the angled surface. On reflex, he reached out and drew his axe, burying the weapon into the roof as he turned onto his back to see two men step out onto the balcony below.

Swinging the big Devotion around, he squeezed the trigger as the gun spooled up, blue tracers slicing through them as they crumpled to the deck, chests full of holes. Pulling the axe out, Cooper slid down the roof, noticing one of the mercenaries was still breathing as he fell, he made sure to bury the axe in his skull as he came to the deck. With his tomahawk in its holster and LMG at the ready, the Marauder pushed inside the mansion.

The third floor was an office and bedroom that were both completely empty. Coming to a crouching stop at the top of a staircase, he hurled a pulse blade into the floor, lighting up the half dozen mercenaries waiting down below. Jump kit firing, he jumped up onto the wall and ran down towards the mercs before leaping forwards and activating his phase shift, sliding across the floor of what appeared to be a game room, complete with pool and foosball tables. Memorizing where the bad guys were, he came to his feet and ran well past them before vaulting over a bar and turning, his LMG resting on it as he felt himself get pulled back to reality.

"Surprise" he growled darkly as he triggered the weapon. The X-55's distinct shriek filled the air, wailing like a banshee and, like the mythical creature, heralded the demise of any man who heard it. Ignoring the rounds that snapped past his helmet, Cooper held the trigger down tightly, the Devotion dispensing bullets like a hose as he swiveled to direct the stream to another group of exposed mercenaries and cut them down like chaff. Energy propelled rounds turned men into mush as their blood and guts painted the floors and furniture.

The slaughter only paused when the weapon's mag was empty and the Pilot had to duck behind the bar to reload, the barrel red hot as the box mag clattered to the floor and a fresh one was slammed into place. Before he could chamber the first round, his HUD blared with a proximity alert and he drew the axe and stood.

His right hand knocked the gun pointed at him away as he swung the gleaming edged combat axe down and nearly severed the man's trigger hand at the wrist. He screamed in agony as he pulled his hand back, hanging by bits of flesh and skin as blood sprayed from the stump. Cooper then pushed him back and vaulted over the counter as he heaved the axe, the weapon burying itself in the man's face, splitting his head open as he fell to the floor, brains and blood dripping onto the hardwoods.

The second and last surviving mercenary tried to raise his gun as Cooper did the same, only he held the Devotion LMG like a baseball bat and swung for the fences like a big-league slugger. Advanced polymers meant that the skeleton butt stock didn't flex or crack as it impacted the man's chin, dislocating his jaw and sending a tooth flying. The man staggered back and fell onto his ass as Cooper leveled the gun at him and he tried to beg for his life, raising his hands in surrender before three rounds spat out of the muzzle and into his head, his mouth still locked in its shocked expression. The Marauder retrieved his axe before turning to the sound of a door bursting open, a squad of mercs stopping dead in their tracks as their point man locked eyes on the Marauder and the Devotion in his hands.

Snarling, the X-55 cut loose again against the men in the narrow hallway on the other side of the door, the high powered rounds ripping through one man before tearing into the next, turning the doorway into a meat grinder.

* * *

Frank jammed buckshot rounds into the tube of the Benelli scattergun as more rounds peppered the truck he was hiding behind. The Punisher did notice that there was less as he poked his head out to see a group of men rush off to the staircase behind them, eager to seize the advantage, he pulled a frag from his vest and yanked the pin before tossing the sphere.

When he heard the explosion, he charged and saw one of the opposition stand in time to get a face full of double 00 that blew his head nearly clean off. Switching targets to the next of four, Castle triggered the shotgun twice, pulping the man's ribcage and internals before he too fell dead. Rounding the vehicle, Frank pumped a shell into the first man as the second tried to rush him.

The Marine held his weapon up and the mercenary grabbed hold as the two struggled over it for a second until Castle head butted his foe, ripping the gun away and ramming the barrel into his throat before pulling the trigger with predictably gruesome results.

Above him he could hear a shriek followed by cries of pain and agony he had heard many times before as the mercenaries that ran off came face to face with his backup. If the results were in doubt, the sight of bloodied bodies emerging at the base of the staircase removed them before the Marauder emerged a second later. "Any problems?" asked the Marauder as he reloaded his LMG, his outfit was bloodstained but not heavily damaged while Franks armored vest had a few holes in it before the steel plate behind the skull stopped the rounds cold.

Castle shook his head as he reloaded his weapon, "What about you? Find your girl yet? Or any sign of Rawlins?"

The helmet shook, "Cat is one floor down" responded the Marauder, "but nothing on Rawlins yet." As soon as the words were out of his mouth the two men heard something at the other end of the massive garage and took cover behind a large Mercedes sedan. More mercenaries emerged from a door that led to even more parked vehicles beyond. "Once more into the breach get behind me" ordered the Marauder.

Frank watched the Pilot open the massive car door and then ripped it off with a grunt as the last group of mercs opened fire, shattering the windows of the car. "What's the plan kid?" asked the Marine as the pair was slowly surrounded by the six man squad. Slinging the LMG over his shoulder, the SRS vigilante heaved the door and held it in front of him like a shield before tilting his helmet towards the Punisher, the equivalent of a deadpan look.

Muttering under his breath, the Punisher tapped the man's shoulder pad as he held the shield with both hands and stepped out into the open, all the gunfire concentrating on the armored door and giving the Castle the chance to take the heat off. With a pair of quick bursts, two gunmen were felled before rounds slammed into Franks ballistic vest, knocking the wind out of him as he took cover.

"Come on!" roared the Marauder as he set the door down in the middle of the room and braced it with his left arm, "That all you fuckers got?!" In his right was his strange weapon with a side mounted magazine that he rested on the sill of the shattered window. The gun fired a blob of blue with an ear-splitting shriek. The burst of energy slammed into the ground next to a vehicle and sent the merc behind flying, smoke rising from his charred body armor as the others dove for cover.

With speed many men his age didn't possess, the Punisher charged forwards with a war cry of his own, ramming his shoulder into the nearest of the three remaining gunmen and tackling him to the ground. Castle threw a left hook on the struggling man, buying him enough time to draw his K-Bar and drive it into his throat.

Not bothering to remove the knife as life left the man with sick gurgles, Frank drew his 1911 and emptied the eight rounds, planting four into each of the last two gunmen before an uneasy silence filled the space and Castle reloaded his sidearm before the Marauder pulled him up to his feet. "Time to finish this" said the filtered voice.

Frank nodded and the two men moved into the next room, his companion pausing for a second to let out an appreciative whistle at some of the sports cars and bikes that filled the room. The last one had more normal sedans and SUVs but there were some truly exotic and expensive looking items in here. The pair pushed through, guns sweeping for any hidden surprises until they found a small stairwell in the corner.

"My point" said Frank as the Marauder stepped aside and the Punisher drew the Benelli, marine experience in situations like these being that the guy with the shotgun goes fist. With the Marauder at his back, the Punisher moved down the cramped stairwell until he entered the basement. "Rawlins" said Frank lowly.

At the opposite end of the room, a bald headed man turned around, a slight smirk on his face as he held his gloved hands up. "Master Sergeant Castle, been a long time since Afghanistan" he greeted, nodding towards the Punisher before turning towards the green clad Militiaman, "and Pilot Cooper, excellent shooting at the event, disposing of those loose ends for me." The man smiled devilishly enough to make Frank's skin crawl.

He could hear the kid adjust his grip on his weapon, nearly shaking with rage at the smug faced spook. Frank merely narrowed his eyes, his rage was honed to a lethal degree, "Where's the girl asshole" growled the Punisher.

Rawlins merely stepped aside to allow the two men to see the woman lying on the floor next to him. Castle immediately recognized the platinum-blonde hair and curves in the elegant black dress. Her chest was rising slowly, and the lack of bruising meant she had probably been drugged to keep her under control, a wise choice considering her alter-ego. "I'm not stupid enough to think that you two will simply let me go if I give her to you…"

"You're goddamn right" growled the Marauder, earning him a glare from Rawlins that Frank was familiar with. The CIA man looking down on the grunts like they were insects, beneath him, to be used to achieve his ends and disposed of on a whim.

"…one thing that idealists like you don't understand is that _everything _has a price, it's simply a matter of finding the correct currency" he explained. "_Justice_ and _Honor_ can only get you so far, a Code can't gift you the ability to enforce it, a Mission does not give you the authority to carry it out" said Rawlins as both men lowered their weapons and the CIA man smiled. "But _I _can give you that. Want to put an end to a drug cartel? I can give you the locations of every pound of coke on the eastern seaboard. Desire to see an end of human trafficking? Ask and you shall have the name of every ship with human cargo." The man reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a sat phone and held it out for them to take, "Do we have a deal?"

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment as the two men exchanged looks before Cooper put his weapon on his back and stepped forwards. The pilot extended his right hand and Rawlins looked down on it before accepting the handshake. Castle was about to charge forwards when he saw the Marauder grab the axe from his left thigh, "No" he said flatly as he buried the pick into Rawlins stomach.

With a single, brutal, stroke, the Marauder ripped the weapon through the Market boss' belly from end to end, blood and guts spilled out of the tear and onto the floor as he fell to his knees. Raising the axe, the Pilot slashed him across the throat, blood spurting as he fell to his side, hands clutching his wounds uselessly as he bled out.

Without another word, the Marauder placed the weapon back in its sheath and tried to rouse Black Cat, but got nothing while Frank looked around at the room and its contents. Cash of a dozen different varieties, fake IDs, clothes, a few weapons, items that would be absolutely needed if Rawlins had to go on the run. Frank tried to look at a few computers, but got nowhere, he wished Micro was here.

But he did understand writing, and there were a dozen six-inch-thick binders in the space, picking one at random, he began thumbing through it. Inside was what kept the Market afloat, blackmail, Rawlins had dirt on every person with even a shred of power. Some names he recognized, some he didn't, but these were the organizations trump cards if anyone 'legitimate' tried to stop them.

Shoving them aside before he found something he'd rather not see, he saw the Marauder sticking his strange knife into a computer, a holographic ring above the hilt changing from orange to blue. "What do you want to do about this place kid?" asked Frank.

The Marauder shrugged, "Doesn't matter to me, if that's what I think it is I don't want to touch it with a ten-foot pole" he said tiredly before pulling his knife out. "It's been good working with you Frank, I owe you." he said, extending his hand, "You ever need anything, don't hesitate to call."

"Likewise, kid" grunted the Punisher as he shook the offered hand, the younger vigilante picked up the woman and carried her bridal style back through the ruined mansion. The group continued outside where Frank got to see firsthand what a Titan was capable of. Massive footsteps and impact craters marred the land as several smoldering husks of cars and buildings sent small puffs of smoke into the moonlit night. Part of the Marine was happy that the Marauder was something vaguely resembling a friend, because the Punisher sure as shit didn't want him as an enemy.

They passed what looked like they might have once been bodies, and Frank was sure that those were arms and legs with nothing connected to them. He turned to see a pillar of smoke and the burning ship that it was coming from, the fire engulfed stern the only portion above water. The rest of the facilities weren't in much better shape; it looked like the place had been shelled by an artillery battery.

They met up with the Titan and moved through the surrounding woods towards the parked Battle Van. The heavy footfalls of the Titan sounding behind them as they soon arrived at the Van and Frank was about to climb into it to take it back until it was needed again. "Pilot" said the machine suddenly, "Perimeter alarms at the warehouse have been tripped, defenses are active" alerted the Titan.

"Shit" cursed the Marauder before turning to Castle. "Could you take her, she's got a safehouse set up on the edge of the city" he said before rattling off instructions on getting there before turning back to the Titan. "Let's roll BT" he called before jumping up and into the open hatch before taking a seat inside, the Vanguard sealing up before sprinting off, shaking the ground with each step.

Castle set the platinum blonde woman into the passenger seat and put the seat belt on before getting into the driver's seat, leaving the smoldering Market compound and heading off into the night.

* * *

Cooper had come ahead on foot, Devotion at the ready as he moved through the abandoned complex; it hadn't taken long for him to find the first signs of what happened. The automated defenses that he had set up had done their job, a burned out vehicle that ran afoul of an anti titan sentry sat just 250 yards from his warehouse. A bit closer he started finding bodies that were cut down by the Pilot sentries before he began finding the sentries themselves. The Spitfires on them empty, all rounds fired, and the mounts disabled.

The count was well into the twenties now; all dressed the same way, ill fitting suits and suspenders. Neither the purple of Fisk nor the tactical gear of the Market, these men could only belong to the Maggia. Cooper pressed on, a deep pit in his gut at what he would find at 'home.' Even with the eight emplacements, the defenses were only ever intended to delay an attack or remove a lone infiltrator or small group. But it seemed the Maggia didn't do small groups, instead pouring a lot of men into this attack, meaning they probably knew who they were attacking.

He finally arrived outside the garage door and found it off canter and broken. With a heave, he lifted it and moved inside, sighing at the sight of his M3, the tires slashed, and windshield smashed. Pushing on, he found the rest of his place wasn't doing much better, the walls were marked with bullet holes and shell casings littered the floor. In the doorway were more bodies, dressed in old timey suits or suspenders with bullet wounds dotting their chests.

Looking behind the kitchen counter, he found a few empty 10mm magazines and a P2016, slide locked open and out of ammo. Next to the weapon were blood stains that became a smear that led to the door to the armory. With a deep sigh and an inescapable sense of dread, Matthew opened the door into his armory.

The place was as much of a mess as the rest of his place. Guns, parts, ammo, and equipment was scattered everywhere, tables and lockers were overturned, and more bodies were visible. None of that was what Cooper was focused on however, his visor was locked on the titan rack and the body strung up in it.

Chains were wrapped around her wrists and ankles, and she was spread eagle between the empty steel construction. Bullet wounds peppered her arms, legs, and abdomen and blood dripped from her feet and the numerous wounds. Pinned to her chest with a wicked looking knife was a note. Reaching up, Cooper ripped the note down and read through it.

_To whomever it may concern,_

_I don't know who you are, and I don't care. You killed eight of my men tonight, and that was before I came after you here. I was hoping to kill you here, would have been easy, I like that sometimes, especially when things are rough._

_Still, that's all beside the point now, you weren't here, so I had to settle for your little friend. She's giving the message I intended to have delivered in person. You see, the Maggia, we ain't respected no more, so when some Joe off the street kills eight of my men, an example has to be made. _

_Hopefully you get the message…if you don't, well, I'll be seeing you real soon._

_-Hammerhead_

Emotions tore through Cooper like serrated blades; his guts were turned inside out as he folded the note and placed it into a pouch before he slammed a fist into one of the beams with a howl of rage. Removing his helmet, he looked up at the lifeless corpse of the girl he swore to protect before the Marauder fell to his knees and wept.

* * *

_Coopers Logbook –Titan Loadout: Tone_

_In an attempt to maximize combat effectiveness, a paradigm shift in Titan Loadouts occurred following the Battle of Demeter, the Tone loadout was a direct result of this. Prior to Demeter, one of the most effective configurations across the frontier was a middleweight Atlas chassis, Brockhaurd Manufacturing40mm cannon, Multi Target Missile System, and Particle Wall. To get even more capability from this popular and battle tested loadout, improvements were made to the synergy of the various components. To aid in target acquisition, shells fired from the 40 mike mike were upgraded to relay target telemetry back to the Tone package, the same could be said of the Sonar lock utility ability, in effect a Titan sized Pulse Blade. The defensive particle wall was conventionally reinforced to give greater survivability on the battlefield, this force field offers protection for the width of the Titan, though slow-moving objects can pass through unhindered. _

_But all that is merely the appetizer and side dishes to the main course, Tracking Rockets. Powerful weapons that have a formidable tracking ability and will relentlessly seek out whatever target is given to them. They can be manually dumb fired, but the shaped charge warheads don't have a large blast radius and are exponentially more effective when they are using their namesake tracking ability. A well piloted tone that effectively uses cover, times its Sonar Lock, and accurately directs its 40mm cannon can keep these rockets firing constantly and will demolish an entire Titan Platoon in short order. On Typhon I became very familiar with this loadout and used it to great effect to do just that. _

_On top of all of that, the 'core' ability is the ultimate 'press button to win' weapon. While the Tone chassis usually maintains a very healthy reserve of tracking rockets, if you find yourself with your back to the wall every single one of those dozens of missiles can be turned loose. Since the Tone package is focused solely on this volley, the Pilot can 'wire guide' the weapons to the desired target by simply looking at what he or she wants obliterated. I call this 'Salvo Core' the dessert, because when some arrogant Titan gets up in your grill and you shove all 40 rockets down his throat, it will be the last thing he ever eats._

* * *

**Closing Notes: The Market is all wrapped up pretty much, I don't think the ending quite packs the punch I was hoping for, probably because Mathilda didn't get quite the development she really needed for it to work. Still, hopefully it will make sense for the characters to take her death as hard as they do. The events of the past two chapters and will provide motivations for later on, but that is all in the future. Next chapter is all conversation, focusing mainly on Matthew trying to recover after his failure to protect Mathilda. **

**Next Wednesday will be the next installment, the first of two epilogue type chapters that will fully wrap up the original story arcs setting up Cooper and his place in the world prior to the events of the main game. The goal was to establish a character that fit in the world but with a different personalty to Spider-Man. Let me know if you think it works, or anything else in a review. **

**Next chapter is when Cooper will feel the old familiar sting, to try and kill it all away, but remember everything, especially the Hurt. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	23. Chapter 23: Hurt

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

First thing to get out of the way, if you're here simply for the action, then you probably will not enjoy this a whole lot. All this is going to be is the cast, Cooper mainly, coming to terms with what happened last chapter. This chapter went through more rewrites than most because I never felt I got the tone quite right. When I cooked up this crazy idea for a story I had never thought it would ever approach taking itself as seriously as it does this chapter.

I have had reviews in the past saying they prefer the more introspective and character focused stuff which resulted in this being drawn out to a full chapter, so hopefully those people like how I've handled it. If you do let me know, and if you don't then let me know why. I will have more of this later on, so I want to make those bits the best they can be.

For a dark and mournful chapter we need an appropriate title, and there really is only one choice. While originally recorded by Nine Inch Nails, this song belongs to the one and only Man In Black, Johnny Cash. 'The American IV' was released less than a year before Cash passed away and this track and its music video won the then 72 year old a Grammy. Maybe it is insensitive to use it for a silly fanfiction, but I would wager that most people reading this have never heard of Johnny Cash, and if this is what it takes to introduce him to somebody then I'm okay with it. It really does set the tone and mood perfectly, and is absolutely fitting for the emotional low point of Cooper.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 23: Hurt**

_And you could have it all, My empire of dirt_

_I will let you down, I will make you hurt_

_I wear this crown of thorns, Upon my liars chair_

_Full of broken thoughts, I cannot repair_

* * *

Felicia Hardy felt like she had been hit by a truck when she woke up, her addled mind slowly registering that she recognized where she was, her hideout in the Bronx. Sitting up, another wave of nausea washed over her as she fought to keep her body under control and look around. Satisfied that she was alone, she tried to get out of bed, only to stumble, her legs turning to jelly as she collapsed to the floor.

"Felicia?" came a concerned voice, Hardy turning to see Cooper standing in the doorway in sweatpants and t-shirt, "calm down, it's over" he assured as he helped her up and get her back into bed, "I got them all last night. Every last one" he assured soothingly as he stroked her hair tenderly.

But Felicia was becoming more alert every moment as she sat him down next to her and looked him over. He was exhausted, drained both physically and emotionally, dark bags were under his eyes and his voice was…lifeless…almost. No dry confidence, no playful smirk on his face, the glow in his blue eyes was dimmed if not gone completely. "Matthew" she began, his head jerking at the use of his name, "what else happened?"

There was an uncomfortable silence as a single tear rolled down his face, "while I was taking care of Rawlins…he sent his guys to my place to kill Matt Cooper" he began, fists balling as his knuckles went white. "When I wasn't there, they gunned down Mathilda and strung her body up as a warning" he finished, voice wavering and faltering as he said those final words.

Felicia immediately wrapped her arm around Cooper, who returned the gesture. They had both seen the girl progress from when he found her, her seemingly miraculous growth from the silent and scared victim to showing her talent and being a bright spot that never failed to impress. To think that she was just gone, all of her progress had been for nothing. All of the good that Spider talked about, how it made you feel, Mathilda had given her that sensation for the first time, and for it all to have been for naught was soul crushing.

She couldn't begin to imagine how hard Matthew was taking it.

He certainly looked like he was taking it poorly, hunched over and shoulders sagging. "What have you been doing since then?" she asked quietly.

"Salvaging what I could mostly" he answered tiredly, "moving it to hideouts and finding a spot for BT, got him underground, an old storage facility for fuel oil at the docks till I can figure something else out for him." Cooper took a deep breath, "thank god this is all over. Last night I thought…it was bad."

Cooper filled her in on what happened after the had been dragged out of the event and drugged in the back of the car. Everything she had missed that had led to her lover almost looking worse than we she found him half dead in the middle of a shootout between Fisk's men and the police. Her emotions were a flurry, she hated that she had been caught so off guard, made helpless and forced to rely on anyone. Yet, the man she did have to rely on had gone lengths and was still at her side despite all it had cost him. "How are you holding up?"

"Could be better" admitted Cooper, his voice horse and battered. "I'm sorry that I couldn't protect her. Some fucking excuse for a hero I am" he groused lowly, pure shame and regret behind the words. "Managed to just fuck everything up, I'm sorry" he repeated.

Felicia understood, for the Marauder the ends had to justify the means. After he had done, the killing, the torture, the burning, for the person that he had used as motivation to go to such extreme lengths to die despite every line he had crossed? She could tell that it had broken some part of him, and that was why she didn't ask what he was going to do next, because she could tell he didn't have the desire to do anything. She couldn't blame him, as far as she was concerned, it was over, the Market was finished, and the chips had fallen where they may on who survived and who didn't.

And she was happy that the Marauder, no, Matthew, had been one of the survivors. She reached out and took his hand, causing him to look up at her. "You did everything you could. Do you understand?" she asked, getting only a shaky nod in return. "That's not good enough, say the words."

After a shaky breath, he nodded again, "I understand" he confirmed. "Even though I gave this everything I had…it wasn't enough" he admitted lowly, and that was the hardest pill to swallow. He had pulled out all the stops, he went in with his gear, his guns, his Titan, and even brought in the godforsaken Punisher, and he had come up short.

And she knew why it was bothering him, he had told her what a Pilot was, _"Titan pilot is an attitude. It is cockiness. It is aggressiveness. It is self-confidence. It is a streak of rebelliousness, and it is competitiveness. But there's something else - there's a spark. There's a desire to be good. To do well; in the eyes of your peers, and in your own mind." _Those words had stuck with her because it was what made him special, it described him to a T. And that last bit, to do well in the eyes of your peers and in your mind, was what was eating him alive.

Suddenly, she closed the distance and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, "you still pulled off an incredible rescue" she whispered, "my hero" she finished with a faint smirk. "And the best part? You killed them, no arrests, no trials, you gave them what they deserved" continued the Thief firmly, her tone wasn't harsh, but it brokered no argument. "In my eyes Matthew, you did well" she finished.

Only then did he seem to finally straighten ever so slightly, she could tell that her words had the desired effect. "Thank you Felicia, that means a lot. I needed to hear that" he said with a faint smile, it wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

"And you're still mine" she added, "and I say you need a rest" she said firmly as she patted the bed, "don't worry, I won't be going anywhere" she assured, and she was okay with just staying here and being held by the Pilot, her Pilot.

* * *

"1:30, damn" muttered Cooper as he looked at his phone before flopping back down in the empty bed. With a small and weary frown his face, Matthew began scrolling through the messages waiting for him. Most were what he expected, updates from BT stating that all was still clear, one last thank you from both Frank and Micro, and a demand from Peter to tell him what the hell had happened.

He sent acknowledgements to BT, Castle, and Micro, the last one having received copies of the contents of the computers in the safe room. With one exception, the offshore accounts that it had access to were drained and relocated to the Pilots own numbered accounts, making him a few million dollars richer in a heartbeat.

Matthew also sent a vaguely worded text to Peter, omitting what had happened to Mathilda completely and vowed to patch up his relationship with his friend at some point down the line. He said that Rawlins had taken Felicia and he had gone to get her back and ensure that they wouldn't take anyone else. As always, he didn't regret his actions, only that there weren't better options.

Then there were the unexpected ones, Captain Watanabe and Mary Jane Watson. Yuri had been up to the compound and had seen what was left, more importantly, found all of the blackmail material and Market files in the saferoom. The evidence was being processed and the department was a bit overwhelmed deciding what to do. She had some questions for him personally as well as needing an excuse for a break, and they agreed to meet tomorrow. All of the carnage that littered the area had gone completely unmentioned, though she said she had him covered in case the NYPD tried to do anything about either the Marauder or Matthew Cooper.

The redheaded reporter had the biggest surprise in store, and he gave her more or less the same reply as he gave Peter. Apparently, Jameson had come in raving about some 'Marcus Colson' who saved his life at a charity ball the previous night. While the editor _still _hadn't gotten his name right, Watson figured out who it was when he did remember that he had come with Hardy.

_Felicia,_ the vixen came back to the forefront of his mind as he looked towards the empty spot next to him and thought back to earlier that day when they had both woken up, something had changed between them and they both felt it. Any other time they woke up mostly unclothed in bed together it was a race to see who could jump the other the quickest. This time, that hadn't happened, they had simply held the other close, a reminder to both they were still alive and were grateful the other was too.

Of course, he didn't know what his partner thought of it, she was gone when he finally came to and he was more than willing to give her some time to herself after all that had happened. That also left Hammerhead, he had intentionally omitted the Maggia boss's involvement in all of his retellings. Matthew didn't know what to do, he had just charged off to kill someone because they had come after someone he cared about and that hadn't gone well. To immediately do it again? He was tired, he was exhausted, and he just wanted it to end. He wanted to kill Hammerhead, the very core of his being demanded it, but the body was week and unwilling to comply.

In addition, the very prospect seemed futile, charging in after Rawlins to save Felicia had gotten Mathilda killed. What would happen if he tried the same stunt again?

Slowly pulling himself out of bed, he got dressed and went over to one of his satchels and pulled out a few of the items he had brought from his old hideout. The doodle covered journals hadn't been easy to find considering how protective Mathilda was of them and reading through them wasn't something he was particularly looking forward to, but Cooper had made up his mind. He hoped that he would find some hint to a religion, family, anything that would help him give the teen a proper burial. Her remains were in a Militia issue coffin with BT, the thought of her being laid to rest in a nondescript composite box being buried so far from her home rubbed him the wrong way.

He had been trying so hard the last 18 hours to keep up appearances, maintain his swagger and not show that the events that had transpired were slowly getting to him. But now that he was alone with nothing but reminders of the person he had viewed as a little sister and then failed to protect? The walls slowly came down and he felt himself choke up, his stomach tightening, and eyes watering as he forced himself to read through the notes to at least do right by her in this last, crucial, task.

An hour later and Cooper didn't have much to show for his efforts, at least half of the notes were in French and he was a dumb American who could only do a bit of Spanglish at best. He did have some memories of home, not an address sadly, but Cooper had been feeding what he had to BT and the machine was searching to try to find an exact location. The sound of the door opening knocked him from his thoughts as Felicia strode in. "Hey Cowboy" she said with a smile.

"Darlin'" he drawled back in greeting as he saw her quirk her eyebrow at the notebooks on the table in front of him. "I wanted to see if I could find anything about her home and send her back, she deserves that much at least" he said sadly. "Considering I failed to keep her alive, it's the least I can do. Based on what I have, BT thinks she grew up on the southern coast of France, Montpellier probably."

The thief nodded as she sat down opposite him and kicked her feet up on the table, expertly balancing the chair she was seated in on two of its legs. "So, when do we leave?" she asked as Cooper stared at her, dumbfounded. "What? You didn't think you were doing this by yourself, did you?" she asked with a somber tone, but a small and reassuring smile graced her lips. "Besides, it would do you some good to take a break."

Placing the notebook down, Cooper matched the woman's position and tilted his head. "I don't suppose you have something in mind?" he asked with a knowing smirk. Of course she did, this was the Black Cat he was dealing with after all. He didn't even bother trying to guess, figuring it would be most enjoyable to just go along with it.

"My dear mother wants me to take a vacation after what happened" she said, "willing to pay for the whole thing even. Usually I prefer to work a bit more to take other people's things, but this will have to do" she said with a smirk of her own. "It's not often she's willing to let me out of her reach" added Felicia as Matt laughed at her motivations for heading to France.

"Can't imagine why. I mean, it's not like you're prone to getting yourself into trouble or anything" he deadpanned with a small quirk of the lips as he put his feet down and sat up. "Still, where do I fit into this?"

"Well…" began Hardy as she stood and sat on the table facing Cooper, "one of the conditions was that I have a bodyguard with me for my safety. But after your heroics last night, my dear mother feels that I will be perfectly safe with you by my side, plus, you have…other uses" she purred seductively, but it was hollow, she was trying to move on and get him to follow suit.

The Pilot got to his feet and tried to do just that, planting a firm kiss on the woman, "at least I'm good for something" he quipped, though it was hollow sounding. "Still need a few days at the least to take care of some stuff. Talk with Yuri, get my gear stashed, see what the hell Jameson wants, find a new place…" he said only to be cut off as a pair of feminine arms wrapped around his waist.

"You can hold off on that last one at least" purred Hardy as she placed her chin on his shoulder and looked up at him with a shimmer in her eyes. "I have a spare key, and I'm sure we can work out some way you can repay me" she explained with a wicked edge that left little to the imagination, her body pressed against his.

Cooper feigned indecision, "I dunno…I suppose that has some merits" he mused as he made a show of weighing the options. "Your place does offer quite a view, and the patio looking out onto the city is nice too" he added with a quirked mouth. "Ya talked me into it darlin, at least for now."

He could feel the tension leave her body as she seemed to melt into him. "Glad to hear it" she said simply before turning him around to face her. "Now as for this trip, there's a lot we can do. Cruise the Mediterranean, see San Tropez, the Louvre, Venice…"

"St Lo, _Belfast_, Bastogne, Monte Cassino, Verdun, Omaha…" continued Cooper, taking a bit of twisted pleasure in seeing tiny winces cross Felicia's face with each name listed. "Maybe we can do a mix?"

Felicia leveled a 'what do you think buster?' look his way that caused him to shrug in acceptance. The white-haired woman laughed lightly, "is there anything else I should try and get for us?"

Cooper gave the question a few moments of thought. "A DB11 wouldn't go amiss…"

* * *

Yuri looked down at her phone again as she finally gave into temptation and pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Her attempts to quit cold turkey had been failing miserably, even if she had been smoking slightly less. Shaking that failure aside, she decided to focus on the good, her superiors had looked favorably upon her handling of the situation involving the Marauder and his activities against the Market. Of course, mused Yuri, this was only because of the metric shit ton of evidence that dropped in their laps as a result that they were having a field day with. For her part, she had given the order to stop and seize their ship, along with the contraband on board along with yet more evidence that was already finding its way to other police forces across the world.

The Market wasn't completely finished, not by a long shot, but it had been thrust out of the shadows by the Marauder and now it was left to regular law enforcement to kick it while it was down. Most of that would be done in Europe and Asia, where the Market had a stronger presence, and the FBI had swooped in to 'supervise' the investigation and probably 'misplace' some of the bits that incriminated American officials.

Yep, she was just as optimistic as ever.

"I'm pretty sure I've seen this movie before" said a filtered voice behind her, "cop brooding as she overlooks the city, snow falling softly, inner monologue about how the jobs not done yet" continued the Marauder as he leaned against the railing and turned to face her, visor looking down at her. "How close was I?"

Watanabe snorted, "closer than I'd like, not as close as you think" she deadpanned, getting a small chuckle back. "Officially, I'm supposed to congratulate you on your success against the Market and thank you for your service to the city to advance justice and the law and some other crap" she said in an amused tone. None of the people who wanted him to have that message knew what he had actually done to get there, just like police work, everyone focused on the flashy, headline winning parts of it and not the cost.

"Sure doesn't feel like it though, does it?" he answered morosely. "Though it's better than nothing I suppose" he added with a sigh that Yuri allowed herself as well before taking another drag. "That actually reminds me, I noticed Rawlins had a few interesting vehicles, I was wondering what it would take for me to get one or two of 'em."

The Captain shrugged, "I don't know, they'd probably be tossed in a crusher otherwise. Make a fair market value and the department would probably be happy to give them to you." Taking another drag she turned to look at him, "which ones do you want and what are you willing to offer?"

"One of the sports cars, dark green, already matches my kit, you know the one?" he asked. Yuri took a moment as she shook her head minutely before nodding, of course the man with a Viper would want the fastest looking car of the bunch. "That and the black Ducati bike. As far as the price…I'll give you a million for the pair."

He said it just as she was inhaling a puff of smoke that she promptly choked on when she heard the number, her cigarette falling to her feet. Thinking it was his dry humor, she turned and smirked, "funny" she said dryly as she pulled out another cigarette and looked at the helmet, "what's the actual number?"

"A million dollars" repeated the vigilante with a small laugh as Yuri gave an 'explain' grunt and lit the new cigarette. "Mainly for the car, that's a McLaren P1, one of only 375. Packs 900 horsepower, naught to sixty is 2.9 seconds" he rattled off instantly as Watanabe gave him a stunned look that said she didn't really understand any of what he just said. The Militia Pilot laughed again, "Its fast as shit."

"Ah" said Yuri as she went back to her cigarette before laughing a bit. "Kinda funny to think that there's a nerd under the armor and wit" she jabbed with a hint of humor. The Marauder merely shrugged, not bothering to argue the point, both knew he couldn't do so truthfully. "I'll take your offer to my superiors, though I don't expect them to say no" she said. "How do you want that to be handled, legally and such?"

"The bike will be Black Cats, it's already in her color after all" he said before shifting a bit, "that, and she can actually ride a bike" he admitted. Yuri snickered, earning her a mock glare from the helmet that she ignored as she fought to get herself under control. "I'll use the car when I'm kitted out. Which is why I want it sent to the factory in Woking in the UK, it's going to need a few modifications. Ownership will be a shell company so they can't be traced back to us" Yuri nodded, thinking back to how he couldn't sit in a normal seat with his gear on, and probably a few other things. "That leads onto the last thing I needed to tell you, I'm taking a vacation…" he said as Yuri's second cigarette fell next to the first and she cursed under her breath as both looked down at the still smoldering cancer stick. "…Try not to burn the place down while I'm gone" he deadpanned.

Sighing at the lame joke and her second lost cigarette, the Captain ground her heel into it to put it out before recomposing herself. Maybe she should take a vacation too? She surely had some time owed to her and considering the big win any request would be approved. There was only one problem with that line of thinking, "I won't, but the other guys may not be as careful" she said as she looked back out over the city in its barely controlled chaos.

"If they get a bit too careless with the gasoline and matches, I'm just a phone call away" assured the Marauder as he stood straight. "And if you need something faster, then I can always send BT in, assuming you don't mind a bit of collateral damage" he said dryly.

_That_ was the understatement of the year, "I'll just call" she said with a faint smile. But as she looked over him, the way he held himself, the slight slouch in his posture and droop of his head, another concern came to mind. "How are you holding up after what happened? I know you cared about that kid" she prodded gently.

For a moment she was afraid she might have gone too far, but the man sighed deeply. "Better than I was" he admitted honestly, though there was obvious pain and regret in the words. "I failed her Yuri…I have to live with that. I saved Felicia but…"

"You couldn't have known" consoled Yuri quietly, but firmly. "There wasn't anything more you could have done; I know you too well to think that." There was a silence for a few seconds on the rooftop as both were lost in their own thoughts about the situation. "Marauder…Cooper" she said as she turned to face the Pilot. "This sort of thing is never easy, it's something you don't forget" she said, speaking from experience and being keenly reminded of how young the Marauder was behind that visor. "But remember all of the good too, you stopped the Market, and because of you, hundreds of people like her are getting another chance at life. Remember that she spent the last few weeks with you and Cat, you gave that girl hope, just like you've given so many. Do you understand?" The man turned to look at her and nodded slowly, though he offered no other answer.

Instead he just looked off into the city, clearly becoming lost in thought until she reached out and grabbed his upper arm, giving it a squeeze to take him from his stupor. "Good" she said before slipping back into 'Captain Mode' once more. "Now go take your vacation with your girl and you enjoy it. Am I understood?"

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

"So when will you be back?" asked Peter as Cooper looked up from his spot at the grill, somehow he had been roped into kitchen duty once someone figured out he had been practicing with a grill.

Matthew shrugged as he flipped over some of the BBQ chickens, "beginning of February, give or take a week." Checking to make sure that he wasn't overcooking them, he pointed towards the stack of plates off to the side. "Hopefully you don't let this place go to hell before I get back" he joked.

"I'll try, but you've been a big help in your own…unique…way" said Peter, Coop going rigid at the unexpected praise and gave him a confused glance. "I help in mine and you help in yours, all that matters is that you're helping" said the wallcrawler with a reassuring smile as he passed the plates to the Pilot.

Matthew chuckled as he began to plate the chicken, "that wasn't what I was expecting, I thought I'd be getting a new asshole and another lecture" admitted the Marauder with a grin, "why the change?"

Peter shrugged, "the other way wasn't working" he deadpanned, getting a bark of laughter from Cooper as the amateur scientist shifted a bit. "And we both know that you aren't a hero, you're a Pilot, none of that stuff how it was only for a week or whatever" he said, dismissing the first counter Matthew would make. "My first times were muggers and burglars, where all I needed were fists and quips, I lived in fear of my own strength" admitted Peter. "You though, you didn't exactly ease into it, did you?" he asked rhetorically, both knew the answer.

Matthew grunted, "doesn't mean I want to do…_that_…ever again" he answered with a tinge of anger, even if the Queens Native didn't know the details of what happened at the Compound or his warehouse. Instead of letting him muster the courage to ask, Cooper asked a question that had been weighing on his mind. "He made me an offer" he said suddenly, Peter looking at him oddly as he patiently awaited an explanation. "Before I finished him, Rawlins offered a deal, let him walk in return for information, enough to put away hundreds of criminals, save thousands of people…and…I didn't even consider it." That was the moment that really ate at him, the chance that his anger and mission prevented him from doing more, he had been cursing his shortsightedness in the days since.

"Wow" breathed Peter as he mulled it over, Cooper had left this detail out of the accounts he gave to Felicia and Watanabe, and he knew Frank approved of his decision, but he wanted an outside opinion. "But you still got all of the evidence from his ship and house? You already saved thousands just by that."

Cooper nodded as he finished the last of the chicken before sighing, "was it the decision you would have made?" he asked seriously, "would you have taken the deal?"

Peter shook his head instantly, "never" he said forcefully. "I would have left him for the cops, the guy was crafty, no chance he would have given you everything. You made the right choice Coop" assured Parker.

A feeling of relief washed over the Pilot and he only then noticed how tense he had been as he unwound. "Thanks, I…I really needed to hear that" he admitted honestly, "now let's go be normal, serve this chicken, and find out if I'm actually any good with this thing."

* * *

Cooper drove through the airport towards the hanger housing Rodney's private jet that she had allowed the couple to use for their trip. It had been nearly a week since Rawlins died and his life was finally under control more or less. One thing that hadn't changed was that his Viper was still in the shop, and with his M3 having been seen and possibly linked to him when the Maggia hit him he had to send that to the scrap heap he had to buy a new car.

With a bit of open runway ahead he dropped a cog in the six speed box and planted his foot in the carpets, the white and blue striped Shelby GT350 responding quickly. With a roar from the V8, the Voodoo powered Mustang closed in on its destination before slowing and passing through the hanger doors. Inside was a beautiful gulfstream jet, with the ground crew fettling the bits and doing the preflight checks as Cooper guided the GT350 to an open spot on the side of the hanger.

No sooner had the car come to a stop then two men came up to his car, grabbing his suitcases for him as Felicia sauntered up to him and planted a wonderful kiss on his lips. "You ready Cowboy, now with your trusty steed" she said with a smile as she ran her hand along the flank of the Ford.

"I'm a cowboy, on this steel horse I ride, wanted dead or alive" he quoted dryly as she turned and led him up the stairs into the jet. Cooper looked around, but his eyes mostly settled on Hardy's swaying ass ahead of him without a hint of shame. The pair settled down into the luxurious interior with a cluster of leather seats, a bed in the back and fine carpets on the floors. "Is she on her way?" he asked, Hardy returning a sullen nod in reply.

There was a slight silence that led into small talk that lasted until an older man came back into the cabin, "Ms. Hardy, we have clearance for takeoff, we'll be departing shortly" he informed curtly before turning on his heel and heading back for the cockpit.

With a smirk as the jet began to roll towards the flight line, Cooper pulled out his phone and began to search for a song. When the jet began to accelerate, he hit play as the opening chords of a Kenny Logins song began to play and Matt sang along.

_Revvin up your engines, listen to her howlin' roar._

_Metal under tension, beggin you to touch and go._

Felicia pretended to ignore him as he lived out his minor Top Gun fantasy across from her as the plane climbed to 25,000 feet and leveled out, the two settling in for the trip. "This is nice" said Felicia as she undid her seatbelt and stretched, smirking as she saw Cooper checking her out, to which he gave a 'can you blame me?' shrug. "A break from everything, get a change of scenery, lovely new places to see, interesting people to meet…"

"Priceless items to steal?" added Cooper dryly as he saw Felicia seize up for a second and bite her lip. "What's wrong sweetheart?" he asked as his smirk fell, and he turned serious.

She now seemed to notice her change in expression and immediately went back to her usual seductive smirk. "Nothing, it's just there won't be any of that…this time." Cooper raised an eyebrow in surprise. He didn't have a problem if some crime family's statue disappeared while they were in Europe, he was just shocked to hear her say it. "I was thinking of a trip to Monaco though, during the Grand Prix."

Despite the obvious change of subject, Matthew didn't want to press her on it. "A Formula 1 race?" asked Cooper, the surprises still coming out of the woodwork. "I'm not complaining" he said, "just didn't think that you'd care for that sort of thing."

"You should know by now handsome, I'm full of surprises" she responded huskily. "Besides, who says I'm there for the actual race?" she asked, Cooper conceding the point with a shrug, the event did serve as a massive draw to high society who had little actual care for the race.

The Texan shrugged; his mind more focused on their first task upon landing. "Sounds like fun."

* * *

A soft knocking at the study doors caused Phillipe Loiselle to look up from his work, the real estate mogul working out of his home saw his housekeeper at the door. "I'm sorry to disturb you sir" she said quietly.

He smiled weakly, removing his reading glasses "it is no bother" he assured, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "What is it Emile?" he asked standing up from his desk and setting his work aside. His office, like the rest of the home, was distinctly modern, clean lines of crisp white, carbon fiber in place of wood ornamentation, and high-tech LEDs providing illumination when there was no sunlight to come in the numerous windows.

The woman offered an apologetic smile, "there are two Americans downstairs who wish to speak with you…about your daughter" she said carefully, as if she were treading on very thin ice.

The finely dressed and bearded man gave her an odd look, "what trouble has Elaine gotten herself into this time?" he wondered aloud with a hearty laugh before he saw the housekeeper shift uncomfortably, "what is the matter?" She looked down and whispered something that was barely audible. "Speak up" he ordered; his tone now serious.

"They said they're not hear about Elaine" she finally said as the Father of twos eyes went wide and he nearly knocked her over as he charged out of his office and down the stairs towards the front door. Taking a moment to compose himself, he opened the door to see a man and woman, both well dressed and wearing sunglasses. The man was solidly built and rugged looking, whereas the woman was delicate, an odd pairing at first glance.

"Mister Loiselle?" asked the man with a slight accent, southern US if Phillipe was not mistaken. He nodded as he saw the two exchange a look, "may we come in? This isn't a short story" said the man quietly. The Frenchman stepped aside and allowed the two into his home, the lady coming in first while the man turned to lock the Aston Martin in the driveway behind them before following the white-haired woman.

"Emile, take their jackets, fetch some drinks and my wife" ordered Phillipe, the younger woman nodding quickly before doing just that. The Real Estate mogul lead the pair through his home to his parlor, the fine hardwoods and white tile walls contrasted with the dark sofas and chairs around a carbon fiber coffee table. "Take a seat please" he said, the two sitting next to one another on the large couch as the man set his briefcase on the table.

The man was in a well fitted if conservative suit with a dark green tie, the woman was in a suit of her own, fitted to accentuate her curves. Both moved with poise and a lightness, the woman more so, and even as they waited on the couch, sipping on the juices given to them, their eyes never rested on one spot for very long.

Phillipe couldn't shake the feeling that the attractive couple in his home were _very_ dangerous people. With the arrival of his wife, still dressed in her tennis gear and sweat still on her brow, Loiselle introduced him and his wife, though the two remained straight-faced behind their sunglasses. "And who are you? American Agents of some sort, perhaps FBI?"

The woman laughed softly while the man smiled, "I'm SRS and she's…an independent?" he asked, the woman nodding in reply, "an independent. I'm known as the Marauder, and she's the Black Cat." Phillipe stared at the two dumbly, now understanding why they were keeping their glasses on and their general demeanor. The Marauder opened the briefcase and pulled out a small envelope, "I'm afraid the rest of the news is not good" said the man as he slid the envelope over to Phillipe.

"What is this?" asked the Frenchman as he picked up the envelope and turned it over.

Opening it carefully, Phillipe removed the contents, a note with curious instructions, featureless keycard, and a small silver key that was a plain cylinder with a single tooth, unlike any other kind of key he had seen before. "Those are the items you'll need to retrieve Mathilda's remains…I'm sorry" he said sincerely. "She's scheduled to arrive in Le Grau-du-Roi in one week."

"How did she die?" asked his wife.

The woman, Black Cat, frowned, "it's not a simple story nor is it a pretty one. With that in mind, do you want to hear it?" she asked candidly. "We can stop at any time if you wish, all we must do is ensure you retrieve her remains and belongings, we both owe her that much." The Marauder nodded as the parents exchanged looks before nodding together.

"Tell us everything" said Phillipe, swallowing his nervousness. The Marauder looked at each of them in turn as Loiselle took his wife's hand and steeled himself as the vigilante took a deep breath before beginning.

It took the better part of an hour for the pair to recount the last month, with the Marauder pulling photos from the briefcase that he explained were images taken with his helmet cam, what he had seen firsthand. They showed when he first found Mathilda, Phillipe was shocked at her sorry state, not even recognizing his own daughter in the photo. The next one showed a bald headed man holding a gun, a dead woman splayed on the ground and Mathilda cowering. That man was apparently the one responsible for her disappearance over a year ago.

After that the man pulled out a few notebooks, Mathilda's notebooks, filled with her notes and sketches during her time under the Marauders protection. It pained the parents to hear what she was like, how nothing they described sounded like the child they had raised. Their daughter had been outgoing, laid-back, and fearless, with a bright future. Recounting the story wasn't easy for the two renegades either, but they seamlessly picked up where the other left off, and slowly they described the Mathilda that Phillipe remembered the further they went on.

The Marauder laughed at the memory of the Pilot teaching her to shoot led to him pulling a strange looking weapon in a display case, on the stand was a plaque engraved in English and French that read '_Starin' down a bullet, let me make my final stand.'_ He explained that this pistol was her favorite, and that she was a natural born pistoleer. The white-haired woman clutched her necklace and said that Mathilda had played a hand in its creation, a memento of her own.

Finally, they reached the end of the tale, the Marauder explaining how the two vigilantes were carrying out Mathilda's wish to see the organization who had taken her destroyed. Unbeknownst to them, the secure location Mathilda was staying at had been compromised, a hit squad came looking for them only to find his daughter. "I was the one that found the bodies…she got nine of them until they caught her during a reload" the short haired man said quietly. "I found that gun on the floor where she had been holding out, a loaded mag next to it."

"Did you get that fucker, Rawlins?" asked Phillipe quietly, surprising himself with the swear. In response, the Marauder nodded and tossed him the last picture, the bald man from before, lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood from the gash in his neck as his guts hung out from his slashed stomach. "Bastard got what he deserved."

"Usually, I say that 'deserve' has got nothing to do with what happens to the people I deal with" said the Marauder in a dry tone before his features hardened. "We all have it coming, and the world isn't nice enough to make exceptions for the kind or the wicked. I am not justice or righteousness; I just did whatever it took to keep someone I called a friend safe. I don't apologize for the things I've done, but in this case I am sorry it wasn't enough."

Phillipe stood from his chair and motioned for the Pilot to do so before giving him a hug, the man was rigid from surprise and discomfort, but returned the gesture. "You have my thanks _fils_" assured the mogul before releasing the young man. "Both of you" he assured as the Marauder closed his briefcase. "Thank you, on behalf of myself and my wife, for providing closure. We always knew, deep down, it will bring us peace to have her buried. And your secret is safe with us, and if you need anything, please do not hesitate to ask."

The man looked like he was about to say something when the Black Cat cut him off, "if you don't mind, I have a few questions I would like answered" she said before turning to the SRS Pilot. "Go get the car ready Cowboy, I'll only be a minute" she assured. The couple stared each other down from behind their sunglasses.

Only for the Marauder to chuckle, "aye ma'am" he drawled, "I know better than to argue with that look" he said before turning, "I'm sorry again for your loss" he said before taking his coat from Emile and exiting out the way he came.

Phillipe then turned to the woman who remained, "now, what did you want to ask?"

* * *

_Coopers Logbook – New York City_

_As a hell bent, 100%, Texan 'till the day I die, I am contractually obligated to say I hate New York City. I must say 'damn' immediately before I say 'Yankees' because there is no other way to refer to that baseball team. I will continuously mock Peter's beloved Mets for continuing to Met on a regular basis, and I took great pleasure in reminding him it was Bobby Bonilla day a few months back. Then there are the Knicks…ah the Knicks, the only reason I would be caught dead at a Knicks game was if my beloved Spurs are in town and using their orange and blue asses to wipe the floor of MSG. I would shit on the Nets too…but they aren't even worth the time to do that. _

_All of this could be forgiven if they had good football teams, and I mean __**actual **__football, the kind where you hardly ever use your feet. But no, the two 'New York' teams are technically in New Jersey, and that's only the start. First off, you have the Jets, sorry, I misspelled that, the Buttfumble. That word encompasses the entire organization, their performance on the field is a buttfumble and Rex Ryan buttfumbled his way around the sideline for SIX SEASONS! Bill Belicheck buttfumbled by accepting a position as head coach, then gloriously un-buttfumbled by resigning on a paper napkin. They draft buttfumble after buttfumble. The word is perfect because it is the perfect representation of failure, buffoonery, submission, and outstanding comedic timing you can hardly find anywhere else._

_The Meadowlands aren't even free of this when the Jets are gone and the New York Giants are on the field. This sentient derp. Unlike the Jets they can at least claim to have won a few Super Bowls not long ago, but that just makes their downfall more depressing. As far as why, that's easy, Ben McAdoo. I may hate Jerry Jones with a passion but at least I get to bask in the glory of the Cowboys kicking the crap out of these idiots twice a year. _

_But despite having no good teams anywhere, a filthy city full of crime, godawful streets that mean I have to drive my Viper with fingers crossed I don't rip the chin splitter off in a pothole, and so much more, there is something to be said about the people. Sure they can be rude and grouchy in that stereotypical way, but there are still a lot of good ones in spite of everything. I've been fortunate enough to run into more than a few. Peter, MJ, Felicia, Yuri, May, and others, they may not be perfect, except for May, but none of them are the type to simply roll over and give up. When the chips are down you want these folks on your side, even if they are Damn Yankees._

* * *

**Closing Notes: Okay, yeah, I admit to borrowing really heavily from youtuber 'Urinating Tree' for the fantastically funny descriptions of the many unfortunate sports franchises that litter the Big Apple. I didn't even have time to include all of them, the Nets and _especially _the Knicks deserve mention, but with how bad the Jets and Giants are currently doing (the Jets just lost to the damn Dolphins), I couldn't resist.**

**Also, the quote about what a Titan Pilot is is pulled directly from Robin Olds, though he uses it to describe fighter pilots. Respawn seemed to model Titan Pilots after old school fighter pilots, down to the pin up nose arts for Titans, so I figured they would have the same attitude. I've had this quote in mind since I started the story and it was one of the basiss of Cooper's character. **

**But this was my attempt at a more somber chapter, hopefully anybody who prefers the character moments was satisfied because after this the story will begin to lighten up more as the story of the game begins. Let me know what you thought of this darker tone, this sort of thing was something I never intended to do when starting this story. As always, reviews are welcome, and I will be back next week with Part 2 of our leads European Vacation. **

**During that time, Matthew and Felicia have to figure out what is next for them. It comes down to the fact that what you give is what you need, so Lay Your Hands On Me. **

**Stay frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	24. Chapter 24: Lay Your Hands On Me

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

So this is more or less the final chapter in the Market storyline, I know this is second 'epilogue' like chapter and I hope this hasn't gone on too long. I really want to get on to the main game and it is coming soon, but I want to make sure everything is generally well set up and all of my chess pieces are in the correct places on the board. This chapter and the one to come will also introduce a few more pieces that I may or may not add to the board later down the line. I'm really looking forward to getting around to posting the main story of the game and what exactly that looks like.

But in the short term, **be advised there will be sexual content in the last half of the fifth segment of this chapter**. I am concerned about having too many too quickly, but there will be a general lack of them once we hit the main game so I'm figuring it will balance out. If you have an opinion on this I would like to know, is the balance for these segments good?

Also, it took 24 chapters to get a Bon Jovi title and I am still shocked by that. Even more of a shock, it's not even one of their really good songs, it's this one off of the 1998 album _New Jersey_. Now, I still don't know why you would title an album _New Jersey_ (unless you're naming it after the Battleship) but they did. I had more trouble naming this chapter than most, part of it is following up 'Hurt' because in my playlist of chapter titles **everything** sounds weird after Hurt. Originally this was called 'Ritual' before I eventually came to detest that song with every fiber of my being and removed it out of spite. After that it was 'Wanted Dead or Alive' which is another, much better, Bon Jovi song. End of the day, this song won out because it fits one of the recurring points in this chapter and I want to save that _Slippery When Wet _track for a more appropriate chapter later on.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 24: Lay Your Hands On Me**

_Everything you want is what I need_

_Your satisfaction is, uh, guaranteed_

_But the ride don't never ever come for free, no oh oh_

_If you want me to, lay my hands on you_

_Lay your hands on me_

* * *

A soft clinking got Cooper's attention as he looked down to see a fresh glass of whiskey arrive, having hit the glass he had just emptied. The bar at the four-star hotel Felicia's mother had booked for them was well stocked, and for that he was eternally grateful. Still, following the meeting with Mathilda's parents, Cooper was struggling to let the memory of the person he viewed as a little sister, and that he had failed, rest in his mind. While Felicia had gone shopping, it was clear she had wanted nothing to do with his self loathing, Cooper had gone to the bar, hoping the smooth burn of a whiskey would help put him at ease.

In an effort to divert his mind from replaying the events of that night that had plagued him since it happened, the Marauder picked up the glass and began to look across the room. For being half past three in the afternoon, there was more than just him drinking all by his lonesome, which was what he had expected. One booth had been soundly taken over by a suited man in his early fifties, papers sprawled across it as he tapped on a laptop and causally drank form a bottle of wine as he went over the information. A couple giggled and laughed at one of the small tables, crepes and beers before them. Another group of four middle aged women seemed to be gossiping in the corner, he could make out discussion of a yacht one had just bought, or her husband had bought, he wasn't entirely sure.

Taking a sip and putting his glass down, he pulled out his phone to see if he had been messaged and was greeted with his screensaver of himself, Felicia, and Mathilda on the _Intrepid _standing in front of the F-8 Crusader they had on display. The happy memory only served to cause the opposite reaction as Matthew angrily went into the menus and changed it to show his Viper instead. While doing this, he almost missed the newest arrival into the mostly quiet bar, but one look caused Matthew to take a keen interest in this man.

Cooper guessed him to be about Felicia's height, 5 foot 10 or so, but unlike the thief this man was built like a brick shithouse. Stocky, with broad shoulders and barrel chest, his worn leather jacket doing little to conceal his large arms or frame. His face was scarred and grizzled enough to rival Castle, mangy hair and unkept dark scruff on his chin only made him look more animalistic. Yet he still strode up to the bar like he owned the place, clearly a man who had earned what he had, and probably very dangerous.

Keeping one eye on the man, Cooper squeezed his left arm to feel the Sig secured in his shoulder holster as he went back to his drink. Unfortunately, the mystery man had noticed the attention Cooper was paying him and laid eye on him as he waited for the barman to deliver his drink. With a tall glass of the distinctly dark Guinness in hand, the man made his way over to Matthew and sat down to his right. "Whatcha lookin' at bub?" he asked gruffly.

Matt shrugged, "just wondering what other kinda sad souls need a drink this early in the day" he drawled calmly, though he was watching the man closely out of the corner of his eye.

To his relief, the wanderer chuckled lowly, "I'll drink to that" he declared as he raised his glass and Matthew obliged him, the two clinking lightly before Cooper took a measured sip while the other man downed half the glass in a single draught. "If you're wondering, yeah, I know you got a piece on you, figured I'd be here to discourage you from using it" he whispered suddenly. Cooper played dumb, fixing him with an odd look that had no effect on the stranger. "Mind explaining why you're packing heat in a bar?"

"Because the last time I didn't bring it…" began the Texan lowly before trailing off, "well let's just say that I wish I had" he finished sadly. He really wasn't about to talk about this, he was here to give some closure to Mathilda's parents, which he had done, and try to escape from the loss, which didn't involve discussing it. Clamming up, he began to raise his glass when one of the mans big hairy hands wrapped around his wrist and stopped him as Matthew fixed the mystery man with a glare and an 'explain' grunt.

But the man was focused on finishing the rest of his beer while his other hand remained locked around Cooper's wrist in an iron grip until he finished the beer and raised the glass to signal for another. "Now you'll have to trust me on this bub" he said as he finally turned to Cooper, "but you can tell me whatever happened and I ain't gonna judge. I don't have the right to after what I've done. But just saying it will do you good" he promised before he released Cooper's hand to take delivery of his second beer, "or don't. Doesn't matter to me."

Snorting derisively, Cooper groused over it for a second before sighing deeply. "I fucked up" he admitted, "I made a promise, and I didn't keep it. I reacted instead of thinking, if I had just taken a second to think things through then…" he began before trailing off, _then Mathilda wouldn't be going home in a box _he had wanted to say.

"It cost you, didn't it?" said the man knowingly, though as he had promised, there was no tone of judgement in his voice. "That's the bitch of life, nothing's free" he grunted as he sipped on his beer, "but this" he said, gesturing to the alcohol, "this doesn't help." Cooper couldn't help but give the man a befuddled look as he downed another healthy amount of beer, causing the Pilot to question his earlier statement. But the mystery man smirked, "trust me, best thing to do is get back out there. Rolling over isn't going to do you, or anyone else, any good" he said.

The words triggered a memory, when the Marauder had said something so very similar to a young kid, one who Cooper wasn't even sure was still alive, nor could he remember his name. It hadn't been more than a few weeks ago but it felt like a lifetime, and that caused Cooper to snap. This wallowing in self-pity shit wasn't who he was, the things he did were do or die, and as long as he was still breathing then he was in with a chance. A chance to even the scores, to send those responsible for Mathilda's death straight to hell where they belonged. "Thanks stranger, I think I needed that" said the Texan as he finished his second whiskey, "I didn't catch your name."

The man shrugged casually, "Logan."

* * *

It was moments like these that Matthew Cooper had to just stop, sit back, and take a look around.

He was sitting on the balcony of a four star hotel in the south of France, barely a month after he had made his first intercontinental trip across the Atlantic. In that time, he hadn't shot anyone or even been shot at, a drastic change of pace from what his life had been for the last few months. All he had done was drive around Europe and, for the most part, went sightseeing. As tough as it had been to relax early on, by this point he had settled into the routine nicely. The anger he had been filled with after Mathilda's death had subsided and his swagger was returning.

That was in part because he had gotten to terrorize the good people of Surrey on his way to McLaren HQ while in full Renegade Kit. Wallrunning, double jumping, and grappling through the small village and countryside at full tilt had let his adrenaline flow for the first time since leaving New York. Waiting for him in the high-tech supercar factory was his very own, formerly Rawlins', McLaren P1. Even if he hadn't gotten to drive it yet, just seeing it in all of its glory now that it was his was an incredible feeling. The Hybrid Hypercar had curves to match Felicia and performance to put her to shame. His time at the Factory was spent having the molds for a custom seat done to fit him in his armor. It was an experience listening to designers and engineers walk him through the car and the proposed upgrades as he did his best to not squeal like a little girl as he just stared open mouthed at the speed machine.

Before he left, arrangements were made to give the newly christened _Widowmaker_ a thorough once over and tune up to get a bit of extra power to bring the total to 950 hp, new tires, and custom fitted racks for storage were to be installed before it would be delivered to Monaco for the upcoming Grand Prix and put on display. From there the car would be shipped to New York where he would take delivery of the vehicle. Their time and England had seen Felicia order her own sports car, a Jaguar F-Type SVR Convertible in black. Cooper played a hand in that, mainly by saying _"do not buy a Porsche because you are not a 45-year-old accountant."_

Following that, they had visited some tourist attractions before returning to the continent. The subsequent weeks had seen them visit Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt, Zurich, and Milan on their Grand Tour. Along the way had been so many museums, landmarks, high end restaurants, and higher end nightclubs that the Texan had lost count. Which was why the pair had agreed to take things relatively easy when Cooper guided the orange Aston Martin into their last major stop of the trip, Monaco, and just a few days before the Grand Prix.

Sure, getting away had helped, but there had been another reason. The platinum haired, curvaceous, and often aloof woman he had gone through the trip with. Felicia had pushed on quicker, and that had helped him push himself to keep up, just as he often found himself doing with her. No pep talks or grand speeches, just refusing to let him stay put, or alone, for any length of time. She had stuck by his side when he had been at his worst, and through it all, Cooper was beginning to realize that his feelings for her were growing. She would never be a good girl, but he wasn't exactly a 'good' guy, not anymore. But she had accepted him despite everything he had done, and even knowing that he still had some secrets buried deep down. Hell, she had accepted who he was before he had, and he didn't have to hide anything from her.

While at first the Black Cat had been another woman for him to lust after, Felicia Hardy had proven herself a different animal. Looking over to his right to see the woman in question laying on her stomach and sunbathing with her bikini top undone and her bottom offering little coverage, he could undoubtedly say he was attracted to her. Not only that, he respected her for her considerable abilities and still hadn't forgotten how she had come and pulled his ass out of the fire when he was on death's door. Felicia's ability to see the big picture and play the long game was something he could only admire since it was way beyond him. And now, after spending so much time with the heiress, he was willing to devote part of himself to making this relationship work.

BT was right, _"A human's concept of love requires admiration, attraction, devotion, and respect." _By that metric, Matthew Cooper was head over heels, 100%, in love.

Taking one more look at the woman who he was in love with, Cooper cracked a small smirk and decided he could do a whole lot worse. His gaze hadn't gone unnoticed as Hardy wiggled her hips invitingly while Matthew was cleaning his Sig on the patio of their hotel room that offered them a beautiful view of the city. However, something at the edge of the city drew his eye. "Sheesh, would you look at that" he said as he began reassembling the P220.

Felicia smirked at the Marauder, "you know handsome, there are easier ways for you to get me to turn over" she informed, seductress out in full force. Matt shook his head, no doubt she would be willing to indulge in her exhibitionism, but his attention was fully focused elsewhere.

"No darlin, it looks like a small army is rolling into town" he observed as he watched the white colored MRAPs roll down the streets, some of the APCs having wicked looking SAM batteries mounted to the roof. The color scheme brought back memories of the IMC, even the armor the infantry wore looked like that of IMC grunts.

Hardy turned over anyway, even the sight of the unknown soldiers below unable to keep Cooper from staring at the thief's perky breasts as she examined the troops before laying on her back and resuming her sunbathing. "Sable International" supplied Black Cat, "high tech and well-trained PMC, but their security is pathetic" she said casually.

The Marauder raised an eyebrow as he looked at his lover, "I take it you know that from experience?" he asked, getting a deadpan look in response. "Figures" he muttered as a thought occurred to him, "do you think it's bad enough for them to not notice the gun I carry everywhere?"

"You're my bodyguard, which means that you have a permit for the Sig" she replied casually before looking at him again. "And you should stay very, very close to me" she breathed seductively, a familiar gleam in her emerald green eyes.

* * *

With the familiar crunch of combat boots on pavement, 35 year old mercenary Silver Sablinova stood to her full 5 foot 5 inch height and surveyed the area that had been set aside for her Sable Internationals MOB. Her stern features remained set as controlled chaos erupted around her, each squad focused on their part, engineers erecting prefabricated structures and getting systems up and running while combat troopers began patrols and establishing a perimeter. "Lieutenant!" she barked, the officer snapping to attention as the woman approached, "SITREP."

"Ma'am, Alpha, Bravo, and Charlie companies have FOBs established at critical chokepoints. Both major roadways and the Harbor can be locked down within three minutes" he assured, passing her the details of men and material assigned to each. As the Symkarian Princess examined the list, the officer continued. "Companies Delta through Hotel are on schedule; we'll be fully operational here inside of three hours."

"Good work lieutenant" she replied crisply, the silver haired soldier striding through the command post, the officer on her heels. "Do you have a squad to spare? I want to familiarize myself with the terrain."

The man looked through his clipboard before pressing a hand to his ear, "Central to Foxtrot-3, report to Tango Line, Silver Bird's commandeering your unit for a recon run" he said into his radio. "Three mikes ma'am" he reported after a moment.

"Very good, you are dismissed" she said, the Lieutenant snapped off a quick salute before turning on his heel. Sable checked her pair of energy pistols, the sleek high tech weapons vibrated subtly in her hands before the squad arrived. Holstering the weapons, the mercenary led the four-man team through the city, checking to ensure that her men were operating at peak efficiency and to tour the city.

The checkpoints, APCs, and fully armed troopers roaming the streets made the beautiful city feel restrictive to some. But at the same time there was a comforting familiarity for Sablinova, the sense of order imparted by the martial feeling her troops lent the city was one she had known her whole life.

But the money offered was the main reason Sablinova had taken this contract, especially considering Sable International's dire financial straits following the development of several new weapon systems. Silver was partially treating this as an extremely well-paid vacation from the usual contracts of providing security for executives, hostage rescue, or destroying insurrections. Those jobs, while often were simpler, more often then not ended up with either Sablinova or some of her men getting shot at, which was never a pleasant experience.

The organizers that approached her claimed they had received a credible terrorist threat, but Silver was unconvinced. Still, her reputation depended on her troops living up to it and there could be no slacking off, especially on such a high-profile contract. The soldiers of fortune roamed the streets and soon found their way to what would be the Pit lane, the teams filling the garages busy fettling the single seat racers for the race in a few days.

After nearly three hours on the streets, Silver scowled at the time, dismissing the squad before moving to her room at the Hotel de Paris. She was expected to attend some damnable social function by one of the people who hired her, social functions were not one of her favorite aspects of being the head of a Private Security Force.

Once night had fallen, the mercenary arrived at one of the massive yachts moored in the harbor in an elegant evening gown that matched her silver hair. A slit ran down her side that exposed one of her toned legs which also served to ease access to the compact pistol on the inside of her thigh. Waiting outside to greet guests arriving was a car, guarded by two suited men with handguns concealed in their jackets and two more men wearing shirts for one of the racing teams. Sable recognized the car, _Widowmaker_, it belonged to a vigilante soldier in New York. The thought that he might be at this event crossed her mind and Sable made it a point to recruit him if the opportunity presented itself, he could be a valuable asset to her organization.

But she had to push that aside and steel herself as she passed two armored troopers at the base of the gangway before boarding the massive yacht to the sounds of electronic music that set her teeth on edge. Time crawled by as Sable endured the tedium that was mingling with her employers, at least when staring down someone who had a gun pointed at you their intentions were clear and the rules simple. These events offered no such simplicity.

Finally, Sable could endure no more, excusing herself under the pretense of getting a report from her men as she wandered towards the front of the boat and towards the upper decks until she found what seemed like a quiet and secluded spot. "Damn" she cursed under her breath when she saw someone had beaten her to it.

The suited man spun around swiftly, right hand made to reach into his jacket when he locked eyes with Sable, who reacted just as quickly to move to her own weapon. But the man smiled and laughed, pulling his hand back and holding it up to show it was empty, "sorry, force of habit" he offered, a slight accent from the American south in his voice, "not used to folks getting the drop on me."

Silver sized him up, noticing the subtle scars on his neck that came out just above his collar and now that her presence was known he leaned against the railing, partially facing her so he could watch her. His blue eyes never rested on one place, though they did linger on her leg for a moment, probably noting the weapon she had in the same way she noted his in the shoulder holster. While his tone and expression were disarming, it didn't take long for Silver to recognize that this man was more dangerous than he let on. "First time for everything" she deadpanned with a smirk.

He smiled as she walked up to the railing a few meters away, the man turning to look back out over the water. There was a silence between them that Sable enjoyed, the man sipping on his beverage idly before he spoke suddenly. "This boat's a goddamn security nightmare, ain't it?" Sable looked at him, a soft smirk on his face as he swirled his drink, "lots of possible targets all in one place, wide open, too many possible threats." The mercenary turned to look at him, eyes narrowing as she was instantly alert. "Could always be someone in a boat or a sniper in any one of those windows ashore. And god forbid someone has an RPG or mortar on a rooftop."

"Well obviously" she answered brusquely, "we have drones scanning the rooftops for any suspicious activities and Sables own sniper teams on alert. Patrol boats are roaming the harbor and all traffic is suspended, anything moves on the water and my men will kill it" she assured as she looked at the man, who gave a subtle nod, smirk still on his face. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you were thinking it too" he answered instantly. Sable didn't try to deny it, though a part of her was now on alert, she prided herself on being unreadable and he had just read her like an open book. "I'm working as a bodyguard tonight; I know what it's like Miss Sablenover."

"Sablinova" she corrected.

"Sablinova" he repeated, "sorry about that" he offered, though an apology was unwarranted. "If you're the way I suspect you are you're probably worried that everything you listed, and the other secret stuff you won't tell me, isn't enough. It's what'd I'd be doing, you take your job seriously after all."

Silver offered nothing, though the man didn't seem to mind as he finished off his drink and stared down at the glass disappointingly. "I'm not going to say something as silly as 'quit worrying' because its worrying that keeps us alive" he said dryly, Sable smirking slightly at the honesty. "But if anyone _is _planning something, well, based on what I've seen, I pity those poor dumb bastards" he said confidently. "I'll let you have the deck to yourself Miss Sablinova."

With that the man turned and walked away, whistling a tune as he descended the stairs and headed back to the party.

* * *

As his boots hit the deck, Cooper quickly placed his empty glass on the tray of a server as he passed a scantily clad woman dancing atop a small stage. Weaving his way through the crowd, he made a beeline for Felicia, her white hair making her easy to spot. He had been taking a call from Yuri of all people, calling to check in and try and get a date for his return and to let him know that when he did, he would be busy.

Sable had taken him by surprise and the Mercenary wasn't what he was expecting. He thought he would get another Kubin Blisk, and while he had no doubt that Sable was no less formidable than the Apex Predator, she was cold and professional as opposed to the brasher Blisk. Certainly not a woman with which to trifle.

Speaking of people he had no intention of messing with, the man Felicia was talking too certainly fit that. He was a massive man with a build to put NFL linemen to shame. Standing at six foot seven and weighing well over 400 pounds, the bald man could probably break Matthews back like a twig. He wore a tailored black pinstriped suit with a purple tie, the man was none other than Wilson Fisk. Taking a moment to compose himself, Matthew stepped up behind his lover, "Miss Hardy" he said, letting her know he was back as Fisk eyed him carefully.

"Mr. Cooper" returned the heiress coolly, giving him a peck on the cheek, "allow me introduce you to Wilson Fisk, head of Fisk Corp. A native New Yorker and race fan as well" with a hint of humor. They both knew what he really was of course, though Felicia got to smirk a bit since she was looking away from the Kingpin. "Mr. Fisk, this is Matthew Cooper, a Freelancer I have as my bodyguard for the evening" introduced Hardy as Fisk offered his hand.

Cooper accepted, maintaining a straight face as his hand was squeezed by the Kingpin's iron grip. "Would you be the same Matthew Cooper that was the hero of Rodney's fundraising event last month? I had some friends who were there, thank you for saving their lives Mr. Cooper" he said sincerely.

The Marauder merely laughed a little as he looked up at Fisk, "I hope you'll understand me when I say that I was worried about other things at the moment" admitted Cooper wryly, trying not to think back to that moment. He took the first opportunity he saw to act; he felt the need to do anything to stop Rawlins and help Felicia, nothing else mattered. Rage and anger drove his actions, not any desire to do good.

Fisk just nodded, hmming at the admission. "I understand that Miss Hardy was threatened directly, and you were in fear for your life. Such circumstances bring out strong responses, that you acted decisively is commendable. My thanks stands" he said firmly, his voice calm and composed, an undertone of understanding and respect. The Pilot shrugged, casually dismissive of the praise as Wilson smirked knowingly, a man who had gotten his hands dirty in his early days and knew what it took to act. "Mr. Cooper, Miss Hardy, if you will excuse me."

"Don't worry Mr. Fisk, I'm sure we'll see each other in the future" said Cooper with a fake smile as the Kingpin ignored him and walked away while the Marauder gave a grin towards his date, "you think it was something I said?" he asked with mock innocence.

Felicia rolled her eyes, though she couldn't keep a smile from gracing her full lips. "Why is it you always have to poke the bear Matthew?" she asked, though her face and tone did nothing to show disapproval towards his actions.

"Well darlin'" he began, an exaggerated drawl that lessened as he continued, "when you have a jump kit you're accustomed to getting out of trouble as quickly as you get into it." He then grinned again, "that, and it's fun."

* * *

Cooper looked out the window of the private jet and down at the cloud covered Atlantic some 30,000 feet below. His vacation had come to a close and he had found it a surprisingly cathartic experience. He had seen some sights and experience some culture, but the best thing about it had been the peace, the quiet. No shootouts, no car chases, no close calls, nothing. It had been the closest his life had been to 'normal' since his death some three months ago.

That had been, in no small part, due to the woman in the seat across from him, her long legs crossed and exposed due to the delightfully short skirt. He had enjoyed spending time with her more than he would have thought, seeing a whole other side of Felicia Hardy. She had quickly proven that she was more than a curvaceous woman in tight leather with some serious combat skills. He knew she was sharp, but seeing her point out things he would have never noticed gave him a greater appreciation for her unique skill set.

She caught him looking at her, flashing a seductive grin that he returned before her expression changed and became more thoughtful. "You ever think about what happens next? When you stop marauding?" the heiress asked suddenly, catching Matthew off guard.

He beckoned her over, and she stood and slid onto his lap. "Sometimes" he admitted as he wrapped an arm around her and brushed her long hair from her face. "Part of me always thought it would come when I'm staring down a gun, but the other part? That part still wants to live life to its fullest since I'm on borrowed time as is" he added dryly. "I couldn't say what that would look like though." He watched her eyes sink a little as she looked away and Matthew turned serious. "What brought this on Felicia?"

The heiress bit her lip as she ran her hand over his scarred and muscled torso. "I'm putting the Black Cat to bed" she said finally. "It was my way to explore the world and have a little fun while I was at it. My 'don't get mad, get even' method. But being taken…it scared me" she admitted. "The past month has been an experience, seeing all there is to do on my own without a grapple gun and EMPs. I want to try going straight" she said finally. Cooper stared at her dumbly as she hung her head. For a moment he thought he might need to get his hearing checked, did Felicia Hardy, the most fiercely independent woman he had ever met with a rebellious streak longer than his kill count and was so wildly untamable he thought it would never happen, just admit to trying to change? She looked up at him, laughing softly, "I hope you can understand" she said softly.

"I get it" replied Matthew sympathetically, "I thought about hanging my guns up after we met Mathilda's folks. It was like I had been the biggest fuck up because I couldn't protect her" he admitted somberly, "sure we didn't 'win' during Cinderblock either but this time? It felt personal, it felt like I was responsible."

There was an uncomfortable silence as the two avoided looking at the other, lost in their own memories, "that feels like such a long time ago" mused Felicia distantly. "I thought you would be just another challenge and if you were lucky then you'd get the honor of being a notch in my lipstick case" she admitted, though he wasn't insulted by it. It wasn't exactly like he had the noblest intentions when they started dating.

But something had changed for Matthew, and it seemed for her as well, both were looking at the other in a different light. "And I thought I was getting a smoking hot babe who would be one helluva lay" he admitted, "and I was dead on." He noted the small beginning of a smile on her face. "The best part? I found more than that, more than a body in a skintight outfit. The woman inside was so much more, cunning, charming, and alluring, and that woman is still there in front of me. That's who I want to get to know, not the mask or the skintight outfit, but the woman."

There was a momentary pause as Matthew tried to discern if his words were having any effect before continuing. "I'm not saying it will work for certain, but I'm certain that I want to try if you're willing" he said as he tasted his next words, heat welling up in his chest as he swallowed and mustered his pride. "All I want to know is if Matthew Cooper is special to you. Not the helmet, not the armor, not the guns, the man."

Felicia finally began to smile, the sexiest little upturning of her lip corners, sexy because it was pure and genuine. There was no deception or further goal, she was smiling because she wanted to. "The whiskey drinking, Viper driving, Texan gunfighther" she said as she pressed her lips to his in a quick and passionate, but teasing, kiss. "I'd like to get to know you too" she said through labored breaths as they held each other's gazes.

That seemed to be the cue they both needed to start exploring each other with their hands as their lips met and tongues clashed, but instead of a battle, it was an intimate mingling. Neither tried to dominate, but simply explored. With deft fingers, Felicia unbuttoned Matthew's shirt and began running her delicate hands over his chest, causing him to shiver at the sensation, his manhood straining against his pants while his hands worked her shirt up and over her head before it was tossed across the craft, leaving him eye level with the simple pink bra that cupped her firm perky breasts, so tantalizingly close but just out of reach.

With a primal growl emanating from the back of his throat, Cooper's hands fumbled for the clasp on her back while her hands had found their way down to the belt and began working it off. Simultaneously, both completed their tasks and neither stopped at their success. As soon as Felicia shimmied out of the satin garment Matthew began devouring the supple mounds of flesh before him. After a month of doing almost nothing but sightseeing and fucking, he knew had to ravish Felicia's body just the way she liked it, giving her the suction, fondling, and the just the right amount of teeth on her erect nipples that he knew would drive her crazy.

His efforts were rewarded with the stream of breathy keens and moans that flowed from her parted lips as her hands kept his face pressed to pale feminine flesh while her hips ground slowly, teasingly, over his hardening cock. With his free hand, he worked his fingers up her skirt and into her panties, seeking out her slit with teasing touches. Finding her already moist, he quickly slipped one, then two fingers inside, teasing with a simple 'come hither' motion in her tight cunt that only caused her to squirm, sending a spike of pleasure up his spine. "Such a tease" moaned Hardy wantonly as Cooper pressed his thumb to her clit, eliciting a delightful shiver as she succumbed to her orgasm and came, soaking his hand, her panties, and his pants as she rode out the pleasure.

As soon as it passed, Cooper had a pair of smoldering green eyes, blazing with need, looking down at him hungrily. "Enough of the appetizers" whispered Felicia huskily as she slid off of him and turned around, "time for you to enjoy your main course" she said seductively over her shoulder before bending at the waist and sliding her soaked panties down to the floor and stepping out of them. The whole time, Matthew's eyes never left her, from her firm and full ass, to her clean-shaven pussy lips, and the juices dripping down her toned legs. Her skirt was flipped up to not offer a hint of decency, but was left on as a testament to how desperate she was to be filled.

Turning back, the platinum haired seductress bent over and undid his pants, pulling them down along with his boxers as he worked his shirt off while kicking his shoes from his feet as his cock, now freed from its confines, extended skyward. Getting down on her knees, Felicia gave his length a lick, eyes never leaving his as she then took it into her mouth, bobbing her head until his erection was coated in a sheen of slick saliva. With a groan from Cooper, she removed her head and climbed back onto his lap, with her skirt still concealing her sex as she slid into position above him. The Texan slid one hand under her skirt to cup her ass as his other settled onto her hip. He could feel her heat as she hovered over him, the tip of his dick just brushing against her swollen nether lips. "Felicia" whispered Matthew lowly, huskily, "I want this…I want _you_."

"Then take me Matthew" she replied, "I'm all yours." The use of his name caused a small self satisfied smirk to appear on the Pilot's face as Felicia began to work herself down onto him. With his hands he was able to guide her down while the hand on her ass kept her pace slow as she worked him in deeper and deeper. Every inch was inserted with agonizing slowness as her warm pussy began to surround him and he fought to maintain control. Her core squeezed him, her wetness oozing down his length until he was fully sheathed inside, their thighs meeting and they both took a moment to savor the sensations that they were experiencing. This wasn't fucking, for the first time, they were making love.

On a private jet at thirty thousand feet, but still.

Sex with Felicia was always interesting, and Matthew had no complaints about that. Slowly, the vixen began to work her hips, building up the friction between them as Cooper dug his fingers in to her ass as his other hand traced a sensitive spot along her waist as she brought her lips back down to his and braced herself on his shoulders. Only then did she lift herself up, nether lips still snugly gripping his manhood until she slammed back down without warning, moaning into his mouth as she repeated the delightful motion, establishing a steady tempo.

Cooper fought to keep his composure despite his release growing ever closer and making his best effort to coax out as many moans as he could from his partner. He soon moved his hand from her hip to her back in an effort to pull her closer, taking pleasure in her nipples rubbing against his chest as she continued to ride him. Every nerve ending hummed pleasantly for one reason or another. In her dominant position, Felicia was in complete control, her body set the pace, her needs dictated the depth of his strokes, and her desires commanded his ministrations. Willingly, he had given himself up to her, and she was allowing him to worship her in every way he knew how. As a result, the pace was slow, measured, each of them sought to draw out the lovemaking and savor every stroke, every meeting of flesh, and every caress. The experience was unlike anything else the two had done previously, and Matthew was thoroughly enjoying it, and judging from the way Felicia's eyes were shut and her face looked relaxed and gratified, she felt the same.

Not content with having his cock buried in her tight pussy all the way to the hilt and her diamond hard nipples pressed to his chest, Cooper slammed his mouth to Hardy's. Their tongues sought each other out as both pressed their lips together. With all of that, it didn't take much longer for gratification to turn into an orgasm as the seductress shuddered and pulled herself closer, resting her chin on his shoulder as she rode out the orgasm. Feeling her wet walls clench around his cock as she came was what sent Cooper over the edge, his manhood twitching before his swollen balls emptied a load of cum in her waiting cunt. Even after he was spent, she stayed put, his cock softening inside her confines as she stayed pressed against him, her delicate fingers working their way up and down his side.

"I think I could learn to like that" mused Hardy, drawing a dry chuckle from Cooper as she leaned back and met his eyes with hers. Thankfully, they both were more than willing to practice, "we land in six hours, I don't want to be able to walk straight when we do" she challenged, seductress out in full force as she gave him a smoldering smirk, "get to work."

It was fair to say that that was the most enjoyable flight either of them had ever been on.

* * *

"It's good to be back" mused Matthew Cooper, the Marauder sitting atop a roof, legs hanging over the edge and looking at the moon fall from the night sky. Next to him lay his field stripped R-201, the carbine length weapon sitting next to his skull adorned helmet as the two men took a breather. "Good to see everything is more or less how I left it."

"Ye of little faith" responded his friend, the red mask pulled up over his nose as he shoved another slice of pizza in his mouth. Cooper merely shook his head and gnawed off some more jerky, "sure you don't want a slice?" offered Peter, though the Pilot shook his head, "suit yourself" he said before attacking the next slice, the sight was not pretty. "I never asked, how was Europe?"

"Interesting" responded Cooper as he took another bite, chewing resolutely as he thought back to the month-long trip. "Very interesting."

"Interesting how?" answered Peter through half eaten pepperoni, "sworwy" he tried as he finished chewing.

Matthew just rolled his eyes and smirked, "ran into our old pal Wilson Fisk" he began casually, "didn't say much, actually commended Matthew Cooper for killing those maggia guys" he added with a shrug and a laugh. "Met a few international mercenaries, got a new car fully sorted out, should be arriving in Manhattan this week, at least I already found a few new places to work from."

"You work fast" commented Peter as Cooper grabbed his canteen and took a swig, "I didn't hear anything about you working over there, or Cat sightings for that matter."

"Because there weren't any" revealed Cooper bluntly, "Felicia's hanging it up. Going straight, she's going to help me with some hand to hand training, I'll teach her how to shoot, she even hinted at getting an actual fucking job" he said with a laugh as Peter's mouth hung open dumbly. "Not a 9 to 5 job, a security consultant is what she decided on, at least before we moved on to…other things." The two shared a laugh at that part of the woman not having changed in the least. "What about you? What's been happening while I was surrounded by cheese eating surrender monkeys?"

"The streets have been quiet for the most part" replied the webhead, "Yuri and I have begun chipping away at the Syndicate, I'm sure she's already got you up to speed but it's going to be a grind." He said as he finished off the last of the pizza and took the offered water. "Other than that, FEAST is still humming along, though I keep getting asked when you're going to be back behind the grill" he said with a wry grin.

Cooper chuckled at that, learning to cook had been one of the unexpected parts of his past few months. Going out to eat was tough considering his location and the travel times involved when he was usually training or maintaining his kit. The alternative being to live off of rations, which were fine when he needed something in the field but that was not a desirable long term solution. "Doc and I have been looking at that helmet of yours, it's something else! The materials and hardware are like nothing we've ever seen!" he explained. "We've been making breakthrough after breakthrough trying to understand and replicate it but there's so much left to learn. Thank you for letting us use it for our project."

Matthew nodded; the Pilot happy to hear that it was being put to use by the pair of scientists. Parker looked like he was about to go into details when he remembered that Cooper didn't have a clue what he would be talking about. His knowledge was limited to identifying damaged components and replacing them, not their function and the science behind him. Parker decided to switch tactics, "so, you and Felicia still going huh? That's good to hear, you two are good together."

"Well, don't be expecting a wedding invitation anytime soon" snarked Cooper quickly, "I don't think either of us are ready for something official or permanent. But what about you? Talk with MJ lately?" he asked conversationally.

Spider-Man shook his head as Cooper put his rifle back together. "Listen Pete, you want my advice? You need to loosen up _juuuuust_ a little bit. You're a good guy, probably too good because you try to help everybody. Eventually, you're going to have to prioritize." Cooper looked at his friend as he put the last pins in the weapon, the eyes lenses on the mask narrowing as he scrutinized the Marauder. "You say you're just one of the good guys, I say that really, there's no such thing."

"You really think that? What do you call yourself? You go out and help keep innocent people safe. You've stopped robbers, kidnappers, gun and drug dealers. You put a stop to an international black market" said the Webslinger in a mix of shock and awe. "And even after they came after you, you're back to do it again. You're a hero in my book, still fighting for good."

The Marauder's face tightened, "Heroes don't fill graveyards Pete" he reminded tersely, "and I've filled more than one." How many had he slain? Hundreds, easily. He had over 50 marks on his back that were just Titan kills, and he had killed many times that number of infantry. He hadn't been much better until somewhat recently, and that was discounting what happened at Rawlins' compound. It was a hell of a thing killing a man, the first time he did it, but after doing it so many hundreds of times? He was null to it, he felt nothing. Justice, righteousness, and virtue were the farthest things from his mind when he was fighting, he couldn't claim that they were traits he possessed.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Matt searched for the right words. "Trust me on this one, I can't really explain what Typhon was like, but it was bad, it changed me. It made it so that when I look down the sights, I don't see a human being, just a target" he began, pausing to taste the bitter words that left his mouth. "That really hasn't changed. Sure, the places, faces, and names have, but none of that matters in the moment. All that matters is that you have the target lined up and you pull the trigger" he admitted.

"That's not true Coop" argued the Webhead immediately. "I know you've done some bad things, but who hasn't? But you're at least _trying _to change, that's why you're using the nonlethal rounds now, that's why you helped Mathilda, it's how come you volunteer at a homeless shelter. Even if Typhon dehumanized you, you still seem pretty human to me Coop."

Matthew sighed, still unconvinced, it was clear that Peter noticed his less than resounding agreement, eyes narrowing. "Listen, Matt" began Spidey, flipping over next to him and rocking his shoulder to get his attention, "even then, on Typhon, you were fighting a war to save millions of lives. You did the right thing."

"War doesn't determine who is right Spidey" said Cooper as he looked up at his friend with a weak smile, "only who's left."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Tactical Ability: Holo Pilot_

_The sixth and last of the tactical abilities integrated into the Vanguard and Renegade Pilot Kits, the Holo Pilot does exactly what it says, projects a hologram in the image of myself into the world. It is very lifelike, using the dozens of sensors integrated into the armor it can even account for battle damage so it is an exact likeness, and because the system is always on, it tracks how I move, so if I have a limp for example, then when the hologram moves it too will have that same limp. _

_While it is much weaker than my others when on its own, it's only use is as a temporary distraction or misdirection, it is useful nonetheless. One of the uses I've found include 'reconnaissance by fire' where I send the holo pilot out to where it will be seen by the enemy, and in such a position that they won't be able to resist shooting at it. When they do, they give away their position and allowing me to plan and act accordingly. Also, it is so much damn fun to use it to screw with people._

* * *

**Closing Notes: This chapter went through multiple, mostly last minute, revisions. The opening part at the bar was added, the scene on the balcony was changed, the scene on the private plane was a rework of another scene, and I literally rewrote the final half of the conversation between Matthew and Peter less than 48 hours before this chapter was posted. While I think all of these changes make the chapter better, I will admit that those factors, combined with the mostly emotional focus of the chapter (which is not my strong suit) means this may read somewhat differently to the rest of the story. **

**We also have a Bertrand Russell paraphrase at the very end and it is one I quite like. I think there is more than a little truth to it which is why I included it here. This deeper development of Cooper is something I'm trying to get a handle on and feedback here would be great, I generally know what I want him to be but I am less confident in my ability to get that across to you folks out there on the other end. So reviews, feedback, whatever on this would be appreciated, any other feedback is, of course, also appreciated. **

**The other, more overt, reference is to Top Gear (the good one). Specifically to Jeremy Clarkson's review of what is still my favorite car of all time and the car that got me into cars: the McLaren P1. I have had the privilege of seeing two of these in person and I can tell you that its something special. So while I am biased, I still think it fits more than anything else as the Marauders wheels, fast, sinister, and with the edge of a killer. I've seen a bunch of other exotics and I don't think they quite fit the persona as well. Generally, _Widowmaker _will be Cooper's fast travel during the game, if he needs something for combat then he has BT-7274. **

**Next chapter will see normal service resume when everyone is spitin' and bitin' and kicking and fighting for more when they Shake a Leg.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	25. Chapter 25: Shake A Leg

Authors Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Thanks to ravens18 and TheCarlosInferno for helping out with this chapter.

First thing's first, last week saw a huge spike in readers (followers increased by 50%) so I just wanted to reiterate a few things. Thanks for reading, favorting, following, whatever, I hope you enjoy the story. If you have something to say, don't be shy to drop a review or shoot me a PM. I do guarantee a response to all of those, even if I can't guarantee you'll like said response.

Also, I really would like to get some cover art at some point, suggestions or anything related to that would be greatly appreciated because I have no clue. You're already seeing the extremes of my artistic capability.

Okay, as for the title, this is a song from what is the greatest album ever made and I will hear no arguments about that. That's right, this is off the 1980 Masterpiece 'Back in Black' by AC/DC. Seriously, there are no bad songs on this album, and this one was a surprise to me when I first heard it. It's loud, fast, rambunctious, just a total hoot to listen to. For a chapter with no real theme and that covers like 7 months in 9k words of mostly fluff, it's going to be the most entertaining 9k words of fluff I can make it.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 25: Shake a Leg**

_Keeping out of trouble with eyes in the back of my face_

_Kicking ass in the class and they tell me you're a damn disgrace_

_They tell me what they think but they stink and I really don't care_

_Got a mind of my own, move on, get out of my hair_

_Shake a leg, shake your head, __Shake a leg, wake the dead_

_Shake a leg, get stuck in, __Shake a leg, shake a leg yeah_

* * *

Yuri Watanabe tapped her foot impatiently as she waited outside her own damn precinct in the warming spring day for the Marauder. There was a situation developing, a robbery gone bad had seen the perpetrators escape with nearly a million dollars and several hostages. Police had tracked them to a construction site in Hell's Kitchen but were spotted and the situation had become a standoff.

A howl caught her attention, her head snapping up as she heard the screech of tires as a car came to a halt in front of her. The low slung dark green machine looked somewhat sinister with its LED running lights and strangely shaped rear wing extending up into the airstream. On the rear quarter panel was written a single word in white script, _Widowmaker_. Pedestrians gawked and took pictures as Yuri stared down and fumbled around for a door handle. "It's a button inside that cutout!" shouted a teenage boy after a few seconds of her ineffectual searching.

Scowling, Yuri slid her hand until she felt something click and lifted the door as it swung up and forwards to reveal the armored vigilante sitting in the driver's seat. The Captain could hear a snicker from the helmet as she stepped awkwardly into the Hypercar and pulled the door shut. "Still can't believe you paid a million dollars for this thing" muttered the oriental woman as she put her seat belt on, "what could make it worth that much?"

The Marauder worked the controls, the engine revving, "This" he said through the filter as he released the brake pedal and all 950 horsepower was unleashed. The acceleration snapped Yuri's head back and pressed her into the bucket seat, the wind was knocked out of her as the car reached sixty mph in 2.8 seconds and only kept going from there as the Marauder weaved through traffic. "Yee-haw" howled the Pilot as Yuri caught her breath, about to scream that he was going to miss his turn when she felt the back end slip out and the car go sideways around the corner before the tires dug in and the car shot forwards again. "Convinced yet?"

Watanabe shot him a glare that probably didn't make a difference but it felt good anyway, "Bastard" she growled, though there wasn't much malice behind the insult only for the McLaren to hit a pothole and the wind to be knocked out of Yuri as she bit back another curse. "For a million bucks you think this thing would have some suspension" she grumbled.

"It does, hydro-pneumatic dampeners at all four corners" retorted the Marauder defensively, "the problem is that I have it set to track mode." The man worked the wheel expertly as he guided the car towards the construction site when the SatNav on the center display changed to show an incoming call from 'Tobey Maguire.' "Do me a solid and accept that for me Cap" he asked as Yuri tapped the touchscreen and Cooper spoke, "you there already Spidey? Don't tell me you started the party without me."

"_Wouldn't think of it Coop"_ came the unmistakable carefree tones of Spider-Man, _"but I have an idea…one you probably aren't going to like very much. I want you to come right in the front door, draw their attention while I sneak in the back and free the hostages" _he said as the Marauder tilted his head inquisitively and Yuri could understand why. There was nothing about that plan that was bad or even particularly disagreeable, from experience the Captain knew the man next to her would do much more dangerous things if asked. _"Only thing is that the entire building is wired, one stray round…"_ he trailed off, the implication clear.

"So we're doing this all personal like" cut off the Marauder with a confident drawl, "should be fun, I'll be coming in hot, ETA is two mikes."

"Hang on" interjected Yuri suddenly, "is your name seriously Toby Maguire?" asked the Captain. The Marauder chortled quietly from the driver's seat as he kept the hammer down and Spider-Man stuttered on the other end of the line.

"_You…Coop…_THAT'S _what you put me in as!?"_ sputtered the Webslinger as Cooper snickered a bit more. "And now Yuri knows…hi Yuri, don't ask me to explain this one."

"Don't get your spandex in a twist" retorted Cooper dryly as the car finally, mercifully, slowed at the first sight of the police barricade. Despite the poor visibility, Cooper began to expertly guide the _Widowmaker_ through the opened gaps as he signed off, "I'm on site now, give me a minute to grab my gear from the trunk and then get approval from the police. Start infiltrating but don't start dancing till you hear me play the music."

"_Got it"_ replied Spidey, _"hopefully this'll make up for my mess of a senior prom"_ he quipped before cutting the line. The Marauder brought the McLaren to a halt and shut the car off before the two opened the dihedral doors and got out with varying degrees of dignity intact.

Grabbing his gear from the front trunk of the Mac, the Marauder was still fully armed in spite of the Wallcrawlers warnings. His Data Knife and Tomahawk were in their sheaths on his left shoulder and thigh respectively. The Smart Pistol was in its holster across his chest above the indescribable amount of pouches containing ammo and equipment that covered the armor on his stomach and belt around his waist. Slung low on his right leg was a big revolver while an orange and white submachinegun was slung across his back.

With that, he jumped up and began scaling the two closest buildings, jumping back and forth between them like a frog on crack. The pack on his lower back firing licks of flame with each leap while a constant blue exhaust pressed him into the walls. Soon he vanished onto the rooftops as Yuri made her way to the command truck. "Captain Watanabe" greeted a solidly built blonde woman with a headset on, "saw you arrive in style" teased the woman.

Captain Jean DeWolff was a twenty-year veteran of the force but still looked young for her age and experience. Happy green eyes and flowing blonde hair kept her looking younger than the few faint wrinkles on her face would have you believe. "You say that, but I'm not riding that thing back to the precinct" Yuri deadpanned as she donned her own headset, "you got the Marauder's feed yet?"

DeWolff gestured to one of the screens with her coffee cup before taking a sip, "It's a good show" she commented as Yuri took an offered coffee, "you sure your boys can do the job?" Yuri merely nodded, having gotten used to at first Spider-Man and now the Marauder being considered 'hers' considering her relationship with the enigmatic men was better than most others. "Well then, quiet down everyone…looks like it's starting."

* * *

"What's the count BT?" asked Cooper as he ran a final system check, his arc knuckles crackling with energy as the readouts were displayed on his HUD.

The news…could have been better. _"11 hostile contacts reported Pilot"_ began BT as the bad news began to roll in. _"Three are guarding the hostages on the third floor, the other eight are gathered in the atrium. The building is under construction and there is little cover inside the structure. Explosives and combustibles are present throughout the area, use of firearms is highly ill-advised." _

Outnumbered, no cover but enough exposed beams and incomplete walls to limit his mobility, and he couldn't use any of his guns or most of his gadgets without blowing himself and the hostages to kingdom come. "Well, it's time to put Felicia's lessons to the test" he said wistfully as he placed the Wingman back into his leg holster. For the two months since they had returned and Felicia had started consulting, she had been drilling him in hand to hand sans jumpkit.

Every sparring session ended with him getting his ass kicked and flat on his back while Felicia looked down on him, but at least he was now getting her to break a sweat before he was on the mat. He may have had the edge in reach and strength, but the former thief had flexibility and agility on her side. "Spidey, how you're doing?"

"_My leg's falling asleep, other than that I'm fine, how about you?"_ responded the Webhead instantly, bringing a small smile to Matthew's face. Even though he found the response humorous, he didn't answer, hoping the 'disapproving' silence would get a better response. _"Oh, I see, Matt 'Man on a Mission' Cooper is reporting for duty. I'm ready when you are."_

The Marauder did laugh in reply to that though, "You got that right Sergeant Sarcasm" shot back the SRS gunslinger with mirth. "Stay frosty in there, Renegade out."

"_Marauder" _came the cool tones of Captain Watanabe only a few seconds after Spider-Man went dark, _"you are cleared to engage. Good luck and Godspeed." _With that, Cooper began to run along the rooftop before he activated his STIM, the flood of the chemical cocktail was instant as his speed only increased to superhuman levels before he hopped up and slid, jump kit pushing him even faster as he neared the edge of the rooftop and leapt.

Down below, the Cops maintaining the perimeter stared up in awe as the Texan flew overhead before the vigilante hit the parking lot in front of the building and slid across it before jumping again and firing his grapple. Using his mental link to his Jump Kit to alter his trajectory ever so slightly, he flew through a half closed window, glass shards flying as he slid to a stop, crouching in the center of the room.

The glowing visor scanned the incomplete room and the numerous goons staring back at him. All of them were armed, but thankfully they knew the risks, so they too had melee weapons. Pipes, sledgehammers, baseball bats, chains, and clubs were all brandished as they snarled at him, the tension thick enough to be cut with a butterknife. With an evil grin, the Marauder's knuckles crackled as he spoke in his filtered voice, "So are we just going to stand around all day?" he asked as he pulled out his combat axe and gave flipped it casually into the air, "or are we going to fight?"

Two men came right at him, each wielding baseball bats above their heads and snarling angrily. Adrenaline made Coopers blood run cold as he countercharged at the one to his right, watching the man's face turn into a twisted smirk as he hitched and brought the bat even further back for a single crushing blow.

But as the bat began to come towards the striped helmet, Matt planted his left leg and juked right, faking with the axe before throwing a right cross across his body and into the right thug's jaw, sending him spinning. He wasn't down however, swinging the bat wildly as he recovered, the Commando ducked to his left, the bat glancing off his left shoulder pad. Cooper was quick to strike back, throwing his left elbow into the thug's nose and ducking as the other man came at him with an overhead chop.

Time seemed to slow as one of Hardy's lessons came back to him, most people, including the Pilot, fixated on the weapon in moments like these, but the blow couldn't be stopped so he had to work around the weapon. He could dodge or absorb the blow, but against the numbers he was up against he needed to drop guys as quickly as possible. Since he couldn't attack the weapon, he had to attack the wielder. A distinct hiss filled the room as Cooper picked his feet up and was carried forwards by his kit, raising his right arm as he crouched down. The thugs forearm slammed into his as he rammed his left fist into the man's gut, 50,000 volts pouring into him, causing his muscles to contract and spasm as Cooper spun on the balls of his feet and reached up. The Marauder grabbed the man before pulling him over his shoulder and slamming him down on the concrete floor head first, the body going limp before Cooper even let go.

However, there was no time to celebrate as three more goons bore down on him from all sides. They were strong men, maybe not the fittest, but easily fit enough to beat him to a pulp even with the Dragon Scale armor and exoskeleton. While the armor and exo did give Cooper an advantage, it wasn't what made him special, what made him a Pilot.

The Marauder took the fight into the vertical, using that third dimension to gain the edge as he sprinted before jumping and planting his left boot on a column and launching himself over the heads of the attackers. Waving their weapons ineffectually, they could do naught but watch as Cooper seized the initiative. Aiming his left fist at the biggest at the bunch, Matt fired his grapple at the club wielding man, using him as an anchor to change direction. The man stumbled over his own feet and fell to the floor as Cooper reversed and cocked his right fist as he singled out a target.

Doing the Pilots version of a drive by, the Marauders entire weight and momentum was focused on a single spot as he disengaged the grapple, the blow was devastating for its target. The man's head twisted, and two teeth were knocked out as the recipient collapsed to the floor, Cooper sliding along the concrete straight at a chain wielding hostile. With a clench of his left-hand, Matt felt his body get ripped from the dimension and into the phase.

Using his temporary invulnerability, Cooper buried his axe in the ground and came to a stop before diving and rolling away coming back to his feet and settling into a fighting stance as he returned from the shift. To his credit, the man with the club reacted quickly, spinning as he heard the crackle of the shift and swung his weapon as Cooper held out his axe and caught the club with the handle under the head. With a snarl, the Marauder leapt up and buried his knee into the man's chin, sending him tumbling back and down for the count.

The third goon reacted fast, heaving out one of the chains he was wielding, ensnaring Cooper's left arm and his axe as he was ripped off balance and stumbled. Frantically, Matthew gripped the chain with his right hand and tried to brute force the advantage, but with no solid footing it was a hopeless endeavor. But as time slowed, his lips curled into a confident smirk as a plan formed.

_With a groan, the Marauder pulled himself up off the mat, ignoring his smirking lover as she flipped her ponytail back over her shoulder. Rubbing his bruised jaw and ego tenderly, Cooper raised his tape wrapped hands and settled into his combat stance as the pair circled. "Your problem Cowboy is that you're treating this like a fight. Really, you should treat it more like sex" advised Felicia with complete seriousness. Cooper merely gave her a deadpan look, mouth hanging open slightly as she cocked her head. "What you're trying right now would be bad sex. You're trying to force things they don't want. Just like in bed, all you need to do is take whatever openings your partner gives you and make the most of them."_

The Marauder willingly gave up his feet, falling onto his left leg as his jump kit shot him forwards, sliding across the floor and between the legs of his foe, knocking him from his feet with a cry of surprise. Cooper recovered first, coming to a crouch as he saw the next wave of six remaining enemies bore down on him. Activating his STIM once more, the Pilot's exo glowed as the artificial steroids enabled him to stand and spin, whipping the man around before he lost grip on his weapon and flew across the room, smashing one of the oncoming gang members and leaving Matt with the massive chain. Testing its weight, the Pilot lifted it and slammed it back down onto the concrete, the sound echoing around the room as the Marauder laughed dangerously, "Who wants some more?" he called out gamely.

"Oh! I'll have some!" called an annoying voice as a red and blue blur backflipped overhead and fired a string of webbing at one of the thug's, ripping the sledgehammer from him. "What is it I get exactly?" asked Spider-Man as he landed next to the green clad vigilante, head tilted inquisitively as the eye lenses stared at the blue visor.

"The trio of chucklefucks on the left, I got the ones on the right" instructed Cooper as he turned to the three unlucky bastards. "Let's see who handles their bunch first, loser buys the first round."

"Or we'll get to have them over your dead bodies" snarled one of the thugs as he brandished his sledgehammer menacingly. "Come on boys, we can take them" he called out as the others looked at one another before nodding and readying their own weapons.

"Wow, I'm not sure whether I should be impressed at your confidence or insulted by it" called Spider-Man casually. "What do you think Marauder?" he asked as Cooper looked at him and shrugged as he pulled an arc grenade from his belt. "Yeah, I agree" deadpanned Peter, "in case you're wondering, that means he's going to kick your butts anyway."

Matthew cracked a grin as he flicked the switch on the grenade, "Goddamn right" he growled as he heaved the grenade forwards and charged. With its distinct warble, the arc discharge gave him the advantage as he rushed in with the chain and slid as he tossed one end, the heavy steel links wrapping around the shin. The Pilot slid, the burst of speed from his kit enabled him to rip the leg out from under the first foe as he yanked hard and dragged him across the floor and into one of the others when his proximity alert blared. Spinning around, Cooper caught a crowbar to the top of his helmet that sent his vision blurry as he staggered and released the chain, trying to get his hands up as the cast iron implement was rammed into his gut. Growling in rage, the Marauder rolled away only to come up staring face first at his foe, the crowbar raised as the thug roared and Cooper threw his hands up against the much larger foe.

With a cry of pain, the SRS pilot caught the crowbar mid swing, his hands throbbed as he grit his teeth, painkillers automatically were injected into his bloodstream as he pushed back with the whine of servos and slowly got to his feet. The glowing visor stared into the eyes of his sweating foe as he howled again and increased his pressure, desperately trying to regain the advantage. Smirking behind his helmet, the Marauder raised his left leg and buried his boot into the knee of the thug.

With his enemy howling in pain, Matthew sidestepped and ripped the crowbar from his hands and the thug turned around as Cooper swung the crowbar like a baseball bat and slammed it into his ribs, cracking two ribs and knocking the wind out of him before he went down like a sack of potatoes. He wasn't done quite yet, the man he had knocked down with the chain snared man got back up.

But Cooper saw him and reacted, his holopilot running at him as he activated his cloak and slipped around the flank. With a smirk of satisfaction, the renegade gunslinger watched the thug charge and try to tackle the hologram only to come up with empty air. Whirling around, he stared gobsmacked at the unaffected projection only for Cooper to uncloak and unleash a left handed uppercut, arc knuckles crackling with electric fury that put him down for the count.

"Even with all those toys" began a friendly voice as the Marauder looked to see a red clad man hanging upside down from a strand of web as Cooper groaned audibly and cursed internally. "You still lost."

"Well yeah…" said Matthew as he looked at the other three webbed up criminals on the far side of the room. "But that's only because you have super strength and a sixth sense" he countered as he searched the room for his lost tomahawk. Turning over criminals with a moan of protest, he holstered the weapon and looked back up, the mask uncaring for his protests, "Fine, I'll buy the first round, but no damn milk this time!" he amended with a pointed finger.

Spidey held up his hands in a surrender gesture, even though he was still inverted. "Not that I dislike you or anything, but should we really be having this argument here?" Cooper looked around at the explosives and flammable barrels filling the area and conceded the point.

With a few bursts of webbing, the remaining goons were secured as the hostages, which Spidey had gotten out by making a crude rappelling system out of web, were tended to by paramedics. Bomb techs moved in to safely remove the explosives and secure the goons Parker and Cooper had taken down as news reporters began to swarm the site. "That was pretty easy" remarked the Wallcrawler as Cooper opened the trunk of the _Widowmaker_ and began placing his weapons back inside.

Snorting in disagreement, the Marauder turned to the wallcrawler, "I thought you of all people would know" he commented dryly as he closed the trunk and walked to the driver's side, opening the trick door of the McLaren. "The only easy day…was yesterday."

With that, the Marauder slid inside the dark green hypercar and closed the door before rocketing off into the Manhattan streets.

* * *

Meanwhile, at a thought to be abandoned workshop where subway trains were serviced, Felicia Hardy was hard at work, having commandeered her boyfriend's coffee table and living room. She still couldn't believe that the massive Titan had snuck onto the island through the massive array of subterranean tunnels and found its way under where she was now. The ground level that was once offices and such was now living space, Cooper allowing her to try her hand at interior design, but she kept it minimalist and rustic. Dark woods, tan leather, and wrought iron were all spread about and it was a nice change of pace from her own more contemporary dwelling.

The bay where delivers were made now housed his Shelby Mustang and Dodge Viper. Below ground was where his Marauder gear was stored, his Titan, weapons, armor, and _Widowmaker_, which, like its owner, was out. Taking a break from the array of schematics and blueprints from her latest client, the former thief stood and stretched. Running a hand through her platinum-blonde hair, she strode from the living room towards Matthew's office, removing the pin from her hair she crouched down and began to work the lock to his office.

Something had been off about her Cowboy, though not enough for her to be sure enough to confront him about it. It was part of what she had feared, he was becoming slightly more distant ever since returning from France. With a click, the lock disengaged, and she slid the door opened to move into the office. She wouldn't describe it as clean, but more along the lines of orderly, everything there had its place, and nothing was unwanted. But it was still full of stuff, and undoubtedly cluttered.

For nearly half an hour she searched, the man was not a massive believer in digital files and rarely used his laptop or display built into his desk for anything really sensitive so that was right out. She went through the drawers and came up with three different pistols, maps of the city, and, somewhat morbidly, a 'deck of 52' set of playing cards, each had a picture of some criminal taped to them. About half of them were 'in play' while the others were either in Rykers or in the RAFT. Finally, she moved to the bookshelf filled with the odd variety of books he liked. Clancy thrillers, guitar instruction books, firearm manuals, car encyclopedias, and historical nonfiction. Only the veteran thief quickly noticed that there was a boxed set that looked like it had been retrieved and replaced a lot judging by the dust buildup.

With a close look to make sure there weren't any other surprises, she pulled one of the encyclopedias out only to find that the entire set was fake and behind it was a keypad with letters and numbers and a lot of possible combinations. Pulling a small light from her pocket she held it up to get an idea of oil buildup on the keys and hope from that she could come up with the right order.

It only took her one try as she typed in _ k_. The safe opened with a buzz, inside were stacks of papers that she quickly pulled out and leafed through, recognizing the handwriting and pictures, copies of Mathilda's journals. The most worn were the ones with costume designs and ideas. Setting those aside she found a few of the pictures that had been removed from frames and left sitting in the safe. Below that were the two most shocking items, the first was a playing card, the Ace of Spades with the grimace of Hammerhead on the center of the card.

She then read the blood stained and folded up letter beneath it and couldn't help but snarl angrily as she read the maggia boss' words and put the pieces together. Cooper had always told her that Market hitmen killed Mathilda and that they were mercenaries in the wind after that night. To learn that the group responsible for the gruesome murder of that girl was still active caused a spark of anger to erupt in her chest.

That spark only grew as she heard the door from downstairs open as she stood and stormed out of the office. When he saw her coming at him, whatever greeting he had died on his lips when he saw the bloody letter in her hands. Seeing his reaction, she just placed a hand on her hip and looked back with burning emerald eyes, "Were you ever going to tell me?" she asked simply.

Cooper winced visibly before taking a deep breath and bracing himself as he spoke. "We both know it's not that simple" he said sadly, eyes downcast. "If it were then you know I would have, can we at least agree on that?" he asked as she nodded. He stepped forwards and took her unfilled hand as he looked down at her, searching for his next words. "The last few months, after you decided to try going a different direction have been eye opening. You've committed to this and worked so hard that I couldn't bring myself to tell you this and force you to choose. And you would have, even if I didn't force it you would have chosen yourself to either give up everything you worked for or not go after the guy who killed the sister you never had."

Every strained syllable sounded like it was a struggle for him to say because it probably was. "Well that's not exactly an option anymore now is it?" she asked dryly as she squeezed his hand and smiled, "So what do you want to do? It's clear you intend to do _something_." He didn't deny it, just nodding, "would you even need my help?"

"Yes" he replied instantly. "I don't want to have to slaughter a thousand henchmen, not again, and if I try chances are the bosses will go to ground. I've been talking with Yuri and Spidey, there's no way to do this their way either. All the families are still connected well enough and are smart enough." He took a breath and looked square at her, "If we're going to take them down then I'm going to someone as cunning as a cat on my side."

It was obvious now why he hadn't told her, he couldn't stop himself from saying 'we' and even she couldn't help herself from instinctively wanting to accept, opening her mouth before closing it just as quickly. "You don't need to give me an answer right now darlin', just…no regrets." She almost missed it, but in that pause, she noticed his eyes, the usually shimmering blue orbs drifted into a thousand-yard stare for a brief moment, going dead before refocusing.

She could see the tinge of his own regret in that, the same one she felt when she heard about Mathilda's death. As the last person to see one of the Market Lieutenants alive she was investigated by police before being cleared just as quickly, but Rawlins had correctly guessed she was involved somehow and targeted her.

Her mind was made up, but she wanted to get to work on a plan and not rush into this. Matthew was right, she was enjoying the new challenge and didn't want to throw it all away on a whim. The last few months also told her that she _could_ live without the Cat, but if given the choice she would never take it. Felicia looked up at Matt and knew he felt the same, he was the Marauder, he probably bled dark green and lived to fight. Standing up on her toes to plant a kiss on her lips she gave her lover a reassuring smile, "Not one."

* * *

"Damn this heat" cursed Yuri Watanabe irritably as the late summer sun beat down on the Captain, she really wanted a cigarette, but resisted the urge as she slipped a piece of nicotine gum into her mouth and strode off. Why the NYPD couldn't find an indoor facility for its officers to get recertified for their firearms was beyond her, hence why she was at a civilian gun club amidst the reports of gunfire and smell of cordite. Through the entirety of spring and now deep into the summer months she had been busy coordinating NYPD efforts against the Kingpins Syndicate before being forced to take a day to do this. As she strode off towards the pistol range, she had to pass by every other range there, much to her annoyance, but she noticed an odd sight. One station had garnered a lot of attention, even if the rest of the rifle range was empty. Several men and women Yuri recognized as Cops were gathered around while the report of a high powered rifle thundered from the station they were all focused on.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" called a man as Yuri got closer, "I'm going to go swap targets" he said as Watanabe saw a man jog to a golf cart and set off, pushing said cart to its limits as he streaked down the 200 yard range.

"Hey Captain" greeted one of the officers as she approached, "take a look at this, you aren't gonna believe it" he said as he stepped aside and allowed Yuri a glimpse at what everyone was gawking at. She rolled her eyes at the sight, _men, _she thought, sitting at the station was a gorgeous woman, head of platinum blonde hair in a ponytail, a healthy amount of cleavage spilling out of her tight tank top and toned legs uncovered by her athletic shorts. "Check out that rifle" exclaimed the Cop, "I couldn't buy one of those with four months' salary."

Watanabe snorted lightly, _men, _she thought, still unsurprised at what had caught their attention as she eyed the weapon. Frowning, she couldn't tell the exact make or model, but it was clearly a serious gun meant for precision shooting. The woman behind it seemed occupied with slipping new rounds into the box magazines, though the way she did it made it obvious she knew she was being watched and that she didn't mind the attention.

If all of that was odd, then what happened next really threw the veteran lawwoman for a loop as the golf cart returned and Yuri got a good look at the man who had been spotting for the female shooter. "Cooper?" she blurted out in shock, causing everyone to turn to her, even the woman looked up from her task with a raised eyebrow.

The man in question was looking like a deer in the headlights before he laid eyes on her and registered who had said his name. Relaxing visibly, his mouth relaxed into a cocky grin, "Cap! Fancy meeting you here" he greeted warmly, "I'm just teaching Fel here how to shoot something with a bit of reach. She's already got the stuff that requires you to get up close and personal down" he drawled without a hint of nervousness. Yuri guessed it was the truth, though the Marauder was either brave or stupid to bring his, most likely, illegally obtained guns to a range that had a contract with the NYPD. None of that bothered him as he held up the target, holes littering the 12 inch diameter bullseye, "As you can see, we still have some work to do" he said, frowning at the lousy grouping.

The woman pouted and huffed in exasperation, "I keep saying cowboy, this gun of yours isn't all it's cracked up to be. I'm putting the dot on the bullseye and pulling the trigger" she argued. "And none of this 'your trigger pulls are too rushed and you're jerking your aim' stuff. You know how delicate I am with my hands" she added, drawing a mixture of reactions from the gathered crowd.

"Darling, listen to me" implored Cooper, "I get that this is tricky, you're doing a hell of a lot better than I did when I started. But that there is a half-minute of angle rifle and I sighted in the scope myself. If I put a quarter down there the gun is accurate enough to hit it every. Single. Time" he argued defensively, bristling at the slight against the rifle, which Yuri found incredibly amusing. "The effective range on that thing is over 1000 yards, we're not even at a fifth of that. Hell, any decent sharpshooter would be able to sit down and get a three-inch grouping no problem" he declared confidently.

Felicia cocked her head, "is that so?" she asked, seemingly unconvinced as Cooper nodded firmly. "You wanna bet?"

"What do ya want to wager?" asked the Texan as the woman smirked and indicated with her finger for him to get close as he leaned down and she whispered into his ear. Red began to color his cheeks before he controlled himself and stepped back. "Yeah, okay. You're on" he said with a smirk and extended a hand, which the woman shook before standing up. "Captain Watanabe? Care to help a friend out?" asked the Marauder.

Yuri turned to see the woman's eyes widen in recognition of the name as she mouthed 'oh shit' while Cooper grinned confidently. "Sure, happy to help" replied the oriental woman as she stepped out from the crowd and sat on the stool behind the gun while Cooper took a similar position behind a spotter's scope. Settling her cheek against the raised pad of the gun, she tucked the rubber padded stock into her shoulder as she closed her left eye and looked down the scope. "Shooter ready" she notified as she regulated her breathing.

"Center target, range: two zero zero yards, slight wind coming in so be sure to comp for it" notified Cooper crisply as Yuri adjusted her aim accordingly and exhaled, "send it." Squeezing the trigger ever so gently, Yuri used the tripod and her left hand to keep her aim steady until she felt the firing pin release. The rifle thundered with nothing on the muzzle the sound reverberated through her chest as the gun kicked back. "Good shot, half inch high left at 10 o clock" called Cooper.

Taking her time, Watanabe sighted the target back up as the process repeated itself until all five rounds were sent down range, Yuri quite pleased with herself for the grouping she could see on the target through the optic. "Cease fire! Cease fire!" called out Cooper as he stood, his grin having only gotten bigger, somehow, as Yuri turned to look at the woman, who didn't seem the least bit impressed by her marksmanship. "I think that'll be all for this one today. I'm going to pack up the rifle and grab the target to confirm that I won" he said smugly. "See you at the pistol range Darlin'" he drawled as the others took that as their cue to leave as Cooper began to repack the rifle into a custom hard case. "I'll also run this back to the car, okay?" he asked, getting a nod in reply from the loser of the bet. "Great, thanks again for the help Yuri" finished Cooper as he closed the case and gave a jaunty wave before getting back in the golf cart and shot off. It was clear the man drove everything like it was a supercar.

As the two women watched in a mixture of amusement and amazement as the man drifted the golf car to a stop down the range before Yuri shook her head and spun on her heel to head for the pistol range. However, it was clear that she had a tail, and it dawned on Watanabe that this 'Fel' was Felicia Hardy, the Marauder's girlfriend, the Black Cat. While Yuri kept her face unreadable, it seemed that the Black Cat had as little fear as Cooper, since she struck up conversation with the Captain. "So, you're the famous Captain Watanabe" mused the woman with a hint of amusement, "and I thought I was the only woman Cooper let touch his guns."

The policewoman rolled her eyes, she hadn't thought the Marauder had been lying when he talked about the cat burglar per se, but believed he was exaggerating. Already, she was beginning to reevaluate that assessment and she had only heard 19 words from the woman. "Though it is good to see his trust isn't misplaced. Judging by the way you handled that rifle you are more than able to watch his back…especially since I'm not anymore" she added quietly.

Those words caused Yuri to turn and look at the thief, carefully scrutinizing her features for any hint that she was lying, just because there hadn't been any reported sightings for a few months didn't mean she hadn't been working. But the platinum blonde held her ground, unflinching despite the Captains inspection, "If you're suggesting something other than a professional relationship" began Watanabe slowly, her words carefully weighted and measured, "then you'd be mistaken."

Hardy smiled innocently, a hint of mischief in her eyes, "I meant on the range just a few minutes ago" she answered coyly, though nothing about her face or tone of voice suggested that. "But I'm just glad that the one looking out for my boyfriend is the first competent NYPD officer I've encountered" she continued haughtily, and considering the success, or lack thereof, the NYPD had regarding the Black Cat, Yuri wasn't going to argue. "So, I just wanted to say 'Thank you' for that."

With those parting words, the woman turned to join Cooper, who was still driving the golf cart as if it were on fire.

* * *

Out of habit, Matthew gave the shifter in his Shelby Mustang a few wobbles to ensure the car was in neutral before shutting off the fast Ford and stepping out. Dressed casually with a light jacket as the first chills of fall air began to arrive in the metropolis, he had just come back from a four hour stint of volunteering at FEAST and was going to get ready for a dinner date with Felicia. She would be arriving at his place soon and he had to get dressed up for the restaurant she had a reservation at.

Opening the door to head from the garage, he headed into the dimmed living space of his abode, passing through on the way towards his bedroom. About halfway through, a deep, commanding voice revealed that Cooper wasn't alone. "So nice to finally meet you…Marauder" drawled the unknown as the Texan spun around, Sig out of its shoulder holster and pointed at the source. In the shadows, sitting on the couch was a man in a trench coat as Matthew kept the .45 steady as he reached out and flicked on the light switch. With the lights on, he could see he was African American, his bald head and eye patch covering his left eye his most prominent features. "I would have called" said the trench coat wearing man as the Marauder narrowed his eyes, thumb deftly disengaging the safety on his weapon, "but I wanted to make sure you actually listened to what I'm about to tell you."

"No" returned Matthew lowly, "you, Director Fury, listen to what _I _am about to tell _you_." He stepped closer, Fury's one good eye remained fixed on the Marauder's face and not the muzzle of the gun, and even the Commando had to admit that the head of SHIELD had nerves of steel. "I do not give a single flying fuck who you are, I am giving you one chance to stand up and walk out of my house before I redecorate my wall with your brains" he threatened calmly.

For his part, Fury looked unfazed, shaking his head slowly as the Texan raised an eyebrow. "No, you're not" said a cold voice to his left as he looked to see a woman with a head of fiery red hair glaring at him with harsh green eyes. Though equally as attention grabbing was her lean figure, clad in a form fitting suit that showed off her curves and offered the barest hint of cleavage. Though those weren't the pair of objects that he was most focused on though, that went to the pair of Glock 26s she had, one 9mm handgun in each hand.

Cooper let out a low chuckle, "Good, you're not so stupid as to come here alone" he conceded in his usual dry drawl. "Still, I gotta ask. Do I really only warrant you bringing in only one Agent?" he asked half sarcastically. In response, he heard faint footsteps on his right along with a small click. Turning his head ever so slightly, he saw a man in a lightweight armored vest with tatoos on his left arm; in his hands was a formidable looking compound bow with a razor sharp arrow knocked and ready.

"Meet Agent Romanov and Agent Barton" said Fury calmly, "better known as Black Widow and Hawkeye of the Avengers" introduced the Shield Director. Matthew gave a look to each of the three SHIELD personnel before conceding that he was screwed. Flicking the safety back on, he lowered the pistol and put it back in his shoulder holster before he turned and walked straight past the redhead into the kitchen.

He could feel the weapons and eyes of the SHIELD agents following him behind his back as he made his way towards the fridge. "Now even though you three broke into my place and we were just pointing guns at each other that doesn't mean I can't offer y'all some hospitality" he explained simply as he opened the fridge before looking back. "Whiskey, wine, water? What'll it be?"

Romanov answered first, "Nothing" she replied coldly, "I'm on duty."

Barton, however, had no such qualms. "You got any beer? I'd kill for a Coors" he mused as Matthew pulled out one of his Lone Stars and tossed it to the archer as he lowered his bow. With a shrug, Hawkeye opened the beverage and took a drink. "Lighten up Nat" he suggested before raising the beer in salute as he stepped back and leaned against a wall.

Lastly, Cooper looked towards the Director, who shrugged casually, "Surprise me" he answered finally. Grabbing the bottle of Johnny Walker Platinum he always kept on hand and a pair of glasses, the Gunfighter returned to sit in the chair opposite the director and pouring them each a glass. Fury picked up his glass and took a small sip, "You have good taste" complimented the Spook.

Matthew wasn't amused, "Yeah, well" he began before taking his own sip to calm his nerves, "I'm still pissed off, so why don't we quit playing games and you tell me why the fuck you're here?"

"I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative" he began plainly before taking another drink, though he kept his eye on Cooper, gauging the Pilot's reaction.

Cooper, though he tried not to show it, knew he wouldn't be able to hide what he thought. "I'm flattered, truly I am" he began.

"But…?" began Hawkeye, beer still in hand.

"But I gotta couple issues" finished the Marauder. "I don't answer to you, I am never gonna answer to you" explained the Pilot lowly. "Fury, there are three kinds of people I don't trust" he said, extending one finger, "politicians, shrinks" he said as he raised his second finger before pausing, staring right at the Director and extending a third, and Spooks" he said before finishing off his whiskey and setting the glass firmly back down with a clink, "especially Spooks."

"That isn't an answer" observed Romanov dryly, causing Cooper to glare daggers at her, though the woman seemed unaffected.

"You want my answer?" he asked as he chuckled a bit, "you can take that offer of yours and shove it up your ass Fury. I'm my own boss and I play by my rules. Pilots move and fight so differently that I couldn't work with a team. All of that isn't going to change. Do you really want someone like that on your little team?" he asked rhetorically.

Fury shrugged, "I already have one narcissistic ass on the team. How much harder could another one make it?" he shot back sarcastically as he reached into his coat and pulled out his phone, turning it to holographically project a pair of images into the space between them. "And it looks to me" began the Director, pointing at the pictures of the Marauder fighting alongside Spider-Man in one and Black Cat in the other, "that you can work with others just fine."

Sputtering indignantly, much to the amusement of Romanov and Barton, the Marauder leaned back in his chair. "Okay, you got me. So _almost _nobody can move or fight like a Pilot" he amended, stressing the added word. "My answer hasn't changed Director, it's a no."

"I see" replied Fury as he stood, "well thank you for the drinks Mr. Cooper, but know that if we do need you, then we will be back" he said with finality before the man strode confidently towards the back exit. Barton followed suit, dropping his empty can in the bin on the way out.

But Romanov stopped on her way passed him, hard eyes scrutinizing him closely as Matthew held the Agents gaze. "And just so you know" she began, though the Agent was uncomfortably close to him for as undoubtedly proficient in hand to hand as she was, "unlike Stark, narcissism isn't one of your issues. Borderline arrogance,violent tendencies, and the beginning signs of PTSD are however" she rattled off coldly. "Truth be told, I don't think you're fit to be an Avenger."

At that point, another unexpected arrival made themselves known. "Then you clearly don't know him very well" interjected none other than Felicia Hardy as she stood silhouetted in the doorway, arms folded across her chest. After the briefest flicker of shock on her face, Black Widow regained her composure as the heiress sauntered towards him. "Because while he may not have a heart of gold, he knows how to kick the shit out of the bad guys" he said, voice barely above a hiss as she glared at the Agent, though a smile remained on her face.

"Black Cat" greeted the Avenger coolly, but Hardy fared much better, not even tensing at the redhead's words. "His abilities are not in question, but rather or not he is fit and able to wield them" she answered flatly, "good day" she finished before she turned and followed the others.

Cooper kept his eyes fixed on the former KGB agent as she left his home, in particular focusing on a very appealing feature. That his attention was focused there didn't escape the notice of the platinum blonde alongside him. As soon as Black Widow left, Felicia spoke up again. "Do you think her ass is better than mine?" she asked innocently, though with a hint of wickedness just under the surface.

"It's close" answered Cooper quickly, before he had even realized what he had said as his eyes widened and he quickly tried to correct. "Yours is…fuller, yeah, that's the word. And your suit does frame it better. Really pops" he elaborated, flashing his most charming grin for good measure. Then, just to be doubly sure he would still get some that night, he added, "and your tits are much nicer darlin'."

Felicia seemed placated by his flattery, hmming in content as she turned to look up at him and he turned to square up to her. "You still want to fuck the secret agent, don't you?" she asked with a small teasing smirk.

The grin remained on his face as he shrugged nonchalantly. "Can you really blame me?" he asked.

Tilting her head, Felicia considered for a moment before her smirk widened into a knowing smile. "Honestly? With that ass? No, I can't" she admitted with a predatory grin as she reached up and looped her arms around his neck as she pulled him down to her and whispered in his year, "I suppose I'll have to remind you why I'm the only woman you'll ever need after dinner."

* * *

"Clip the curb…right, good, touch of brake and PUNCH IT!" ordered the instructor in the passenger seat of Felicia's F-Type SVR as she did just that, kicking up the recently fallen leaves from the ground as she rocketed through the corner. The supercharger on the V-8 of the four wheel drive convertible whined as she buried her foot in the floor and clicked the upshift paddle. The sports car responded smartly and she began to run down the other car on the track. The license plate stared back, taunting her as the V8 EATR remained just out of reach.

The taillights went red as the striped Viper went under hard braking and Felicia matched, her hands working the steering wheel as she fought to keep the BLAK CAT under control in the chicane. With his experience and less twitchy Viper, Cooper was able to keep more speed in the corners, but as soon as they exited them the lighter and all-wheel drive British car made up the distance until the superior power of the 8.4L V10 came into play. Their game of cat and mouse continued and try as she might, Felicia could not get past the Dodge. She had pointed out when he showed up to their usual Sunday track day in the V8 EATR he did it because he was sore she had beaten him the last three weeks when he was in his GT350. He didn't deny it, only implied that she wasn't up for a challenge before they set off.

At the behest of the instructor, both cars pulled into the pits the crew at the track came out to inspect both as the drivers got out and Felicia pulled off her racing helmet and let her hair breathe. Cooper was leaning against the red Viper, a look emanating pure smug on his face as he held his helmet in the crook of his right arm and watched Hardy saunter over to him.

The cool October day was gorgeous, and Felicia was savoring it considering the couple wouldn't get many more. Over the last six months she had been continuing her consulting work and formulating a plan to help tie up the loose end of Mathilda's killers. It was shaping up to be ambitious, with a lot of moving parts, serious time and money investment, not to mention the expected reprisals.

But the prospective payoff was enormous, more money than the two of them would know what to do with and finally feeling like Mathilda could rest easy. It was that last part that kept Felicia going as she worked through the more difficult challenges, for the first time in her life something other than money motivated the thief and she wasn't sure how to feel about that. Taking her phone out of a zipped pocket of her race suit she looked through the alerts before stopping at one and holding it up to show Cooper.

His face hardened as he read the headline before cracking that cocky grin and slipping his helmet on, "Saddle up sweetheart" he said as he opened the door. "If Big Willie's back in town we're going to both be busy, so we better make these laps count."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Sniper Rifle: Heckler & Koch PSG-1 _

_God bless the Germans. No matter what you think of 'em, you have to respect them for, if nothing else, having the sheer guts to have two goes at world domination. Even if they came up short both times, the fact that they tried is commendable. Even better, they aren't sore about it, instead content to display their superiority by picking out the things that matter most (beer, cars, guns, and tanks) and making the best in the world. There is a reason that 'German Engineering' is held in such high regard, even if they do have a habit of __**over**__-engineering some things. _

_But this rifle, the Präzisionsschützengewehr-eins (Precision Shooting Rifle-1), is not one of those things that is too complex for its own good. A direct result of the Munich Olympics Massacre, this rifle is based on the reliable G3 action but with so many changes that it is a whole new weapon. New trigger, barrel, locking rollers, extractor, and buttstock are the major changes, and the result is one of the finest marksman rifles ever created, and I'm not just saying that as a card-carrying member of the Holy Church of Heckler & Koch._

_The most comparable weapon from the SRS Arsenal is the Longbow DMR, and it is a testament to the PSG that in a comparison to a gun from over 500 years in the future, the German rifle doesn't come off that much worse. It's just as accurate with an equal effective range, it has a lower profile, and is equally comfortable to shoot. It loses in the velocity and kinetic energy of its cartridge, weight, and durability, still not bad for a few centuries difference. Gotta love German Engineering._

* * *

**Closing Notes: There we go, the stage is set for the start of the game. Hopefully you all have enjoyed the ride so far and will continue to stick around for what's to come. Yes, the scene with Nick Fury was inspired by all the Sam Jackson moments in Iron Man 1 & 2 as well as Far From Home. It's just me having some fun with the story and giving myself the possibility of doing more with the larger universe later. **

**The action bit at the begining was simply an idea I had left over that I couldn't fit into the previous arc so it got slotted in here, used to show that Cooper is getting even more formidable. Early on in the story, when forced into hand to hand and his mobility limited he struggled, it's how come he nearly got killed in chapter 9, but after more time training and learning he has gotten better in this aspect. **

**And that 'deck of 52' is based on an actual thing. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq the DIA issued a deck of playing cards that each had the face of a wanted man on them to soldiers so they would become familiar with these targets. I saw a deck at a gun show years ago and the idea was used in the original 'Mercenaries' game way back in the day. Another reference is the license plate on Cooper's car, 'V8 EATR' is the plate on the ACR used in a Pennzoil commercial of all places called 'The Last Viper' and I think that the plate fits the Viper and its personality perfectly. On the subject of cars fitting the personality of the owner, Top Gears review of Felicia's F-Type called it an "X-Rated Hardcore Monster" that produces "a wide range of intoxicating noises." I will let you draw from that what you will.**

**Since this is coming out just before us Americans celebrate Thanksgiving, I want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving and encourage everyone to be thankful for what you have and take part in the other core pillars of the holiday. Eat some good food, talk to your family and inevitably get into an argument with them, and watch some football. I must insist on proper American NFL Football, but your local equivalent (soccer/rugby) will suffice. **

**But next week will see our heroes bring the light back at the Break of Dawn.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	26. Chapter 26: Break of Dawn

Author's Note: All Properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Thanks to ravens18 for betaing this chapter.

Wow, after 25 chapters and near as makes no difference to 217,000 words, it is time to start the events of the game that serve as the basis of this story. Yes, it did take me long enough.

First off,** Reginald Farquaad** left a review for chapter 9 this past week, and if you get to this point and remember it, well, I'm going to respond. Even if you've forgotten I'm going to respond anyway.

**I agree with you, completely. It is a fault that Cooper trusts Felicia so easily after those events, but it was kind of necessary. Not just for storytelling, but because Cooper realizes he can't stop Cinderblock alone, and his list of friends is really, really short. He has nobody else he can turn to at this point and even if she sold him out, she did put herself in harms way to get him out. As for trusting her so much, he doesn't like keeping secrets as you might have noticed by this point, and he does need her help so he's willing to put his cards on the table and shoot his way out of trouble if things go wrong. **

**As for the story having no plot and just being all action, yes, that is what I originally envisioned, just enough character development and plot to get us some more action. That's changed a bit, but at that point you were spot on. If there was a genre on this site labeled 'Action' then this story would have it because that is the core of the story. It's about Cooper and company blasting the hell and beating the snot out of the bad guys. **

That brings us to the next problem for our heroes: Wilson Fisk. This was a great opening to the game and hopefully from this you all will get a feel for how I'll be treating the game. I will be pretty faithful to it, there will be deviations later on but with a story so great I don't see the need to change much. What I will be doing is adding more scenes of things we don't see, Sable's experiences politicking behind closed doors for example. Another subplot came about because of a review that planted the idea in my head, and we'll see it very early on so you might recognize it.

If you know of Gavin Dunne the you will probably recognize this chapter title. Best known on the internet as 'Miracle of Sound' this guy makes the best songs inspired by pop culture. The man is a master at capturing the essence of a game, film, or show, and distilling it into a kick ass 3 minute song. From the epic mechanical scale of Pacific Rim to the fast paced metal shredding of Doom to the folk vibes of The Witcher 3, he can do it all. He even did a song for the Insomniac Spider-Man game, but that isn't this song because using that one would kinda be cheating. This is the tune he did for Destiny 2, a game I have a love/hate relationship with. Though no matter how I feel about the game, Gavin's song has always been awesome in my view, and with its bombastic and bright outlook of a future full of possibilities (that the Destiny 2 failed to capitalize on) it was the perfect tune to open up the arc.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 26: Break of Dawn**

_Fly another path of sacrifice, Face another fallen paradise_

_We were never gone just down and out_

_Just another silent prison, Ride into the cataclysm_

_Burn away the panic and the doubt_

_So look to the break of the dawn, To the break of dawn_

_Stronger together now, We were never gone, gone gone_

* * *

The dim and lifeless x shaped visor stared up at its owner as the Pilot spun the helmet, running his hand over the logos on the sides. Some of the paint had been chipped, there was one prominent one where some thug had nearly gotten lucky and a rifle round grazed the helmet, leaving a scratch along one of the stripes. Cooper smirked as he ran his thumb over the phrase written on the back, "Primo Victoria" he murmured, musing internally if the Latin phrase was still true.

Since returning from Europe earlier in the year he hadn't been idle, he'd been volunteering at FEAST and patrolling with Spider-Man. The two vigilantes had settled into an easy friendship, the more neurotic Parker and easygoing Cooper proving that opposites did attract. Matthew was happy to hear that Peter and his boss; one Otto Octavius, had been making incredible progress in the development of prosthesis based on the tech he had handed over.

Less successful was Oscorp's reverse engineering of the medical technology samples he had given them. It was harmless stuff, accelerants, biogel, steroids to enhance healing, advanced sealing bandages, all of which he had used himself, more than he cared to admit. At one point he had gone to Peter with samples and asked if he could find the reason for this. The webhead had come back babbling about science nonsense before Cooper had finally gotten a straight answer, there was no good reason that Oscorp was taking this long.

But Cooper felt no desire to get more involved with Norman Osborn, the man rubbed him the wrong way and was content to sit back and focus on himself. Similar to the CEO was the man responsible for the homeless shelter. Martin Li was a good man by all accounts, a philanthropist dedicated to helping the less fortunate, and doing a good job. It wasn't the mission or his method that set Matthew on edge, it was the man himself. There was a tension in him that the Pilot picked up on, a standoffishness that he couldn't nail down.

That didn't detract the fact that the Marauder felt that Li was a good man, slow to anger, understanding, always willing to listen. Cooper found that out firsthand when the man confronted him about his carry piece and his fifteen minutes of fame for single handedly killing eight gunmen and saving lives. He had brushed past that and it had thankfully died down after the returned from across the pond. But Li hadn't forgotten and had been understanding when Cooper insisted on keeping the Sig with him, joking that it was easier than having to borrow a bad guys gun again. With an awkward smile tempered by the memory of FEAST being shot up the previous year, the oriental man had relented and let the Texan keep his weapon.

Of course, when he wasn't working at the shelter, he maintained a formidable training regimen to keep his skills sharp and in top condition. Marksmanship, PT, parkour practice, and hand to hand when Felicia or Peter was able meant he was every bit as dangerous as his reputation said. As much time as he spent on himself, he spent just as much on his equipment. Cleaning and maintaining his kit, weapons, gear, and a Vanguard Class Titan was time consuming and if it weren't for BTs phase resupply system then there was no way he would remain combat effective.

Most of any free time he had was spent with Felicia, the couple still together somehow. Matthew couldn't call their relationship conventional, but neither of them were very conventional to start off. He made it a point to surprise her at her consulting job with lunch at least once a week. The couple was also prone to spend the weekends at a race track, with a membership they were a constant sight at track days. Of course, every time Cooper went to his armory, he was greeted by Hardy's gear that Mathilda had made only to never be used, sitting next to the black Ducatti.

Cooper did miss the times of the Marauder and Black Cat, and despite knowing that they would return he wondered if it had been the right thing.

He looked down at the helmet again, the helmet that had come to represent his escape from all of the troubles he had. Matthew had heard people say, 'War is a drug, its addicting' and never believed them, until now. Every firefight made him forget everything else except what was going on around him in a way no narcotic could ever hope to match. He liked to think that it wasn't killing, he hadn't done much of that since Rawlins, but Matthew Cooper knew that he was one of those who felt the most alive when staring down death.

Thanks to his continuing relationship with Yuri and the NYPD he had plenty of opportunities to do that. With the SWAT teams only now coming back to full strength after the battering they had taken during Cinderblock the Marauder was brought in to supplement them and he never turned down a chance to suit up and escape.

From the normal stresses, and something else.

"Hey Cowboy" greeted Felicia, wearing a small robe as she strode into the living room to join her lover on the sofa, "how long have you been up?" Cooper merely shrugged dismissively, but the action only served to give him away. She leaned her head on his shoulder as he set the helmet in his lap and rested against the back of the couch. "Did it happen again?" she asked quietly as he nodded and she took his gloved hand, "do you want to talk about it?"

_No,_ he thought internally, but he knew he wouldn't say as much out loud. Unlike her interactions with damn near every other person, Hardy had been open with him and he would extend the same courtesy. "This one was last December" he began before he felt his mouth run dry and took a moment to compose himself. Felicia just sat silently, not looking at him, but listening, nonetheless. "My old place I think, when I came back to it after dealing with Rawlins" he said. Pausing again, the Marauder turned and looked at the woman, "the unnerving thing about them is how _real_ they are. The smell, the weight in the air, it's…" he said, trailing off.

Felicia just nodded, not needing to ask what 'they' were. The Marauder didn't get nightmares often, but the intensity of them shook him to the core. He never had one about him pulling the trigger, never saw an enemy dead at his feet, and they were never perfect recreations of what happened, but they were damn close. "And then you found Mathilda?" asked Felicia softly.

"No" said Cooper quietly. The common thread between them was the dead, always someone he knew, a friend usually. Wandering through the snow-covered streets outside the law firm, eerily silent as the lights flashed on top of cars and the bodies of cops lay in pooled blood until he found Yuri, dead brown eyes looking up at him. Clearing a warehouse, the bodies of thugs forming a trail that lead to the remains of Frank Castle, his iconic vest shredded, and half of his head gone as he sat slumped against a wall. Back in that inferno on Typhon, the wrecked chassis of BT suspended from the ceiling, blue eye dim and lifeless. Searching the rubble of a collapsed building to find Spider-Man, a piece of rebar spearing through his skull. "I found you" finished Cooper, his voice barely audible.

The woman next to him shifted, but didn't respond, knowing there was little she could say. All of them shared the same common threads, death, and Cooper not being able to do anything about it. To him the very idea of not being out there was the most hateful thing imaginable, being denied the chance to do something was his greatest fear, it was why he did everything he could to seize every opportunity available to him. But as he had learned, sometimes even that wasn't enough.

After a few minutes, Hardy seized the initiative, pushing his helmet away as she swung her leg over and sat on his lap, placing a finger under his chin to force him to look her in the eye. "What is it you always say? 'We all got it coming,' is that it?" she asked. Matthew nodded as she smirked, "well it's going to take more than that to get rid of me" she said huskily before kissing him deeply. When they separated there was an unmistakable content smile on her face, "don't keep me waiting Matt" she said.

"Wouldn't dream of it" replied Cooper before they were interrupted by his phone buzzing on the table. Cursing, Cooper grabbed it and frowned at the notification. "It's time" he said simply as he freed himself from the Cat's claws and stood. He slung a Longbow Rifle over his shoulder and picked up his CAR SMG before grabbing his helmet off the sofa, "general mobilization calls just went out, it's gonna be a party."

Felicia smiled back, "Go get 'em Cowboy." The two strolled out onto the patio, if anyone was watching it would have been an odd couple, one fully armored and carrying enough firepower to make Rambo need manhood counselling and the other wearing barely anything at all.

Matt planted one last kiss on Felicia's lips before slipping his helmet on and working the TacPad on the inside of his left wrist until the wail of police sirens reached them. Smirking and giving the thief a quick half salute, the Marauder leapt over the side as the opening baseline of Frank Black's 'Gimme Danger' filled the helmet.

Using his jump kit, the thrust felt like the kick in the back he needed to get his legs under him as he continued to fall before the blue exhaust came out, slowing him enough so that when he fired his grapple he didn't rip his arm from his socket. The grapple pulled the Pilot out of his dive and he reeled himself towards a building before seamlessly transitioning to a wallrun over the traffic below. Reaching the end of the building he leapt with all the strength his exo clad legs had as he began to bounce back and forth over the busy street.

_Now, if you will be my lover_

_I will shiver and sing_

_But if you can be my master_

_I will do anything_

_There's nothing left alive_

_But a pair of glassy eyes_

_Raise my fears one more time_

_Yeah!_

As the guitar solo began the corner of his HUD blinked with an image of Yuri as he accepted the call_. "Marauder, what's your status?"_ asked the Captain in a no-nonsense tone. Down below the city had nearly ground to a halt as first responders flooded the streets, almost as if the city itself had declared all-out war on Wilson Fisk.

Matthew Cooper couldn't help but crack a small smile despite a piece of his heart telling him he shouldn't be happy at that thought and how he was right in the middle of it. "Oscar Mike Captain" he affirmed. It took him time to gear up and get moving, but he had been expecting today's action and was ready.

"_Good"_ she answered firmly as the Marauder slid over a rooftop. Yuri had told him that the plan was to try and take Fisk by surprise, the evidence they had accumulated was only known to a few people to avoid any leaks reaching the Kingpin. The downside was that they still needed a warrant and a rush mobilization and that would take time. Cooper had argued that Fisk would be expecting this and have plans of his own, but it was a risk Yuri and her bosses were willing to take. _"Fisk is rolling out the welcome mat, I need you to get moving towards Wall Street. Make sure my men get to Fisk Tower"_ she said before pausing and ominously adding, _"it's time"_ before terminating the call.

With an evil gleam in his blue eyes, the SRS Pilot surged towards his destination, reminded of just how cold the NYPD Captain could be when it was personal. After having one subordinate turned against her and another die as a result, it was certainly personal to Yuri Watanabe. Gunfire began to echo through the city, growing louder as he approached the financial district.

Watanabe had been right, it was time.

* * *

A few minutes prior, it was time…for Peter Parker to wake up. The research assistant and Queens native was fast asleep in his small apartment. Compared to the luxurious clean of Hardy's penthouse or spartan order of Coopers refurbished warehouse hideout, the cluttered and cramped apartment of Peter Parker was about as together as his life was. Spider-Man equipment, clothes, snacks, science magazines, and assorted tech lay strewn haphazardly across the small apartment.

His phone began vibrating madly on the bookshelf next to the bed as a drowsy superhero reached up and pawed at the device before pulling it down to read the alert flashing on the screen. _"All units, level four mobilization. Location – Fisk Tower" _droned the dispatcher. Every trace of drowsiness was soon thrown aside as he sprung from his small bed as only a superhuman with spider powers could.

"Fisk" said the vigilante in realization, with a press of a button, his music resumed as a Warbly Jets tune emanated from a Bluetooth speaker and he casually tossed some bread into the modified and automated toaster. Flying through the rest of his routine, he strapped on his webshooters and used the synthetic silk to grab the toast before getting into his signature outfit when there was a knock on the door.

His spider sense was humming lightly, odd considering that if the person at the door came in, he would be discovered. When a letter with bold red print reading 'Urgent' slipped under the door, his eye lenses adjusting to magnify the image he was seeing inside the mask to confirm that it was a notice that he was past due on his rent…from two months ago. A warning automatically popped up on his HUD, 'Pay Your Bills, Peter!' it reminded sternly before it was quickly dismissed, he had bigger fish to fry.

Cooper giving his helmet to Octavius Industries had given Peter the chance to look at more than the neural link, and he had shamelessly copied the HUD and integrated it into his own equipment. When he told his friend what he had done, the Marauder had merely asked if he needed any help. He even offered help in getting more tech for Spider-Man, saying that he needed 'to mix it up' and 'stay unpredictable,' but such suggestions were always placed on the backburner due to a lack of time and resources on Peter's end.

Such thoughts were pushed aside when the dispatcher's voice filled his ear, "SWAT is 10-84 at Fisk Tower. All units, standby, warrant is on route." With that, the wallcrawler turned and gracefully dove through the window before effortlessly webswinging down the street, mixing in something else borrowed from Cooper, wallrunning. It was well within his ability to wallrun, but he had never thought of it until seeing how effectively the Pilot moved with it. Doing it now, with the music filling his ears? He could see why the Commando loved what he did.

_Back to the start again, back where I ought've been_

_Feels like the clock keeps turnin' back again_

_Back where it all began, comin' around again_

_Yeah but I know this time_

_I'm alive_

Following a police helicopter, he brought a hand up to his mask to cycle through a menu and select a phone number from speed dial. After a few rings, his favorite police Captain picked up. _"Captain Watanabe"_ she said flatly, all businesslike as Spider-Man continued after the chopper.

"Did you take him down yet?" asked the vigilante without preamble, the tinge of eagerness in his voice betraying just how much he wanted to see the end of Kingpins reign. Fisk had his finger in the pie of every criminal enterprise in New York City, seeing him behind bars would cause a lot of operations to crumble, including some they didn't know about yet.

"_No"_ answered Yuri flatly. _"We're at Fisk Tower, but still waiting on the warrant"_ she informed, causing Peter to frown. He knew Matthew had raised this exact point, but Parker, Watanabe, and Cooper all knew it was the best of the many bad options.

Still, Spider-Man was undeterred. "Mind if I join in on the fun?" he asked cheekily, knowing full well Yuri didn't care for the whimsical attitude of his persona but needing to keep up appearances anyway.

There was a slight pause on the other end of the line, _"You know how his lawyers get"_ she reminded, Peter briefly feeling his heart drop as she continued_. "This one _needs_ to go by the book."_

"C'mon Yuri" he begged, knowing that she would relent if he kept up the pressure. "I've been waiting _eight years _for this" he reminded, knowing that even she hadn't been on the trail of the Kingpin that long. To have this moment of triumph so close only to have it snatched away because he was benched would not happen if he had any say in the matter.

An ambivalent quiet stretched for the next few seconds, each passing tick meaning that Yuri's resolved was cracking and it was a matter of time before she relented. _"You really want to help?"_ she asked, Peter having to resist the temptation to backflip in joy as he soared over the packed streets. _"Head to Times Square, sounds like his guys are trying to keep my backup from reaching the scene…"_

"You got it!" he cut off, already veering in the right direction. "Almost there" he called out before ending the call and swinging with renewed vigor. His determination was short lived, quickly interrupted by the sound of the phone built into mis mask ringing. Overcoming his surprise, he answered with a questioning "Hello?"

"_Parker?"_ asked Otto_, "where are you?"_ continued the scientist. _"We must run through the demonstration at least once before the grant committee arrives" _he reminded. _Shit, was that today? _Thought Peter, his mind having fixated on other things as he quickly pushed this aside too.

"Uhh, yes. Sorry, yes" he managed dumbly. "Dealing with a…personal issue" he said, which technically wasn't a lie as he continued towards Times Square. "I'll be in soon, promise" he allayed before ending the call and groaning. "Better wrap this up quick and get to my 'real' job" he mused.

He noticed that the helicopter he had been tailing had been joined by half a dozen police cars on the street below, all heading towards the same place, and into the same mess. A gaggle of gunmen, all dressed in purple, emerged into the street, the chatter of automatic gunfire echoed through the square as rounds shredded the lead police cars. No sooner had the cruisers come to a halt had the officers got out and took cover, drawing their sidearms and returning fire despite being hopelessly outgunned.

From his vantage far above the action, Spider-Man watched as the gunmen advanced, keeping up the attack and covering each other's reloads until one held up his hand and the guns fell silent. Perched on the edge of a roof, Peter prepared to jump down when his spider sense warbled deeply in the back of his skull and he got his eyes up and scanning to spot an oil tanker barreling down the road before slamming into the line of police cars.

The blue and white sedans were tossed like toys as cops ran and dove for cover, the tanker climbing up and over one before coming to an abrupt halt with the aid of a building before the fuel it was carrying went up in a towering fireball. Even so high up, Peter threw up his arm to shield himself from the blast as a wave of heat washed over him before he surveyed the carnage below. Debris was strewn across the street as his enhanced eyes picked up movement, locking onto a formation of gunmen that waded through the devastation.

It was time to make his presence felt.

Springing from the rooftop, he fired a webline to give himself some forward momentum before expertly firing a series of lines at the weapons held by Fisk's men. Effortlessly yanking the guns from their hands and tossing them away, he flipped over before ripping the last weapon away and coming down in front of the group. "Morning guys" he greeted happily, smiling dumbly behind his mask. "Who's ready for their hot fresh cup of bodily harm?" quipped the wallcrawler.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he had a large queue of customers lining up. Seizing the initiative, he used his webshooters to pull himself to the leader before throwing a punch that staggered his target. To their credit, Fisk's goons reacted quickly, with one quickly coming up from behind as Parker planted his left foot on the leader's chest and the right under his chin as he pushed off and rolled to his feet.

From there, the spandex clad superhero was a flurry of motion. Seamlessly flowing between punches, kicks, and dodges while incorporating his web shooters to zip around the square and web gunmen to cars and the street. When the third enforcer fell, he turned to the last one, "gotta warn ya', I'm feeling punchy today" he joked before leaping towards him with a roundhouse kick that could have snapped his neck if Peter hadn't held back. Before he could recover, Spiderman threw a pair of punches that knocked him to the street before a few strategically placed blobs of webbing ensured he stayed there.

But there was no rest for the wicked as a dump truck plowed onto the scene and more gunmen dismounted. His spider sense was ringing so loudly that he didn't need to look to know that they were all focused on him as he flipped and dodged to the side. "Just shoot him already!" snarled one of them as they took a moment to adjust their aim. That split second was all he needed as he crouched down and thrust both his hands out, middle and ring fingers curled back into his palm as both webshooters dispensed their payload, webbing the two pistol wielding men to the side of the truck.

While the devices hissed as the now empty cylinders were ejected and fresh ones were automatically cycled into the chamber through a loading system concealed in the wristbands. Cooper had actually come up with that, explain that the system was a scaled down version of one used in something called a 'Sidewinder'.

Despite the swiftness of said process, Peter didn't want to waste time lest he miss the main event. Leaping forwards, he tucked his shoulder down and planted his hands on the blacktop before using them to spring himself forwards and his two feet connecting with the man's chest, sending him careening back and into the cab before he slumped to the ground, unconscious. "Who knew Fisk had so many guys on his payroll?" he mused as more gunmen emerged.

A click signified his webshooters as ready once more and he wasted no time in using them.

Firing a pair of weblines at the last man in the pack, he pulled himself to him, his body flying through the air while flat on his back, feet out in front. The rib cracking impact had the wind knocked out of the recipient and sent him down before Spider-Man ducked an unseen attack and retaliated with a sweep of his leg when the phone in his mask rang._ "Spider-Man, what's your status?" _asked a clearly winded Watanabe while Peter began throwing a series of punches at the next thug to approach him.

"Almost done here, you?" he asked as he did a bicycle kick that caused his foot to drop like a sledgehammer on the top of a man's head, putting him down for the count. No sooner was he back on the ground then he surged the opposite way, planting a trio of blows in a Kevlar vest before a final uppercut sent the Fisk man skywards before two weblines brought him back down to earth just as quickly.

"_We're about to go in"_ informed the Cop as he heard a few distinct pings of bullets impacting metal in the background and he picked up the pace.

Despite the dispatched goons and the now reorganizing police, more purple adorned enforcers emerged to challenge the vigilante. "Be there soon" he assured as he picked out the one who was the farthest from the others and pulled himself to him. "Can't wait to see Willie's face when you slap the cuffs on him" said Peter encouragingly as he dodged an incoming punch and responded with two of his own before disconnecting the call. "Let's take this upstairs" he quipped.

One of the hardest things for him to learn had been how to fight while airborne, but after a lot of practice and years of not getting it _exactly_ right, he could now claim to have mastered it. Pulling one thug up required immense strength and caused him to drop, but a quick pair of punches stunned the thug enough for the webhead to plant two feet on his back and launch himself further up and repeat the process.

The second to last goon was hoisted up and kicked not down, but further up. The move caused Spiderman to descend rapidly, but not before he twisted around and fired a pair of weblines that he used to reverse momentum. Yanking down hard, his strength worked against itself as he shot higher before flipping and diving back down on the last one like a bat out of hell.

In one last demonstration of his superhuman abilities, the Wallcrawler used his webshooters to yank the man up off his feet as he front flipped, sending the man through a loop before flinging him into a smashed taxi. With Times Square now silent once again, the crackling of small fires and shouts of police and the muffled moans of the wounded notwithstanding, Peter pressed his hand to the side of his mask. "Ok Yuri, all done. What's happening…" he began only to be cut off when a massive explosion went off, the streets trembled, and the shockwave reverberated through the city. "Yuri? YURI!" shouted the Wall crawler as he sprinted off and fired a webline to pull himself upwards, hoping that the Captain was okay.

* * *

A snarling Captain Watanabe bit back a curse as she raised her Rhino and fired the weapon one handed. Yuri couldn't suppress the smile that flickered across her features as she saw one of the purple clad gunmen stagger and fall, red painting the wall behind him before she ducked behind the SWAT truck. Every part of her policeman's mind was screaming at her that she shouldn't want this, but the part that was Yuri at it's very core screamed back that for every one of her people Fisk sent to the hospital, she would send two of his to the morgue.

Bringing the radio in her off-hand up to her face, she brought out her Captain voice, "get more backup!" she barked before tacking on, "and lock down the airspace" before turning her eyes skyward. _Anytime now Spider-Man, or Marauder, I'm not that picky _she groused internally, and more gunfire filled the air before the van she was hiding behind 'thunked' loudly and she spun around.

She almost sighed in relief as she was the red and blue form of the Webslinger hanging casually off the van, sticking there as only he could as he looked down at her, the blank white eyes betraying no emotion. "Yuri, you okay?" he asked, always the caring type and focused on the unimportant questions.

Watanabe quickly refocused on the priority and was about to speak when she heard a distinct whoosh and turned to see a dark green blur sliding across the ground before coming to a stop and popping up to his feet beside her. The Marauder was the tallest of the three, aided by his helmet, and the bulkiest, with broad shoulders and covered in armor and pouches nearly bursting at the seams with gear. A stark contrast to the slim and sleek Wallcrawler, but Yuri now did sigh with relief, the Cavalry had well and truly arrived. Recomposing herself, her eyes darted between the two vigilantes before she spoke. "If he makes it out of that building, we're gonna lose him."

The Marauder merely nodded in affirmation, his orange and white SMG pointed skyward while Yuri noticed the protrusion of a sniper rifle on his back. The sound of Spider-Man's voice took her attention away from that observation, "I'm gonna go, uh…" he began as he pointed toward the fortified entrance to Fisk Tower.

Yuri gave an affirming nod after seeing another gunman emerge and unleash a stream of fire that sent more officers cowering behind whatever cover they could find. "Do your thing."

"Yes!" he said happily, clenching a fist before coiling and launching himself away and springing into the fight. The Marauder began to step up, the kit on his back flaring as licks of flame appeared behind him and he readied his weapon.

Before he too could get stuck in, Yuri jammed her hand with the radio in it against his chest. "You know how to use that thing?" she asked, eyes darting to the rifle slung over his shoulder. In response, the Pilot merely tilted his helmet down, the slight move and blank visor being enough to convey exactly what was in his head, 'What do you think?'. _Smart ass_ she thought as she shook her head minutely. "Well then get up there and take out these guys in the windows, I need the heat taken off my people" she shouted as more gunfire rained down on the NYPD and she pointed up at one of the building opposite Fisk Tower.

In response, the Renegade SRS soldier pulled the rifle off his back and yanked the charging handle back, chambering the first round. "With pleasure" he said flatly before raising his left arm. His grapple shot out and pulled him skyward as he began his ascent.

Looking out, she could see that her people were already charging through the hail of gunfire as the first men ascended the steps of Fisk Tower and rushed into the lobby. Part of her wanted to charge in there with them, but it only took one look at the wounded Officers to make her decide to stay where she was and help them, safe in the knowledge that she had unleashed her own hounds of hell.

* * *

Cooper scaled the building like a mountain climber, only much faster. His Jump kit propelled him to out of reach hand holds and his Exo allowed him to hang with just one hand despite the weight of his gear. Longbow DMR still clutched in his right hand as he ascended the building in leaps and bounds until he reached a fourteenth-floor window and jammed the barrel of the rifle through the glass panes before pulling himself through.

As soon as he was inside, he brought the rifle up, holding it cockeyed to look through the canted HCOG sight he found himself in a small living room. Satisfied that he wouldn't get shot in the back, the Marauder ripped the window out of the sill and tossed it on the floor before unfolding the stubby bipod on the rifle and placing it in the window. No sooner was the rifle set up then the proximity alert in his HUD going haywire as he spun, seamlessly drawing the MK6 from his chest rig and raising it at the new arrival.

Just as soon as he did, he pointed the Smart Pistol up as he looked at the clearly distressed Betty Brant, wearing her sleeping clothes and wielding a baseball bat. "Fancy meeting you here Ms. Brant" said Cooper dryly, "sorry to disturb you, but I need to borrow your window here." he said, gesturing towards the set-up rifle. Brant nodded dumbly as she lowered the Louisville Slugger, "Mighty kind of ya'" drawled the Renegade Gunfighter before adding, "you might want to grab some cover and cover your ears."

With that, he reached out with his foot and pulled a stool to the sill before setting himself on it and shouldering the Longbow. Left hand wrapped around the foregrip as he pressed the stock into his shoulder and began scanning for targets as his radio crackled to life. _"Marauder! We're getting pummeled down here, what's your status?" _shouted Watanabe.

Cooper found his first target, a gunman half hanging out of a sixth story window, the twinkle of muzzle flash catching his eye as the scope autozoomed and focused, accounting for range, wind, atmospheric pressure and a dozen other factors. The Pilot drew a deep breath, "Going loud" he responded as he emptied his lungs and steadied the reticle before pulling the trigger.

The 8.19mm+P arc cored blue tipped projectile slammed into the gunman's shoulder, the force of the impact sent him spinning as his body seized up and he dropped his rifle out the window before falling to the floor. From there, the Marauder slipped into a familiar rhythm.

_Acquire target._

_Breathe in fast._

_Release slow._

_Pull._

_Repeat. _

Every two seconds, the DMR cracked in testament to the efficiency of the coolly focused Texan, only pausing after twelve seconds to swap magazines before resuming his work. When the second magazine was spent, he reloaded and searched for more targets, only to come up with none. Pulling his head back from the scope, he knew something was off when he still clearly heard gunfire, but didn't see anyone shooting, until he looked up. Pressing his hand to the comms module on the side of the helmet, Cooper reported what he saw, "Captain, we may have a problem."

"_Yeah, I see it too"_ she responded as they both looked up at the streams of tracers pouring from the upper floors and slamming into the police helicopters circling the building. _"Spider-Man's cleared the lobby and is heading towards the server room to secure evidence. I need you to cover our choppers, how much ammo do you have left?"_

Cooper didn't even need to check before responding, "12 rounds of each." They both knew what that meant, _not enough_. There was no way he could manage to clear the skies, not with the amount of manpower the Kingpin was bringing to bear.

Yuri bit back a curse as she mulled over the options. _"Cover Spider-Man instead, we chop the head off the snake and the body dies. Hopefully we can get it done quick enough that it isn't an issue."_ They both knew it was wishful thinking, but either way they were up against the clock, though they didn't know how much time was on it.

"We'll get it done" he assured before cutting the link and working at his TACPAD before a marker appeared on his HUD as he made an outgoing call. "Spidey, it's Marauder" he addressed as he shifted the rifle ahead of the outline of the crawling webslinger. "I'm in the building opposite you and ready to support."

"_Happy to hear it Matt, I can hear gunfire just ahead"_ responded the wallcrawler as Cooper shifted his point of aim and soon had a purple clad gunman sighted up and pulled the trigger. The round streaked across and sliced through the armored vest like it wasn't even there, turning the targets stomach and intestines into mincemeat before coming out the other side with energy to spare. The Webhead pulled himself across the gap and began mixing it up with the thugs as Cooper shifted targets. _"What kinda ammo are you using Marauder?!"_ shouted Peter.

But for the moment, Cooper ignored him as he saw one of the Fisk goons try to get up.

_Acquire target._

_Breathe in fast._

_Release slow._

_Pull._

When he saw the man spin and fall back to the ground, the Pilot answered, "The only kind I have that will go through the glass" he deadpanned. Already had the Renegade Pilot acquired another target before the rifle cracked again and the man's knee was ripped out from under him as he crumpled to the floor just in time to catch an uppercut from Spidey on his way down before he was webbed to the railing.

Another wave of guards emerged from the server room as soon as the initial group was dispatched, both vigilantes shifting to engage them. The Longbow's distinct report sounded again as the round streaked past Spiderman's shoulder with a _snap_ before slicing through a goon's thigh as the Webhead followed the hypersonic round and slammed his foot into the wound. "That better not have been meant for me." Cooper merely snorted at the notion as he lined up the next target as Spidey toyed with a poor guy in mid air, relegating the others to stand there dumbly, forgetting a Sniper was picking them off one by one.

Emptying the magazine with extreme prejudice, Cooper ensured that when Spiderman came back to ground there was nothing left for him to do but web the wounded. "How're you doing over there, pal?" asked Cooper as he continued to scan, his friend moving up yet another floor.

"_Looking good"_ responded the Wallcrawler, _"I'm going into the server room now, as soon as I can find a sneaky entrance…that'll do"_ he said as Cooper watched the webhead flip as he pulled himself up into a ventilation shaft. _"Heh, it's like I got my own private ventrance"_ said Peter.

Matthew groaned audibly, "You did not just say that" he said before cutting the line and beginning to pack up the rifle. Turning away from the window with the DMR of his shoulder and the CAR in hand, he saw Betty poking her head up over the sofa. "Not to repeat myself, but would you kindly point me towards the elevators Ms. Brant?" he asked.

After a moment, the secretary knocked herself from her stupor, "uh, sure thing" she said as she turned around and opened the door. "Down this hall and make a left, they'll be on your right" she provided with matching hand gestures.

"'Preciate it" he drawled in reply, before reaching into one of the small pouches and pulling out a roll of bills. "Sorry about the window" he quipped dryly before giving a half salute and moving on. Pressing the call button on the elevator, the Marauder got another incoming call notification. "Seems I'm popular today" he mused as the elevator arrived and he stepped in only to press the emergency stop and bust through the panel in the ceiling.

"_Pilot, do you require assistance?"_ warbled the monotone of BT. _"Reports indicate the NYPD are suffering heavy losses"_ informed the Vanguard class titan as it's pilot bounced back and forth up the shaft. _"If this chassis is not required, Frank Castle and Matt Murdock are in the AO and are reachable."_

"No need Buddy" answered Cooper quickly. The last thing they needed was more meat for the grinder and with so many police around bringing the Punisher in particular would be inviting trouble. "Just remain in standby, monitor the airspace, if Fisk boards a helicopter you are cleared to engage" he ordered before adding, "terminate with extreme prejudice."

As expected, the machine did not hesitate. _"Understood Pilot"_ responded BT before terminating the connection. BT-7274 was once again the Marauder's ace in the hole; the 40 ton war machine was the most powerful weapon at his disposal. It was clear that here the duo was even more unbeatable then when they were on Typhon.

The only thing that stayed his hand was using the metal monster was gross overkill in most situations, hence why the Titan had only seen combat twice in the last year. There was considerable speculation about what exactly had befallen Kingpin's convoy or Rawlins's compound, but only a handful of people knew what was truly responsible for the carnage. Deep down, Matthew Cooper was glad that he hadn't needed to call upon the steel monster any more than he had.

As soon as he emerged from the elevator shaft and onto the roof, he spun to face Fisk Tower as a series of explosions rocked the building, the rolling thunder carried across the island as Matt watched the fireballs erupt from the building. Debris rained down on the streets below as the Pilot ducked and rolled away from the bits that peppered the rooftop like hail. "Holy shit" he said in astonishment as his eyes scanned the skies and he noticed that the number of police helicopters had dropped from three to two.

He needed to get back in the fight. "Yuri" he called over the radio, hand pressed to the comm module on his helmet, "I need a lift to the top of the Tower, can you help me out?" asked the Marauder. Despite his outward calm, an astute observer would notice the tensing of his hands, the jitters, not because of what he was about to do, but what he currently _wasn't _doing.

"_Wait one"_ responded the Captain tensely, Cooper knew that chances were she wanted nothing more than to come with him and get stuck in. Watanabe was very much a 'lead from the front' type and being relegated to spectator was probably killing her._ "One of the choppers is coming down to get you, give Fisk my regards."_

"Gladly" responded the Marauder before cutting the link and pulling out a signal flare to mark his position. He watched as one of the two helicopters dropped down towards him and he fired his grappling hook up and pulled himself inside the helicopter. "Thanks for the lift" he called to the pilot as the chopper began to ascend.

Cooper may have been humming the opening bars of 'Fortunate Son' inside his helmet as he sat on the lip of the floor, legs dangling off the side. "Where do you wanna go Marauder?" asked the Chopper jockey as the NYPD helo circled the tower.

Just as he was about to call out where to go, a stream of tracers tore through the sky and peppered the aluminum skin of the helicopter. Smoke began to belch from the damaged engine as the chopper lurched forwards and the Renegade Pilot changed his mind. "Just take me up, get me above the building and I'll jump from there" he called, not bothered by the lack of a response as the pilots wrestled with the controls. Surely enough, the wounded bird climbed despite the punishment it had sustained. Cooper pulled himself all the way into the helo and stood in the compartment as his eyes scanned the building. "RPG!" barked the Marauder as he raised the Sub Gun and loosed a burst.

"Shit" growled the helo pilot as he tried desperately to evade by throwing the chopper across the sky, the move only serving to throw of Coopers aim long enough for Fisk's man to fire the rocket just before the vigilante's rounds found their mark. In slow motion, the Gunfighter saw the purple clad man fall, blood erupting from his chest and head as the rocket streaked towards them, straight and true.

But the New Yorkers abrupt move saved all of their lives, the tail swung around to present the narrower profile of the nose to the rocket, but the wounded bird hadn't responded quite fast enough. The Marauder was knocked form his feet as the chopper was rocked by the impact, the feeling didn't let up as massive vibrations shook the mortally wounded bird.

Matthew desperately searched for a handhold as he slid towards the open door, abandoning his weapon as he neared the edge before he got hold of the side of the helicopter just in time to look down and see his SMG fall into the streets below. Any thoughts about his lost gun were overshadowed by the screams of terror he heard as his head snapped up to see the helo's crew chief slide towards the open door of the listing helicopter. With his free hand, the Marauder managed to latch onto the flailing arm of the man, muscles and servos straining as Cooper fought to suspend himself and his passenger with one arm against the spinning and vibrating chopper.

Down below, he caught a glimpse of the building they were passing over, Fisk Tower, his objective. Without hesitation, Matthew let go and the two began a free fall, the Jump Kit firing in protest to gravity as the automated systems automatically accounted for the extra weight and short distance to the 'ground.' Just as they were about to hit, Cooper heaved the cop up, using his own strength to fight gravity and soften his passenger's impact just a little bit more.

Even still, the impact was visceral and intense as time seemed to speed back up, Cooper having to resist the urge to fight his tumble across the rooftop and just take the beating. When he finally came to a stop, the Marauder groaned and forced himself to his feet, ignoring the aches and pains that racked his body and the small red spots forming on his gear. His first act was to unsling and check his DMR, despite the main scope being irrepealably damaged, the rifle itself was intact. A cough caused the glowing visor to scan until he caught sight of the wounded policeman sprawled out on the roof. With a flare of the kit, the Pilot leapt over to him and skidded to a stop. "You alright?" asked the Marauder.

The man removed his flight helmet and shook his head, fear in his eyes. "My legs…they don't work!" he shouted in near panic. Even if Cooper wasn't a doctor, it was obvious why, they were both clearly broken, bent at inadvisable angles, one was so bad that Matt could see the bone protruding from the skin.

"I need to move you. We're too exposed here" said Cooper as he scanned the small deck they were on and found it clear…for the moment. "It's going to hurt like hell, so I'm giving you something for the pain" he said as he injected a small dime sized pack full of nerve numbing agent into the man's midsection, "you ready?"

Before he could get a response, Cooper felt like someone kicked him in the chest as a neat third eye appeared on the wounded Cop. On reflex, he activated his phase shift and ran towards the edge of the roof, drawing his Smart Pistol just as the shift ended and he craned his neck to see a dozen armed men engaging him.

Leaping off the edge of the building, he turned in midair and hovered as he lined up the pistol, firing four rounds and seeing four men drop to the floor before the hover ended and he dropped out of danger. _"MARAUDER!"_ came the voice of Yuri over the radio_, "are you alright?"_ she screamed.

"Can't kill me Captain" responded the Pilot in a snarl as he fired his grapple and swung towards the large set of windows at the center of the tower, firing his MK6 to weaken the glass as he caught sight of a familiar red form on the opposite side. "It's time for payback" snarled the Pilot as he drew a gravity star before his feet slammed into the glass, shattering it.

Soaring over the floor, the Pilot hurled the shuriken and watched as three goons were all sucked into the vortex just in time for the Wallcrawler to grab a fourth and slam the webbed-up man into the group like they were bowling pins. "STRIKE!" yelled the webhead jubilantly as Cooper fell to the ground. "Nice of you to drop in Marauder" greeted Spider-Man as the Marauder reloaded and holstered his weapon.

"I'm not missing this party" he growled lowly in reply before keying his radio. "Yuri, I've linked up with Spider-Man and we're advancing" reported the SRS Pilot over the comms as he scanned the area before the pair moved towards the large and opulent double doors.

"_Copy that"_ answered the Captain_. "Be advised, the chopper you were on was our last one, if Fisk gets on a bird now, he's going to get away" _she said, worry worming her way into her usually commanding tones.

Cooper's lip quirked upwards behind his helmet, "for his sake Captain" he replied lowly, "I hope he doesn't try. Marauder out." Drawing the longbow, he swapped magazines back to the lower velocity arc rounds, with only twelve shots he would have to make them count. "Ready" he said, turning and nodding to the Webhead.

"Let's go say hi then" replied Parker as he fired a pair of weblines at the doors and pulled them open effortlessly before the two moved inside. Their pace was brisk, Cooper waving his rifle around on alert as they leapt over a pile of flaming rubble that blocked their path. "Man, how'd the bomb squad guys get through this?" mused the superhero.

"Who says they did" replied the Marauder grimly, grip tightening on his weapon as they emerged into a nearly untouched area. As soon as the pair rounded the corner, they saw more of Fisk's men waiting for them at the top of the stairs.

"He's here!" shouted one as Cooper snapped the rifle up and loosed a shot, the arc round slamming to one, center mass, electricity surged through him, causing his nerves to burn and muscles to contract as he fell to the floor before the sensory overload caused him to pass out.

"Fuck! The Marauder's here too!" yelled another as the Webslinger leapt into action, pulling himself to one. Unable to effectively engage the henchmen with such a fast moving friendly mixed up with them, Cooper slung the Longbow over his shoulder and charged, leaping up and launching himself off a wall, fists crackling with arc energy. "Get him!" shouted the thug before a punch knocked him back before Cooper wrapped his hands around his head as he thrust himself up with his jump kit, slamming his knee into the man's chin.

Seeing a group of goons, he primed and tossed an arc grenade before squeezing his left hand and entering the phase shift. With the Marauder temporarily displaced, all the Fisk guards focused on the wallcrawler, who deftly fired a webline at the grenade and redirected it towards the purple clad strongmen. Just as Spider-Man launched himself off a wall at the screaming group, the Marauder appeared behind them, charging in like a bull before jumping and kicking. His momentum meant he drove through the action, planting the recipient on the ground before continuing his attack, grabbing the next man up by the collar with his right and pinning him to the wall before bashing him with his left elbow and following it up with three gut punches and a final knockout uppercut.

"Batter up!" yelled the Queens Native as he swung the last goon over his head and Matthew unslung the DMR, grabbing it by the barrel shroud and swinging it like a baseball bat, the stock connecting and cracking the goons skull as Peter released him and webbed the KO'ed criminal to the floor.

Slinging the rifle back into place, Cooper looked down at the man, "and you're out" he deadpanned. Surveying the room, the Marauder almost felt bad, the men didn't stand a chance against the two vigilantes. The temporary lull in the action, and adrenaline, caused the Texan to mull over how lopsided the fight had been before pushing such thoughts aside and move onto the next one.

"The bomb squad must be somewhere up ahead" assumed the Webhead, but after seeing the carnage, Cooper didn't expect to be getting any help this close to the Kingpins office. Cooper held his tongue however; his cynicism wasn't exactly welcomed by his friend in red and blue. So when the two pushed through the next door to see a group of men in NYPD blue and SWAT gear mulling around, the Pilot immediately tensed, flexing his hands as his blue eyes narrowed. The Wallcrawler, however, seemed less concerned, swinging casually over to them. "You guys alright?"

One of the men separated from the bunch, "We were just about to call for backup" he reported as the others turned to face the two friends. The x shaped visor swung from side to side, sizing them up and the man behind it unable to shake the feeling that something was _off_.

"You're looking at it" answered Cooper wryly, noting the seemingly approving nods the men gave each other. Looking to the one with an actual sixth sense to see if he was showing any unease, he saw Spider-Man looking completely calm and collected as he returned the nod.

"Lead the way" said the bomb squad officer as the group parted to allow the vigilantes to pass through. "We'll be right behind you" he assured. As the pair stepped past the Pilot couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right, Cooper subtly pulled an electric smoke grenade from his belt and thumbed at the ring. His helmet turned slightly, he watched as Peter tensed, eye lenses narrowing. That was all the indication Matthew needed to spring into action.

He rolled away, activating his cloak as Spider-Man leapt up and back, ripping the rifle away from one of the Cops and slinging it back at its wielder, knocking him to the ground. "So you guys were in bed with Fisk the whole time?" asked a bewildered Peter as Cooper snuck up behind one Cop and jammed the grenade in his vest before kicking him forwards as the grenade went off. "Aww, now I'll never get that image out of my head" he bemoaned as two cops charged the Spider themed hero from opposite sides.

A SWAT Man with a shield charged at Cooper as he drew his axe and leapt up, jump kit flaming as he held the tomahawk high before crashing back down, the weapon digging into the riot shield. With all of his might, he ripped the shield away and kicked the man in the knee, driving him to the ground before he swung the axe with shield attached, slamming the man in the head so hard the axe separated itself from the shield. "That all you got?" called out Cooper as he ran at the next, rolling to the side to dodge a punch before coming up behind him.

In a swift series of moves, the Pilot knocked the cop up into the air before firing his grappling hook and using it to slam the dirty cop back down into the tile floor. "So your plan didn't work huh?" asked Spider-Man as he webbed up another cop, "onto plan B, getting kicked in the face" snarked the wallcrawler as he added to his own tally. Coming up to the second shield man, he jumped up and planted both feet on the shield, leaping back and firing a pair of weblines. While the dirty officer was still staggering he shot forwards, between the man's legs before leaping up and planting his foot in the back of his skull before moving onto the next.

With one last acrobatic finishing move from the Webslinger, the area was secure, the moans and struggles of cops the only noise competing with the small crackle of a fire. "Yuri" said the Wallcrawler, finger pressed to his ear. "Looks like some of your guys were on Fisk's payroll" he reported dutifully. "Good news is they were Willie's last line of defense. We're right outside his office."

"_Take him down, _NOW_"_ ordered Yuri.

"With pleasure" replied both vigilantes simultaneously as Cooper drew his Smart Pistol and the pair marched up to the door. Opening it, the duo moved inside, the Pilot scanning, pistol up and at the ready as they moved past the numerous antiques and pieces of fine artwork. The massive and well-lit space had windows on all sides, giving a commanding view of the city below as the room seemed to flow towards a single point, a massive cherry wood desk.

If the desk itself was imposing, then the man sitting behind it was downright intimidating. The walking, breathing mountain that was Wilson Fisk was wearing a well-tailored black suit with purple striped tie, busy at work, seemingly unaware and unperturbed at the chaos beyond his door. Leaping up onto a pillar, Cooper's partner made their presence known. "Writing your memoirs? Don't forget the hyphen between 'Spider' and 'Man'" reminded the snarky webhead.

Cooper stepped out into view, MK6 leveled and trained on the Kingpin as he calmly set the pen down on the desk. "Hopefully that was your will, because if you try anything funny, you're going to need one" taunted Cooper darkly. Fisk merely sent the Marauder an annoyed glance before casting a similar look at the webslinger.

Keying the intercom at his desk, Fisk said calmly, "Get the chopper ready, I won't be long." With that, the crime lord slowly stood up, cracking his knuckles as he picked something up off the desk. Calling Cooper's bluff, he turned and began to walk away, the Smart Pistol still aimed at the back of his head. "I'm surprised you both made it this far" said Fisk, a tinge of irritation in his voice. "But your foolishness…ends now" said Fisk as he keyed the remote, a sheet of glass coming down in front of him as Cooper fired, the rounds burying themselves in the glass harmlessly. The man behind it merely looked down at the slugs in surprise as the corner of his mouth twitched up for a moment.

"Uh…" began the Webslinger as he jumped and flipped down from his perch, "you _do _know I can still see you, right?" he asked sarcastically as the pair advanced. The Marauder was contemplating if a breach charge would manage to not kill Fisk before dismissing it and considering other options.

But the Kingpin had other plans it seemed, "Eight years of this…_insolence_" he growled before the pillars to either side of them opened to reveal wicked looking turrets inside, the miniguns each had spooling up with a distinct and ominous whine.

The Wallcrawler looked back and forth at the two while the Marauder backed up, scanning for any more threats and coming up empty. "For us? You shouldn't have" quipped Spider-Man before the weapons roared. The wallcrawler flipped away as a stream of traces went through where he was a scant millisecond prior as the gunfighter activated his phase shift once more to evade the other turret.

While ripped from reality, Cooper took the opportunity to draw a pair of Firestars and change the angle, sprinting to his left, away from Spiderman and towards the edge of the room before leaping as he felt his body get yanked back to reality. Spinning as he dove forwards until he was on his back, he tossed both pieces of ordinance at the nearest turret as it spun to reacquire him, barrels spinning back up to speed as the Firestars struck home.

Cooper's visor darkened to block out the intense light of the two thermite payloads melting through the defenses with ease when one burned to the ammo feed and set off the rounds, blowing one of the guns off as the other's supports were so melted it drooped and fell silent. There was a massive crash as the Webslinger ripped the other turret from its mount and heaved it at the glass sheltering Fisk, causing a spiderweb of cracks to form from the impact. "Spidey!" yelled out Cooper, "double tap" ordered the Marauder as he gestured with his Smart Pistol. The webhead didn't hesitate, immediately using his weblines and strength to shear the mounting of the second sentry gun and give it the same purpose as the first.

The Kingpin raised his massive arms to cover his face form the shattered safety glass before dropping them to reveal his snarling visage as he stepped back into the office. "How is this happening?" he roared as he fixed a dangerous glare at the two vigilantes.

The Pilot bent his knees as he turned the MK6 45 degrees, the combat axe in his left hand as lightning danced over his fingers. The bloody skull on the side of the scarred helmet, the dirt and blood-stained armor, glowing visor, and array of ordnance on his person made him appear every bit of the battle-hardened foe he was. To many it was an intimidating sight, and Cooper preferred it that way.

All of that was undone by his buddy, who casually strolled towards the crime lord, hands held out nonchalantly. "What's wrong Willie?" he asked conversationally. Matthew rolled his eyes before sending a sideways glance to his friend that clearly went unnoticed. "You seem angry" pointed out the webhead sarcastically.

"I will DESTROY you" vowed Fisk as he charged forwards, massive hands raised above his head before slamming them down into his desk, shattering it into several pieces. With seemingly no effort on his part, the breathing mountain picked up the largest piece and threw it at the two as they both dove away.

Rolling into a crouch, Cooper leveled the pistol, "Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough" he snarled through grit teeth as he waited for the pistol to lock on and triggered it, the 9mm bucking once in his hand right as Fisk began to charge.

But the round didn't even seem to register to the Kingpin as he bored into the duo, both going skyward as the human bull rushed past them. Cooper instantly swapped magazines, chambering the first of 12 'dumb' arc rounds into the MK6 as both he and Spider-Man unleashed a sustained assault on Fisk. Webbing and shock rounds slammed into the suited Kingpin, restricting his movement in their own ways. Without any need to communicate, both rushed forwards, the red and blue in the air and the mean green sliding across the ground.

Spider-Man was slightly faster, his punch knocking the big bald head down just in time to see the Marauder launch himself up and plant his left fist in the man's gut before a right cross slammed into his face. Firing his grapple, Cooper pulled himself up and away to clear the path for the webhead to perform a somersault that led into a savage kick. Instead of going down, Fisk roared with raw fury as he strained against the webs until they reached their breaking point. "You'll both die as uselessly as you lived" sneered the Kingpin as he charged again, singling out the Marauder this time as he squared up to the Pilot.

Unbeknownst to Fisk, the Pilot, with adrenaline pumping, grinned evilly behind his helmet, left hand pulling an arc grenade free as his plan came into motion. Spider-Man's enhanced eyes clearly noticed the millisecond where his friend disappeared from sight before reappearing, right where he had been. Fisk, in his blind rage, hadn't noticed and charged straight into, and through, the Marauder's hologram. Before that could register, the Kingpin slammed headlong into a concrete pillar, staggering even him as the Marauders cloak fell away and the grenade landed at Fisk's feet.

"Buckle up Marauder!" called Spidey as he fired a webline at his friend before throwing him at the staggered crime lord feet first. The pair of combat boots slammed into the Kingpins barrel chest, but instead of pushing off, Cooper's left hand reached out and seized the man's tie before the green striped helmet slammed down onto Fisk's forehead. Firing the jump kit, Cooper went up and over, still holding onto the tie as he maneuvered around the Crime Boss like he was a Titan, planting his feet in Fisks lower back, he wrapped the tie around his neck and _pulled_.

Growling angrily, Cooper knew he wouldn't actually be able to strangle the Kingpin with his own tie, but he did get Fisk to panic as his massive hands pawed at the article of clothing. "Come get some" he yelled through grit teeth as Spiderman got the message and charged in, a rapid fire series of punches finding their mark before one of Fisk's massive elbows reared back and slammed into Cooper's leg, knocking him loose before the hands grabbed him by his straps and pulled him over the top and into the Wallcrawler, sending both sprawling back and into a wall.

Only they didn't stop, instead going straight through it and sliding across the floor on the other side. Groaning, they didn't have time to regroup as Fisk barreled towards them, and in the narrow space, neither could get dodge away. Cooper, however, could pull away from reality altogether. With a twitch, his world was black and white as he got to his feet and took the moment to draw the Longbow and shoulder the DMR before he came back, being greeted by a second large hole that led into another room.

Inside that next room, kingpin and his goons surrounded Spider-Man until all focused on the Marauder as they heard the sound of the bolt of the Longbow close with a metallic slap. "Now it's a fight" he said dryly, the rifle coming up tilted as it swung from side to side. "Spider, you take the big man, I got the help?" he suggested flatly, getting a nod in return. "Alright then, let's dance."

The Longbows report rumbled like thunder in the enclosed space, as one, then two, and finally three shots were fired in quick succession, trimming the number of foes down by a quarter. Meanwhile, Spider-Man began dueling with Fisk, flinging a trash can at him before following it up with a salvo of webbing before moving into hand to hand range. While the webhead wailed away on the crime lord, the Marauder was forced to ultra CQC as well, holding up the rifle to block a punch before shoving the attacker back and slamming the stock of the rifle into his face before rolling away and firing again at point blank range into the man's gut.

Matt had no time to celebrate as his proximity alert blared and he swung the rifle around only for it to get kicked away before another boot slammed into him, knocking him onto his back as he grabbed the Smart Pistol and raised it, firing rapidly at the four men bearing down on him, each getting two in the chest until the magazine ran dry. Instead of reloading, the Pilot went on the attack, raising his left arm at the next man up and firing his grapple. The hook buried itself in his Kevlar vest as the Pilot accelerated towards him and took his legs out before getting back to his feet.

Across the room, Spider-Man and Kingpin clashed once more as the next wave of goons crashed through the doors, fists ready. But those were no match for gravity stars as the shuriken like ordinance buried themselves in the ground at their feet, the dark blue orbs drawing the purple clad enforcers in. With the reprieve, Cooper reloaded the MK6 and began picking off the flailing thugs one by one until the mini black holes collapsed and exploded. From there, there was even less resistance as he pumped a shot into each of them.

A massive crash caused Cooper to snap his head to the source just in time to see Kingpin and Spiderman fall through a shattered panel of glass into the massive atrium below. The Marauder leapt through the same hole and watched as the wallcrawler gained the upper hand, driving Fisk through a bridge down below as the three men continued to fall. But the crime boss turned the tide just as quickly, getting the upper hand on the next platform and carelessly tossing the webhead over the edge. But the Marauder was boring down on the Kingpin, jump kit firing to deliver a brutal spinning kick to the head before leaping away, kit propelling him even further.

As his feet found solid ground and he skidded across the broken glass, Matt turned to see Spider-Man swing up onto the glass wall before the Pilot filled his hands, electric smoke in right and pulse blade in left. "All yours Spidey" he called out before tossing the two items. Parker had modified his lenses to 'see' the pulse blade and had a clear view of Fisk's outline as he hacked and bumbled in the charged obscurant. Without hesitation, Parker pulled himself into the electric smoke, planting his two feet in the big man's torso and knocking him off the platform.

From far above, Matthew watched the two fall through the next floor until the crime lord was webbed up, hanging upside down in the lobby of the building bearing his name. The Marauder drew his axe and jumped down, using his kit to get himself to a wall and jamming the axe down, not hard enough to stick but enough to slow him down as he neared the ground floor. Jumping the last three stories, he landed in the midst of a dozen policemen, guns all trained on Fisk. "Don't you know who I am?" bellowed the Kingpin.

Cooper laughed heartily as he turned to look up at the webbed up Fisk. "Another notch on my weapon" he declared cockily before turning and marching victoriously out onto the streets.

* * *

Yuri couldn't help but feel satisfied as she watched Fisk try to muster up what dignity he could as he was escorted out of the building and to a waiting NYPD prison van, a pair of the largest handcuffs they had binding his hands behind his back. Passersby and media snapped pictures of the fallen crime boss with his ruined suit, bruised face, and bleeding leg. Officers were doing their best to hold the onlookers back, but Yuri couldn't give a damn what happened to Fisk from here on out.

People gawked as Spiderman landed on the prison van, crouching down in that weird way of his. "Finally, off to Ryker's, huh?" he mused, "you know, I think you have more enemies in there than I do." _And more friends_ supposed Yuri but she remained silent as she watched from the steps of the building.

"If you think" managed Fisk through grit teeth, "that this will be more than a minor inconvenience—" began the Kingpin. Yuri narrowed her eyes at the gall on display, he was shrewd enough to know damn well that after today he was in for a world of hurt.

"Whoop" shouted Spidey suddenly, cutting off the crime boss, "gotta go. Hey! Good luck Willie" continued the superhero before extending his left arm, "I have a feeling you're going to need it" finished the superhero before a white line shot out of his wrist and the webhead yanked himself away.

The Kingpin didn't take being brushed off so kindly. "Idiot!" he barked, "I'm the one who kept order in this city!" he screamed as the two cops shoved him forwards and into the back of the armored van. Undeterred, Fisk stuck his head back out and screamed "One month! In one month you'll wish you had me back!" With that the doors slammed shut and the van got moving.

As the main attractions moved away, the crowd then turned their attention towards Yuri, or rather, the man next to her. The Marauder stood, arms crossed, x shaped visor tracking the van as it moved out of sight. "How many?" he asked quietly, the filter betraying no emotion, but Watanabe knew it was there.

"14 of ours" she answered before taking a breath, "and six civilians in the wrong place at the wrong time" she continued. Watanabe got no response from Cooper, knowing that he probably wouldn't respond at all as he simply listened. "But we got him, good work" she acknowledged.

"That we did" he agreed quietly though he didn't seem any more pleased. For a man on such familiar terms with death, it always amazed her how much the death of police and civilians weighed on him. Of course, this was the man who said he never regretted pulling the trigger, but only when he didn't pull it. When he didn't, it usually meant good people died and when he did, it meant evil people died. They both knew which they preferred.

The Captain forced a smile and gave a light shove to knock him out of his introspection as the two walked down the steps. "Look at it this way" she said, holding a hand up to block the flashes from the cameras lining the walkway. "It's the beginning of the end for organized crime."

There was a small bark of laughter before the sight of an approaching car caught their attention, it was the _Widowmaker_, one of New York's finest at the wheel as the McLaren came to a stop. "Something tells me that it's not the beginning of the end, but rather the end of the beginning" answered the SRS Pilot cryptically before moving over to the driver's side as a figure broke through the crowd and approached the vigilante.

The redheaded reporter strode up to the lethal gunfighter with her usual confidence and charisma, camera snapping pictures before she pulled out a small microphone. "Marauder!" she called, as both Watanabe and the Marauder turned to the Daily Bugle reporter. "Mary Jane Watson, Daily Bugle" she said into the mic, "Marauder, can I get a statement on what happened here?"

The padded shouldered shrugged, "Got the call that good ol' fashioned hardnosed police work meant we had enough evidence to warrant the takedown of another target. I did my best to assist and we got it done" he said simply. Of course, the lack of excitement or detailed description made it sound like he was downplaying the morning's events, but the Marauder was known to be cool under fire, not much could get a rise out of the man.

The nod to her people was appreciated to, while many fixated on the big names and flashiness that 'capes' provided, Yuri knew that the Marauder understood better than most that this was a team effort. The Captain wasn't exactly sure of his relationship with Watson, but assumed she knew who he was outside the suit, only the extent of that relationship was unknown. "Any comment on that hardnosed police work Captain?" asked the reporter.

"Not at this time Ms. Watson, a statement will be given once we finish processing the scene" she assured. The redhead wasn't satisfied with that answer, but she kept up her neutral expression. The reporter had always been fair and likable, so Watanabe obliged her. "Off the record, I feel confident in our case thus far."

The Daily Bugle reporter beamed at the response, "Your confidentiality will be respected Captain" she replied. "I'm very happy to hear that we won't be seeing any more of Wilson Fisk" added Mary Jane, "bastard finally got what he deserved if you ask me." Yuri merely nodded, the man had screwed over so many people that it wasn't surprising the redhead was one of them. "One last question Marauder, our readers are going to want to know what happened up there, can you oblige them?" she asked as the Marauder opened the door to the McLaren.

There was a small chuckle as he turned back to Mary Jane. "Me and Spider-Man went up there, we found Fisk, we tangled…and he lost" he said simply. Yuri could imagine the grin beneath the helmet as both women smiled at the running gag. In every interview, when asked about a fight, the Marauder inevitably responded with some variation of that 'we tangled…he lost' answer.

But instead of getting into the car and driving off, Yuri saw the helmet fixate on something and immediately turned to see what had the Marauder's attention, her hand reaching for her Revolver as she did so. The large white trucks bearing the name 'Roseman's auction house' were trying to make their way through to the building, moving crews already getting out of them. That they were here so quickly had the attention of all three. "Do you want to look into that or should I?" asked the Marauder dryly.

Mary Jane didn't hesitate, nodding, "I'll handle it" she assured as she switched off and pocketed the microphone, taking a quick picture of the lead truck and its license plate. Just as she finished and turned away, the Marauder spoke up unexpectedly.

"You should call him" he said, causing Watson to stop and turn around, frowning as she regarded the Pilot. "It's been a year; a lot has changed." At that, Watson frown turned into her biting her lip in nervousness before Coop sighed. "At least say you'll think about it."

Watson nodded, "I'll think about it" she said, taking the easy way out before turning on her heel and vanishing into the crowd. With that, the two settled into the P1, with the Marauder being nice enough to pull away carefully as the crowd parted for the green machine.

Yuri turned to regard the helmet from the passenger seat. "Never expected you to be one to play Matchmaker" she ribbed good naturedly as she started to relax behind the tinted windows of the Hypercar. As her mind processed the mornings events, she decided to pry a bit on their way back to the police station. "Speaking of relationships, how's Black Cat doing these days? Haven't seen any of her in months."

The Captain wanted to dismiss the way his hand tightened on the steering wheel as him focusing on weaving the million-dollar car through dense traffic, but something told her otherwise. "Still on the straight and narrow" he reported. "It was an adjustment for sure, but I think she's settled in pretty well. Of course, we still train together a lot and she's as good as she ever was" he said with a small laugh.

Yuri grinned, "Meaning she still kicks your ass in hand to hand?" she asked slyly and knowing full well what a feat that was. One time she had sparred with him sans gear and come out on top, but only just. At the time she had expected him to not take losing to a woman well, but the Pilot took it in stride before revealing how his usual hand to hand exercises went.

"More or less" he agreed nonchalantly as he guided the car into a warehouse and into a small tunnel hidden inside a shipping container. The car went down into one of the many unused subway tunnels that criss crossed the city, somehow, the Marauder had gotten them cleaned out, enabling him to move nearly undetected around the city. The _Widowmaker_ was now in these tunnels as it started moving towards her precinct. "But I'm just glad we're making it work as well as we are…I'm lucky to have her."

Yuri had once thought their relationship was as a strange one, a good guy and a bad guy being involved romantically would never end well. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. These were extraordinary people, free spirited and strong willed with neither being completely black or white. The only thing really different about them was their shade of moral grey. In that light, it made more sense.

He then checked his watch under his wrist, "Speaking of the lady, I'm about to have lunch with her" he said as the car came to a stop at a familiar place, a small stairwell leading to a supply closet in the precincts basement was to Yuri's left. "Call if you need anything Captain."

"I will" she promised with a grim smile, "but hopefully the city will hold itself together long enough for you to get that lunch date in at least."

* * *

_Coopers Logbook – Sniper Rifle: D-101 Longbow DMR_

_A Designated Marksman Rifle or DMR, is a halfway point between an assault rifle and thoroughbred Sniper's Rifle. Heavier barrels, scopes, and bi pods come from the later, while the standard rifle cartridge and semi auto fire come from the former. The Longbow is a textbook example, being based on the R-101 and -201 Carbines but with the listed modifications. Unlike the smaller weapons, this gun fires a modified and lengthened 8.19mm round with greater projectile mass and larger powder charge for higher velocity. The downsides are higher recoil and a greatly reduced magazine capacity from 24 to 6, even with the exact same magazines. _

_But the trade offs are worth it if you want stand-off kill capability, follow up shots are quick, and the rounds hit hard. Even if this is an objectively good gun, I don't like it. The rifle doesn't favor the run and gun tactics I like to use. The gun is careful and tactical, and because it was designed to be used as part of a squad it lacks versatility like the G2. The G2 has 80% of the long-range ability but doesn't sacrifice nearly as much close range ability. _

_But in those long-range situations, the weapon is easy to use and a joy to shoot, more than capable of delivering precision shots in quick succession. It might be high strung; but the Longbow always hits the bullseye._

* * *

**Closing Notes: Hopefully you all enjoyed my rendition of the Assault on Fisk Tower, I generally stuck to the game and will continue to do so for the most part. The opening with Matt and Peter and the contrast between them was deliberate and I quite like how it turned out. Similar to that was the music choice in those sections with the song that opens the game, **_Alive_**, for Peter like the game and an oddball for Matthew. Frank Black and the 3volution's version of **_Gimme Danger _**is my favorite and appears in GRAW 2 but sadly is not on spotify, precluding it from being a chapter title, so it appears here. Aggressive base line, swaggering feel, and a come one, come all attitude make it a song befitting the Marauder. **

**In another reference to Robin Olds, that 'we tangled, he lost' line Cooper spits out is a paraphrase of then Colonel Olds interview following the legendary Operation Bolo. The exact quote is "the MiGs came up, the MiGs were aggressive, we tangled, they lost." He was describing the most successful day for American fighter pilots in Vietnam up to that point with his squadron scoring seven kills against no friendly aircraft lost. If you can stand some old CGI, then the Dogfights episode about this engagement, titled 'Air Ambush' is worth a watch on Youtube. **

**Next time, let you mind go wild before the light, because here we come, the Army of the Night. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	27. Chapter 27: Army of the Night

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

**Guest: New chapters come out every Wednesday, and that is the plan for the foreseeable future. Thanks for reading and I hope you continue to enjoy.**

Thank you everyone for the continued support as this story presses on into the main game. One goal here is to be faithful to the story of the game for those who haven't played it, so they'll get everything the game had while making enough additions so that there will be plenty of new material for those who have played the game. We're going to start seeing a little bit more of the second half of that here, so hopefully the expansion of game events is well received. The other thing I want to make sure is done well is the Marauder fitting in, the goal here is a Riggs and Murtaugh like buddy cop dynamic with Spider-Man, because Lethal Weapon is awesome.

As for the title, the original plan was for a KISS song to be here because of the resemblance their monochrome face paint has to a certain group that will be encountered in this chapter. Sadly, none of their songs really fit the group in question, so I had to look for an alternative. Thankfully, my buddy that suggested 'Indestructible' came to the rescue once again and suggested the band Powerwolf because they too have monochrome face paint, which makes me surprised Gene Simmons hasn't sued them yet. This was one of their top tracks on Spotify and the title was too fitting not to use.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 27: Army of the Night**

_Come to the other side, Into the dark we hide, __Gather them for the rite_

_Sacristarum_

_We are the force allied, Into the war we ride,_

_Hallelujah_

_Stand up all the night and call the fight_

_Let your mind go wild before the light_

_Here we come the army of the night_

_Mater Maria_

* * *

Felicia Hardy sat outside the small café, the high-end establishment in her business suit and sunglasses, sipping at a glass of wine as she heard the distinct sound of an approaching Voodoo powered Pony Car. A few minutes later, her lover joined her at the table in slacks, button down shirt, green tie, and sport coat as he ordered his own lunch. "Hey cowboy" she greeted with a smile, "how did your morning meetings go?"

Cooper smirked knowingly as he sipped his sweet tea, Felicia didn't question his choice, he would need to be on full alert for the foreseeable future. "About as well as I expected, a few complications but nothing we couldn't handle" he replied as the two played the parts of hard-working young professionals. A quick glance at the black Jaguar and white Shelby Mustang certainly reinforced that appearance. "I'd say that we're in business, there are a lot of new opportunities for us."

The former thief 'hummed' in agreement as she continued to down her lunch as she thought over what that meant when a hand reached out to hers. Before Matt could speak, Felicia cut him off, "We're going to take them and make the most of them" she said firmly. When she looked up, she saw Matt look her in the eye before nodding in understanding.

She had thought that money would be what motivated her to return to her nighttime activities, but Cooper had proven that you could make just as much working for the good guys as the bad. That was assuming you didn't turn money down when it was offered like a certain spider themed hero. Osborn had been sending generous sums to the Marauder and helped with the work done for the tunnel system. In addition, the Pilot had taken several contracts for security work including one from Elizabeth Rodney, usually protecting high profile events and acting as a deterrent.

No, instead she was returning because she had a score to settle with a certain maggia boss. "You don't have to if you don't want to darlin'. I wouldn't think any less of you…you know that" he said firmly. Hardy knew why he would say that of course, just like she had been, he was addicted to the action and the high that came with it, an addiction she had kicked.

But that didn't matter, not anymore, in her mind there was only one thing that would let her have a chance at a 'clean' life, and that was fulfilling the promise she herself had made with Mathilda's father. _"I promise your daughter's killers have been dealt with."_ To do that, and do everything else she had planned, required her most ambitious plan to date. But after taking one last look at the man across from her and she was confident the two of them could pull it off.

So, she tilted her head and smiled faintly, "But I would think less of myself."

* * *

Peter Parker, still in his battle worn suit, slipped in the back door Octavius Industries and ducked into a supply closet where a duffel bag containing spare changes of clothes was stashed. Today was another critical step in their project of reverse engineering the Marauder's exoskeleton technology and integrating it into a prosthetic. While studying the exoskeleton and helmet Cooper had given them had yielded a wealth of information, recreating the technology had been another matter.

Even with the early prototypes it was clear to the two of them that the kind of materials needed to make the arm compact and lightweight while still structurally sound and safe to wear didn't exist yet. Once that was overcome, the circuitry and electronic components in the exoskeleton were literally hundreds of years ahead of them and so radically different that equivalents would have to be developed from scratch. Today would be the most extensive test of many of these newly developed components and the first time they were all combined into a single unit.

Quickly pulling on a shirt and pair of pants as he made sure his suit was out of sight as he stuffed the mask in the bag and pulled on a lab coat, he rushed out of the closest and into the main workshop. "Sorry I'm late, I—" he began to apologize before he looked up and took in the sight before him. Otto was strapped into the harness, massive bundles of cables extending from the harness on his back that passively picked up bioelectrical pulses in his spinal cord. Next to him, the prototype left arm moved only scant milliseconds behind Otto's actual arm, twisting, flexing, and bending its fingers nimbly. "You started without me" said a stunned Parker.

"The grant committee's director will be here soon" explained Octavius, but the man didn't miss the less than certain expression Peter had on his face. "It's fine Parker. I invented this equipment. I think I can handle it" countered the scientist casually, Peter stepped up, looking over the rig before everything went to hell. The faint humming from the electrics against the wall soon was replaced by crackling and furious sparking.

Peter's eyes widened in horror, "the power dampener—" he realized as he shielded his face from the sparks and unplugged the main cable, but to no effect. "Oh man…" he muttered as claxons blared and red warning lights flickered on and off, "uh…maybe we should abort?" he suggested as he pulled up the status of the rig on the terminal that monitored the technology.

Otto was determined however, "Not yet" he ground out as Peter watched the diagnostics continue to dive deeper into the red before the power cutoff box hooked up to the terminal sparked angrily, a flicker of flame coming uncomfortably close to Peter's face. His spidey sense was the only thing that allowed him to recoil in time to not lose his eyebrows. Otto, however, fared far worse, the power, now unregulated, surged into the harness. The entire rig's wiring melted instantly, the plastic insulation bursting into flame as Otto grit his teeth in pain from the unexpected shock.

"Hold on!" called Parker as he decided that enough was enough and darted towards the emergency release, slamming his hand down on the large red button with _slightly _more force than was strictly necessary. No sooner was that done then he yanked the release on Otto's harness, causing the main to fall to his knees, "Dr. Octavius! Are you okay?" asked Peter as he helped the man to his feet.

Despite the ordeal, Otto seemed to have emerged intact, his spirt even remained unbroken, "Another setback" he said simply. Peter looked back at the ruined equipment, unable to find it in him to fully agree, but he knew just what Otto was capable of. Otto then grabbed him by the arm and made Peter look him in the eye, "but we're close" assured the scientist with a smile. And for a brief moment, Peter felt like things might be looking up.

That was until the door opened and the grant committee walked in to the smoldering wreck created by the failed test.

While Peter would usually say it was good when you could shock the grant committee, he would also say it was better to do it by having your project _working_. "Is anyone hurt?" asked the woman in front bluntly.

"No" answered Peter quickly, "but it was all my faul—" began Peter, only for Otto to cut him off.

"The energy levels exceeded our expectations" he explained weakly. "From a certain viewpoint" he began, quick to try and put a positive spin on events, "that's a very positive development." The fact that the new systems were transferring the power that well was a massive improvement, their new compounds were more efficient, but now the problem was regulating all of that energy transfer.

Understandably, the committee didn't understand the particulars of the project. "It doesn't _smell _very positive" ground out the woman in retort.

"I assure you, in the next phase—"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves" said the woman, cutting off Otto before she coughed, waving her hand to get some reprieve from the smoke that was in the air. "Is there somewhere else we can discuss this?" she asked.

Otto slumped dejectedly and turned to the lab assistant, "Maybe you should take the rest of the day off, Peter" he suggested, voice now sounding much more weary than it had just minutes before. Peter made to argue, but was shut down before he could get a single word out, "we'll talk later" assured Otto as the Queens native nodded and excused himself.

Even if Otto gave him the rest of the day off, Peter had nowhere else to go. Matt had already agreed to be available today so Peter could focus on this evaluation, and he felt he owed it to Otto to try and make up for the disaster. Setting to work, her rewired the fried circuitry in the arm and worked on the spectrograph station, comparing samples of existing technology to readings taken from the Marauder's equipment. While he worked, he could overhear bits and pieces of the discussion occurring in Otto's office. Octavius was putting up a valiant defense, but it was clear that he was fighting a losing battle; the grant committee had already made up their minds as soon as they walked into the smoke filled lab.

Finally concluding that there was no work left to be done, Peter retraced his steps out the door and to the supply closet before reemerging minutes later as New York's very own Webslinger. Even if his suit still bore the scars of the battle earlier in the day, it was still liberating to don the mask of Spider-Man.

The ringing of his masks built in cellphone jarred him from said thoughts as he answered before firing off a webline and beginning to swing into the city. _"Spider-Man, it's Yuri"_ announced the Captain over the line, exhaustion permeating her tones.

Peter couldn't help but sympathize, today had been a long time coming and reality was starting to set in, but that didn't mean that it would be an easy one. "Fisk make it to Ryker's yet?" he asked, wanting to ensure that there were no unexpected complications for his longest running foe.

"_Not Ryker's"_ replied Yuri tiredly, _"our boy qualifies for the VIP treatment. He's in the Raft"_ she informed. Peter's eyes actually widened at the news as he swung through the dimming city, the sun on its downward path.

Of course, the Webhead knew better than anyone who would be waiting for the Kingpin in the maximum security prison. "Ahhh – joining Scorpion, Electro, and the rest…" he replied knowingly. "Fisk should be honored, that's esteemed company" he quipped.

Using his immense strength to launch himself from the top of a water tower, Parker changed direction as soon as he heard Yuri's actual reason for calling._ "Could you swing by the precinct?"_ she asked, _did she make that pun on purpose? _Mused Peter as he listened intently. _"Got an issue that could benefit from your unique skillset"_ she said cryptically. Though, assumed Peter, if she was calling him it meant she wanted the matter handled with some degree of discretion.

"For you Yuri, anything" he replied as he began swinging in the direction of Chinatown. "I'm on my way" he finished before Yuri hung up on him and he continued swinging, adding in some flips and tricks for the benefit of onlookers below as another alert appeared on his HUD. "Hmm – Looks like Jameson's got a new episode out. Wonder what my number one fan thinks about the Fisk Takedown…" he mused as the podcast began to play in his earpieces.

"_This is _Just the Facts _with J. Jonah Jameson, where listeners like you discuss the issues affecting our city with Pulitzer prize winning…"_

"_**TWO TIME!" **_Shouted the distinct voice of his former boss, cutting off the producer.

"_Two-time Pulitzer prize winning former publisher of the Daily Bugle" _continued the unfortunate college kid who needed money more than most before he was cut off again.

"_Hey! Plug the book!" _Ordered Jameson with his usual amount of calm and patience.

Sighing in resignation, the Producer did as he was instructed. "_And, as always, if you order Mr. Jameson's Book, Spider-Man: Threat or Menace, within 24 hours of our broadcast, you'll get an autographed copy at no extra charge." _

"_NO personalization's! Don't ask! Not gonna' get it!" _Barked Jameson as Spider-Man couldn't help but snicker at the producer while also feeling sorry for the poor guy, having been on the receiving end of Jameson's fury more times than he cared to count. "_Welcome to _Just the Facts, _with J. Jonah Jameson_ – _alerting you to the threats you don't even know about." _The man's voice was much calmer, forced, to be sure, but still calmer. "_Let's dive right into the calls. Speak!"_

That was a decent sign, Peter had expected him to go into a full on rant straight away. _"__Okay" _began an accented voice, Italian if Peter had to guess. "_So, not for nuthin', you gotta' give Spider-Man and the Marauder respect for taking down Wilson Fisk, right?" _Asked the man._ "I mean, one less mob boss is good for everybody" _he reasoned.

"_Is that right?" _Replied Jameson sarcastically as Parker felt a wince build up on his features. "_Tell me, are you a Police Officer? Prosecutor? Maybe an award-winning reporter with decades on the job, like me?"_ Asked JJJ with his usual amount of modesty.

"_Uhh, no"_ replied the caller, "_I'm a plumber."_

"_Oh, good" _answered J. Jonah before taking a deep breath as another wince appeared, this one so hard that Spider-Man cocked his head as he braced for the wrath that was about to be unleashed. "_Then fix my toilet and SHUT UP!"_ He shouted, now clearly doing what the staff at the Bugle called a 'Full Jameson.' "_Let me explain something to you about crime bosses. Soon as one goes down, every punk with a gun, a tracksuit, and a drawer full of gold chains decides __**he's **__the next Godfather. We're going to have a gang war in the streets, but does that web-headed moron give a damn? Of course not, he got on TV, that's what counts. And don't get me started on the Marauder! He just wanted to shoot people like the raving gun toting lunatic he is."_

"_Yeah, well…I can get copper pipe without paying kickbacks now"_ answered the Plumber. "_So until that gang war starts, I'm on their side."_

"_And you'll be singing a different tune when three new mobs are lining up to charge you triple for that same pipe" _shot back JJJ, who Peter swore wanted to outlive god just so he could get the last word in. "_Or…just break your legs! GOODBYE!"_

Peter sighed sadly as he neared his destination. "Someday, Jonah" he vowed, "I'm going to get you to say something nice about me…someday" he said aloud. "At least I'm not being accused of being a murdering sociopath" he mused sadly as he thought of what the Editor had said about his friend. While the Marauder working directly with police had gotten him some praise from Jameson, the Journalist would always revert back to his body count when he wanted to slander the Pilot.

Sending an alert to Yuri that he had arrived, he crouched down on the rooftop and waited for his favorite Cop to make an appearance. Pulling out his phone and checking his twitter feed to pass the time, he was soon disturbed by the sound of the door below him opening. An Asian woman with black hair and matching leather jacket walked out and headed towards the railing. "Now that you quit smoking" began Spider-Man as he saw her body immediately tense before she took a noticeable deep breath, "what do you tell people when you come up here?" he asked.

Watanabe turned back to look at him and smiled, genuinely, he almost couldn't believe it, though taking down Fisk that morning had probably helped. "That I need a break from their crap" she answered sarcastically, though her smile didn't abate in the least.

With an acrobatic flip, the Wallcrawler came down firmly on the railing next to the woman, getting a clear view of the nicotine gum in her hand as she slipped a piece into her mouth. "Well" said a filtered voice as both turned to see the Marauder decloak, the green armored gunfighter leaning casually against the exit Yuri had emerged from, his arms crossed. "I suppose the best lies are always the ones closest to the truth" said his friend dryly, matching sarcasm with sarcasm.

Picking his Carbine up from where it had been leaning against the wall, the SRS Pilot moved to join the others as Parker shrugged, "fair enough" he conceded. "So, why'd you call? Need a date for the policeman's ball?" he asked only half-jokingly.

But the quip didn't faze the veteran officer at all. "You got a black and white suit?" she shot back without missing a beat, completely serious, though the small gleam in her eye gave it away.

"Uhh…" returned the wallcrawler dumbly as the Marauder gave an amused snort from Yuri's left.

Yuri smiled weakly, a tinge of disappointment in her tone, "No ball this year anyway. We spent too much incorporating Oscorp's surveillance tech" she said as the three looked towards the small high-tech antenna bearing the company's ubiquitous logo.

"Worth it though, right?" asked Peter, who had sustained months of Cooper's high-tech maps that had a real time link with the system putting anything he had cobbled together to shame. So much so that Peter had abandoned his own methods of tracking crime in favor of just relying on the predictive models he made using the data and alerts sent to him by BT for high priority items.

Yuri just looked at each of the two in turn. "It was…until an hour ago" she revealed. "Whole system went down" she said before turning to look at the Blue Visor, "citywide" she continued as she looked at the white eye lenses, "every tower."

"Sounds like you should ask for a refund" responded Cooper dryly as Yuri gave him a knowing look and nodded in agreement.

Behind his mask, Peter furrowed his brow, mind racing, "How?" he asked, slightly dumbfounded. Oscorp was many things, but inept was not one of them. The system wouldn't just fail on its own.

Yuri bit her lip and lowered her voice, "They tell me someone sabotaged the central server, and now all the towers are offline" she answered with a shrug. She clearly didn't understand how or why that worked, all she understood were the results.

Cooper, in his unique way, summed it up best. "So right now, we're deaf, dumb, _and _blind?" he asked. Yuri grimaced before giving a small nod and continuing to chew on her gum. "Shit" he said simply, getting another nod from the cop.

The Webslinger leaned in closer to two of his best 'work' friends. "Hm…inside job?" he posed.

"Maybe" agreed Yuri with a nod, and Cooper gave the same affirmative gesture behind her. "I'll figure it out later, right now we need to get these towers back online. _Fast_" she said, emphasizing the last word.

"And you called us?" asked Peter in mock astonishment. "Aw, that's sweet" he gushed as he put his hand over his heart. Cooper chuckled dryly in the background, though he could see the helmet roll anyway.

Yuri gave him a mildly annoyed look, "I called people I could trust" she corrected. "Plus, the signals are scrambled, and we have no idea how to fix it" she said, tossing her hands up in exasperation.

"Ohhh!" said Spider-Man happily as he dismounted the railing. "I love a challenge" he called out as Yuri turned and headed back inside.

The Captain turned around a pointed a finger at the pair in mock accusation. "You break it you buy it!" she threatened.

"What happened to trusting us?" asked the Renegade Pilot dryly as Yuri merely gave the two men one last exasperated look before heading back into the precinct. Once she was gone, the Pilot laughed mirthfully as he turned towards the malfunctioning equipment. "Alright, alright, alright, let's see what we got" he said as he pulled out his knife and pried the cover off the box. A light fixed to his helmet came on as he inspected the internal hardware. "Everything looks good in here, connections are good, wires are intact, no signs of tampering" he reported.

Meanwhile, Peter busied himself with the software side of things. Linking his suit into the tower he ran a simple diagnostic program to find the point in time when the tower went offline and opened up the changes that matched that time. Luckily for him there was only one. "I got it! Input bands have been shifted. Subtle." he noted as he set to work recalibrating the array to pick up the correct frequencies.

After a few moments of tinkering, he had the right frequency dialed in and rebooted the tower. Once the power came back, he saw the array on top move upwards slightly and the indicator lights switch from red to green. _"We just had a tower come back online"_ said Yuri as soon as he accepted the call. _"Was that the two of you?"_

"Spider-Man, to be precise" provided the Marauder.

"More than just a pretty mask, huh?" quipped Peter.

Yuri, as she usually did, ignored him. _"Whatever you did, any chance you could do it to the other towers?" _she asked seriously.

"Uhh, sure" answered the Queens native as he set everything back the way he had found it, no reason to be untidy. "But just so you know, I had to sync up to the tower to fix it" he admitted. "I'm seeing all crime data in the area now. Looks like there's a break in happening near us."

Yuri didn't seem to mind about him having to sync up to the towers._ "Great, I've got units nearby…"_

"Don't bother" said Cooper, cutting off Yuri as he expanded his R-201 and dropped the bolt with a metallic click. "They're ours" growled Cooper before he vaulted over the railing, with Spider-Man in hot pursuit. The duo covered the 150 meters in seconds to find a group of thugs in tracksuits and ski masks in a back alley, one of their number working at a door with a crowbar.

"I don't think these guys forgot their keys" quipped Peter over the voice comms as he settled down on a lamppost and saw the Marauder hang from the building, visor scanning the scene. "But I'll ask anyway…HEY GUYS!" he yelled out as they all snapped their heads to look at the Webslinger. "Did you lock yourselves out? Why not just call a locksmith?" he joked.

"It's Spider-Man! Get him!" shouted one of them as Peter fired a pair of weblines and pulled himself to him, driving him to the ground. Spider sense tingling, he dodged to his right as a crowbar narrowly missed him before he planted an uppercut on the man's chin that knocked him into the air as the Webhead leapt up in chase.

A flurry of punches and kicks fell upon the flailing gangbanger before Peter finally let him fall back to the ground, the red and blue clad hero landing in the middle of the group. "Didn't your parents ever tell you stealing isn't nice?" he asked when he felt his Spider sense go off wildly and immediately pulled himself up out of the group.

No sooner was he clear than the arc grenade fell where he had been standing, shocking every thug still standing. Barely a second after the grenade went off, the Marauder entered the fray, a punishing kick sent one thug back into another before he fired his grapple at a second, and shoulder checked him to the ground before firing two arc rounds into his chest at point blank range.

Spider-Man then leapt from the wall and used his weblines to grab hold of a conveniently placed garbage can, flinging it into one before he fired web blasts at the injured thugs, pinning them to the ground in a twisted pile of limbs and bruises before the base of his skull vibrated in warning. Dodging to the side, he fired a webline at each of his attacker's hands before leaping over the man's head and yanking hard enough that the impact of his own fist knocked him out. "Why'd you hit yourself?" he asked the unconscious man before he blocked the next incoming blow before responding with a series of punches and a bicycle kick that put his assailant down for the count.

Fining no other threats, Peter turned to see the last of the thugs charge at the Marauder, who merely lowered his shoulder and rammed it into the man's sternum before throwing the man up and over him as the Pilot launched himself skyward before dropping his passenger. Peter fired a pair of weblines to grab the flailing man by his ankles, slamming the man into the ground and causing his body to go limp even if he was still breathing.

With that done, the Spandex clad super dusted his hands off as his friend replaced the magazine in his weapon as Spidey made a call. "Okay, wrapped up" he reported as he heard a shot ring out and turned to see one of the thugs he thought he knocked out slump back over, arc energy dancing across him. "Correction, _now _it's wrapped up."

"_Thanks for that"_ said Yuri sincerely as the two made their way back up to the rooftops. _"Now I'm seeing an assault near you" _continued the Captain as Parker looked towards his friend, who merely nodded.

"You're in luck Yuri" answered Spider-Man before gradually beginning to deepen his voice for dramatic effect. "Your favorite tough-but-lovable, grizzled, seen too much detective is in town…" he began, despite hearing a clearly displeased Cooper mutter '_aw fuck_' into his headset.

Yuri's response was far more pronounced. _"WHAT?! No, no, no, no, no, you promised you wouldn't do that any…"_

"_**Spider-Cop**_" he finished gleefully; despite the fact he could feel the daggers Cooper was glaring into the back of his head. But the Marauder hadn't started shooting at him yet, which he took as a good sign.

"_Please no"_ begged Yuri.

"Look on the bright side Cap" responded Cooper, "at least you can hang up at any time."

"_Good point"_ agreed Yuri before the line went dead.

"Aw, c'mon, you're no fun" whined Peter as they came to a stop and looked for the crime in progress.

The x shaped visor turned towards Peter, helmet tilted ever so slightly. "And you have enough for the both of us."

"Touché."

* * *

Cooper watched as Peter slammed his fist into the hostage taker, slamming him to the ground and dispatching the last of the men who tried to assault a woman. After he was satisfied that the area was secure, Cooper collapsed the R-201 and joined Spider-Man alongside the woman they had rescued. "I knew Jameson was wrong about you two" she said as he walked up. "You're a little weird" she said to the Wallcrawler, "and you're really scary" she said to him, "but you've both got good hearts."

Cooper merely shrugged off the praise, satisfied that another innocent was safe, and more hostiles were neutralized. "Have you got somewhere to go?" asked Peter, clearly concerned. Matt smiled faintly, he knew that it was genuine, hell, he had never seen Peter _not _be genuine.

The woman took offense at the comment though, "I can take care of myself" she defended testily as the Webhead held up his hands in a calming gesture.

"I'm sure you can" said Spidey, "but just in case, there's a place called the F.E.A.S.T. center…"

"Seen it" snapped the woman, holding up her hand as she turned away. "I don't want charity" she insisted.

But Spider-Man was undeterred, "they got the best wheat cakes in the city" he insisted, "hands down."

The woman, defiant up until that point, finally faltered. Coming to a halt, she slowly turned back towards the vigilantes. "Mom used to make those" she said wistfully, the memories coming back to her as she smiled slightly. "Haven't had any in…in a long time." After another moment or two of thought, she nodded, again. "I'll check it out. Thanks…Spider-Guy" she said before turning and leaving them.

Matthew smirked behind his helm as the webslinger's shoulder slumped, "It's Spider-Man" he corrected to no avail before turning to the Pilot. "Not one word Marauder."

"Hmm?" said Matt as he raised his eyebrow. "I didn't say anything…Spider-Guy" he deadpanned as his smirk became a full-on shit eating grin while Parker seethed inside his mask. "Come on, we should be able to spot the next tower from up there" said Cooper, pointing towards a rooftop before he jumped up to run along a wall, Spider-Man swinging past on his webs.

They soon had eyes on the next tower, a waypoint appearing on Cooper's HUD as he parkoured his way across the city. _"From his elevated position" _began a gravelly voice as Cooper silently patched Yuri into their comm channel, _"Spider-Cop spies his destination: A second surveillance tower."_

Yuri spoke up in a mix of complete shock and unbridled amusement, _"Are you…narrating yourself?"_ She asked, completely dumbfounded.

"_Wha…no"_ responded Parker, caught completely off guard at the unexpected interruption. _"Of course not"_ he insisted.

"Yes" deadpanned Cooper as he activated his STIM to catch up to the webslinger, "Yes he is."

The white eye lenses looked his way and narrowed as Matthew shot his friend the middle finger in reply. _"Neither the chief nor his partner understood Spider-Cop"_ said Peter in an exaggerated gravelly tone, _"thought he was a loose cannon."_

"_Already regretting this"_ chimed in Yuri.

Cooper snorted, "how do you think I feel?" he asked sarcastically before Yuri cut the link. The duo then reached the next precinct and the Webhead pulled himself up to the control panel as Cooper climbed up to chat while he worked. "How are things going with you? Besides Fisk this morning."

"Eh…could be better" admitted Peter as he fiddled with the electronics of the high tech surveillance tower. "Had another fire at the lab today, nothing serious but we'll have to rewire the system, _again_." Matthew nodded; he had already offered to help, but when Peter explained the problem, they both agreed there was little he could help with. "Other than that? I broke up with Katherine last week. It just wasn't working; I couldn't keep making the trip upstate and she doesn't like the city" he said with an unconcerned shrug.

Behind his helmet, Matthew was somewhat bewildered. "Dude, it's like a two hour drive, even if I do it in one and a half. I seriously think you need your head checked if you weren't willing to go that far to get a piece of that ass" he chided half seriously. Though Matthew knew the real reason, his friend never committed to any of his recent relationships because he was still pining after Mary Jane Watson. The Texan understood this completely, he still maintained a platonic friendship with the reporter, and she had earned his respect as a gutsy and capable woman. Unlike himself, Peter, or Felicia, she was still that unassuming girl next door, despite her forays into their world of incredible exploits. That normalcy, that piece of a simpler life and a reminder of a time before spandex and jump kits, was what Peter wanted.

Despite this desire, the gods instead blessed Peter by throwing hot women at him only for him to somehow fuck up every single chance he got. And not just hot women, but the good kind of hot, the kind that was tough and determined and didn't need their looks to succeed. If he wasn't already dating one of Parker's exes, then he would probably be going after one of his others.

However, the gods also blessed Peter with some intelligence, which he used to point out the gaping hole in Cooper's logic that was so large you could drive a semi truck through it. "Yeah, but it's a lot longer if you don't have a car" he informed cheekily.

"Oh" answered Matthew dumbly, having forgotten that little detail before quickly moving on. "So the webhead is back on the market huh?" ribbed the Marauder without a hint of malice. "Have you ever at least considered calling…"

"Her? No, she was quite clear when we last talked" said Spider-Man firmly, his tone making it clear that he didn't want to talk about a certain redhead. Cooper merely grit his teeth; he thought his friend was being a stubborn ass. MJ was a good woman, better than most, and Peter clearly trusted her. Why he refused to take those last few steps to make their relationship work baffled the Texan. "Besides, I don't think I would even want to try anything serious until I have my life back in order."

_That _got Matthew's attention. Unlike him, Spider-Man got no financial benefit from his actions, refusing everything offered to him. Cooper knew he did it for the right reasons, but that hadn't stopped him from trying to convince Peter from making some small changes. "Just say the word and I'll have ten grand wired to your account tonight" Matthew said.

"Thanks, but no thanks Coop" said the webslinger as the tower activated and the webhead closed the panel. "I know you mean well, but I'll be okay, seriously" he insisted as they jumped down. His boots dug into the rooftop and they got ready to get moving again.

"Just don't want you getting distracted and getting your head blown off in a firefight is all" replied the Titan Jockey half seriously. He felt his wrist buzz as he looked at the TACPAD on it and frowned, "Listen, if it's alright, I'm going to head out. I'll catch you at FEAST tomorrow, okay?"

"Sure, I can take it from here, see ya' then."

* * *

Matthew, now in casual clothes, climbed the stairs up into the first floor of his hideout to be greeted by quite a sight. Felicia Hardy was bent over the counter wearing a pair of Nike shorts that barely contained her ample ass and an equally immodest tank top as she examined a collection of maps with detailed notes at specific circled locations. In the living room were a dozen duffel bags and the equipment she would need sprawled out all over the floor. "Hey Cowboy, just making sure everything is ready before I start moving my gear" she greeted before they shared a quick kiss.

"It's really happening, isn't it?" asked Cooper as each set to work packing the bags with everything she would need. "So, is it finally time to reveal your master plan?" he asked.

"Part of it" revealed the burglar with a playful grin. "I know you're not going to like everything about it, but just hear me out…" she said before beginning.

All of the equipment Felicia would need was neatly stowed and carried, mainly by Cooper, downstairs by the time she finished detailing exactly what would happen and the role her lover would play. Matthew did as she asked and remained silent, simply listening and processing everything as she explained the what and the why. When all was said and done, he gave his response, "okay" he said simply.

Hardy quirked a perfectly manicured eyebrow, "Okay?" she parroted as Cooper merely nodded slowly, his face clearly reading 'Yeah. What did you expect?'. "I know you're not Spider, but I thought I'd get a bit…more."

Matthew laughed a bit at that as he smiled and shook his head. "If you say that's the best way to do it then I'm inclined to believe you" he said with a shrug. "I trust you Felicia, we'll get this done" he assured before turning back into the armory. "Now come on, we got a few more things to grab" he said as Felicia furrowed her brow and followed.

Hardy followed the Texan to a corner of the basement, behind some shelves to find a tarp covered object. Without any flair, her cowboy pulled to tarp back to reveal a black Ducati sports bike with the brand spanking new costume Mathilda had constructed folded neatly on the seat. Felicia looked at Matthew, green eyes smoldering with desire as she jumped up into his arms and found herself pressed to the wall, engaged in a passionate kiss.

The couple finished the loading later that night after a considerable delay.

* * *

Meanwhile, across town, Peter had finished up his patrol for the day and was back in the workshop at Octavius Industries, casual clothes on and his damaged Spidey suit in the pack on his back. "Looks like Doc's gone for the night" observed Peter as he walked in, past the various equipment, picking up the tools he would need on the way to his office, "time to sneak in some Spider work."

Closing the door and whistling a jaunty tune, Peter tossed the torn suit on the table and began setting up the tools he had brought in from the workshop. Setting everything up, he was just about to begin when his Spider sense began to vibrate in warning and he heard the door open behind him. "Parker!" said a surprised Otto as Peter whirled around while trying to shove the spandex suit out of sight.

"Dr. Octavius!" replied Peter, "I – ah…watcha got there?" he asked, trying to redirect the Doctors attention away from the incriminating evidence on the table behind him. Making sure to keep himself between Otto and the suit, he waited for an opening before he tried to push it further away.

Otto raised the bag, "Chinese" he answered matter of factly, "If I knew you'd be here I would've—" he began before pausing, eyes fixed on the red and blue material on the table. "What is that you're working on?" he asked.

"Uh, just a side project" replied Peter, not technically lying as he tried to dismiss the older scientist, but it seemed Ottos curiosity had been piqued. As Otto pressed further, Peter found he was being forced out of the way so that Octavius had full view of the web patterned red and blue spandex.

Otto looked down at the suit with a look of total shock as his mouth hung open dumbly before looking back up at Peter and stepping back. "It's you" he said in realization, having put together everything as Peter felt his stomach drop out from him while his heart was in his throat.

_SAY SOMETHING PARKER! _He screamed mentally, and, somehow, his brain decided to play dumb. "I—I don't know what…"

"Oh come on, Parker, its obvious" interjected Otto, cutting off the lab tech as Peter felt panic begin to set in.

"Let me explain" he asked, hoping Octavius would at least hear him out before firing him.

But Otto didn't seem angry, "I only wish you'd told me sooner" replied the Doctor, his all-knowing eyes scrutinizing the younger man.

"I wanted to" admitted Peter with a tinge of regret. "But I was afraid that if word got out, my family might be in danger" he explained, hoping Octavius would understand the risk this knowledge posed.

The man hmmed as he thought it over before nodding, "Yes" he murmured in realization, "I guess if you design his equipment, you're bound to be a target too."

"Yeah" replied Peter lowly before what Octavius had said fully registered, "I mean…YEAH" he repeated, much more forcefully, hoping that was all Otto thought he did in relation to the Webslinger.

"Don't worry" began the scientist as he placed a reassuring hand on Peter's shoulder, "your secret's safe" he assured before offering a small smile and stepping back. Relief flooded through Parker, finding it almost unbelievable that had turned out as well as it had. "Well, I'll leave you to it" finished Otto before grabbing his dinner and exiting the office.

Peter let out a hefty sigh of relief and got back to work.

* * *

Unable to suppress a smile, Peter stepped out of Octavius Industries into the cool morning air. The Queens native had a newfound pep in his step, and it was due to the fancy new threads he was sporting. For months he had been brainstorming ideas for improving his suit but had always put it off. And after his classic look had been shredded the previous day, he had just the excuse he needed to overhaul his entire costume.

After waking up four hours ago with a sticky note stuck to his face and several notes from Otto on his computer, he had set to work redefining his alter ego. Both integrating the upgrades he had made to his old suits over the years as well as some of the radically new ideas and options available to him. Lightweight fabrics that Cooper gifted to him that were durable and form fitting, being both tear and fire resistant while not being nearly as bulky as the Marauders own bodysuit underlayer since it lacked the temperature regulation and endurance enhancing features.

Even better, he gave him the material in his favored red and blue colors, though he spent a long time adding the black web pattern detailing. Red on his chest, back, and most of his arms contrasted with the blue on his sides and legs. As an added bonus, the red sections were fitted with an additional lining sandwiched between two layers. The Silicon Carbide discs, ceramic matrices, and accompanying laminate combined to make cutting edge flexible body armor to protect his vital organs. With the basic style nailed down he began to think more practically, and so he focused on the four places he wanted to make significant upgrades, on his hands and feet. Over the years he had gotten used to the constant bruises, aches, and scabs that usually covered those areas and decided it was finally time to do something about that.

Here, it was one of Otto's suggestions that offered the best answer. While Cooper offered fireproof gloves, they were too thick for Peter's taste, so he made use of a new semi elastic 3-D printable material the Doctor had developed for artificial limbs. Starting from the models they had made for arms, he removed most of it before beginning to print the parts and setting to work on footwear. Otto had come up with a semi armored carbon composite weave, and while Peter couldn't envision making a whole suit out of the material, it offered extra support. Molding the material into shape, he stitched it inside the base of his legs, so it covered his ankles and extended a third of the way up his calf to help avoid his most common and annoying injuries, rolled and sprained ankles.

Next, he took a pair of gifted combat boots from Cooper and went about deconstructing them, eschewing the heavy material and lacing until he was left with just the soles. Testing them, he found the multi layered component to be both flexible and sturdy, tossing one to get a feel for its weight, he smiled as he set to work. Using Octavius' carbon composite, he fashioned slip on shoes that would fit seamlessly into the leg pieces he had already made, he went about stitching everything together. By the time he finished, the 3-D prints for his forearm braces had finished, so he set to work on assembling those.

The bracers were thin strips of material that ran halfway up the sides of his forearms, with a gap between them and the rigid plate on the top of his hands with a gap and the knuckles and smaller plates on the base section of each of his four fingers. This was purely so that he would no longer hurt his hands by punching bag guys. Smiling at how the suit was coming, he turned to the last major piece, his mask.

Taking the mostly undamaged mask from his classic suit, he stripped the outer fabric layer off to reveal the complex circuitry beneath. After checking to ensure everything was intact, he began layering the new material over the top, but took advice from Otto to go for a more aggressive look with the black outline around his eyes. According to figures the doctor sent, he had to fight more criminals, by percentage, in the past year. Otto hypothesized that this was because Spider-Man no longer possessed the same aura of a formidable foe that he had once had due to the arrival of the Marauder.

Taking care to ensure that the lenses still gave off a 'friendly neighborhood Spider-Man' vibe while looking more dangerous when narrowed, the Webslinger affixed the strips of material in place. Peter finished the mask and slipped it on before looking at his computer and the rest of the suit before deciding one last thing needed to be done. Taking the rest of the Carbon composite material he had, he cut it into a shape Otto had sketched out, a larger Spider logo with clearly multi part body and eight longer legs. Once these were done, he stitched them to his suit and took a step back, he felt that he had nailed it. Now all that he had to do was the detailing.

Now wearing that exact costume he had labored away at for hours on, Peter bounced on the balls of his feet before nimbly leaping up onto the AC unit and then the rooftop above, launching himself into a flat out sprint, slowly pushing himself to test if his new threads were up to the task. After he was sure he hadn't suffered a wardrobe malfunction, he launched himself up, flipping over to plant his hands on a pipe and sending his 167 pounds flying through the air, corkscrewing elegantly as he went.

Just as he crested the apex of his flight, he extended his arms and shot out a pair of weblines, noting with satisfaction that the webshooters worked perfectly in their new reinforced housings before he was yanked towards the side of the building he had selected. Twisting his whole body, he planted his feet to a raised section of the wall, with the kind of ease that came with years of experience, he managed to stick to the wall just enough to still allow gravity to pull him earthbound as he rode the ridge like a skateboarder grinding a rail.

Using his enhanced strength to launch himself off the wall, he used the webshooters to streak through a patio filled with patrons enjoying their morning coffee as he performed another acrobatic trick and began to swing through the streets. With the wind surging around him and the suit holding up, he decided to have some fun, 'buzz the tower' as Cooper would say, and dropped lower than he would until he was scant feet above the concrete. "Coming through!" he called out as he gave a jaunty half wave and swung by some pedestrians.

"Looking good Spidey!" yelled back one as he rolled over the top of a car and fired another line to pull him down the center line of the street and towards the intersection ahead as he pressed one arm down into the asphalt to slow himself down enough to not splat into a fast approaching taxi.

Once he bought himself some time, he contorted his way between the oncoming vehicles, "Hellooo New York!" he bellowed as he squared up to use both webshooters to pull himself through traffic and up atop a fuel tanker before throwing himself skyward once again, aided by two more weblines until he was back near rooftop level. "New suit! Same old me!" he declared, thoroughly pleased with his test drive.

But, at that moment, the old Parker Luck reared its ugly head and demanded that, not only was the test drive over, but he was going to have to put his new creation into the equivalent of Rally Finland. His mask phone rang in his ear as Yuri began without preamble as soon as he answered. _"Spider-Man, I think I figured out how Fisk's men are keeping his rackets running…"_

* * *

"Cinderblock coming back to haunt us?" asked Cooper dryly as he held his cellphone to his face, for some reason he wasn't surprised at the revelation. Sitting in the passenger seat of the F-Type while Felicia drove, the Marauder was processing what Yuri had told him.

The construction sites that had been the result of the property acquired because of Cinderblock had been confirmed by Spider-Man to be a network of weapons dealers earlier that morning. At least they now had an idea where all the unaccounted-for hardware from the shipping manifests was. _"Looks that way"_ agreed Yuri, _"I've got surveillance up and running on the other sites, but we're spread thin."_

Cooper bit back a curse, they both knew what would happen once the Kingpin fell and thought they had been ready, but with the tower network down it had crippled their ability to effectively fight crime through conventional means. "If we don't get a handle on this soon, we're going to lose the initiative. Send me a list of those construction sites and I'll start crossing them off tonight."

They were already losing the intuitive, though neither of them said as much. With the crime network down, the Marauder was reduced to sitting on his hands when it came to small time crime, much to his chagrin. Indeed, their tenuous situation was apparently evident as the Devil of Hell's Kitchen had made his first appearance in nearly three years. Meanwhile, on the other side of town, a group of thugs were found, nine shot dead with military like precision, the tenth had his throat slit by a military style knife, his holster empty.

"_Alright"_ she answered, _"at least we haven't seen anyone else make a serious go at being the next Kingpin. All the crime we're seeing is scattered, disorganized" _she reported, much to his relief. Yet at the same time, he frowned, the window for Cat's plan would close quickly if nothing changed._ "So far, it's nothing we can't handle outside of the gun running, and our case against Fisk is coming together. I've even been offered a bit of paid vacation" _she finished with a small laugh.

Matthew chuckled as well, "Yeah, well" he responded lamely as he shrugged, "what are you gonna' do about it?" he said casually.

"_Tell them to stick it in their ass"_ replied Yuri, deadly serious.

After a moment of silence, Matt burst out laughing, a massive smile on his face as he imagined the scene. "Dirty Yuri, master wordsmith" he said once he got air back in his lungs. "Well for what it's worth, damn fine work Captain, you never cease to amaze" he said honestly.

"_Thanks Coop"_ she answered simply before regaining her usual laser like focus. _"I'll call you if something else comes up, let me know what you find at those construction sites"_ she ordered before hanging up and Cooper pocketed the phone.

The black Jag prowled the streets of Manhattan as Felicia turned to the Gunfighter, "By the sound of things I had better start tonight" she said with pursed lips. "Hopefully I can work faster with the crime towers down, I should only have to worry about the security systems" she finished, it went unsaid that they were both confident in her ability to handle those.

The convertible sports car came to a graceful stop just outside the FEAST Center as Cooper gave Felicia a quick kiss. "Kick ass darlin'" he drawled before climbing out and watching the Jaguar streak away, supercharged V8 crackling, the echo bouncing off the buildings. Hardy was on her way to her office to collect a few items 'to work on while she was on vacation in the Bahamas.'

Cooper knew there would be consequences to his actions, but he could only hope the ends would justify the means as jogged up the steps of the homeless shelter. As he reached the top, he saw a familiar figure drop down from the roof. "Holy shit" said Matt in mock astonishment, "Peter Parker is actually on time for once" he finished with a grin.

The man in question turned around and smiled sheepishly, "Hey Coop" he greeted before the two made their way inside. "Mr. Li is probably in the kitchen, getting ready for the party" said Parker before the Queens native led the Texan through the center. On their way the two stopped to chat with some of the folks there in the center, a pair engaged in a chess match, one or two that thanked Cooper for working on their stuff, and another commented on Peter's Aunt May.

Heading into the kitchen, they found an Asian man of average height and build and wearing a white button-down shirt, black slacks, shoes, and tie stacking up boxes in the corner. "Hey Martin, sorry we're late" greeted Peter in hushed tones.

"You're right on time" assured the philanthropist as he looked over his shoulder to see May Parker scribbling notes on a clipboard across the dining hall. "Just keep her distracted Peter" he said, placing a hand on the scientist's shoulder before turning to the gunslinger, "you come with me Matthew, we need to bring everything in."

"Sounds like a plan" replied Cooper with a nod as Peter peeled off and strolled up to his relative, doing his best to look casual. With one last look to ensure Peter was making a distraction, Cooper nodded to a few other volunteers as they began to quickly unroll and hang a banner on the wall before rushing back to grab bundles of balloons. Judging from the voice cracks and near shouts emanating from Peter, his distraction skills left something to be desired.

If it were anyone else other than Spider-Man and perhaps the Marauder's best friend, then Matt was pretty sure he would have taken over distraction duties. Thankfully, Peter held it together without any interference as Matt saw Li roll in a car with a massive cake with a bunch of others following as Cooper fell in with them. As they got closer, they could overhear what Parker was saying to the older woman. "…sacrificing so much, and asking for nothing. I just wish there were more people like you in the world" he said sincerely.

"He's right" agreed Li before stepping out from behind the cart. "Five years ago, you walked in here and told me you were inspired by my mission to help others. But now it's _you _who inspires _me._" Cooper agreed with the sentiment, he was far from a humanitarian but that didn't stop him from recognizing the impact the woman had on people. While FEAST would never be where he truly belonged, it was too peaceful, her belief that 'when you help someone, you help everyone' had strengthened his resolve to use his skills to help people instead of just killing the enemy. "Thank you May, for everything. Here's to many more years of service."

From there, those present enjoyed the cake, chatting idly about this and that. Cooper was at a table with an empty plate, his Sig out as he discussed pistols with a few people interested in buying a gun with the expected increase in crime. It was well known that the Texan enjoyed talking about guns and was the de facto authority on them at the Shelter. He stopped suddenly when his phone went off, the guitar lick was quickly silenced as Matt's face tightened and he turned to look at Peter, he had just looked at his own phone and was looking at Cooper.

The two quickly shared a nod before excusing themselves and exiting the room side by side, speaking in hushed tones. "Whatever it is" began Cooper, "it must be serious if she called both of us" said the Pilot as Parker nodded in agreement. "How soon can you get moving?"

"Now" answered Peter immediately as he stopped at a staircase, "I can change on the roof."

"Do it, I'll suit up and head over as soon as I can, I'll call you when I get close" the Marauder said before turning on his heel and making a bee-line for the door to hide his smile. This would be exactly the kind of distraction Felicia would need.

* * *

Inside the auction house Yuri had directed him to, Spider-Man peered through the grate at the scene below. Suited men wearing strange masks and wielding enough firepower to make the Marauder jealous were spread throughout the room below. "I am losing patience" said one, a tactical vest over his fine shirt and tie. "Where. Is. The file?" he asked, raising his rifle for emphasis.

The dark skinned woman on the floor tried to move away, holding her hand up as she replied, her voice wavering. "There's someone else here, they must have taken it" she reasoned before looking away, fearing her answer wouldn't be adequate.

"Those masks…" whispered Peter as he watched the scene intently, brow furrowed behind his new mask. "Who are these guys?"

"There's no one here but us" insisted the armored man as he picked the woman up off the floor, his voice calm and level with some accent Peter couldn't place. "We will find the file" he said calmly as he raised the rifle and shoved the muzzle right in the woman's face, "or you will die" he said with cold finality.

With that, the man spun the red suited woman around and shoved her forwards as the group of gunmen moved onto the next room and Peter began crawling through the vents. "This is bad, they'll kill her if I alert them. Better pick them off silently" he said to himself as he rounded the corner and made a call. "Yuri, the silent alarm was legit, masked gunmen and a single hostage" he reported. "Looks like a heist in progress."

"_Copy that, sending units your way"_ she responded instantly. _"Keep the situation from getting worse in the meantime" _she ordered as Spidey dropped out of the vents and landed on a scaffolding below.

"Can do" he responded before she hung up and the wallcrawler crouched down, creeping forwards slowly. He heard someone speak in a foreign language, _Chinese? No, Mandarin_ he thought, but wasn't totally sure as he found the source. A lone gunman that he quickly lured beneath him by firing a burst of webbing at the floor before stringing the masked shooter up from the light bar. "They always looked so cozy webbed up like that" he mused before web zipping to a vent on the far side of the room and slipping inside.

After webbing the unlucky gunmen below the grate to the ceiling of the vent, Spider-Man dropped down and crept up behind the next gunmen, taking him down with an expertly performed sleeper hold. The next thug to wander in found himself pinned to the wall by an impact web as Peter quickly pulled himself up and into the next vent. "My patience wears thin" said the masked leader from earlier.

"Someone else is here, I swear!" insisted the hostage in a panicked voice. "She must have the file!" _She? _Noted Peter as he wondered who would was either crazy enough, or stupid enough, to try and play hide and seek with this bunch. Before that train of thought could go very far, Peter found himself reflexively flinching at the sound of gunshots as the glass display case next to the hostage shattered.

"If they are here, **where are they**?" said the gunman, unamused as the woman dropped to the floor.

"I don't know" she said as she began to break down and sob. "I don't know, I just don't know" she repeated as the sobs began to get stronger as she slowly got back to her feet and kept walking, the gunmen just a few steps behind.

"Move it Pete, bad guys are getting ready to be bad" he said to himself as he continued forwards and found himself in some sort of store room with two more thugs. After separating and dispatching them he landed on the floor and scanned the room, eye lenses narrowing on a familiar object. "Is that…?" he wondered as he picked up and inspected the camera. "This totally belongs to…"

"Don't move" commanded a firm voice from behind him as Peter cursed his only now humming spider-sense and raised his hands.

"Buddy" he began as he raised his hands and turned around slowly, "if I had a nickel for every 'Don't Move' then I'd…" he began when he saw a blur of motion as something gold slammed into the back of the man's head with an audible 'thwack' and he crumpled to the floor to reveal his favorite redheaded reporter.

MJ smiled after a moment of realization, "Hey Pete" she greeted.

"MJ…" he returned dumbly as he quickly collected his wits and asked the first of many questions that came to mind, "what are you doing here?"

The two got closer, "Same as you" she replied with a shrug, "working…at least I was" she answered before looking down at the dispatched gunmen lying still on the concrete floor.

After a momentary awkward silence, Peter held out the camera, "Here, I think this is yours" he said, returning the device.

"Yeah, thanks" she said as she took the camera back. _Had she changed her perfume? _He mused internally before quickly banishing the thought and trying to focus.

"So…Robbie's got you covering a break in for the Bugle?" asked Spider-Man.

MJ squirmed a bit under the blank white gaze; "Well, Robbie doesn't technically know I'm here" admitted Mary Jane. "And it wasn't a break in until a few minutes ago."

Peter blinked inside his mask as he stared dumbly at the redhead until his mouth opened before he could think his response through. "Huh?" replied the wallcrawler, feeling a certain sinking feeling in his stomach as he could see her react to his tone.

A frustrated Watson held up her hand, "Let me explain…" she began as she recounted what had happened. There were a half dozen times where Peter wanted to explode at her for being reckless as she went through her story, but he held his tongue. Cooper was right, he had been too overbearing, and if he wanted another chance with MJ he would have to change.

She explained about how she had bluffed her way into the auction house, the Ni-oh statue that she found and opened, the file inside, and the appearance of the hostage taking gunmen that he had encountered earlier. "I was on my way to the exit…when I saw you" she finished.

Peter almost couldn't believe it. "You're lucky to be alive!" he whisper shouted, his emotions coming through.

MJ just smiled mischievously, "Says the guy I just saved five minutes ago" she countered. Turning around, she moved to collect the file from a crate against the wall. "Listen, whoever these masked guys are, they're after _this_ file. But I'll never get it out of there when the place is swarming with them."

"Right" said the Webslinger as he tried to refocus on the task at hand and not her ass in those jeans. "Ok, ummm…You hide back there, I take out the bad guys, you make a break when it's clear" he suggested.

Much to his relief, she accepted without hesitation, "Sounds like a plan" she said before turning and giving him a view as she walked away before adding "Good to see you, Pete."

"Yeah, you too" he answered reflexively as he quickly averted his eyes to avoid being caught staring, even if they couldn't be seen behind his mask. "Not exactly how I pictured us meeting again though" he added.

"Funny" mused MJ as she opened the door and turned around to give him that perfect smile of hers. "It's exactly how I pictured it."

* * *

Cooper almost couldn't believe what was waiting for him at the address Yuri had sent him. BT had reported that the business located there was the auction house that had promptly arrived at Fisk Tower, the one MJ was investigating. "Hopefully I don't have to bail your ass out again Watson" muttered Cooper as he checked that his Hemlock was loaded and the pair of RE-45 auto pistols were in his hip holsters. Tapping his TACPAD he waited for his friend to answer, "Spidey, Marauder here, I'm just outside the building, what's the situation inside?"

"_Not good"_ answered Spider-Man, _"hostage situation, unknown number of masked gunmen, heavily armed, single hostage"_ rattled off the webhead quickly as Cooper used the magnification feature on his visor to look for a way in. _"There's more, MJ's here, found a file Fisk had hidden on something called 'Devil's Breath.' Fisk built a lab for Norman Osborn to develop it, whatever it is."_

That revelation sent a chill down Matt's spine, or maybe it was just the name. _He _was the one who named his car _Widowmaker_ but you didn't call something 'Devil's Breath' unless it was seriously bad news. "Alright, call the shots" he replied, Peter was the one with a better grasp of the situation.

The response was the opposite of what he wanted to hear. _"Stay outside for now, I got everything under control. If something goes wrong, then bust in and go to town on these guys"_ answered the webslinger as Cooper heard the distinct 'thwips' and 'hisses' of his webshooters activate.

"Copy that" responded Cooper, keeping the line open as he decided to bend the rules a little bit. Grapple slingshotting across the gap and clambering onto the fire escape outside the auction house, he slipped his data knife under the seam of the window and busted the clasps securing it before drawing his MK6 and quietly making his way inside the building.

Closing the window behind him, the Pilot swapped back to the BF-R as he swept the corridor and made his way to a flight of stairs and slowly made his way towards the top floor, rifle scanning all the way. When he reached the top of the stairs, Matt pulled out his pulse blade and buried it in the wall as he saw the pulse light up several unknown and armed men waiting for him in the hall outside.

Grip tightening on the Hemlock, Cooper resisted the temptation to charge in to start kicking ass and taking names. Instead he crouched down in a corner and checked the time, guessing that Felicia was getting set up for her first stake out. He wished he could have been there with her, but she didn't need the help and chances were that it would be a lot of tedious waiting he would not enjoy. Still, it had been 8 months since they had both ridden out together as the Marauder and Black Cat, and Cooper missed that feeling most of all.

But an ear-splitting scream ripped Matt's attention to the here and now as he sprang into action, kicking down the door and planting a burst into the back of each of the two gunmen who had turned to look for the source. The Marauder heard a massive crash to his left as he sprinted forwards, jumping up to wallrun towards the set of ornate double doors. The doors burst opened and the first one out got a trio of arc rounds in the chest as he tackled the next one out, bashing his rifle stock into the mask.

A snarling war cry erupted behind him as Cooper rolled over onto his back and brought the Hemlock up, firing another burst into the next man to charge him, his fists glowing with strange black and white energy before he crumpled to the floor. Two more gunmen appeared as Cooper tossed out an a-wall that sprung to life to absorb the bullets as the SRS Pilot barrel rolled into cover. Taking a second to reload and catch his breath, he stepped out from around the corner just in time to see two men wielding strange scythe like weapons covered in the same energy from before charge at him.

Shock turning to cold fury, he triggered the rifle, sending one down as his weapon skidded across the floor. The second bounded straight through the A-Wall and swung the scythe, Cooper raising his rifle to block to swing as he stepped back, only to be shocked as the weapon was nearly cleaved in two, useless. "Don't touch my gun" snarled the Texan as he ripped the ruined BF-R away, turning to put his whole body into the motion as he easily got the upper hand and rammed his knee into the suited man's stomach before letting go of the wrecked rifle. Grabbing the man's left arm with his right hand he twisted it behind his back before dropping his left elbow, breaking the bone before the Marauder spun him around and held him close as a human shield, drawing his right RE-45.

Using his exo enhanced strength, Cooper picked the masked man up off the ground as he covered the open ground in the first room of the auction house. In his right hand, the .45 chattered like a terrier as it spat out rounds like they were going out of style. Gunmen, glass display cases, fine artwork, and a stupid looking white and grey specked canvas were all caught in the storm of fire as the green armored gunfighter bull rushed in.

Once he was close enough, he discarded his extra passenger, emptying the last three rounds into his chest before sliding into cover behind a cherry wood cabinet. Instead of reloading, he simply placed the empty gun back in its holster and drew its partner. Testing his luck, the top of the Marauder's striped green helmet stuck out from his cover to catch a glimpse of a fleeing man before a hail of fire forced him back into cover as he waited, watching the red dots on his mini map draw ever closer.

As soon as the proximity alert went off, Cooper activated his cloak and slipped out from behind cover as the gunmen came to find nothing and instantly went on alert. With icy calm, the Marauder extended his left arm straight and feathered the trigger, a single arc round slamming into the back of the trail man's head. The others turned just as an arc grenade went off, stunning all of them as Cooper keyed his jump kit and rushed in, rapidly dispatching each foe with a well-placed shot, kick, or punch.

Soon, he was all alone as he reloaded both handguns and barged into the next room, both guns blazing as he guns down the remaining suited men Spider-Man was dealing with before raising his still smoking guns. "Daily cardio; Check" quipped the Wallcrawler before turning to the green armored Vigilante. "What happened to waiting outside?" asked Spider-Man, eye lenses narrowing in accusation.

"Got bored" replied the Marauder flatly, shrugging nonchalantly before holstering the handguns, "didn't want to miss all the fun. Really digging the new suit by the way, that logo has a much better presence than the other one" observed Cooper after seeing the new suit. The spider on the chest is white with thinner and longer legs, giving it a more predatory look. White accents run from Peter's knuckles up the length of his forearms in addition to the usual array of red and blue material. "Any ideas who these guys were?"

The webslinger shook his head as he soon fixated on one of the knocked-out goons and crouched down next to the well-dressed man, slipping off his mask and holding it up to examine it closely. Cooper can't say he knows what it is, but it looked Asian, either Chinese or Japanese or something. "Hm, looks antique" observed Spidey, "I think I know someone who can help track down where this came from."

Cooper nodded, but did the same, grabbing another mask and attaching it to his webgear to see if Felicia or her contacts could give him something, it never hurt to double check your sources. The sound of approaching police sirens caused the two to be knocked from their internal musings. Without another word, both slipped out the way Cooper came in before heading their separate ways into the Manhattan night.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Pistol: RE-45 Autopistol_

_As much as I enjoy precision shooting and all my practice with every gun I can get my hands on, when it comes down to actual combat there is one thing that becomes abundantly clear: Accuracy is overrated. _

_Outside of specific circumstances such as sniping and hostage situations, it doesn't really matter how many bullets you hurl down range, all that matters is that some of them eventually hit the bad guys. Preferably, your shots will hit them before theirs hit you, but the number of shots you miss is wholly irrelevant to actually wining in a gunfight. Now that isn't to say that spraying and praying like Schwarzenegger or Stallone is actually a viable tactic, you do want to be putting your shots in the same post code as the bad guys at the very least, higher hit probability that way. But something between spraying and precision is often best, 'directed shooting' is a good term, I think._

_Which brings me to the Auotpistol, which puts a great weapon to utilize such tactics. Effectively a modified version of the R-45 semiauto requested by Einsatzkommando (which is where the 'E' in RE-45 comes from), this variant features a ported compensator to tame the muzzle climb that comes with serving up big .45ACP rounds at nearly 800 rpm in a pistol sized package. The result is that this is a big handgun, smaller only than the Wingman magnum revolver and even more heavily modified Smart Pistol, even if the Wingman is heavier. _

_But for that size and kick, you do get a whole helluva lot of firepower in just one hand. That weight does help tame the recoil somewhat. Still, all of the SRS issues RE-45s come with integrated Irondot optics for some stupid reason, once you pull the trigger you can't see jack or shit through whatever aiming system you put on the gun. But the inherent pointability means you can still direct that stream of hot lead more or less where you want it to go, and because it is a pistol, I do like to carry them in pairs and duel wield them. If nothing else, it feels like I'm Neo in the Matrix, that scene in the hotel lobby._

_I wonder what Felicia would think of me in a trench coat?_

* * *

**Closing Notes: And the Inner Demons have now been introduced in their suited and mask wearing glory. There was also a blink and you miss it reference to the Netflix Daredevil show, I'm curious is anybody noticed at all. In addition, that whole scene of Peter constructing the Advanced Suit was inspired by John Wick Chapter 2, I even went so far as to have the red material the wiki says is reinforced receive said reinforcement via the same material and method as Wicks suit. Personally, the Advanced suit is my favorite Spider-Man outfit, hands down, in my mind it is the one the character should always wear. Recognizably Spider-Man but still sleek and modern with some practical touches and an emblem on the chest that is downright badass, it has it all. **

**Another obscure reference, in the logbook entry I say the 'E' in RE-45 stands for Einsatzkommando, which is not strictly Titanfall cannon. Instead it is a reference to the real life Glock 18 machine pistol, though many of you will know it simply as the G18 from MW2 and MW3. It is no coincidence that Cooper dual wields the weapons here like everyone and their mother did back in the day. Einsatzkommando Cobra, or EKO Cobra, is a real life Austrian Special Police unit that requested the Glock 18 be developed, and so you have them to thank for all those times you got shredded by twin pocket sized bullet hoses online.**

**As always, feedback of any sort is welcome, I will respond either at the top of the next chapter or via PM. Next week will see Spider-Man and the Marauder continue to pursue the Demons and find out just how much of a threat they are as the hunt for their leader begins. **

**So fire your guns, it's time to run, and Blow Me Away.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	28. Chapter 28: Blow Me Away

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

First off, thanks to ravens18 for betaing this chapter, always appreciate the help.

As for reviews, **Tristin: Glad you're enjoying it so far, hopefully you're all caught up. I still think those early chapters are by far the weakest and one of the things I'm going to try and work on during the holidays is expanding and improving the pacing of those first 4 or 5 chapters. **

**A Fan: I'm going to be cagey about this, but I will say I have ideas to include other Titans and Pilots, plans even. Whether or not those plans come to fruition is something else entirely and all I can say is that it's a definite 'maybe'. **

**Guest: Glad you're enjoying it and thanks for the support, I do intend to keep this story going. **

If you have thoughts about the inclusion of more Titans then feel free to let me know, honestly I'm still amazed that this story has gotten as much support as it has, thank you all for coming along for the ride. Also, **there will be strong sexual content in the last half of the first section of this chapter. **I know the last one was only like four chapters ago, but I'm not planning another bit like that until chapter 42 or so. The reasoning is purely because of tone and mood and that sort of thing, don't ask me exactly which it is, I'm an engineer damnit.

The chapter title is Breaking Benjamin, and I only know this song because of its inclusion on the Halo 2 OST. It was written specifically for the Halo 2 OST. I'm not entirely sure what else to put here because I'm not a serious fan of the band or anything, I just like Mary O'Donnell and had the Halo soundtracks on in the background when writing and when this song came up I thought it fit. 2000's rock is just not really for me, by that point I don't think that 'Rock' is really the same as the Classic Rock that I prefer, it really lacks the same attitude that make the classics great.

* * *

**Power Without Question - Chapter 28: Blow Me Away **

_After the fall, We'll shake it off, Show me the way_

_Only the strongest will survive_

_Lead me to heaven, when we die_

_I am a shadow on the wall, I'll be the one to save us all_

_Wanted it back, Don't fight me now_

_Don't make me beg, Blow me away_

* * *

"Are you here for something specific, or do you just want to stare at my ass?" asked Felicia playfully as she heard the distinct 'woosh' of the Marauder's jump kit behind her while she lay prone, observing the home of a pop star.

A rearmed Marauder strode across the roof and sat next to the thief, slipping his helmet off as he took out a selection of snacks and pair of water canteens and set them between the two. "Well he began as he took a bite of his preferred jerky, "it is an incredibly lovely ass" he said with a grin. "But no, I found something tonight while responding to a silent alarm. Masked gunmen, they looked like a serious outfit, all wearing these" he said as he tossed the mask towards the Black Cat and took another bite, chewing as she examined the black and white wooden disguise. "Any ideas?"

Hardy frowned as she turned the mask over, "It's a reproduction, for one" she began, "so the mask itself isn't worth anything. It isn't even made to look old" she noted, setting it aside. "But I can ask around, I know one or two dealers who specialize in Asian pieces, they might be able to give me a lead on the buyer."

Cooper nodded as picked up a canteen, "Good, whoever these guys are they bought in bulk. I'd reckon there were at least thirty or forty guys at that auction house tonight." The thought led Cooper towards others. "Do you know of any Asian groups that use masks like this? Triads or anything? Could they be moving in to claim Fisk's turf?"

Felicia took a swig from one of the canteens as she thought it over before shaking her head. "No, I don't think so. They prefer to work in the shadows, something like that seems out of character" she assured. Sitting up so she was leaning against the wall, she silently chewed on a protein bar. "One more time, describe everything you saw" she said suddenly.

Cooper tilted his head and quirked an eyebrow but didn't question her as he recounted the entire scene in detail. Their dress, armaments, mannerisms, numbers, interactions, everything he could remember he told the Black Cat. "I thought so…" she said softly as the Marauder gave her a questioning look. "These guys are amateurs."

Matthew was shocked. "You're sure?" he asked, only getting a confident nod in return, her face reading 'of course I'm sure, what did you expect?' "What makes you say that?"

A single clawed finger extended into the night sky. "Too many guys. They could have easily accomplished the heist with a quarter of the manpower" she asserted before a second finger extended up. "I know you don't think so, but it's better to do things quietly. These guys didn't even try, and I know that place, it wouldn't have been that hard."

Cooper took a drink before pointing at Felicia, canteen still in hand. "Easy for you maybe" he countered before taking another sip.

The silver haired seductress merely gave the gunfighter a look akin to the one a teacher gives to a particularly annoying know it all student who wasn't nearly as smart as he thought. "It wouldn't have been that hard" she repeated before a third finger went up to join the first two. "No crime boss worth their salt would be that brash and single minded. There were millions of dollars of antiques in there, but they just wanted a file? They clearly sent enough manpower to steal half of the collection, so why didn't they?"

Cooper shrugged, there was no logical reason for the heist to go the way it did. He was left with a single uncomfortable conclusion. "So we're now faced with a group of criminals with unknown goals, powers unlike anything else, and to cap it all off, don't know what they were doing" said Matthew in summary. Stupid criminals may have been, well…stupid, but their unpredictability was dangerous in its own way. Felicia nodded, though the way she bit her lip suggested she had other things on her mind.

She slowly crawled her way towards him on all fours, her feline like movement befitting her moniker as her ass moved hypnotically before she reached him and pressed him down onto his back. "I hope you didn't come here to just talk about work" she purred as she kissed him, her lips moving to his ear as his hands settled on her delicious curves. "Because this kitty wants to play."

Cooper grinned, "I like the sound of that" he whispered huskily into her ear as he slowly ran his hands down to her ass, the suit clinging tightly to her form. Able to feel everything but the soft skin beneath, the ultimate tease that excited him so much. While he grabbed a handful of rear with one hand, his other pressed down on one of her supple breasts through her suit. His efforts elicted erotic moans into his ear as Felicia But as he felt himself begin to unravel under Felicia's ministrations, they ceased. Gritting his teeth in frustration, Matthew glared at Felicia, but quickly noticed the playful gleam in her emerald eyes. Her hands went to the clasps on his armor as she bit her lip in that way the Texan found oh so sexy. Though Cooper quickly collected his wits, "Here?" he asked.

But the Black Cat merely smirked back as she leaned back to have her back vertical as she slowly ground her voluptuous ass into his groin as she answered his question. "Why do you think I picked this spot stud? Highest rooftop in the area, and even then, look" she ordered, as Matt reluctantly took his eyes from her to note the small structures on the roof that effectively boxed the couple into their corner, obscuring them from any prying eyes. As Matt brought his eyes back to the insatiable woman sitting on his crotch, he matched her grin. "Now shut up and help me get you out of that armor" demanded Felicia breathlessly.

The process to get himself out of his armor and equipment wasn't a short one in the best of times, and now, when he was…distracted, it was taking even longer. Every second felt like an hour as he lay on his back and under Black Cat, ditching the vest, exo, and jump kit while Felicia made herself busygetting his armored fatigues and form fitting bodysuit undone. As soon as those were off his shoulders, leaving his scarred chest open, his hands went out to do the same to her as he ripped her hood off to allow her platinum hair to glow in the moonlight, managing to make her look even more exotic. As Felicia leaned back in for a feisty kiss, Matthew yanked his gloves off before going for the zipper on the front of her suit.

But he wasn't content with letting Felicia control things, trailing his lips down her neck, he found a spot that caused her to moan with lust and enable Cooper to wrap an arm around her as he flipped them over. Instead of pressing her to the ground, he lifted her up as she instinctively wrapped her legs around him, hanging onto him as he stood. His manhood only got harder as she pulled herself closer to him and he desperately tore at her suit, the durable material not ripping as he worked the top to the sides to expose her breasts, still contained in the confines of her sports bra. His free hand ripped the offending garment down to expose the perky mounds of soft flesh to the chilly night air, her pink nipples standing erect in response. Going back to her mouth, his lips met hers, theirs tongues dueling for dominance as he continued to fondle her tits until the kiss broke and he heard her say "Down" and he instantly complied with her wish.

As soon as her feet hit the roof she dropped to her knees, her fingers yanking his pants down as she went, allowing his erection to spring out while Felicia eyed it hungrily. The Burglar worked her gloves off before she slowly grasped his hard cock and stroked it slowly, tongue coming out to lick the precum from the tip as she grinned up at him. "You must really want me stud. You're already so hard" she purred as she brought a hand down to cup his balls, causing him to bite back a groan. Matthew had closed his eyes and just drowned in the sensations when another hit him, the feeling of a wet and warm mouth around his sack, a tongue running over what was inside.

"Oh _fuck_" he groaned as Felicia switched to give the rest of his balls the same treatment, both of her hands still wrapped around his manhood and giving him firm, measured strokes in contrast to the fervent sucking taking place just below. Despite his heavy breathing, Matthew was still maintaining something like control and looked down to see those sexy eyes, glinting with mischief, staring up at him seductively. Even though she was on his knees before him, her mouth around his balls, she was in total control and he was but putty in her hands.

_God damn, what a woman. _

With a wet 'pop' she removed her mouth and smirked, placing her hands on his ass as she smiled and looked up at him, "Watch this" she commanded before opening her mouth and practically inhaling his cock. Her nose touched his groin as Cooper let out a breath and groaned at the sensation, with no gag reflex, she had no issue with his erection intruding deep into her tight throat as she lavished his manhood with her tongue. Slowly, she drew her head back until he was almost released, but as suddenly as the first time, she took him to the hilt again. His last vestiges of self-control were slowly ground to dust as Felicia continued her routine, the airtight seal of her lips, the wetness of her tongue, and the tightness of her throat saw to that.

Soon, there was only one possible outcome, "Such a good cocksucker, you're gonna make me cum" he managed through heavy breaths, but that only caused the woman responsible to redouble her efforts. She sucked, hard, and that finally pushed him over the edge, his cock erupted as spurts of warm cum shot into the back of her throat. His member twitched and throbbed, but Felicia maintained her suction, swallowing down every drop he dispensed.

"Hopefully you're not all spent yet" she purred after she released his cock from her mouth, licking her lips as she quickly finished the zipper that separated the two halves of her costume. With unabashed need, she shucked off her pants to reveal her pale and toned legs, leaving only her shoes, thong, and unzipped top to cover her. Reaching down, he grabbed her arms and got her to her feet, pushing her back to the wall as he ravished her ran his hands down her side as he pulled her bra down with his teeth to begin working on her nipples. But not stopping there, he trailed his lips down her body, lavishing it until he reached her sex.

With a smile, he removed her panties to the side, exposing her dripping slit as he gave her pink lips a long lick, causing her to shiver. "Delicious" he growled before diving back in, his tongue pressing inside as her juices flowed into his mouth and he savored her sweet and tangy taste.

"Matthew" she moaned as he teased her clit, her head pressed back into the wall, "fill me, _now_." Her words, and the need they had, brought his cock back to life as he sprang back to his feet and lifted her, pinning her to the wall as she steadied herself on his shoulders. Slowly, the pair lined themselves up until Matt could feel his cock rubbing against her cunt, which was moist and ready, and the thief moaned wantonly.

Without warning, he bucked his hips and thrust in, that moan became a cry, prompting him to pull back despite the strong legs wrapped around his waist. When he was nearly out he slammed back into her, sending her breasts bouncing as he shoved his erect prick as far as it could go, savoring the way her wet, velvety walls clamped down around his member. Felicia's weight served to impale herself even further around his manhood as he increased the tempo, pushing himself to fuck her faster and deeper as her pussy dripped around him. "God damn, what a pussy" he grunted as he continued driving himself deeper into her warm tunnel.

"Yes! Oh…fuck…me…harder!" she cried out, urging him to continue his unrelenting battering of her sex as she writhed around him, working her hips as well, only adding to their mutual enjoyment. "Harder! Don't stop!" begged the thief before she cried out as Matthew squeezed a nipple, drawing a gasp from her. That moan was drowned out by the sounds of impacting flesh as their hips slammed together rythmically. Every thrust brought them both closer to completion, the sight of Felicia's delightfully perky tits bouncing in time with his thrusts and the way her face was twisted with desire as she screamed out cries and demands to be fucked quickly brought Cooper closer to his own release. "I'm cumming! I'm cumming!" announced the heiress, loud enough for half the city to hear as Matthew buried himself in the deepest reaches of her magnificent cunt and felt it squeeze down around his cock and the platinum blonde quivered with her orgasm.

The overwhelming combination was just too much as Cooper succumbed to his primal urges and filled a second hole with his seed. His hot cum erupted out and painted the walls of her sex, signaling the end of their mutual climax. Tenderly, Matthew used the last of his strength to lift his lover off him and set her down, but neither had the strength to remain standing. Side by side and still mostly undressed, the two sat down with the backs to the wall they had just fucked against as they rested against each other. The silence was soon broken by Felicia laughing softly. "How did I go 8 months without rooftop sex?" she asked, completely serious.

Matthew chuckled and shrugged, "I don't know, but I won't let it happen again" he promised.

* * *

There were times when Peter Parker hated the fact that he was Spider-Man, and this was one of them.

"Saved by the siren" observed Mary Jane dryly, all thoughts of their conversation having been replaced by the subtle humming of his sixth sense that pulled him to suit up and help with whatever situation was attracting that much Police attention. He turned back to look at the redhead's saddened expression.

It pained him to see her like that, he didn't want to do this to her, despite his bumbling attempts at reconciling with her, she seemed receptive, at least more than he had expected. To turn around and ditch her so quickly hurt him as much as the beating he had endured at the hands of Fisk. "Talk to you later?" he asked hopefully.

To his immense relief, his old next-door neighbor nodded reluctantly, "Go" she urged softly, but with all the weight of an order. Not needing any more prompting, Peter stood and rushed out the door, totally oblivious to the distraught redhead he had left in his wake.

Ducking into an alley before stripping off his shirt and pants to reveal the Advanced Suit underneath, he webbed them to the wall, slipped his mask on, and fired off a web line. In no time, he was swinging with practiced ease over the bustling Manhattan streets, a familiar number already dialed on his mask phone. "Hey, it's me" he greeted without preamble as soon as he heard the click, "what's with the units heading down third?" he asked.

Yuri, ever business like, gave him a straight answer, _"It looks like our old friend Herman Schultz is at it again."_ Schultz, a short and stocky inventor born in Brooklyn, had been one of Peter's first 'super' foes. Though it was his invention that made him a step above the human rank and file, the 'Vibro-Shock Gauntlets' were fascinating pieces of technology, and quite effective to boot. A career criminal, the newly dubbed 'Shocker' had used the Gauntlets to devastating effect and pulled several successful heists before Spider-Man had taken him down.

Now, it seemed, he was back. "Shocker" quipped Peter, but the pun was so lame that he didn't put much into the word. Then he had a thought, "didn't he just get paroled?" asked the Webhead as he continued to swing through the air, chasing after the sound of sirens.

"_Yeah, well" _began Yuri, _"guess it didn't take" _supposed the Captain, though Peter knew she was more focused about bringing him down first, figuring out motive would come later.

Handspringing off of a chimney, Peter did his best to allay her worries, "No worries – Herman's just a big cupcake. I'll have him back in Ryker's by bedtime" he assured confidently before the line was cut and he planted his feet on a building, running along the vertical surface with ease that would ignite the competitive steak in his Texan friend. "Just had dinner with my ex after saving her from masked criminals…" he mused before reaching the corner of the building and leaping off before firing a webline at the next building and transitioning back into a swing, "and now I'm gonna go beat up a maniac who uses shock waves to rob people. What a perfectly normal life you have Peter Parker."

As if a reminder that his life was stranger than most, his boss called him with a concern he would bet even the Marauder didn't have to consider. _"Peter, I just want to make sure you haven't left any equipment you've built for your…friend…around the lab" _asked Otto. _"It's no bother to me" _he assured, _"but if the grant committee stops by again –" _

Peter did appreciate the man's concern, but he had been doing this long enough to have _some _idea of how to be discrete, except for the previous night where he hadn't, and had taken the proper precautions. "Don't worry Doc, I make a point not to leave anything there. But I know my 'friend' appreciates you looking out for him. There's a lot of people who don't like him very much" he admitted honestly. Cooper had it worse, but the criticism seemed to roll off his shoulders.

'_They aren't out there in the thick of it like we are. When lives hang in the balance, you must make split second decisions and live with them. The people who criticize how what we do like Monday morning quarterbacks? I'd wager they know as much about fighting as they do about fucking.'_

The Marauders colorful words never failed to get a chuckle out of Peter, and was thankful that Otto's answer separated him from that group. _"That buffoon Jameson and his audience of sheep? Please" _he answered, almost as if had been insulted at the insinuation he might agree with the Editor. _"The people who do great things in this world are those who don't let bullies like him stand in their way. People like us!" _It caused Peter to smile to hear his mentor praise his alter ego, and the inclusion of Peter in the comparison to the Webslinger brought him back to Mary Jane's comment about if he needed the spandex onesie.

But he was quickly nearing the origin of the sirens and had to cut the conversation short. "You said a mouthful Doc, take care" he said in closing before hanging up. Seeing as he seemed to be in the right area, he came to a stop atop a traffic light and took a second to catch his breath and gather his bearings. No sooner had he done that when a storefront just below him exploded as a bulky yellow colored figure leapt out and came to a stop on the sidewalk. The Wallcrawler recognized the oddly dressed man in an instant. "Hi Herman."

"Seriously?" returned the robber before growling lowly and pausing, the vigilante could tell he was deciding if he would stand his ground or try and run. Schultz chose the latter, turning and pointing his gauntlets downward and directing the vibro blasts into the street, shattering the asphalt and launching himself forwards. Using this unique method of locomotion, Herman bunny hopped up the street with impressive speed as Spidey dutifully set off in pursuit. "Give it up, you're never going to catch me" called back Shocker.

"That's what you said last time!" reminded Spider-Man dryly from his position half a block behind the fleeing criminal.

"I don't want to hurt you" returned Schultz, somewhat sincerely if the Wallcrawler was to judge, "it'll just slow me down."

"Wow, that's…considerate" responded Peter as he maintained his position behind Herman, looking for an opportunity to take the man down cleanly. He would have to admit that Shocker was good, the man was moving with efficiency and poise, it was evident he was making a beeline for whatever destination he had in mind. "What's the money for, Herman?" asked the Webslinger conversationally as he webzipped up to the top of an arch the Shocker had just passed under and launched himself off the top, closing the gap just a little bit more.

"What do you care?" asked the robber angrily as he hung a right and resumed heading south.

"Actually, I don't" admitted Peter, "just trying to make polite conversation" he explained before grunting in exertion as he yanked himself forwards with his right hand before using his left to launch a line of artificial silk high to swing like a pendulum.

The other participant in this chase was less then bemused at Peter's hospitality attempts. "Argh, I'm done talking" retorted Schultz angrily as he launched himself forwards once again, cratering the street in the process.

"But this could be so much more rewarding if we connected on an emotional level…" insisted the spider themed superhero, "wait, I forgot. You don't have any emotions" he taunted, only to get nothing in reply. "C'mon Herman. At least talk to me so we can make it interesting" he pleaded as the Shocker launched himself up onto a two-story building and used that as a starting point to ascend further. While the Shocker was using his vibration blasts to go up, he wasn't making as much forward progress, giving Peter the opening he had been waiting for. _Gotcha _he thought as he snapped off a webline and yanked himself to the criminal, causing both to tumble down to the roof. Spider-Man quickly got the upper hand, pining the criminal down, "gotcha" he declared smugly. "Now let's talk—"

"I said I'm…" began Herman as the white eye lenses widened at the yellow waves emanating angrily from the rhombical gauntlets, "**DONE**" continued Herman, punctuating the word as he slammed the armored fist into Peter's chest, the waves it generated shaking every molecule of his body as the blow sent the red and blue clad hero sprawling backwards, "talking" he finished as he directed his next blasts down onto the roof and launched himself forwards once again, leaving a still recovering Spider-Man behind.

"Noted" breathed the Wallcrawler as he sucked in gulps of air to replace what had been forcibly knocked from his lungs before he pushed himself back up to his feet. The day he let the Shocker get away from him with one punch was the day he hung up the webs. Taking a running start, he web zipped to the top of the wall before him and was once again soaring through the cool night air. "Seriously Herman, why are you robbing again? You know the police are watching your every move" he called out. "I mean, we all know you're kinda dumb, but I didn't think you were _this _dumb." When he didn't get an answer, the Webslinger decided it was time for some conjecture. "You must be desperate" he guessed, "which means you're not just stealing for yourself. You must be working with someone" he mused before he had another, more worrying, thought. "Or _for _someone. You can tell me who it is now, or make me punch it out of you later. Your choice!"

Shocker finally cracked and gave his pursuer an answer, even if it left the Webhead wanting. "I've said enough" he grunted angrily before turning hard right around the corner.

The Wallcrawler doggedly swung after him, swinging around the corner only for his sixth sense to warble angrily in warning. Even without it, he knew what the bright yellow light up ahead signified. "Move! Move! Move!" he chanted as he snapped off a line and yanked himself towards a streetlight to get out of the way of the powerful blast as it let off a concussion wave not unlike an explosion as it shot passed. Figuring Schultz was growing even more desperate the longer the chase went on, Peter was on alert for the telltale yellow signature of more blasts, and he didn't have to wait long.

The wind pressed his mask to his face as Spider-Man tore through the city, firing a webline to pull him abruptly to the right as the blast from Herman's gauntlet passed by close enough to rattle his bones. Without missing a beat, the wallcrawler webzipped to a lamp post and launched himself from it before transitioning straight into another swing as another blast went by below him.

At the apex of his swing he flipped over and was close enough, "Last call!" quipped Peter as he fired off another webline that stuck to the Shocker's suit. Slamming into the robber, the momentum from the impact drove Schultz to the ground where Spider-Man got the upper hand, webbing down one gauntlet as the other one swung up at him. Pushing back, Parker felt that familiar feeling at the base of his skull as the webbed down gauntlet warbled and he flipped away just as it broke free from his webbing. Ominous yellow energy built up, the gauntlet charging to unleash a punishing blast at point blank range.

Fortunately for Peter, he was quicker on the draw, a blob of webbing wrapping up Herman, pinning the gauntlet to his chest before two more fastened him to the street. "You know what Herman?" asked the webhead as he crouched down next to the robber. "You have like zero personality…but your suit is awesome" he conceded, "can we talk design details?"

Unsurprisingly, all Peter got in return we angry grunts and muffled curses from the still struggling Schultz. "Maybe later" muttered Spidey as the pattern continued until police arrived to take Herman away, led by his favorite Captain.

Sitting atop a SWAT truck, Spidey watched a pair of officers guide Schultz away as Watanabe turned to look up at him. "Good work Spider-Man. Did you learn anything about his motive?" she asked.

"I tried" said the webslinger in reply, "but he wasn't very talkative" he admitted. "Plus, I think he hates me."

"You have that effect on a lot of people" deadpanned the Captain with a shrug.

Peter couldn't help his shoulders from sagging slightly, getting a slight quirk from Yuri's mouth as he did so. What was it about him that attracted people with dry senses of humor? "But you love me, right Yuri?" he asked in his best puppy dog tone.

Watanabe tried to keep a straight face, but the right side of her mouth betrayed her, cracking into a half smile as she rolled her eyes. "I _tolerate _you" she corrected.

"Wow" answered Spider-Man as he brought his hand up to scratch the side of his head in thought, "that might be the nicest thing you've ever said to me." Yuri merely shook her head in exasperation before turning away and getting back to her duties. Spider-Man took his leave, moving through the city without a specific destination in mind. "Oh, it's MJ" he said in surprise as he saw the reason his phone was ringing before clearing his throat and answering. "Hey MJ, you're up late" he said, doing his best to sound casual.

"_Just catching up on the news" _she answered, fighting fatigue from her rather eventful evening. _"Looks like you had quite an adventure with Shocker tonight."_

"Yeah" agreed Peter as he ran up the side of a building, "he was unusually combative" he answered automatically before remembering what he had been doing before dealing with the unusually combative Herman and mentally cursing himself. "Anyway, thanks for dinner. What do I owe you?" he asked, deciding to be a decent gentleman first and foremost.

"_How about a favor?"_ she asked, pouring on the charm that he found oh so very charming indeed. _"You still have that mask from the gallery?"_

"Yeah" he answered automatically. "I'll swing by the FEAST Center in the morning to ask Martin Li about it" he explained.

"_Martin Li?"_ responded a clearly confused MJ. While the man was a well known and respected philanthropist, few knew about his past before FEAST. Even Peter didn't know all that much. _"Why?"_

Thankfully, the answer was simple. "He has a degree in art history" explained Parker as he came to a stop on a rooftop to survey the area and catch his breath for a second. "If anyone knows about the origins of that mask, he will" assured the webhead.

"_Just keep me in the loop"_ responded a mollified MJ. _"Like I said, I think there's a bigger story here. And I plan to be the one to break it" _said the redhead, her determination and confidence coming to the forefront and Peter had no doubt that she would be the one to break the story, as much as he hoped there wasn't one to begin with.

Leaping from the building, Peter began swinging casually through the city again. "Uh, sure" he agreed as he tried to avoid stepping on the still sore toes from their past break up. "So I can call you, like whenever?" he asked hopefully, though he did his best not to show it.

"_Yeah"_ she replied happily, _"whenever, whatever."_ With that, the reporter hung up, but not before the words plastered a small smile on Peter's face, a bit of hope that things might be looking up as he did a backflip in celebration.

"So I guess we're talking again, cool" drawled the wallcrawler contently as he carried on through the night, stopping the small-time crime that popped up, nearly getting a nasty surprise when a random pedestrian tried to gun him down when he stopped to push a stalled car out of traffic, and recalibrating police towers when he wound up near a precinct. The hours flew past when he got an unexpected phone call as the sun just began to peak over the horizon.

He passed the last hour or so on the rooftop of the homeless shelter, snacking on a doughnut and coffee as he flipped through his social media and texted Cooper. Apparently, the Pilot hadn't been idle, knocking out one more of Fisk's construction sites and was now getting a rest and rearm in. The Texan had a few choice words over text that Peter didn't want to repeat about how he handled the MJ situation. Soon he had stopped responding, and BT sent him a message that the Marauder had passed out from near exhaustion.

Not long after 8 AM, Peter, now dressed in civilian clothes, dropped down and made his way through the shelter towards Li's office on the second floor. Opening the door just a crack and slipping his head inside, Peter saw Li writing something on a pad as he knocked. "Peter!" said the philanthropist with a smile, "what can I do for you?"

Parker stepped into the well-furnished office, backpack in his hand. "Sorry to bother you Mr. Li, I have a friend, Mary Jane, she's a reporter" explained Peter as Li slid the notepad into a drawer and turned to face the scientist. "She's doing a story on art imports and she found this piece" he lied. Sighing, "she wanted an expert opinion on it, and I know you have a degree…" he rambled nervously.

But Li just smiled reassuringly, "And this might be the first time I actually get to use it" he joked. "Let's see what you have." Peter pulled the mask out, the massive thing barely fitting in his pack with its ornate carvings and spikes lining the face. "Interesting" said Li in surprise, almost sounding out of breath as he gingerly took the disguise and examined it. "Where did she find it?" "Uh…I'm not really sure" lied Peter as he sensed Martin's unease with the mask. He had never seen the man this shaken before. "Why? What is it?"

Li looked lost in thought as he held the mask up, "It's a replica of an antique Chinese opera mask" he explained absentmindedly. "I haven't seen one in years" he mused as he turned it around to have a look on the inside. "This symbol here" began the philanthropist as he pointed to the Chinese character at the top of the mask, "roughly translates to 'Demon'."

"Demon?" parroted Peter as Li turned around. The philanthropist looked distant, like he was thinking of something as Peter remained silent.

After a moment, Li looked at Peter. "My father read me ghost stories with that mask and symbol in it when I was young" he explained as Peter nodded. "Scared the hell out of me." There was no humor in the tone as he handed the mask back to the younger man. He squared up and turned serious, "Peter, listen. That mask, it's…it could be connected to dangerous people" revealed Li in hushed tones. "Mary Jane might want to find a different story" he advised.

Peter knew the mask was connected to dangerous people, but he hadn't expected Li to realize that. Was the group well known in China? How come he had never encountered or even heard of them before? If they were well connected, then… "Do you think she might be in danger?" he asked.

"I don't know" answered Li honestly as he looked up at the portrait of his parents. "Why take the risk?"

Peter knew that those words would do the opposite of deter MJ, but he nodded anyway. "I'll let her know, thanks for the help Mr. Li" said Peter, stuffing the mask back in his bag and excusing himself from the office.

Once outside, he pulled his phone out and dialed the last number that called him. _"Hey" _greeted MJ, Peter was unsurprised that she was up and alert so early in the morning.

"The symbol inside the mask means 'Demon'" he explained without preamble. "It really spooked Mr. Li. Never seen him like that. He even said you should drop the story" rattled off Parker, no small part of him hoping the redhead would take Li's advice.

But that wasn't MJ's style. _"Fat chance"_ she answered instantly before pausing in thought. _"Do you think Mr. Li knows more than he's letting on?"_

Even though he knew she couldn't see it, Peter shook his head, phone still pressed to his ear. "No, I think he just had some weird flashback or something" suggested the wallcrawler. He had seen that look before on Cooper, they usually happened whenever he saw something that reminded him of his first life in Texas. 'The Thousand Yard Stare' as Matthew had called it. "I know his childhood was pretty traumatic."

"_Yeah, makes sense"_ agreed MJ as she moved the conversation along._ "Demons huh? Catchy name" _mused the reporter out loud. _"Okay, gotta get writing. See you soon."_

With that the line went dead, "Well, that went about as well as I could've hoped" drawled Peter as he found the next person to call and waited for a probably groggy Texan to pick up. "Hey Cooper, it's me. Just wanted to give you an update on the mask MJ found for her story."

"_Damn, you work fast"_ drawled the Marauder, sounding more awake than Peter would have expected. _"Alright, well don't leave me in suspense, what've you got?"_ asked the Pilot, spoiling for a fight as always, even if it was hidden beneath a casual blanket.

"I had Mr. Li take a look at it; he said the symbol on the inside means 'Demon.' He seemed to recognize the mask, said it might be connected to dangerous people" explained Peter as he made his way downstairs. "He really freaked out when he saw it."

"_Hmmm…interesting"_ said the Renegade Pilot on the other end of the line. There was something guarded in his tone that Peter couldn't quite place. _"Thanks for the info, I sent photos of the one I grabbed to a few of Cat's old sources. I'll let you know when I hear back from them."_

"Alright, sounds good Coop" replied Peter as he made his way outside. "I assume you'll be working today?" asked Peter as he made his way out of sight down an alley way and checked that it was clear before hoisting himself up onto the roof of the building with his webshooters.

There was a laugh on the other side of the line. _"You know me, riding to the sound of the guns"_ said the Pilot as Peter heard the distinct sound of a weapon being loaded and round chambered. _"I'll be on the streets in an hour, call if you need me"_ said the Pilot before disconnecting and resuming his preparations.

With some time to kill, Peter suited up, ready to get back out into the city.

* * *

Matthew Cooper felt that drip of adrenaline that he felt every time he suited up. Currently standing in the under suit and armored fatigues as he checked that he had all his weapons laid out before he started suiting up. In a well-rehearsed routine, he strapped on his armored vest, jumpkit, exoskeleton, pads, and webgear until in a few short minutes he was fully armed and ready for combat. The versatile Mastiff shotgun in his hands, precise G2A5 on his back, and Smart Pistol on his chest meant he was as dangerous as he could ever be outside a Titan.

Laid out nearby was the deck of 52, the Marauder's most wanted in Manhattan. As soon as Wilson Fisk's Ace of Diamonds card had been removed, it now looked like someone else was vying to replace him. After his conversation with Parker, the SRS vigilante had no doubt that Martin Li knew who that might be. That small detail that didn't match up with Peter's story had already been sent to MJ on the terms of confidentiality, and the reporter was already looking into the man's life.

But if Li was somehow connected to this new faction and the possible gang war that could break out, there were more ways to stop it than by scrounging through records to find clues to unravel the mystery. There were the options Cooper preferred, like hitting weapons stockpiles to keep one side from fighting with anything more deadly than two sticks and a rock. Those were the options the Marauder preferred, and the one he was about to carry out.

* * *

_Late again_ groused Peter internally as he hurriedly waved his keycard over the door, granting him access into the lab. Inside he saw Doctor Octavius sitting at a small table with a man Peter instantly recognized as Lance Corporal Texidor. Peter also recognized the left arm the man had as being the one created by him and Otto, the mechanical bits exposed in an artwork of metal alloy and carbon fiber. "So how does it work?" asked Texidor cautiously as he gripped the bicep of the prosthesis with his good hand.

"Just like a natural hand" explained Otto calmly. "You think of what you want it to do, and…" he said, gesturing towards the blue solo cup sitting on the small table. Slowly but surely, the fingers of the hand unballed from the fist they were in as Texidor reached out and gently closed them around the cup.

All three held their collective breaths as the man shakily picked the cup up, but pick the cup up he did. First a quarter of an inch, then a half, then one inch, then two, then four. "Yes!" Peter said excitedly as he beamed brightly, both he and Otto sharing a moment of accomplishment. But that moment was short lived as the door to the lab opened and two men in jumpsuits came in followed closely by a smartly dressed woman holding a clipboard. "Hey! Hey, what do you think you're doing?" demanded Parker.

"This site's been declared a safety hazard" said the woman heartlessly as she shoved the clipboard into Peter's hands. As Spider-Man scanned through the legal jargon on the page the men began to remove items from the shelves.

"Stop that right now!" screamed Otto, the man having ever raised his voice caused Peter to nearly leap to the ceiling in shock as he looked around. "This is highly sensitive equipment" he insisted as he took a bag back from one of the city workers just as Peter sighted another with a particular crate. Leveling a look at the man that got him to give Peter the box without argument, Parker gave a sigh of relief. If Cooper found out the city had taken his helmet…Otto sighted the box Peter was holding, face twisting in realization. "That's it, I'm calling the mayor's office directly."

"Peter Parker" said a voice from the door. "How the hell are you?" asked none other than Mayor Norman Osborn himself in a dark green suit, arms raised in surprise as he strode towards Peter like he owned the place.

"Speak of the devil" sneered Otto as both he and Peter put down the boxes they had and faced the former CEO.

Using his foot to push the box containing the old striped helmet away, Peter looked up, somewhat stunned at Osborn's appearance. "Mr. Osborn…" he began.

But the mayor clapped a hand down on his shoulder and smiled, though the expression didn't quiet reach his eyes. "Oh please, how long have we known each other? It's Mr. Mayor" he corrected before breaking into a forced laugh. "It's Norman. Norman" he said, still smiling and utterly ignoring Dr. Octavius.

But Otto wouldn't be ignored any longer. "Norman, what do you think you're doing?" asked Otto, eyes narrowing.

Turning back to the woman who must have been his assistant, the Mayor took hold of another clipboard. "The grant agreement you signed has strict safety provisions" he explained without a hint of remorse as he handed Otto the list of infractions. "This isn't your first violation."

"Those were excused…"

"By me" interjected Osborn, cutting off Octavius before his voice turned serious. "We should have confiscated this equipment long ago."

"But I've had a breakthrough" insisted Otto as he stepped aside to let Norman see Lance Corporal Texidor, still seated and confused at the activity going on around him.

But Osborn was unfazed, extending his hand as he stepped forwards. "Thank you for your great service to our country" said the Mayor as he shook the veteran's hand. Placing a hand on his back, the CEO led the man away from Otto. "These folks will escort you to Oscorp robotics, where you will receive the latest in prosthetics, no charge."

As Texidor walked away, Otto spoke up, a vitriol in his voice. "This isn't about safety infractions, is it?" said the Doctor accusingly.

"I'm trying to help you Otto" insisted Norman, his tone implying that he thought he was the good guy. "You're free to continue your work…in a secure environment" he said with a smile that almost made Peter's skin crawl.

"At Oscorp."

Norman just smiled knowingly. "You always were the smartest guy in the room" said Osborn condescendingly.

"You haven't changed a bit" sneered Otto, the man's optimistic demeanor faltering.

"Neither have you" returned Norman before he refocused his attention on Peter. "Hey, Peter. Harry will be coming back from Europe early next year. Maybe the two of you can start that business you always talked about" suggested Norman coolly. "This is opportunity knocking" said the Mayor, though Peter felt like this was the kind of knocking that Cooper preferred to do.

With that, the Mayor and all the other city workers left the pair in the dark and empty lab as Peter turned to see Otto struggling to sit down. "Easy, easy" he encouraged as he steadied his boss into the folding metal chair. "They didn't take everything, maybe we can start over…"

"Peter" said Otto sadly, "There's no 'we.' Without the grant from the city I can no longer pay you" said Octavius sadly. "I need some time to think. If I were you…I'd look for a new job."

* * *

A flash from the corner of his eye caused Cooper to cease punching the Fisk Goon under him and activate his phase shift as he turned and sprinted towards the source, the next floor up at the top of the under construction high rise. Jump kit firing as he grabbed hold of the exposed concrete just as he was pulled back. Looking up, he saw the look of shock on the man's face, the rocket launcher he was wielding still smoking as Cooper reached out and grabbed his leg, yanking and pulling him off the edge and onto the ground below.

Dropping down to the same level, the Marauder kicked away the rocket launcher and stood over the groaning man before grabbing him by the vest and slamming him into a nearby pillar. Then again, and again, before finally dropping him to the ground, the construction site now silent, though not a peaceful one.

Blood and shell casings littered the ground, the air heavy with cordite as the Pilot reloaded his weapons, the faint sound of approaching police sirens indicating he wouldn't need to stick around for very long. The fighting had taken its toll on the Marauder's ammunition supply, all he had left was lethal ammunition for both his main weapons, and that was what was loaded as he jumped off the building and freefell towards the streets below.

A swing with his grapple later, and he was parkouring through the city like only a Titan Pilot could, the adrenaline rush slowly subsiding. Even with that, he didn't say no to the opportunity to get another one. His radio crackled to life, _"Marauder, Shocker is robbing a bank on East Thirty-First. Get down there ASAP and take him down" _ordered Yuri as the waypoint appeared on his HUD.

"Copy that Captain" replied the Marauder as he activated his STIM and took off like a bat out of hell towards the bank. "But didn't Spidey deal with him last night? Is this a copycat?" asked the Pilot.

"_He's definitely the real deal"_ answered Yuri grimly._ "A guard released him from his cell a few hours ago and gave him his suit back. The guard that did it, he's dead. Whoever's responsible didn't want any loose ends."_

"Damn" cursed Cooper, but any more in-depth thought was replaced with a clear minded alertness he knew all too well, 'the zone' as some liked to call it, though to him it was the Gunslinger's Trance. "I'm close, but if you want me to do this, it might get messy."

"_We need him for questioning, so bring him in alive"_ she said before adding _"he doesn't need to look good to answer questions."_ With those uncaring words, the radio went dead, leaving the Marauder with his thoughts as he approached his destination.

It didn't take long for him to find the right building; the police helicopter circling overhead and ring of cruisers was kind of a dead giveaway. Landing on the steps of the bank, Mastiff shotgun at the ready, the Marauder moved in slowly until he saw the lobby was ruined, but clear. Activating his cloak, he slipped inside and ran along a wall until he perched himself on a large windowsill in a crouch, weapon ready. Reaching across his body awkwardly, he pulled out a pulse blade and tossed it down towards the vault, smiling as he saw the distinct form of the Shocker get highlighted by the pulse. Just as the pulse wore off, he saw the robber pick up two bags and turn towards the lobby.

Without hesitation he keyed his holo-pilot as the fake dropped down and strolled confidently right into line of sight with the vault door. "Schultz! Drop the bags and place your hands on your head or I will use lethal force! This is your only warning!" called out the Pilot, tone brokering no argument.

"Aw shit" cursed Herman, "screw you!" he bellowed as Cooper watched a beam of seismic energy ripple through the air and distort the hologram below. "Just let me have the money Marauder! I didn't hurt anyone!" he shouted as he stepped forwards towards the lobby. For good measure, the Pilot threw two gravity stars, Herman getting caught in both and suspended between them. The two explosions sent Schultz flying across the room and Cooper dropped down.

"I'm playing for keeps Schultz" growled Cooper, "and your life is on the line. Are you really going to play hardball?" In response, the Shocker raised one of his gauntlets as the Marauder dove and rolled away, jump kit carrying him just out of the blast.

The Shocker raised his opposite gauntlet and charged up a follow up shot. "If you don't kill me, THEY will!" he shouted. But before he could fire, the building warble of the gauntlet was cut off by the thunder of the scattergun as one of the orange bolts clipped Herman in the thigh, taking his legs out from under him as he clattered to the floor.

"So we're playing the fucking pronoun game now?" muttered Matt as he advanced towards Herman, his yellow suit now having a distinct dark splotch on one leg. "You tell me who THEY are, and I'll get you a deal, this is your last chance."

Just as Cooper was about to pull out a set of cuffs, Shocker rolled over and unleashed a full blast from both gauntlets into the Marauder at point blank range. Cooper could feel the air get knocked from his lungs as his armor buckled, thankfully keeping the assault from turning his ribs to dust. Arms flailing wildly, the shotgun went skidding across the floor as he fired his jump kit, slowing him down just as he slammed into the bank wall and collapsed to the floor. "I talk, I die, they made that VERY clear" shouted Herman as he charged up his gauntlets again and began to approach the Marauder. But Cooper wasn't going to lie there and take it as he squeezed his left hand and his battered body was pulled between his dimensions and he tried to move to no avail.

So instead he just drew his G2 and shouldered it, the reticle placed right where Herman had been as he waited. Steadying his breath, his finger began tightening around the trigger of the semi-auto battle rifle until he felt the tingle of the phase shift and color returned to his vision.

_Crack - crack - crack - crack!_

The first shot had been off, but Cooper corrected. The second winged the robber in the left arm before the final two shots slammed straight into his torso, just below his ribcage. "Holy…you…you just…_Fuck_" screamed Schultz as Cooper grit his teeth through his own pain as he got to his feet and staggered towards the robber. As Cooper got closer, Shocker raised another gauntlet only for Matt to jump up and use his foot to pin the hand to the floor beneath his boot as he drew and raised his axe. "You're not gonna'…" said Herman in shock as the axe came down and Schultz raised his gauntlet.

The weapon buried itself in the gauntlet, sparks erupting from the ruined device as Cooper drew the Smart Pistol and aimed it right at his face. As Schultz was about to scream, the muzzle snapped down and the Marauder pumped two rounds into the other gauntlet, destroying it as well. "Now, tell me who hired you" snarled Cooper as Schultz muttered something incoherent. Heartlessly, Cooper moved his other boot and placed it down on the man's wounded stomach, slowly applying more pressure. "Who damn it" growled the Marauder.

"I don't know who or _what _they are under those masks" hissed Schultz through the pain as Matthew slowly let up on the bullet wounds. Cooper bit back a curse, he should have seen it sooner, sending the Shocker out like this twice in 12 hours had been careless…or amateurish.

The Smart Pistol lowered as Herman let out a sigh of relief. "Asian masks?" asked the Marauder as the robber nodded slowly. "Fuck" he said aloud as the blue visor looked down at the yellow eye holes of the mask. "For your sake Shocker" said Cooper lowly as he holstered the MK6 and pulled out a set of his Rigid Cuffs, "you better hope these guys aren't nearly as scary as you seem to think they are."

Spider-Man landed in front of the bank just as he saw Cooper emerge, dragging a bloody Shocker behind him as Cops moved in to secure the bank. After handing custody over to the NYPD, the SRS Pilot made a beeline for Spidey but didn't say a word, merely nodding towards a rooftop and firing his grapple. The Superhero joined him a moment later, far away from prying eyes and ears. Peter watched as his friend leaned tiredly against a wall and slid down to sit, wincing the whole way as he clutched his side tenderly. "Are you okay Matt?" asked Parker worriedly as he sat alongside.

Peter stared at the man's bloody gear, wondering if he looked that bad to the people who saw him after a tough fight. "Yeah I'm fine" said Cooper dismissively, "and quit starin' alright? The blood ain't even mine" he drawled.

Peter chuckled, they had been doing this long enough for him to know that spitting out tough guy like one liners was Cooper's coping mechanism, just like his own quips and rambling. A closer examination suggested the blood was from splatter and maybe a few puddles, but the damage his gear had taken was definitely real. A few scales of the armor on his chest had been chipped away from bullet impacts, his gear was scratched and scuffed, and his webgear was barely hanging together. "Alright, but you were a little rough on ol' Shocker in there, don't you think?"

"I took him down, and he'll live" replied the Marauder with a shrug. "Are you really going to chew me out that much?" he asked tiredly. "Besides, arc rounds don't work so good with all the insulation in his suit. Moot point anyways, used them all at the Fisk hideout beforehand." Now Peter felt kinda bad, his friend had to go from a Fisk hideout to taking down Shocker while he moaned about his job situation to Mary Jane. "And in this line of work, you fight with what you have, not with what you want."

The gruff soldier's wisdom that Cooper seemed to have a never-ending supply of never ceased to amaze Peter as he nodded at the words. "When I dealt with Herman last night, I thought he might have been working for someone, did he tell you anything?" asked Peter.

"You've already met them" answered Cooper evasively, staring off with something clearly on his mind.

Peter thought back to what Mary Jane had told him on his way to the bank. "Those 'Demons' with the masks?"

The striped helmet bobbed up and down, "Got it in one. These guys are making big moves if what MJ told me is true. Shocker was sent to get money to finance their buildup I reckon." There was a pregnant pause as both vigilantes pondered the development. "If they're expanding this fast then they're bound to butt heads with Fisk's Syndicate sooner rather than later, we need to take them down before that happens."

"Agreed" replied Spider-Man instantly. "You head back and fix yourself up. I'll fill Yuri in and try to find out where the Demons are based. Then we hit them together."

"Sounds like a plan" returned the Marauder as he slowly got to his feet, using his rifle to prop himself up. "Before I go, I'm going to call Yuri and clock out." With that, he worked at the TACPAD on his wrist before waiting as Spider-Man was connected to the call. "Captain, Shocker is neutralized and in custody" reported the Pilot.

"_Good work"_ said the hard-nosed policewoman. _"We have a special cell waiting for him at the RAFT. We'll make sure he stays _behind_ bars this time" _continued the Captain, clearly relieved to have another problematic piece off the board.

Cooper took a labored breath, "good. Listen, investigate his link to the 'Demon' group that hit the auction house the other night. Shocker was working for them, though I'm not sure it was by choice. I was able to get that much out of him but not much else." Parker raised an eyebrow, wondering how the distinctly less talkative Cooper had gotten anything out of Herman, before remembering the state the Shocker exited the bank in.

Yuri snorted, shaking Spidey from his thoughts, _"Demons?"_ she said derisively, _"sounds like a Daily Bugle headline." _

Peter, despite his experiences with JJJ, leapt to the defense of his former employer. "The Bugle is a perfectly fine news organization" he piped up.

Yuri was unimpressed, _"Not sure I'd call it news"_ answered the Captain dryly, getting a wry chuckle from the Marauder alongside Spider-Man.

"Well I've heard they have some really good reporters" returned Spider-Man, pointedly ignoring the sputtering laughter coming from Matthew next to him. "Anyway, have you had any more reports on Demons…er…guys with masks?" he asked.

"_Let me get back to you"_ replied Yuri. _"By the way Marauder…how badly did you hurt him?"_

Cooper chuckled, "Pretty bad" admitted the Pilot, "but thankfully he doesn't need to look good to answer questions, right?" There was a sigh from Yuri before the Marauder spoke up again. "I need to rest and rearm; I'll be back on station as soon as I can. Marauder out" he signed off before cutting the line. "Don't burn the place down while I'm gone" said the Marauder with a forced grin in his tone as he gave a half salute and jumped off the building.

Cracking his neck, Spider-Man turned to face Manhattan. "Alright, time to do a little Spidey work out in the city."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Submachine Gun: C.A.R. SMG_

_There are a ton of ways to win a fight, you can use stealth like Felicia or overwhelming force like Frank, but there are other ways. For a Pilot, speed is life, and Bull Halsey's motto of 'Hit hard, hit fast, hit often' serves as the de facto strategy for Pilots. And when I have the need, the need for speed, then all I want is my C.A.R. (SMG). _

_I'm so sorry, I couldn't resist. _

_Still, this weapon is a favorite and is ideally suited to the high mobility warafre and hit and run tactics Pilots specialize in. C.A.R. stands for 'Combat Advanced Round' an it is in fact that round that makes the gun special. The 6.19mm Advanced Cartridge is a shrunken 8.19mm in effect and that was why the R series carbine platform was chosen as the basis for a SMG to fire this new round. Even still, the internals had to be reworked significantly and the weapon bears little resemblance to the one it is based on. Still, the result is a compact and lightweight weapon that dones't compromise on lethality when compared to the R-97, Alternator, or Volt. Assault rifle grade ballistic performance from the 6.19 out to 50 meters will take people by surprise. _

_That isn't the only trait the C.A.R shares with its bigger brother. Like the R-101, it operates on a closed bolt, just like the legendary MP5 SMG and matches the superb precision and controllability of the H&K. With a similar cyclic rate of 850 RPM, it shoots like the 9mm too but has better armor penetration and higher velocity. Though the best feature of the weapon is definitely the ergonomics. Enough weight to tame the power of the cartridge but well balance to make it easy to handle. A short barrel and adjustable stock make the weapon very pointable and handy, ideal for use in vehicles or Titans. Lastly, the controls, lifted from the R-101, are exactly where you want them to be, fully ambidextrous, and intuitive. Overall, this weapon offers a complete package that is a joy to shoot. _

_Versatile, easy to use, reliable, and lethal. If I'm going somewhere and need to get there fast, then I trust this gun to get me there._

* * *

**Closing Notes: One of the things I wanted to highlight in this chapter was the difference between Spider-Man and the Marauder by having them both go up against Shocker. As you can tell, that boss fight in the bank was a lot faster by just having Cooper use a gun, with a lot less damage done, which was intentional. I'm not trying to say anything profound here, just pointing out the obvious, that, and that I thought the fight dragged on way too long and was kind of a snooze. **

**Obviously, I want to continue to emphasize the differences in they way they both operate, especially towards the end of the main story and in the DLC as well. If you have thoughts on that or anything else, feel free to review and let me know. **

**Next week, when he finds who he's looking for, listen in awe and you'll hear him Bark at the Moon. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	29. Chapter 29: Bark at the Moon

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

People tell me the thing nowadays is to say 'Happy Holidays' but instead I'm going to respond by quoting my favorite wooden doll and say "Screw you, it's 'Merry Christmas!'"

**Steelrain66: Thanks for reading and for the kind words. Though I am hesitant about opening the story too much, I like how focused and charecter driven things are and bloat is something I want to avoid. I have actually considered spinning off some parts into a seperate story later down the line, so if that sounds like a good idea then say so. It's also reassuring that even those who haven't played the game are still able to follow and enjoy the story.**

It's been a long week, I usually really like Christmas, but...this year I haven't really been able to get into things. Maybe it's the fact that it still feels like fall outside, maybe it's how world events have made me doubt the validity of every organized religion, or maybe it's the fact that the devs of the game I've been playing the most as of late decided to celebrate by giving their entire playerbase the middle finger. Then, when everyone got mad at them, they simply put up their other middle finger.

So if any of you gave those asshats over $250 for a collection of pixels in the shape of a boat that never existed...then I want to know how you're finding the ship, because I'll never get one.

Perhaps it is no wonder that this chapter is on the short side and has a title more befitting Halloween. This is the title track off of Ozzy Osbourne's 1983 solo album, though I do think there will be Black Sabbath at some point, this is what we have for now. Picked more for the nighttime setting than anything, the track is a fun ride made memorable due to Ozzy's distinct vocals and a good riff.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 29: Bark at the Moon**

_Screams break the silence, Waking from the dead of night_

_Vengeance is boiling, He's returned to kill the light_

_Then when he's found who he's looking for_

_Listen in awe and you'll hear him_

_Bark at the moon_

* * *

Cooper lay on the bed in one of the safehouses, Felicia wrapped in his arms. With the way things were going any time they could spend together was cherished. As it was, Cooper was delaying getting suited back up just so he could enjoy her company as he stroked her hair tenderly. They sat in silence, not much to talk about other than business, and that was the last thing they wanted to talk about. Reaching over to check his phone on the nightstand, the Pilot frowned. "Darlin?"

"Hmm?" she asked as the platinum blonde tilted her head up to meet his eyes before pouting as she saw the look on his face. "Just five more minutes" she pleaded as she pulled closer, draping one of her legs across him and putting one of her surprisingly delicate hands on the bandages wrapped around his chest.

Any protest Matthew had died on his lips as he tried to relax and enjoy the moment, knowing that it couldn't last. Six minutes later, Matthew finally had to get himself out of bed. Planting a last string of kisses on Hardy, he got up and began getting dressed, undisturbed by his attentive audience. No sooner than he was suited up then his phone buzzed on the nightstand. "Yuri" said the Pilot in greeting as he returned to the small arsenal in the safehouse, "I'm about to head out again, what's the situation?"

"_Bad, getting worse"_ she replied bluntly. _"These 'Demons' are expanding quickly. They've been hitting Fisk properties all day. That gang war you were expecting is coming…fast."_ Matthew merely grunted in acknowledgement, he took no pleasure in being right, but was happy he had prepared for the worst. _"Word is you sustained some injuries dealing with Shocker this afternoon, are you up for this?"_

"Armor took the brunt of it" he replied, "I'm still in a bit of pain, but all he really did was rattle my teeth pretty good" he assured as he worked his arms and hopped up and down a bit to test his bandaged ribs. Thankfully he only got a dull ache in return; considering the numbing agent in the treatment he applied wore off an hour ago, that was a good sign. "I'm locked, stocked, and ready to rock, just tell me where you need me."

"_Alright, good to hear"_ said a relived Captain as Cooper put the phone on speaker and began stuffing magazines for his R-201 into their pouches alongside several drums for the versatile EVA-8 shotgun. _"I'm getting reports of activity at one of Fisk's shipping yards. Spider-Man and one of my officers, Jefferson Davis, are heading over to investigate. I don't want to take any chances, so I want you to go there too."_

"No kill like overkill" drawled Cooper as he clamped the axe down into his sheath and secured the MK6 before picking up the Carbine. "No worries Captain, we'll get it done" assured the Pilot, "I'm Oscar Mike, Marauder out." Even if he was feeling good, he didn't want to push it, so he took _Widowmaker_ to the end of the line.

As much as he wanted to take the _Widowmaker _above ground, he knew the car would stand out and be too large of a target for both Fisk and the Demons in particular. So, he moved slowly but steadily towards his destination. The city was surprisingly peaceful, and while he did take the time to stop an assault in progress, he made it to the dockyard with little issue.

He could see six gunmen, flashlights attached to their weapons, patrolling the area. From his vantage the Marauder made out the thrashing forms of a dozen other gunmen from various perches or sprawled out and unmoving on the ground. "Mind if I join the fun spidey?" drawled Cooper casually, hand pressed to the side of his helmet.

"_Sure thing, there's plenty of goons to go around"_ returned the webhead as Cooper got closer and singled out a lone guard who had isolated himself from his comrades. Dropping down, the sound of the jump kit got his attention as Cooper dashed behind a shipping container and into the shadows as he flicked out a pulse blade to ensure that no surprises were waiting for him. _"Just try and keep the noise down, don't want to wake the neighbors."_

"Copy that" responded the Pilot flatly as he collapsed the R-201 and clenched his fists, arc energy crackled menacingly. As the cloak covered the Gunfighter he stepped out and ripped the rifle from the goons hands before ramming his left fist into the Fisk man's gut to knock the wind out of him. "Goon night" snarled Matthew as he spun the man around and clamped his right hand down on his mouth before driving the arc charged knuckles into his unarmored lower back as the man thrashed and convulsed before finally falling limp.

As Cooper dragged the man into the shadows before laying him down carefully, Spider-Man found his own mark. Coming it at amazing speed, he put all of his weight into the strike, driving the man's head to the ground hard enough to instantly knock him out before pulling himself up and away as the sound of the dispatched goons rifle clattering to the ground got more attention.

With Spider-Man watching from above and the Marauder lying in ambush in the shadows, both vigilantes watched the remaining four rush to the fallen man and try to rouse him to no avail. One eventually broke off, heading for the group of crates that concealed the Pilot while another followed several paces behind. Pressing himself against a crate, the Pilot held his ground as he heard boots crunch on gravel get steadily nearer.

The first stepped into the gap just two feet from the crouched and cloaked pilot when there was a sudden sight of the trail man being thrown against one container and webbed firmly in place, much to both Cooper's and the gunman's surprise. Not questioning it, Matthew immediately fired his jump kit and slammed into the back of the thug, smashing him into the crate alongside his friend before getting hold of his head and giving it its own bash before dropping the man like a sack of potatoes. "The hell was that?" barked one of the Fisk men.

Before the other could respond, Cooper stepped out, still in shadow. "So are we doing this the easy way…" he began as he raised his head so that the glowing x-shaped visor stared out from the darkness, Carbine held at his hip, laser sight settled on one's chest, "or the hard way?"

Stupidly, they both tried to raise their weapons, but one got a burst of arc rounds from the suppressed Carbine in his armored chest as the other took the full force of one of the strange new web blasts and was stuck to a forklift. "I don't know what you're talking about" said a slightly annoying voice originating from an upside-down figure suspended from a metal overhang. A small grin appeared behind the helm, "that wasn't very hard at all."

Shaking his head at the quip, Cooper turned to look up at the red and blue superhero. "So you got a new toy huh?" he asked, nodding towards the webbed up man on the forklift, who only increased his struggles at the comment. "Took you long enough" he jabbed good naturedly.

The Wallcrawler shrugged, "Yeah, 'Impact Webbing' is what I've been calling it" explained Spidey. "Guess I finally got jealous of you one tapping everything and decided to join the fun." Cooper couldn't fault him, hell, he had been actively encouraging Peter to expand his arsenal for six months, but the man was even more stubborn than he was.

Their banter was interrupted by an approaching police car, lights and sirens on as it pulled up and came to a stop, both men turning to face the car as the man inside got out. Officer Jefferson Davis was a six foot tall African American man with a calm and cool demeanor, a good cop from what Yuri had told Matthew. "You know we can't have vigilante's trespassing or doing illegal searches…" he said, eyes going from one crime fighter to the other.

Cooper merely shrugged uncaringly, he wasn't on the side of the law, he was on the side of keeping people safe. The Webslinger sighed sadly though, "Yeah, I know…" he admitted, still suspended by his webline as the two regarded the officer.

Davis then smirked and pulled a piece of paper from inside of his jacket and held it up. "Which I why I brought a warrant. So, what do you say we do some perfectly legal searching?" he suggested with a glint of humor in his eye.

"I like the sound of that" agreed Spider-Man as the Marauder chuckled behind his helmet and the Webhead dropped down to the ground. Side by side, the two friends approached the Officer, "What's your name?" asked Spidey, extending a hand.

"Officer Davis" returned the cop as he shook Spidey's before grasping Cooper's own gloved hand. "Call me Jeff" he insisted, getting a pair of nods in return. "And you two are?"

Spidey stood there slack jawed as Cooper smirked, "He's Tobey Maguire" said the Pilot, pointing at the spandex clad super hero before pointing at himself, "you can call me Marauder" deadpanned the Pilot as Spidey narrowed his eye lenses at them. Officer Davis quirked his eyebrow as he looked at the two. "Inside joke" explained Cooper.

"Ah" replied Davis with a small grin as Spidey clearly was still trying to summon Superman's laser eyes and bore a hole through Cooper's brain. "My son's a big fan, be glad he didn't hear that" added Davis with a grin as he gave Spidey a light punch and the trio moved towards the main warehouse.

"So" began Spidey as they turned to business, the first obstacle, the massive door at the front of the building. In anticipation, the Marauder already had a Knock Knock in his hands. "Does that warrant cover breaking down doors?" asked the Wallcrawler.

"Not without a _lot _of extra paperwork" replied Davis as both cast glances at Cooper, who reluctantly replaced the breach charge on his person. Muttering a curse under his breath, Matt scanned the run down structure.

"Well if we can't make our own door" he mused, "maybe Mother Nature will have done the work for us." With that, the two vigilantes used their enhanced mobility to scale the structure and get a look for any sign of a way in.

"Any place this run down should have a hole in the wall or broken window…" guessed the webslinger as the pair made their way methodically down the length of the building on opposite sides of the roof.

Three quarters of the way down and no entrances in sight, Davis suggested "Check around back." Moving quicker, Cooper leaned neared the edge and looked down. "I'd go myself but…you know…not Spider-Man or the Marauder" joked the cop dryly.

Cooper grimaced, not seeing any obvious method of entry here either and was about to ask exactly how much extra paperwork a breach charge would cause when Spidey flipped over the edge and clung to the wall. When the bewildered pilot saw what the Webhead was next to, he grimaced, "What is it with you and vents?" he asked as he pulled out his axe and hung on the opposite side.

Peter merely shrugged as he pressed the vent cover up for Cooper to clamber through, the Marauder immensely grateful there wasn't some cramped shaft waiting for him on the other side. The two found themselves inside a warehouse that looked as abandoned and upkept as its exterior would lead one to believe. Rubbish was piled up in corners, what paint was there was a patchwork of colors, wood beams that made up the floors were uneven, and the bridge that connected the two sides of the upper floors was out. "I feel like I'm in a horror movie" said Spider-Man as the two moved along the beams at the top of the warehouse. "Hello? Any fishermen with a grudge and a hook for a hand?"

"If there is anybody who knows what we did last summer" answered Cooper dryly as he switched to the EVA-8 and racked the slide, "he's going to find out what happens when he brings a hook to a gunfight." The pair jumped down to the ground level and approached the door, Cooper satisfied they were alone, but keeping his Shotgun at the ready, nonetheless.

"Jeff, you there?" called Spidey as he looked over the large metal door, "I'm doing my best to refrain from knock knock jokes."

"Appreciated" deadpanned the two other men in reply.

With Matthew ignoring the look Peter was probably giving him, Davis continued to advise them from outside. "You see a junction box powering the door?" he asked as the two looked around before their eyes fell on a powerbox in the wall next to the large metal door. "If we can overload it that should force the door open."

Cooper already lowered his rifle and raised his fist, arc knuckles fully charged and ready. "Smart" replied Peter, ever the scientist of the two before inspecting the box and holding up his hand, "but the voltage on that is too high, you'll fry the box. And I don't have anything that packs enough current."

Matthew rolled his eyes; high explosives would make this a lot easier. "Here, try this!" called Davis as he slid his taser through a gap at the bottom of the door.

Spidey picked up the weapon, "Stun gun, genius!" he commented as he knelt down next to the weapon and began swiftly disassembling it. "Capacitors in this are just what I need for an upgrade I've been thinking of" he explained as the Marauder looked at him. Matthew watched as Peter swiftly rewired his webshooters to have the capacitors as a toggleable part of the circuit. While he would be limited by the charge of the capacitors it was still another tool in his rapidly expanding arsenal. When he was finished, he fired a glob of the charged web at the exposed wires, the lights turning from red to green. "Electric webs for the win!" he declared proudly as the door lifted open.

With the flashlight on his shoulder illuminating the way, Davis strolled in to the dilapidated warehouse as he looked over the interior. "Gadget man huh?" he asked as the two vigilantes joined him, "you remind me of my son. Started taking apart the TV when he was five" said Davis, a reminiscing look on his features. "Now he's unlocking his friend's phones."

"Sounds like he could teach me a few things" responded Cooper dryly, though there was respect in his voice. The banter ended as the three refocused on the task at hand, looking through the warehouse. Shipping containers lined the walls on both sides and floors, and a wrecked tugboat lay in the slipway at the center.

"Okay" said Davis as he panned over the area, "nothing illegal in plain sight" he observed.

"Kinda anticlimactic, huh?" quipped Spider-Man.

"At first glance" agreed Davis. "Let's look closer." The Cop took the lead at that point, Cooper knowing that he was out of his depth as he switched to thermals and saw nothing out of the ordinary, relegating him to pulling security.

Spidey followed after Davis as they headed for a shipping container with FISK emblazoned on the side. "Looking for something specific?" asked the wallcrawler.

"This yard's been here a long time" explained Davis as he began to slow, eyes focused on the floor. "Bootleggers used to use it back in the day" he continued as something clearly had the man's attention.

"Gotcha" replied Parker, "those guys sure loved their hidden rooms."

Cooper merely nodded as the two vigilantes joined Davis, though the gunfighter was out of his depth and feeling frustrated by that fact. "Damn it" he cursed as he slammed the container in an outburst only to tilt his head as he noticed something. "You two hear that?" he said, giving the container two more firm knocks, "it's empty…but here" he said as he hit the container a few more times, "it isn't."

Davis' eyes lit up as he focused on a bit of container that wasn't exactly uniform and Cooper noticed it too, passing the cop his Tomahawk as the man pried the panel open. "I got a hidden panel, like the one in the door" he called out as he handed the weapon back and looked at what it contained. "The conduits lead out the back, look for another junction box" he ordered.

Spider-Man scanned the warehouse before loosing another one of his electric websat a spot on the wall. "Did that work?" he called out as Davis fiddled with the controls to no avail.

"Nah" replied the Cop. "Must not be the right box, keep looking."

Spider-Man then pulled himself up to the second floor and fired again, this time to greater effect. Sparks leapt from the box and more leapt out form the panel into Davis' face as he recoiled back before the container hummed and there was the thunk of a deadbolt opening. One of the panels popped open to reveal a light inside as both Cooper and Davis strained to force it the rest of the way open. "Thanks, no way I could have gotten it open myself" said the Cop as all three looked into the secret room.

"I doubt I would have found it" replied the webhead as they looked at the barren shelves, opened boxes, and empty safe inside the container. "Hmm…we got a big fat nothing."

Matthew had to nod in agreement, but this one single room didn't seem worth all of the security stationed outside, especially with it being empty. "Where there's one secret room, there could be more" observed Davis as he knelt down to the cold concrete floor. "Notice anything about the floor?"

Cooper grunted in acknowledgement, "Scratches" he noted. "Those aren't new either and if they painted over them that would stand out too. That's how we find the doors." With a clear goal, the two younger men got moving with a firing of webshooters or Jump Kit. The less agile Davis stuck to examining the empty room, seeing if anything could be gleaned.

A few minutes later, Spider-Man hollered, "Paydirt! Scrape, but no door!" In a heartbeat, Cooper fired his grapple to pull him to that side of the building before activating his STIM and wallrunning towards the Wallcrawler.

"Great!" called Davis in reply as Cooper saw the scrape, "I'll be right there!" Cooper remained focused on the probable hidden room as footsteps echoed through the warehouse before there was a moment of unexpected silence. "Maybe not, elevator's busted" reported Davis.

Spidey quickly leapt into action, springing across the gap, "Sit tight, I'll pull you up" he called out over the radio. With casual ease, he fired weblines at the mechanism and pulled the elevator up to the second floor and held it there despite it weighing a full ton. As soon as Davis was out, Peter let go and the elevator crashed to the ground. "Second floor, rusted machine parts and big honkin' rats" announced Peter with a colorful flourish, drawing a smirk on Davis' face. "Careful, the bridge is out" warned the wallcrawler as he pulled himself back to the other side.

"I got this one" responded Davis as Cooper saw him line up on the far side and sprint forwards, leaping across, arms flailing as he easily cleared the gap before actually coming down and keeping his feet as he came to a stop.

"Hot damn" barked Cooper, "stuck the landing" commented the genuinely impressed Pilot.

Davis laughed heartily as he turned to the shipping container. "We're not _all _doughnut eaters" he defended. What followed was a repeat, Spidey finding the junction box that worked the lock as Davis and Cooper muscled the door open. "Hey, check this out" said Davis as all three took a look inside.

The room was as empty at the first, but Cooper noticed the odd shelving and placed it immediately. As he damn well should have, considering how many similar units he had in his safehouses. "I'd recognize those anywhere" said the Marauder as he flicked the hollow metal tubes that made up the shelves, "these are rifle racks."

"They kept guns here" agreed Davis with a grimace. "They wouldn't have moved them through the front door" he mused. "There's gotta be a passageway we're missing" he surmised. "Check out the wall, this might control access to another area."

"Fisk's men were talking about a vault" remembered Spider-Man as he tapped his chin in exaggerated thoughtfulness. "Maybe we're close?"

"Bet on it" replied Davis as he stepped inside and investigated the junction box inside the room. "Hmm…looks like a dual circuit, see if you can find a second junction box" he directed. Spider-Man swung off without a word, much to Matt's relief. A minute later, and after some racket across the building with the other elevator, the circuitbox lit up and there was the sound of another, much larger, deadbolt releasing.

"You were right Jeff" called out Spider-Man as the two normal men looked down to see one section of the floor pop up. "Trap door."

Davis and Cooper were down instantly; "Outstanding!" announced the officer as he crouched down and slid his hands into the seam. "Think you two could help me out? This thing's heavy" he asked after giving the thing a lift that accomplished nothing. Both vigilantes came to his aid, one to either side, adding super and servo enhanced strength to the effort. "One…two…three" called Davis as the door went up with relative ease, thought that was probably due to the car benching webslinger.

"That isn't spooky at all" commented Spidey sarcastically as he stated down into the tunnel, the flickering lights above the dusty stairs barely illuminating anything.

"If you're scared" said Cooper as he unslung the shotgun and began making his way down the steps, "get behind me." While the lighting wasn't enough for normal eyes, it was enough to screw with his nightvision, so Cooper reluctantly flicked on his helmet and weapon lights.

Both Davis and Parker followed close behind the Pilot. "Probably an old bootlegger's tunnel" mused Davis.

"And it looks like no one's cleaned it since Al-Capone" quipped Spidey dryly as Cooper looked at the mess of wooden support beams that partially blocked the tunnel.

"Al-Capone was in Chicago, dumbass" retorted Cooper before he noticed the odd looks the other two men were giving him. "What? I just saw the Untouchables" he defended brusquely.

The trio made their way through the rubble, Marauder and Spidey taking the high road while Davis crawled through on his hands and knees. The rumbling of the tunnel was beginning to unnerve the Pilot as it soon began to collapse around them and all three picked up the pace. Running the last stretch, they rounded the corner, all with their respective weapons at the ready to find another deserted room. "Damn" cursed Peter as they all took in what remained of the vault. "Demons are already gone. How'd they beat us here?"

"There must be a back door, see if you can find it" said Davis as Spider-Man tore off ahead, leaving the cop with the Marauder. "This place is one hell of an armory" noted the policeman as they made their way through it. "Or was" he corrected.

Cooper took a moment to look at the crates to find some of them still filled. "Looks like they only took the good stuff. We still got flashbangs, smokes, and stun guns" he noted as they moved forwards. "And they came in hard and fast, this looks like one of my smash and grabs where they didn't bother with the stuff that was bolted down" he said with a grimace as he saw the writing on some of the crates, MK153 SMAW rocket launchers and their ammunition, AKM rifles, boxes of C4 and detonators, and much more. Clearly this was one of the many places Fisk had used to store the weapons unused during Cinderblock.

And now the Demons had them.

"There!" called Spider-Man, getting the attention of the other two as they jogged over to join the Webslinger. "They blew the lock to get in." Cooper immediately readied the EVA and stacked up on the door as Spidey cautiously pushed it open before going stiff. "Demons" he hissed in warning, signaling the others to stay out of sight.

"Good" growled Cooper as he shoulder charged through the door and saw two movers trucks, one still had its read door open to reveal a mask wearing man inside. The shotgun barked once, sending a barrage of arc charged buckshot that sent the man to the floor of the truck as the doors closed and the trucks began to roll away.

A string of white silk shot out to either side of Cooper, one attaching to each truck and causing both to grind to a halt as Spider-Man dug in his heels and held fast. "Freeze! Stop the truck! You're all under arrest!" shouted Davis as he came out, brandishing his stun gun.

Both trucks opened to reveal masked men wielding swords bathed in black flame that severed the weblines with ease as Cooper fired again, getting one swordsman as the other truck drove away. The other truck stayed put, gunmen jumping out. "Light 'em up!" roared Cooper as he dropped an A-Wall and switched to the Carbine.

The two men with assault rifles got quick bursts and fell as Spider-Man pulled himself to one of the sickle wielding men and began engaging in hand to hand combat. Cooper's proximity alert blared as he turned just in time to see a Demon fall flat on his face, electricity arcing across his body and Davis behind him reloading his taser. "Thanks for the assist" called out Cooper as he turned and fired at the next man up.

"Just trying to do my part" called back Davis as the a-wall flickered out of existence and the Marauder went on the offensive, leaping up onto the truck as he shouldered the Carbine and rained fire down on the Demon's. A string of mandarin behind him caused the Marauder to spin around and pull down the trigger, only to get one round before the bolt locked open, magazine empty.

Without hesitation, Cooper rammed the muzzle into the Demon's throat before planting a boot in his chest and kicking him off the truck before reloading. Spider-Man unleashed a trio of blows that put another mask wearing man on the ground before his Spider-sense buzzed and he flipped away from a string of tracers. "Eyes up Marauder!" he called out. The Pilot responded quickly, shouldering the rifle and firing a burst of his own that caused the gunman on the catwalk to lose his footing and fall from his perch.

Two black sedans pulled up to unload their cargo of Demons who spilt themselves between the vigilantes. A concussion grenade was lobbed through the air and landed among a group of Demons preparing to scale the truck Cooper was on. Folding up the rifle, Cooper raised his fists and jumped down, giving one stunned man a kick in the head on the way. Arc knuckles crackling, he gave one a quick 2-3-2 before the stun grenade began to wear off and he leapt away, jump kit firing as he drove his knee into another's chin before activating his cloak.

As the Demons searched for him, shouting in mandarin, he worked his way behind one and sent him up only to use his grapple to slam him down into a second Demon as three more rushed him. "Come get some" snarled Matthew as he charged in turn, jumping high to take the first by surprise, a crushing punch coming down as the Marauder was already focused on the next. With his glowing scythe raised the Pilot slid under the swing before kicking the third and final goon's feet out from under him and punching him in the gut with the shock knuckles.

Jump kit firing, the Pilot flew skywards, twisting as he pulled out his pulse blade and tossed it, impaling the Demon is his right wrist as he howled in pain and dropped the weapon. Without pause, Cooper fired the grapple at the ground and pulled himself back, reversing direction as he slid through him, tripping him up as he got to his feet and activated his STIM, raining down blows before a final punch to the back of the head sent the man face first into the asphalt, knocking him out.

Just then the remaining truck rumbled to life behind Cooper, who dove and rolled out of the way as it tore past. Without thinking, he activated his STIM once again and sprinted at superhuman speeds after the vehicle before firing his grappling hook and wallrunning along the side of a skyscraper. It was clear to Matthew that the Demon's weren't short of manpower, but the weapons they were after were a different story, they were the priority.

There was a distinct 'thwip' from above as Cooper craned his neck up to see Spider-Man also in hot pursuit. Cooper bit back a curse as he leapt from building to building, using his grapple to swing around a corner in a desperate bid to get enough momentum up to close the gap, he wanted to take a shot with the rifle hanging at his side, but with the busy streets it was too risky, even for him. "Shit!" he swore as he saw a distinct flash in the back of the truck and activated his phase shift, seemingly blinking out of existence.

"_Spider-Man, Marauder!"_ said Davis as the comm beeped in Cooper's ear once he returned to reality. _"Still a few demon stragglers at the yard, I'm held up. How're you two looking?"_ he asked as a rocket streaked overhead towards Spidey.

"_Not much better"_ admitted Spider-Man as Cooper's boots planted on a building and he activated his STIM to shoot ahead. _"These guys are all over the road, they'll kill someone if we can't stop them." __Of course, Parker would neglect to mention the __**anti-tank**__ ordinance being sent back at them _mused the Marauder.

There was the sound of more gunshots over the comm, _"Doing my best to catch up!"_ assured the officer through labored breaths. _"But you both might be on your own."_

"Stay frosty Davis" called back the Marauder as he slid through the street in the trucks wake before firing his grapple to get him back on the buildings, "we'll make it through this" promised Cooper before cutting the line.

Finally, the driver made an error, turning down a road with a roadblock for the construction on it. But Cooper's minor elation was short lived as the truck merely blasted through the temporary barriers. The move did have one critical effect; the truck was slowed by the impact. Both vigilantes reacted instantly, Cooper STIMming and Parker web-zipping to close the gap before they fired their respective grappling devices at the truck.

Spider-Man flipped artfully through the air before setting down gently on the cab while Cooper crashed into the cargo area with the grace of a wrecking ball, slamming into the SMAW wielding Demon with his full weight, sending the two tumbling towards the front of the truck. A pair of powerful punches left the Demon in a daze as Cooper grabbed the rocket launcher and got to his feet, swinging the weapon like a baseball bat straight into the last man's gut. When he doubled over in pain, the Marauder brought the launcher down on the top of his head, sending him to the floor.

The truck suddenly swerved violently, sending Cooper into a wall as he fought to maintain his footing before it slammed headlong into some unseen object, flying up off the ground, the Pilot grunted as he slammed into the truck floor before flying out the back. Rolling and skipping across the asphalt, he finally came to a stop when he slammed into a building. Shaking his head to clear his mind, Cooper saw Spider-Man struggling to lift a truck clear of an approaching subway, but there was a larger problem.

Straight ahead was the truck, masked man at the wheel, bearing down right at the two. Cooper looked and saw his one, best hope, the loaded SMAW just a few feet away. Sliding over two it, he placed the rocket launcher on his shoulder and placed the sight on the center of the oncoming truck before squeezing the trigger.

With a shriek of fury and a distinct 'fwoosh' the rocket leapt from the tube like a hungry dog shown an open door into a meat locker. The HEAT round designed to punch through tank armor flew straight and true towards the thin-skinned civilian truck and slammed into it dead center.

Only nothing happened, the warhead had been a dud.

With no other ideas he charged forwards, leaping up into the air and coming down on the hood of the truck as he pulled himself up and punched the windshield, shattering it as he grabbed the man by the mask and slammed him into the steering wheel. But the act was futile, the truck was on a collision course with his friend. A flashing light caught his attention as he craned his neck over his shoulder and saw a cop car approaching at insane speed before slamming headlong into the truck and sending it careening into the corner of a building as Cooper was tossed into the brick at full speed.

And then his world went black.

* * *

Fighting through the haze that clouded his mind, Officer Davis willed his eyes to open, "not the best idea you ever had Jeff" he muttered as he blinked his eyes furiously to see the crumpled front end of his squad car before him. The next thing he registered was that he was upside down as he searched for the handle and yanked, ramming his other elbow into the door to knock it open before he crawled out. His ears still ringing, he couldn't make out what Spider-Man was shouting, though the hero was still pulling with all of his considerable strength on the fuel filled tractor trailer.

But he could follow his eyes as the Officer saw the other vigilante slumped against the wall in a heap. A flicker of movement diverted his attention from the Marauder to a Demon shambling from the wrecked truck. Fighting through the pain, Davis pulled himself to his feet as he reached for his stun gun, only to find his holster empty, the same was true of his service weapon, lost in the crash. At least the Demon didn't have a weapon either, but the eyes of the mask were focused on the Marauder's rifle lying on the pavement. Gritting his teeth at the spike of agony that shot up his spine, Davis forced his wounded body to get to its feet as he lunged at the Demon right as the criminal came up with the rifle.

While his foe was aiming the futuristic weapon, Davis cocked his fist back and unleashed a punch that, while it lacked form, was imbued with all of the strength he could muster. The result was the Demon staggering back into the wall and falling to the sidewalk, out cold. Still breathing heavily, he felt a hand come down on his shoulder and turned to see the bug eyed mask of Spider-Man. "You good Jeff?" he asked with concern as the Officer nodded and straightened, striding over with as little of a limp as possible as the two helped the now stirring Marauder to his feet.

While the two heroes spoke, Davis pulled out a pair of cuffs and slapped them on the downed Demon as the gathering crowd began to cheer and applaud, some pulling out phones to document the scene. "You're one crazy sonofabitch Davis" drawled a filtered voice as the Cop turned to see the Marauder standing there with an offered hand, "you can ride with me anytime." With that, the two men shook hands as the other hero flanked him in what felt like one of those surreal moments for the veteran officer.

* * *

Mary Jane made her way calmly through the crowd that had gathered around the scene, an alert from Cooper had caused the redhead to rush from her apartment. Overhearing a TV reporter giving her report, the Bugle writer worked her way around a fire truck as she tried to find the man Cooper had mentioned, one Officer Davis. "Excuse me, Miss, are you supposed to be here?" asked a familiar voice as she turned around.

"More so than you" she shot back quietly as the super-hero stalked down the side of the truck, sticking to the side in an utterly unnatural way. Watson had to turn herself sideways to squeeze through the gap in two vehicles. "After that auction house thing, the Bugle put me on the city beat. Which means I get to focus full time on real stories like this…and the Demons" she explained as she turned her back to him, trying to ignore the way her heart fluttered at seeing him like this again.

And then the overprotective dumbass had to kill such feelings instantly. "You know the closer you get to them, the more you become a target, right?" he asked condescendingly as he continued to follow her on the side of the truck.

Whirling around in anger, the redhead's eyes blazed. "The closer I get the better chance we have to stop them" she snapped back in a hiss. She vaguely registered a faint 'We?' behind her as she looked out and saw a man in police uniform lying on a gurney about to be loaded into the back of an ambulance. Swallowing her emotions and refocusing herself, she squared her shoulders and stepped out into the open. "Officer Davis, Mary Jane Watson, Daily Bugle" she introduced as she strode up to the man.

Her heart sunk as he held up a hand wearily, "No comment" he replied simply.

Watson's mind raced, looking back to see if she could get support from the wallcrawler, but frowned at seeing that he was gone. "I don't blame you" she finally said as Cooper's words when she asked what she could expect from the Officer. _He's a good man, the kind I wish I was_. Maybe he was more like the Marauder than he thought. "But these guys are going to tell their story with or without you. And they _thrive _on controversy" she added.

That was what ultimately kept the Marauder coming back to give her more stories, Matt just wanted to tell it like it was, and MJ guessed this officer would want the same. Indeed, the cop looked thoughtful as he regarded the reporter. "So what's your angle?" he asked curiously as paramedics lifted the gurney into the ambulance.

"I don't have one, I just listen" she said with every bit of sincerity she could muster.

The wounded man cracked a faint smile and chuckled lightly, "Okay" he said, "hop in."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Shotgun: EVA-8_

_I believe the sound of racking the pump on a shotgun is universally recognized to mean it's time to kiss your ass goodbye. This high tech 12 gauge may officially be on the way out with the advent of the newer Mastiff, but sometimes some fancy laser bolts don't quite cut it like good old school double ought buckshot. In addition, traditional shotgun ammo is plentiful and there is a candy store's worth of types. Non-lethal beanbags, rock salt, and rubber buckshot to standard round pellets, flechettes, slugs, and the appropriately named 'Dragons Breath' incendiaries. _

_It has two distinct features that separate from many other shotguns chambered in the near universal caliber, those being its select fire ability and drum magazine. The drum is a double edged sword, the capacity is good at eight rounds, but for a weapon meant to be used in close quarters this big thing hanging off the gun does tend to snag on stuff. But you can get those eight rounds into a relatively short and handy weapon in the way a traditional tube feed gun can't. A better idea is the select fire, either semi-automatic or pump action. Semi-automatic is my preferred setting for the higher cyclic rate and simpler operation, but having the option is great. When firing low powered shells (like nonlethals) or you get a bad round or jam, you just have to keep working that pump and all will be well for you…and unwell for your enemies. _

_In one key area, this weapon is second to none: Nicknames. The EVA-8 is known as the Deck Clearer, Mop, Broom, Thunder Gun, Street Sweeper, Slugger, and Universal Translator. _

_Weather or not it translates as 'shut the fuck up' or 'sit the fuck down' is still a matter of debate, however. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: Admittedly, that is an odd place to end it, but I am going to end it there. I promise that the next chapter will be longer and include one of the games best moments. Still, this one was fun to write, I actually missed that reference to _I Know What You Did Last Summer _the first time I played through the game. Yeah, no, that remark about a killer with a hook for a hand is a specific reference to the second biggest slasher film of the 90s with Buffy the Vampire Slayer in a leading role. **

**Interestingly, the EVA-8s select fire feature is not unique, if you want a gun like that then you have a few choices. Practically, the Benelli M3 is your best bet, even if it is overshadowed by its younger brother, the M4 aka M1014. But if you're cool, you'll want the SPAS-12, as seen in the hands of Schwarzenegger, Chow Yun-Fat, and Lara Croft, it's also the preferred weapon of raptor hunters. **

**Next up, the new year starts with our heroes Jumpin off the deck and shoving into overdrive on the highway to the Danger Zone. **

**I wish you all a very Merry Christmas. Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	30. Chapter 30: Danger Zone

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Welcome to 2020 folks, here's to it being better than 2019...not that that is a terribly high bar to clear. At the very least I get to bring in the year with one of the highlight setpieces of the game that was also used in the E3 Demo. While I couldn't fit a puddlegate joke into the chapter it wasn't through a lack of trying. Still, this year is shaping up to have some stuff to look forward to, DOOM: Eternal, despite the dumb name, is something I've been looking forward to since finishing the reboot in 2016. Halo: Infinite, while also competing for the dumbest name award, is also slated for this year. I want to be hyped for it, and then I remember Halo 5. For those of you lucky enough to not play that dumpster fire, I'll explain the magnitude of its shittiness with one simple fact. When your advertisement campaign tells a better story than the game it is advertising, you are in trouble.

Out of all of the unnecessary sequels, there is one I am optimistic about, Top Gun: Maverick. I love the original, it's over the top characters that helped form the basis of Matthew 'Marauder' Cooper, the dogfights with the F-14 Tomcat are legendary, and of course it featured an amazing soundtrack. It should say something then, that on a soundtrack with 'Playing With the Boys', 'Mighty Wings', and 'Take My Breath Away' that one song was played three separate times. If you are like a friend I had in college that thoguht 'Danger Zone' was something Archer said when he was trying to be cool, then I truly pity you. This song is great and one of Kenny Loggins' best and it always be tied to high octane and high flying action, which is what prompted its selection for this chapter.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 30: Danger Zone**

_You'll never know what you can do_

_Until you get it up as high as you can go_

_Out along the edges, Always where I burn to be_

_The further on the edge, The hotter the intensity_

_Highway to the danger zone_

* * *

From a rooftop perch, Spider-Man watched Mary Jane climb into the back of the ambulance containing Officer Jefferson Davis just as the doors were shut. "She's good" he observed as he heard a faint chuckle behind him before a sharp hiss. Peter turned to see his friend still sitting down, his pants a dark crimson as two or three empty syringes lay off to the side. "You okay Coop?" asked the wallcrawler, concern in his tone.

The helmet bobbed up and down. "Yeah, the numbing agent is starting to ware off, I should be able to get moving in a few minutes" he explained as he moved his legs a bit to show that he was getting better. As soon as he had gotten up out of sight the man had collapsed as the adrenaline wore off and Peter had insisted on taking him to a hospital, but the Texan had been even more insistent that his own first aid would be enough.

Spidey had gone down when he saw a familiar head of red hair and now that he was back with the Marauder, he had a thought. "Did you call MJ and tell her to come down here?" he asked as the Pilot shifted a bit.

"Yes and no" answered the Renegade gunfighter as Peter could imagine the smirk behind the helmet. "I just told her we found ourselves into trouble and about our help. But I didn't tell her to _do _anything" he said smugly.

Peter merely shook his head, "don't say it" he snapped, knowing what the Marauder would tell him next.

"I'm not going to say anything" retorted Matthew, much to Peter's relief. "Only because you already know that I'm right." Spider-Man knew that the Marauder was right. He still had feelings for MJ, it had been a challenge to move on and seeing her again had only caused old feelings to come back to the surface. But seeing her put herself in danger again only served to reopen old wounds. "Listen Pete, you already tried to block her out once and look how that turned out. Now that this really _is _her job it only makes sense for you two to work together."

Spider-Man didn't respond for a moment as he mulled the words over. He couldn't get her involved, it was safer that way, and if he got her killed… "She's more likely to get herself killed if she doesn't have any backup" said Cooper, almost as if the Pilot was reading his mind. Though, in all fairness, this wasn't the first time they had had this conversation. "Listen, you remember how I got here? It was because I died. Did I die because I did something stupid or dangerous? No, I died driving home to see my family, the same drive I had made a dozen times before. You see my point?"

"No" replied Peter with a shake of the head, "not really."

There was a shrug and a sigh from the armored renegade. "You don't have to be doing something dangerous to get killed" he said sadly. "You can go through life like you want or like others want, you end up at the same place either way" said the Marauder, remembering his own brush with death. "I say each one of us should choose, cause when all's said and done…I gotta live and die with my choices, not yours, not anyone else's. It's the same with you…it's the same with _her_."

Peter looked at his helmeted friend, knowing that the Texan was just as stubborn as he was and had dug in his heels on the topic. MJ's words from a few moments ago replayed in his mind, _the closer I get, the better chance we have to stop them_ she had said. "I'll think about it" he admitted reluctantly, the words placating the Pilot.

After a moment of silence, the Pilot grunted as he pulled himself to his feet, taking a few steps gingerly before turning back to the Wallcrawler. "Well I've had enough fun for one day and I'm sure Felicia is getting worried" he said before looking back down at his bloody fatigues. "I'll probably have some explaining to do as well" he muttered as Peter grinned behind his mask. "No use putting off the inevitable, take care Spidey" said the Marauder before giving a quick salute and jumping off the backside of the building and towards one of his many hidden passages.

Peter pulled himself to a perch and yawned lightly. "Man, I'm beat, time to head home and get some sleep" he said to himself drowsily. He was so tired in fact, that he decided to take a page from Cooper's playbook and took an underground train. Ironically enough, he spent part of the ride sitting next to a guy in a terrible fake spider-man costume.

When he did end up at his Chinatown apartment it had been sixty hours since he had left it to bust Kingpin. Shambling up to the door in casual clothes kept in a bag placed strategically on the rooftop, he inserted his key to the look only to find that it didn't turn. Taking a moment to check that he was alone, he easily shoulder checked the door open and stepped inside to the now barren apartment. His landlord had finally evicted him, and everything he had ever owned was gone. Sighing in disbelief, he could hardly believe it, "oh come on" he said to nobody as he jogged out to go hunt for his stuff.

Following Matt's logic, he started with the simplest and most obvious place, the dumpster. When he opened that to find it empty, he hastily pulled out his cellphone and called a group of people who had, knowingly or not, helped Spider-Man out quite a few times over the years. _"Empire sanitation, this is Eddie" _said a very weary voice on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, hi, uh…" began Peter as he thought how best to word his predicament. "I'm trying to track down some items that were accidentally picked up from a dumpster outside my apar…"

He didn't get to finish, getting cut off when the man's 'bullshit tolerance' had been depleted. _"Dumpster number"_ he said simply.

"Uh, hang on" replied the vigilante as he looked for a number before flipping up onto the wall behind the dumpster and using his feet to lean it forwards and see the number inscribed on the back. "Six four four seven six" he rattled off.

"_That's route thirty-three, trucks already left its shift. If your stuff's not there, then you're outta luck"_ informed Eddie as Peter quickly scaled his former residence and got back into his somewhat filthy suit.

"Wait" said Peter suddenly as he got changed, "wait, please, this is important" he begged. "Can you at least tell me where the truck is?"

There was a sigh on the other end of the line as Parker thanked his lucky stars his suiting up process was much simpler than Coopers_. "Alright…looks like it should be at the municipal garage on Bowery and Grand"_ informed the operator as Spider-Man clung to the side of a wall.

"Got it, thanks Eddie" said Peter with a tinge of hope as he clicked off the phone and tossed it in the bag. "Municipal garage, Bowery and Grand" he repeated to himself before he started Webswinging, "not a problem" he added sarcastically.

The city whipped by as he took a mental inventory. His priority was his Spidey-drive, the data on that couldn't be replaced and would take months to replicate. That meant all he had to do was find a two-ounce flash drive in a thirty-ton garbage truck. Once he arrived and looked in the empty vehicles, he realized it would be helpful if they hadn't dumped the trash from the garbage truck. Growling in frustration, he tried to avoid panicking as he used his built in suit phone to dial a number.

"_Empire Sanitation, this is Eddie"_ said the exact same man in the exact same tone.

"Sorry, is there any chance the truck isn't at the garage?" he asked quickly.

"_Sure, I guess"_ he replied, though he sounded tired and anything but sure. _"Just means that it'd be somewhere in west Chinatown."_

"Great! I'm headed there now" said Peter as he pulled himself up into the vent and went out the way he came in.

No sooner was he out of the building when his phone rang again. _"Hey, it's a long shot"_ said the gruff tones of the ES operator, _"But sometimes the guys stop for pizza before they drop off."_

"Really?" asked a hopeful webslinger, anything to narrow his search area would be a major boon. "I'll check out the pizza shops. Any idea which one?" he asked optimistically.

"_One of the mom and pop joints I think"_ replied Eddie as Spidey swung northwest.

Usually he needed to know physics and hand to hand fighting as Spider-Man, never would he have guessed he'd have to rely on the same knowledge that he usually only used when he and Matthew got hungry when patrolling together. "Jerry's?"

"_No, that's uptown"_ replied the operator dismissively.

"I mean original Jerry's" clarified the webhead.

"_Oh, right"_ said Eddie in thought before sounding unsure. _"No, it started with an 'L' I think."_

"Larry's?" asked Spidey.

"_That's on the East Side I think."_

It was right about this point that Spider-Man decided that New York's Pizza shops needed more name variety. "Uhh…" he said pensively, thinking about it once more he finally remembered one of the ones he used to frequent with Harry and MJ, "Leo's!"

"_Leo's…"_ said the operator, tasting the name on his tongue. _"Yeah, that might be it. Man, I love Leo's"_ he said, clearly distracted by the prospect.

Peter chuckled inside his suit as he changed directions and made for the pizza joint. "I'll pick you up a pie" he promised as he dropped down to the street, "I owe ya.'"

"_No worries"_ replied Eddie dismissively. _"Hope you find what you're looking for."_

"Thanks Eddie" replied Peter as he strolled up to the parked group of sanitation vehicles, much to the amusement of passersby who were busy snapping pictures of him on their smart phones. A quick inspection of each truck revealed nothing he recognized as his own as he fought to hold in a curse. "C'mon Eddie, you're my only hope" he said as he leapt up and clung to a building, dialing that same number once again.

"_Not there either, huh?"_ greeted the operator knowingly.

"You sure they were around here?" asked Peter desperately, this was getting ridiculous, and that was discounting that he was searching while wearing a web covered onesie.

"_Well, the guys might've switched routes due to the upcoming Osborn rally"_ supposed Eddie as he flipped through a binder of some sort, the rustling of paper carrying over the line._ "If your pickup was on route 35 they'd be dropping off at the incinerator right now."_

"INCINERATOR!?" exclaimed Spidey in shock as he mind dove straight into full headless chicken blind panic mode.

"_Over by Manhattan bridge"_ explained Eddie as Spidey got moving the instant the words were out of his mouth. _"Better hustle"_ he encouraged, though he clearly had no idea who he was talking to, there were very, _very_ few who could hustle like Spider-Man.

And hustle Spider-Man did, arriving at the incinerator only to be greeted by an unexpected sight. Almost as if the men had heard JJJ's podcast and were playing an ironic joke on him, four men were all brandishing guns while wearing a tracksuit and gold chains as they surrounded the overall wearing sanitation worker. Screaming in like a bird of prey, the wallcrawler took down the leader immediately before flipping up and over the thug to his left and unleashing a series of blows that sent him flying into the third man. As that final attacker staggered back to his feet he was instantly webbed up and tossed carelessly into the truck, sticking to the side.

"Thanks Spider-Man" said the sanitation worker as he was helped to his feet and rubbed his bruised ribs tenderly.

Peter looked at the knocked out gangbangers before refocusing on the civilian, "you okay?" he asked.

"Fine" he grunted as he tested his arm, "this gang's been terrorizing the whole neighborhood for the last couple of days. There's probably more of them on the way…" he said as Spider-Man winced, he had probably just jinxed it.

Now thinking he was also working against the clock he quickly got back to the real reason he was here. "I'll keep an eye out. Hey, mind if I look around for some, uh, some personal items?"

"Sure, have at it" said the man with a knowing smirk, "I gotta go file an incident report" he said tiredly as he headed inside with a wave. As soon as he was gone, the hero began tearing through the trash until he spotted a familiar looking bag and nearly hollered for joy.

"Please be here…please be here" he begged as he sifted through the bag and soon came back up with the small and ordinary looking USB stick. "Yes!" he said as he jammed it into the slot on his wrist and saw the contents flash up on his HUD. "Looks like everything's here" he said in relief as he scrolled through the files. "Hey look, and old gadget prototype" he muttered as he looked back down in the bag and saw a disassembled arc grenade Cooper had given him. "Hmm…I think I can make this work" he mused as he pulled some spare web cartridges from his wrist band and set to work.

He had to improvise a few other parts, such as the trigger mechanism, and jury rig a compressed air cannister to fire the web out of all the holes the grenade casing already had for the electrodes it would normally use. No sooner had he had the device finished and was tossing it idly to get a feel for its weight than he had the perfect opportunity to test it. "Look! It's that guy who thinks he's Spider-Man!" called out an unpleasant voice from behind him. "Ice him."

Spidey looked at the six men arrayed against him before turning his head to look at the makeshift weapon in his hand before idly tossing it on the ground in between the two parties before flipping behind a pole and into cover. With a loud 'pop' of compressed air, the grenade went off and Spidey peeked out to see how it did. To his utter shock, all of the tracksuit wearing attackers were webbed up snugly either to trucks or cars with two exceptions, and those were quickly fixed. "That was easy" mused Spidey, "no wonder the Marauder always leads with one of those."

Of course, as he swung away he was confronted with another problem. "Where am I going to sleep?" he wondered aloud. "I guess I could try MJ's" he supposed as he began heading that way. Once he was halfway there he started trying to plan ahead. "Alright, how am I going to talk my way onto MJ's couch? Let's see…'Hi MJ, it's Peter…any chance I could stay over tonight…' no that's too formal" he groused as he continued to think on it. "MJ! I was just in the neighborhood…ah that's lame." He was running out of time; he was getting close to his intended destination. "Hey MJ! Now that we're talking again, I thought maybe…okay that just sounds pathetic" he chastised.

"Why am I making this such a big deal!" he shouted, thankful that his altitude and speed meant nobody could hear him talk to himself. "We're just friends, right? Friends crash on each other's couches all the time. It's not weird or anything, it's just a couch" he said, hoping that hearing it would make it true.

It didn't.

"MJ's couch, ugh, what am I thinking?" he groused as he finally came to a stop on the roof of her building when his phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out he saw the story MJ had written had just been published, because friends had that setting on their phones, right? "She's probably busy with work, maybe Matt has a safehouse I could use?"

Of course, the guy had a dozen of the damn things. They all took a huge amount of work to set up and maintain, which was another reason why the Marauder never attempted to have a proper job. Parker then pulled out his phone and saw the time staring back up at him, "11:00? Damn" he muttered. His excursion hunting for garbage meant that Cooper was probably long in bed, and the normal human needed his rest if he was going to keep up with the breakneck pace at which events were happening. Fatigue and injury as a result was a much greater risk for the Marauder. "Better not disturb him, Matt needs his beauty sleep after all. I wish Harry was in town, I could crash with him."

Idly opening his phone, he saw an unexpected icon at the top of the screen. "Hmm…someone left a voicemail. Number's blocked though" he said to nobody as he selected it and waited for the message to play.

"_Hey there Spider…long time no see" _purred a familiar voice that caused Peter's eyes to widen as questions began to queue up at the back of his head. _"Miss me? Come to this address…" _said the message before ending, checking his texts he saw a message from a blocked number that gave an address and frowned as he put it into his HUD and began swinging.

"I think I know that voice" he murmured. What was happening? Felicia had been going straight for months and now she was reaching out and playing games with him again, why? Did Matt know? No, if Matthew knew something, he would have mentioned it. Somehow Matthew managed to crack the manipulative part of Felicia, she had always been honest with him, or had she? With the thought of sleep well out of his mind, he began making his way to the specified address.

Those thoughts were disrupted when his phone rang in his hear, seeing the caller ID the wallcrawler immediately accepted the call and MJ began speaking in earnest._ "Hey, so this gang war between the Demons and Fisk is really heating up"_ she said as he scaled a building and launched himself over the roof into another swing, though he could feel himself slow.

"I know" replied Peter in weary tones, "according to Coop, even Shocker's a part of it, got roped into running jobs for the Demons."

"_These guys are serious"_ murmured MJ in realization, _"do they just want to replace Fisk?"_ she asked.

"That'd be bad enough" agreed Peter. That point would be something he'd have to discuss with Yuri and Matt, hopefully between the three of them they could decipher what was going on. "Hope it's not something worse" he muttered before hanging up, his destination in sight.

Setting down on the rooftop he saw a familiar set up, a mat, toolkit, high power camera and magnifying lens on a tripod as well as a cooler with snacks and drinks. Most prominent was a voice recorder with a sticky note on it that read 'play me.' Obliging, he pressed the button and listened. _"Hello Spider, been thinking about you a lot lately, the old times in general. I miss those old times, maybe it's time to…get back in the game" _said the recording coyly.

The recording ended with a click as Spider-Man sighed, "Black Cat…don't tell me she's scoping out places to rob. She promised she would give up that life, she's kept that promise for months." Reluctantly, Spider-Man crouched down to look through the camera, panning it around. If Felicia really was back to her old ways, she would leave something for him specifically. "What was she looking at?" he wondered as he settled his view on a particular piece of graffiti, a woman with a familiarly shaped black mask. As he zoomed in, he saw a glint from a cracked open door and snapped a picture. "One of her cats" he said in realization, "packed with range extenders and used to harvest RFID signals."

Stepping back from the set up, he sent a text to Yuri with the location and what to expect. "Felicia's too smart to be putting herself at risk like this…she must be desperate for some reason" he reasoned, though something felt off, even in that line of logic. "Better keep an eye out." He was distracted by an incoming call from Yuri, who seemed to be working really late tonight. "Hey Yuri, could you do me a favor and check for any reports of cat burglaries in the city recently?"

"_Why?"_ asked Yuri,_ "is there something specific you're looking for?" _asked the Captain as there was the sound of her sipping what Peter guessed was a coffee before there was typing and Watanabe answered_. "Seems we've had a few, four in the last two days. Security systems disabled, no witnesses, items stolen include jewelry, artwork, and…antiques…"_ she read, though her voice trailed off. _"You don't think it's _her_…do you?"_

"I do" he replied grimly.

"_Shit"_ cursed Yuri, _"on top of everything else…wait, what about the Marauder? Has he said anything about this?" _she asked.

"I'm not sure he knows" admitted Peter, feeling sorry for his friend. "I'll ask him about it tomorrow, but I don't think she's done, far from it. But she isn't doing this for no reason, we need to figure out her endgame."

"_No 'we' for this one Spider-Man, we're spread too thin with the rise of the Demons. Nonviolent cat burglaries are _way_ far down on our list of priorities"_ explained Watanabe. _"And even if they weren't the Marauder would get involved and it wouldn't lead to anything. I'm not wasting time or resources on this one. Sorry"_ she said, though she wasn't very apologetic in her tone. Not that Peter could blame her, she had to make the hard decisions, and against many of those this must've seemed like an easy one.

Though it didn't mean that it had to be his decision too. "It's alright Yuri, let me know if something changes" he said before ending the connection in favor of another incoming call from his last remaining relative. "Hey May" he greeted, "you're calling late, what's up?" he asked, it was almost midnight now.

"_I thought we were going to meet up for dinner tonight"_ she said sadly.

"Oh…right" he replied lamely, the grogginess of his mind stifling any other answer that tried to make its way to his mouth. "I'm sorry, I forgot. It's been a hard day – we lost funding at the lab" he explained.

"_Oh Peter…I'm sorry"_ replied his aunt, who seemed incapable of not caring.

"I uh…also kind of got evicted from my apartment" he admitted, the words tasting sour on his tongue.

"_What!?"_ exclaimed May in exasperation. _"Do you have a place to stay tonight?"_

"Actually…no, not really" he confessed. "I hate to ask but any chance you have room at the shelter?"

"_Of course"_ responded his Aunt, as if the answer should have never been in doubt._ "Feel free to use the couch in my office"_ she offered without hesitation.

"Thanks May" he said sincerely before hanging up and swinging towards FEAST, happy that this very long night would be coming to an end.

* * *

When Peter awoke, it was to the sight of May's office, an envelope with several hundred dollars on the table propped against a cup of coffee while May herself tapped away at her keyboard from her desk. Instantly becoming fully alert, he sat up and swung his feet down onto the floor. Meanwhile, Aunt May smirked knowingly from her seat as she went back to her work and Peter picked up the envelope. "I can't take this" he insisted.

His aunt gave him a look that plainly said that he wasn't going to win this argument, "you can, and you will" she stated flatly as Peter sighed in acceptance.

Standing as he still stared down at then envelope dumbly, Peter approached the woman, "I'll pay you back" he promised weakly, automatically, even though there was no conceivable way for him to do so. "Soon" he assured, despite knowing deep down that he wouldn't be able to.

May just shook her head in disbelief, "just ask for help next time" she said, as if that would be payment enough. Peter smiled sheepishly as he tried to come up with some reply but couldn't, at least not before he saw a sad look in May's eye. "You are so much like Ben" she stated wistfully. "You have to learn to swallow that Parker Pride and accept that you're human, just like the rest of us."

"That's just the nice way of telling you stop being a stubborn jackass" came a drawling voice from the door. Peter turned to see Cooper standing in the doorway, hands stuffed in his jacket pockets, wry grin on his face. Parker slumped a bit, knowing that they were saying the same thing, and both right despite the stark contrast of their respective deliveries. "Shake it off Parker, here, this should help" as he flicked his wrist and tossed something from one of his coat pockets that Peter caught.

Staring down, Peter realized it was a wad of cash, the band holding it together had the amount, $5,000, stamped proudly on it. Before he could respond, a hand clamped down on his shoulder, "try not to spend it all in one place, alright?" Peter made to hand it back, he didn't need all this charity, but the hand squeezed tighter, "none of this bullshit you like to pull either. You're going to take that money, let me take you to my place, and _stay there _until we get this shit sorted out, got it?" said the Texan in a tone that brokered no argument.

Peter looked to May, but it seemed, judging by the content look on her wizened features, that this was at least partly her doing, and her nephew would be getting no support from her in what was a very one-sided argument. But his Parker Pride demanded he try anyway, but the attempt was ended prematurely by a knock at the door. "Martin!" greeted May as all three turned to the suited philanthropist.

But out of the corner of his eye, Peter noticed how the Texan stood, squared up to Li, knees relaxed, arms crossed, right hand dangerously close to the pistol he undoubtedly had concealed in his open jacket. Most worrying were the narrowed blue eyes, no gleam of humor, not bright with life, but hard and calculating, as if he were sizing up Li, and his stance meant that the Marauder was ready for a fight if one should come.

But _why?_

"Sorry to interrupt…" apologized the suited man as he looked at Cooper and the two Parkers in turn. "Just wanted to let you know I'm headed out of town. You're in charge while I'm gone" he informed calmly, looking at May.

"Well you can count on me" assured the woman as Peter looked back at Cooper, who had merely tilted his head ever so slightly. In that moment Spider-Man would swear that the blue eyes were glowing softly, and the man next to him wasn't Matthew Cooper anymore, it was the Marauder. "How long will you be away?"

Li grimaced, "I really don't know" he admitted before turning away. Only at that point did Cooper start to relax, if only a little bit.

"Is everything okay?" Peter asked cautiously, unsure of what was going on that he didn't know about.

Li paused, turning back slowly and forcing a faint smile. "It's some personal business I've been planning for a while" he explained in vaguest possible terms. "But…please take care of this place" he asked sincerely, "it represents the best part of me" he said sadly as he placed his hand on the wall and gave one last smile and nod before leaving.

"Well I guess I better get busy" said May before returning to work as Matthew not so subtly encouraged Peter towards the door. Peter's mind was elsewhere however, his friend was acting strangely and there was still the matter of whatever game Felicia was playing to consider as well.

Suddenly, his phone beeped in his pocket as he pulled it out and accepted the incoming call from MJ. "Hello?" he asked as the two began to move through the shelter.

"_Hey, did you see my story?"_ asked MJ excitedly, the pride in her voice meant Peter couldn't help but smile, despite the grim visage on the face of the man next to him.

"I did" he replied as they began to make their way downstairs. "Robbie must be pretty happy right now" he guessed.

"_Yeah, it kinda went viral"_ she humble bragged, not that he had a problem with that, she more than earned her time in the spotlight. _"And get this…Mayor Osborn just announced he's going to give Officer Davis an award this afternoon."_

"Wow" said Peter in acknowledgement, not at all arguing the fact that the man deserved it. His actions had saved not only Peter's life, but everyone on the subway below when he knocked that truck off course. But then a memory made its way to the forefront of his mind, "wait…isn't Osborn's campaign rally this after…Oh, I see what he's doing" said Peter in realization.

There was a grunt from next to him, the Pilot seemingly none too happy with how events were playing out. _"Yeah, we all do"_ agreed Mary Jane sadly. _"But still a pretty cool moment for Officer Davis and his family" _she said, trying to lift his spirits, or maybe her own as she was partly responsible for a hero being used as a political tool. _"I'll be there covering it – wanna join me?"_ she suggested tentatively.

Peter, meanwhile, lit up like a Christmas tree, which didn't escape the Pilot's notice despite his eyes still checking all the corners and angles as the two made their way outside. "Yeah, of course" he said, knowing a ribbing was coming. "See you there" he said before hanging up and sitting quickly getting into the waiting Shelby Mustang parked outside the Shelter.

This would be an interesting car ride.

* * *

Despite everything, the sound of the Voodoo V8 roaring to life never failed to bring a smile to Matthews face. The pony car hummed, waiting to break out into a full gallop. Sadly, the car wasn't on the open range, but confined streets and was thus restricted to a lazy trot. Leaving the car in second gear as the fast Ford moved lazily, Matthew turned to his passenger. "Li's hiding something" he said without preamble. Hiding his smirk as Peter turned to him, the Marauder continued. "You know how he told you the mask you showed him might be connected to dangerous people?"

The webslinger nodded slowly, "yeah I remember, what'd you find out?"

Cooper shook his head, "everyone who saw that mask came back with the same thing" he said grimly. "Nothing" he revealed flatly, "until the Demons showed up that mask had no relation to any criminal elements. All I got back was that it was used in Chinese stage productions." The Texan then turned to look at the Queens native, "every. Single. Time."

Peter furrowed his brow, "what are you saying Coop?" he asked. "Do you seriously think that Mr. Li is…involved with the Demons somehow?"

A frown formed on Matthew's face, "I'm not sure, it could be anything, including nothing" he admitted. "But it's just nagging at me, there's no way he could have known, you asked him first thing in the morning, right after the Demons first appearance, before it had been widely reported on. For him to give you that warning…something doesn't add up" asserted the Pilot.

"I think you're grasping at straws Coop; I think it was just something from Li's past coming back to haunt him" responded Peter dismissively. Matthew shrugged, if anything, Matt thought Peter could let his own opinions of people cloud his judgement and, since he didn't have a spider sense to let him know when he was about to be stabbed in the back, he would remain on high alert.

The drive was as pleasant as driving through Manhattan with a six speed could be, and the nervousness of his passenger didn't escape notice. "So, uh…Felicia called me last night" he began hesitantly, as if he was walking into a minefield. Cooper kept a straight face despite the smirk he wanted to put on because Parker was right, just not for the reasons he thought.

"Really?" said Cooper casually, feigning ignorance about the entire thing. He didn't particularly like misleading his friend, but the ends justified the means. "She say anything interesting?"

Peter scratched his head nervously, "she did actually" he admitted before swallowing nervously. God, the guy really did have a problem with harsh truths. "You wouldn't happen to know if she was up to anything? Like, as the Black Cat?"

The Gunfighter furrowed his brow, "you're sure?" he asked, getting a nod from Peter as he turned back to the road before grunting dismissively. "Not that I know of, but I'll handle it…_let _me handle it" he said brusquely. He saw Peter look like he was going to argue and cut in, "that wasn't a request. I'm telling you Parker, stay. Out. Of this" he ground out, sufficiently cowing the wallcrawler.

But Matthew also knew his friend well enough to know that he wouldn't take no for an answer. He would keep looking for Felicia's sites, follow the trail of clues, and pick up the breadcrumbs she left behind.

He allowed himself to feel content, so far everything was going according to plan.

* * *

The next few hours were spent getting the things Peter would need set up in one of Cooper's safehouses located near the Columbus Circle. One of the many pieces of infrastructure built to sustain a never completed metro line offered underground access and was part of a bodega, resulting in numerous entrance and exit points. Cooper had already retrieved the bag of spare clothes on the roof of Peter's apartment, and that was soon joined by emergency shopping runs to get hygienic products and supplies for making web fluid.

The safehouse still had the basics that the others did, cash, fake IDs, guns, ammo, and medical supplies, but Cooper found he didn't use this one much, he had another nearby that enabled him to move his cars as well. At some point he wanted to tally the millions he had pumped into this system, but another part of him really didn't want to know at all.

With the set up mostly complete, Cooper's phone came to the life with the opening chords of _For Those About to Rock_ as he looked down to see that he was getting a call ID'd as a NYPD request. "Go for Marauder" he said in greeting, knowing that most officers preferred a curt and professional attitude.

"_Marauder"_ said a familiar voice in greeting, _"it's Jefferson Davis."_

"Officer Davis" greeted Matt as he saw Peter walk in and take a clear interest in the conversation. "For what it's worth, that was some damn fine work last night, you can certainly ride with me anytime" he said seriously. "And congratulations on the award" he added. One of the benefits of his arrangement was that he rarely had to give written reports, sure he gave verbal ones and sent helmet cam footage to Yuri, but he avoided paperwork like the plague. Despite that, the first thing he had done when he woke up this morning was to submit a full report of last night's events with the specific recommendation that Officer Davis receive official commendation and recognition for his actions.

If Davis slammed his car into a speeding truck and then engaged a gunman with fisticuffs, then the Marauder could fill out a few documents.

But the man merely chuckled weakly, _"I'll be glad when it's over" _he replied evenly._ "A truck full of armed Demons scares me less than public speaking"_ admitted the Cop wryly.

Cooper laughed heartily at the admission, "I knew there was a reason I liked you Davis" he quipped before seeing Parker signaling to put it on speaker. "Hang on a sec, I got Spidey here with me and I'm going to put you on speaker."

Setting the phone down on a cabinet, the two friends gathered around it. _"Alright, good, I'm calling about something else" _he said, causing both men to flick that mental switch as they prepared to go into the breech once again. _"I just got a tip that Demons are moving in on a Fisk Construction site in Midtown. Wife'll kill me if I ditch the ceremony prep to play cops and robbers, but I thought my friendly neighborhood partners would want to know about it."_

The Gunslinger and Webslinger exchanged knowing looks before Cooper nodded his assent. "Alright Jeff" said Peter, "we'll suit up and swing by, let you know what we find." Cooper was about to hang up when Parker spoke up again. "And here's a tip for public speaking: just picture everyone in their underwear" he advised before thinking it over and beginning to verbally backpedal. "Wait, not Osborn, and not…"

"Jesus H. Christ" muttered Cooper, cutting off the tangent before it spiraled too far out of control. "Listen, it's just like shooting. Keep your breathing even, hands steady, mind clear, and eyes down range. You do that and just let the rest fall into place" advised Cooper seriously.

Peter cocked his head, "is everything like shooting to you, Marauder?" he asked sarcastically.

"You're only saying that because you can't hit the broadside of a barn from the inside" retorted Cooper with a lopsided grin. Peter was actually competent with a firearm despite his aversion to them. Davis laughed heartily on the other end before the connection was cut. "Come on, let's head back to my place and suit up."

* * *

The Marauder and Spider-Man arrived at one of the construction sites that Fisk hadn't acquired from Cinderblock. It was a massive pair of partially complete skyscrapers in the middle of downtown Manhattan, a prime location for whoever controlled it. With its commanding vantage and being easily fortifiable it would make for an ideal stronghold. Such an outcome couldn't be allowed, it fell to the two vigilantes to secure the site.

Posting up on a nearby building, Cooper checked that nonlethal rounds were loaded in the Softball and Volt while Spidey remained on the lookout, pointing at something down below. "Consolidated Shipping" he said aloud as Matt spotted a cargo truck leaving the site in an all too familiar paint scheme.

Making a mental note as he zoomed in with his Visor and grabbed a few snapshots, his attention was suddenly caught by the familiar chatter of automatic weapons fire and the flickering lightshow from muzzle flashes coming from across the street. "There's the music, time to dance" drawled the Marauder as that familiar clarity began to set in and the two crossed over to the construction site and had a look inside. Activating his cloak, the Marauder saw a group of Demons dumping a bullet ridden body in a corner. Emotionlessly, he flicked the safety of the energy actuated SMG off, he didn't care that Fisk's man was dead, but there were targets and he had a job to do.

"Jeff, we're here" said Spider-Man over a comm line as Cooper grit his teeth and held his fire.

"_What do you see?"_ asked the Cop as the Demons spoke in Mandarin.

"Demons are here in force. Heavily armed, estimate Company strength" reported Matthew as he flinged out a pulse blade. "They've engaged, confirm either civilian or Fisk casualties" he rattled off as he did a mental tally of the illuminated Demons.

"_You got this?"_ asked Davis as Cooper looked back to see Spidey, in a spare classic suit, drop down and nod at the Pilot, who nodded back and raised the SMG.

A cocky smirk flickered across the Marauder's face, "we got this" both said at the same time. Peter streaked overhead before slamming down into tail end Charlie. The other Demons turned just as Matthew vaulted over the portable generator he was behind, Volt already spitting out its distinct blue tracers and slamming into the next two Demons as Cooper leapt up onto a pillar and then across to a wall as Parker swung forwards. The next group didn't fare much better as an impact web sent one slamming into a shipping container as a stream of tracers stunned a second before an armored green blur slammed into a third, a smash of buttstock to the mask ending any resistance.

Spider-Man engaged the last two, hitting one with a burst of electric web to stun him while he hit the second with a string of powerful blows, culminating in a roundhouse kick that sent him flying into the stunned Demon. Without hesitation, the pair moved forwards, Cooper not even pausing as he slammed a fresh magazine home before leaping through a gap after the Webhead. Spider-Man once again struck first, leaping into the fray as he webbed up a Fisk Construction worker and pulled up out of harm's way before coming down in front of a Demon squad. "Alley-Oop" called Cooper as he tossed an arc grenade.

With acrobatic ease, Spidey leapt up and webbed the grenade, snapping it down dead center, stunning the entire group as the two vigilantes set to work. Cooper tackled one demon to the floor before grabbing him by the mask and slamming his head repeatedly into the concrete when another jumped onto his back. The Marauder was driven to the floor as he gripped the arms wrapped around his neck and pulled to loosen the grip as he got his legs under him. Once on his feet, the Pilot fired his jump kit and threw both men skyward as the Renegade leaned back and slammed the Demon hard into the concrete pillar behind them. The sound of ribs breaking followed by labored breathing was overpowered by the sound of the mask shattering as the Pilot dropped his boot on it.

"So…." Drawled Cooper as he turned to regard the man strung up from the ceiling as Spidey hung inverted beside him, "who's your friend Spidey?" asked the Pilot dryly. Before Peter could reply, a phone fell from the worker's pocket, ringing and buzzing as Spidey quickly shot a webline out to grab the phone and pull it to him. "Well, you gonna leave me in suspense?"

Peter flipped the phone around so Cooper could see the screen, "just not much to say" said the webslinger with a shrug. The word 'Unknown' was displayed on the screen as Spidey turned the phone back around and answered the call. "Hey Willie" greeted the wallcrawler.

"_You"_ returned the deep tones of Fisk, though the Marauder smirked in satisfaction at the inklings of irritation he heard in the voice.

"Nice jumpsuit" complimented Spider-Man sarcastically, "slimming."

"_Stay out of my business"_ returned Fisk bluntly as Cooper jumped up and ripped the phone from Peter, much to the wallcrawlers chagrin, as he returned to ground and flipped the phone around to see Fisk in his orange RAFT jumpsuit. _"And you as well"_ sneered the imprisoned crime lord.

"Fisk" greeted Cooper neutrally, "the enemy of my enemy." Fisk merely snorted in derision but offered no counter as the Marauder continued. "I only have one question, the Demon's Leader, who is it?"

The man's face twitched in irritation as his eyes narrowed, _"keep my men alive and maybe I'll tell you"_ he ordered tersely as the connection was terminated and Cooper tossed the phone on the floor before readying his weapon.

"Saving bad guys from other bad guys. Not how I thought today would go" mused Peter as the Marauder grinned behind his helmet. "Sensors show two groups pinned down in each building, divide and conqueror?"

Softball in hand as he gave the drum a slap, causing it to spin as the Gunfighter nodded in agreement. "Let's rock" he called out as Spidey fired a webline and ascended straight up while Cooper charged towards the edge, STIM pushing him even faster as he used his grapple to slingshot himself up. A shootout was happening on the skybridge as Cooper raised the grenade launcher and came to a hovering stop before raining four shock grenades down on the Demon gunmen before grappling himself to the far skyscraper.

Firing a hologram as he landed and activating his Cloak, he rolled away as the Demons turned to engage the decoy and grouped up nicely for him to empty the remaining two grenades into them before he fired his jump kit and leapt in. Left fist cocked back, he slammed it into a scythe wielding demon as he slid through the group and jumped back away, using the wall to turn around. With licks of flame coming from the pack on his lower back, Cooper spun around and kicked a recovering demon away as another came at him, fists glowing ominously as the Marauder drew his MK6 and snapped a round into his knee. The mask wearing man stumbled as an exoskeletoned arm wrapped around the man in a chokehold before the Pilot pistol whipped the Inner Demon across the head, knocking him out.

The sound of an approaching helicopter caused the Renegade to snap his eyes to the sky as a massive man dropped from the chopper. He towered over the Pilot, who placed him not that far short of 7 foot and 350 pounds. The man bellowed a battle cry as he charged the Marauder, his fists blazing with black fire as Cooper leapt and rolled into a crouch, electric smoke grenade in hand.

But the sound of a door opening caused the SRS Pilot's plans to change as the Demons that exited did so into a cloud of crackling smoke. His respite was brief as he was soon forced to dodge again as the Brute charged him once more, but this time the Pilot went on the offensive. In his crouch, the Pilot fired his grapple at the wall, digging his feet in and pulling the cable taught as the Demon blundered into it, tripping and flying into the smoke, straight into one of his comrades. Hurriedly, the Pilot stuffed more grenades into the R-6P before firing them into the dissipating smoke, the shock grenades sticking to their targets before detonating as arc energy leapt from Demon to Demon before all fell to the floor, limp.

Jumping down, he fired his grapple at a Demons as Cooper pulled himself towards the man, SMG blazing at the others before he slammed into the suited man before planting two shock rounds in his chest. A bullet snapped past him as he swung the weapon around and fired, putting one down as two more ducked behind cover. "Can't hide from me!" snarled Matt as he tossed a gravity star at the edge of the pallet and triggered the Volt as the two men were picked up like ragdolls and dragged into the open.

But the sound of the Chopper had the Pilot swinging his eyes to the sky and triggering his STIM as he slid behind a pillar before the Helo appeared. The helicopter slowed to a hover and remained stationary long enough for a man with a rocket launcher to fire at the spot the Pilot had been standing in, knocking open a hole in the floor before departing just as quickly. Reloading his weapons, the Pilot dropped down the hole to the floor below where the last of Fisk's men was. Charging around the corner, he saw a man in neon safety vest stumble as he ran and fall to the floor in the open, Demons bearing down on him.

Raising his hands as he prepared to Die, the bullets fired at him were caught by the A-Wall the Marauder tossed out before sliding into cover behind it, firing a burst at each of the exposed gunmen before the others took cover. "Do bad guys ever learn? Asking for a friend" said a familiar voice as a red and blue blur flipped through a gap in the wall, webs firing from his wrists as Cooper slung the Volt over his shoulder and dragged the wounded man into cover. "Fisk" said Spider-Man as the phone connection clicked in Matt's ear. "Your men are safe. Your turn. Who runs the Demons?"

"_Maybe he's there, maybe he isn't" _responded the Kingpin cryptically. Cooper couldn't help but grind his teeth in frustration. _"Check the roof"_ he suggested before the line went dead.

"Fucker" ground out the Marauder through clenched teeth.

Peter chuckled next to him as he waited for the Texan to reload his weapons. "Pretty much" he agreed before turning to the Gunfighter, "I almost missed these cryptic Fisk talks" he muttered. "Shall we?"

"Don't leave me behind" muttered Cooper as he fired his grapple and began to climb the partially complete tower, thankful for the number of places for him to bury the axe he held in his left hand as the pair ascended. Looking up, Cooper could see the distinct sight of rotor wash on the roof, "Scratch that!" he yelled over the comms, "leave me behind, slow that thing down!" he barked.

In an instant, Spider-Man shot ahead and was on the roof as the Marauder saw a massive barrage of webs tether the chopper to a huge generator on the roof. The turbine engines strained against the artificial silk and for a moment it looked like they would lose. But, as Cooper often said, firepower solves many things, and a rocket streaked from the helicopter just as the Marauder fired his grappling hook at the bird. As the gap closed on the chopper, time seemed to slow as adrenaline pumped through the Renegade Gunfighter's veins. The blazing rocket slammed into the roof, destroying the anchors for the generator and causing the tension in the webs to rip it from the rooftop as it swung like a pendulum.

Straight at Cooper.

Disconnecting the grapple and thankful the axe was still in hand, the Pilot took the impact head on, getting the wind knocked out of him as he grunted through the pain and brought the axe down as he hung precariously from the spinning generator. "Attach the webs to the FUCKING ROOF NEXT TIME!" he shouted, not even sure if his comm was on and not particularly caring.

Grunting as he pulled himself to the top of the dangling generator he looked back in shock as one of the massive construction cranes was falling, though there was the silhouette of a man running along it, shooting bursts of webbing to break its fall. Seeing Peter had that situation well in hand…ish, Cooper got back to his own predicament. He still had his weapons, but the Volt and arc grenades wouldn't take down a chopper. There were a half dozen HE grenades in his belt for the Softball, but taking down the Helicopter in such a crowded metropolitan area would result in an unacceptable amount of collateral damage.

Though there were more immediate problems to worry about, the added weight from the cargo Cooper was clinging to meant the Chopper lost altitude, now between buildings as the Generator swung freely. Eyes widening behind his Visor, Cooper saw the oncoming impact with a building, Matt pulled the axe out and fell away just as the cargo smashed into the building, raining rubble down as the Pilot fired his grapple to the next structure to dodge.

Wallrunning in hot pursuit and thankful the added weight slowed the Helicopter down, Cooper's Comm beeped in his ear before Yuri spoke to both vigilantes._ "I'm getting reports of a…helicopter with a wrecking ball?" _she said, her brain clearly wondering who put a question mark on the internal teleprompter.

"_Yeah, things with the Demons got…Complicated"_ explained Peter weakly as Cooper activated his phase shift to avoid the rubble from a destroyed Water Tower as he parkoured over the rooftop before leaping off and firing his grapple as he was ripped back to reality. _"Sit tight Yuri, we got this" _assured the webhead.

"We got this?" questioned Cooper as he saw the generator slam into another building as he keyed his STIM and felt the chemical cocktail rush through his veins, even going so far as to dump out and reload half of the Softball's chambers with HEDP rounds. "What's the fucking play?" he asked, hoping his arachnid themed friend had a plan, because the Pilot sure as shit didn't.

A window in his HUD was showing the chopper's flight path as BT crunched the numbers to try and extrapolate a destination, but it seemed to be flying almost randomly. _They know they have a tail_ realized the Marauder. _"I'm still working on…woah rockets!"_ called out Spidey as a streak of black sliced through the sky where the superhero had been a moment before. The generator turned an Osborn billboard into firewood. Both Spider-Man and the Marauder had gotten as close as they could, but still had no way to stop it.

The Gunfighter was so focused he didn't even hear the comm registering in his ear until Watanabe's unamused tones were filling his helmet. _"That helicopter is destroying the city" _she said, worry etching itself in every syllable.

Cooper dodged a rocket before a mix of "No shit" and _"I Know"_ was thrown back over the airwaves at the Captain. Both knew that if they didn't get a handle on this soon, they would both be fucked seven ways to Sunday.

"_You two need to bring it down"_ she stated as she got the same mix of "no shit" and _"I know"_ in reply. _"Maybe you both could super-hero a little faster?"_ she 'suggested' helpfully.

"Until this fucker takes that thing over the water, we can't drop the bird" snarled Cooper as he slingshot himself around a corner. The Texan grunted as his boots slammed into a building and he began wallrunning again his STIM pushing him even faster. "Otherwise I'm open to suggestions" he ground out.

"_Damn"_ cursed Yuri as she saw their predicament. The two vigilantes kept up the pursuit, but all they could really do was bear witness to the destruction as the seconds dragged by and eventually turned to three minutes_. "Shit, we don't have a choice"_ she said with a sigh, _"Marauder, you're cleared to engage, take it do…."_

"_No, wait!"_ shouted Peter desperately, cutting off Watanabe. _"I have an idea! Call you when it's done Captain" _he promised before unceremoniously cutting the connection.

"So…" began Cooper as he waited to hear this plan and got nothing, "how much of a plan do you _actually _have?" he asked dryly, Softball still ready and in hand.

There was an awkward silence over the comm channel._ "Ehh…sixty, no wait…seventy percent of a plan"_ assured the webslinger as Matt couldn't help but groan in reply. _"Great! I knew you'd go along with it. Okay, when I say, I need you to hijack the helicopter. I'll handle its attachment."_

"The attachment you put there" groused Cooper with only a hint of actual malice behind the words as he switched back to the Volt. He could still _feel_ the daggers being glared at him from behind the narrowed eye lenses. "Ready on your mark" he reported curtly, slipping back into the Gunslinger's Trance.

"_What's Mark ever done to you?"_ quipped Peter weakly, it seemed Matthew wasn't the only nervous one. The two slowly switched so that Cooper was in the high position as Spidey descended about 40 feet and fired a webline to pull himself to the generator. _"MARK! MAR…oh crap" _he muttered into the comm as the inertia from his impact drove the generator into a building, slicing through the webbing that connected it to the chopper.

* * *

_This is gonna hurt _realized Peter in some far back corner of his mind as he felt the massive generator swing, he was fairly confident he knew the limits of what his webbing could do, and every second that thing hung and every swing it took only reinforced that he really didn't. The elastic property of it meant that in it's weakened state the thing swung farther than he expected and plowed straight into a high-rise office. On impact, a corner hit first, causing the rectangular contraption to bounce and begin to roll. _How does a square thing roll? _wondered Peter, ignoring the science of it as he leapt off to avoid becoming a smushed Spider-Man and taking off in a dead sprint, finding himself recreating a scene from _Raiders of the Lost Ark. _Even with certain disadvantages, like corners, the generator was hot on his heels as he leapt up and off a pillar to clear a desk before rolling to a halt, his sixth sense instantly becoming silent as he stayed low and watched the bright yellow machine tumble overhead.

Snapping his head up, the white eye lenses widened as the severed pendulum smashed through a window, shattering the glass as the Webslinger snapped off a pair of weblines to ensure he followed the generator out the window. Letting himself get pulled out the window, the generator and passenger plunged several stories until it crashed into a roof of another office building, only this time it thankfully landed on its flat side and came to a stop immediately. Flipping off, Peter turned to look out the window and saw the helicopter still in the sky, only it was bobbing in what wasn't a terribly reassuring fashion. "What in the..." muttered the Webslinger as he tore off to try and get back to help his friend, but hopefully the Marauder had it all under control.

* * *

The helicopter lurched as the grappling hook buried itself in the fuselage and Matt swung through the skyscrapers, planting his feet against a window and cracking the glass as he shoved off and closed the gap even further. Getting closer he could see that the starboard doors were closed but the others were open. Firing his kit, he swung around, Volt blazing from the hip as he slammed his boots into a man holding a rocket launcher, kicking against the opposite door.

Proximity alert flashing, he held his left hand up to block the incoming scythe as he spun on his heels, finger not letting off the trigger of the energy SMG as he sprayed arc rounds through the cabin, pumping at least four into the suited man before a fist slammed into his back. Normally such an attack wouldn't phase him, but the energy in the punch sent the Marauder off his feet and between the two seats in the cockpit.

The Pilot was too busy wrestling the controls to do anything about the intrusion, but the Co-Pilot charged up a punch, but not before Cooper drew his Data Knife and buried it in the man's shoulder, causing him to scream in pain as the blade dug in and was twisted before it was ripped out. "You want some too?" taunted the Marauder as he leapt back into the cargo space to the third and final Demon who reached for a sword as Cooper drew his Tomahawk and crouched down.

With a cry, the Demon charged, sword scraping the roof of the helicopter before it came down, caught in the bend under the axe head as the Pilot rammed the knife forwards towards his gut, the Demon using his freehand to block it. Grinning evily, the Renegade Pilot stepped forwards and slammed his helmet straight into the mask, stunning the swordsman before ramming the knife into his swordarm. As soon as the weapon was dropped, he kicked the legs out from under him and rammed a knee into his gut on the way down.

Turning back, he got a shot in the chest, literally, from the pilot as the Demon held a pistol in hand. Acting on instinct, the Marauder grabbed the gun hand and pushed it away, the Demon still firing wildly as rounds tore through the controls. Fist crackling with artificial lightning, the Texan buried his fist into the pilot's side, causing him to spas before he slumped over unconscious. Vaulting into the co-pilot's seat, Cooper was confronted with a problem, "Spidey, you do realize I don't know how to fly, right?" he asked as he tried to decipher the words on the controls…which were all in Chinese. He wrapped his hands around what he thought was the collective, or was it the cyclic?

"_What?"_ shouted Peter as Cooper heard a thunk on the outside of the copter and the control shuddered in his hands_. "I thought you were a Pilot?"_ asked the wallcrawler as Cooper looked out the windscreen to see that they had gained some altitude and were clear of the tall buildings, which made for a few hundred less things he was likely to crash into.

The helicopter lurched unexpectedly as Cooper tried to get the hang of controlling the machine, but the subtle vibrations only began to get stronger. "I'm a _TITAN PILOT_ you ass" grunted Cooper as he tried to steady the bird with the foot pedals, but the craft was beginning to fishtail more and more despite his efforts.

An immense wave of heat rushed past as a blast of black energy slammed into the controls, causing them to spark and wobble freely, unconnected to anything as the craft began to spin violently. By more reflex than anything, Cooper twisted in the chair and fired the smart pistol into the wounded man's thighs, putting him down…again. _"Can you stop that? I might be sick"_ said Spider-Man.

They had maybe 15 seconds, and Cooper only had one idea. "I think so, the manual way" he replied as he kicked the door open and leapt out, burying his axe in the aluminum skin as he took aim with the Softball. "Get ready to catch two falling pieces" he yelled out as he fired the three HEDP rounds at the joint for the tail section. Each of the three adhesive grenades stuck fast to the helicopter before detonating.

The grenades weakened the frame enough for the force of the spin to shear the tail off. Without a tail rotor the craft went from spinning and falling to just falling. _"Oh yeah, this is much better!"_ yelled out Peter sarcastically. Cooper remained silent, at this point he was just along for the ride and he needed Parker to focus if it wasn't going to be a one-way trip._ "Need a plan, need a plan real fast"_ muttered Peter as he crawled towards the shattered windscreen. He fired two weblines at buildings and attached them to the falling helicopter. _"I guess this IS THE PLANNNN!"_ he shouted as he pulled with all of his might to avert a full-on crash.

Slowly the helo began to slow, but not enough to prevent the twisted and buckled tail rotor from shredding the street and snapping completely off. Immediately switching his axe to his right, Cooper fired his grapple and fixed the distance, the enhanced cable fighting with his exo as he kept the section from crashing back to ground._ "Come on Pete, you got this…yougotthis yougotthis yougotthis" _chanted Peter as he added his own cables to the mix as the pair catapulted the tail up and Spider-Man webbed the entire thing to the side of the building, Cooper giving him a deadpan look at how utterly bullshit his webshooters could be.

Still affixed by the two weblines, the chopper pulled out of his dive and began to go over the top of the loop. Both vigilantes bailed as it began to descend, Cooper going spread eagle as he was reduced to spectator_. "Please don't screw this up…"_ Spider-Man said quietly into the comm as he unleashed a barrage of webbing that caught the chopper with a fifty feet to spare.

Both vigilantes landed on the suspended Helo in their own versions of a three-point stance. Spidey stayed low like a predator perched atop a vanquished foe while the Marauder was on one knee, left hand grabbing hold of a handle to steady himself as the grenade launcher was pointed skyward, safe but at the ready. Cooper turned to Parker, filtered voice dry, "if this was seventy percent of the goddamn plan…I don't really want to know the other thirty."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Grenadier: R-6P Softball AAGL_

_While technically the AAGL stands for 'Anti-Armor Grenade Launcher' I prefer to call this the 'Anti-Anything Grenade Launcher.' Six shots from its awesome rotary magazine that will remind many of the Milkor M32, it functions off of the same principal, but with small upgrades by being lighter, more compact, more ergonomic, and having more ammunition types. HE Anti-Vehicular, smoke, EMP, slugs, ARC, Tear Gas, even buckshot to turn it into a massive shotgun. It's most common choice is a 'sticky' HEDP that is adhesive coated and has a time delayed contact fuse. This round is what gives the R-6 its 'Softball' name, favored for it's hefty high explosive charge by skilled users, the downside is the slow velocity as the rounds arc through the air like those large, neon yellow sports balls…and hurt even more when it hits you in the face. _

_Rugged, reliable firepower then, with a healthy amount of versatility thrown in too. But really, who can deny the pure greatness of high explosives. Flash followed by earth shaking force, an ignition of primal sense. While the Greek gods may have gifted mankind with fire, blowing shit up is a uniquely human innovation. The only thing better than one explosion? Six in rapid succession._

_Though the reload after that is a bit of a bitch, but I guess I can't have it all. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: That will do it for this chapter, I don't have too much to say so this'll be pretty brief. If you have something to say then don't hesitate to review or shoot me a PM. But with 2019 having just finished I wanted to say thanks for the support, even if you haven't done anything other than read it's still nice to know that people enjoy this. As for what's to come, this year will mainly be focused on getting through the events of the game, I don't have any other stories planned even if I have had some ideas. **

**Next week? There's no crime if you do not get caught. I am the law, We Burn. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	31. Chapter 31: We Burn

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

2020 has been an interesting year so far and the less said about it the better.

That out of the way, the title of this chapter is another Sabaton track because we haven't had one of those in a while, at least I hope not because then I would look stupid and we can't have that. Still, it comes from Attero Dominatus album, which is among the weakest of their discography, but that is likely due to the fact it was put together in about a year. Still, the album has some good tracks such as the title cut, Angels Calling, and Light in the Black. In fact, this chapter was titled 'In the Name of God' for a while before switching to this one. Though the song was chosen more for the history it is based on than anything else. I'll touch more upon that history at the bottom.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 31: We Burn**

_Chase them down, let them suffer in pain_

_Dig them down, they'll be gone for a while_

_Evidence lost_

_We burn_

_Plunder and rape_

_Show them no mercy, just burn_

_Flesh turn to ash_

* * *

Miles Morales sat at the front of the large crowd gathered outside City Hall alongside his mother as they waited for the ceremony to begin. Miles didn't really understand why his dad was so anxious about this, he was a bona fide hero for what he did. The patriarch of the Davis/Morales household had always been content to simply do his job and do it well. Miles never really understood that aspect of his father, he had done something good, why wouldn't he want to be recognized for it?

As he watched the playback of the video clip he had posted on twitter for the 38th time…no, he wasn't counting…his mother slapped at his arm to put it away as the deputy mayor stepped up to the podium. "Welcome everyone" he greeted, the crowd falling silent as he did so. "And before I hand it off to Mayor Osborn, I'd just like to say a few words."

Unbeknownst to Miles, his idol was less than twenty yards back, discussing the current situation with the Demons with a certain red headed reporter in civilian attire. While the Deputy Mayor droned on, the teen was keeping his eyes to the skies, looking for said idol perched on the rooftops. Surely Spidey would want to be here for the man who had reportedly saved his life.

But if he was, then Miles couldn't pick him out before the Deputy Mayor finished what he was saying and stepped back as the Mayor took his place, the fakest smile Miles had ever seen plastered on his face. "Well thanks, Jim. Couldn't have said it better myself, but I'll try" he joked lamely. Miles' father smiled politely at the joke as he took his place next to the Mayor. "We all know that Officer Davis is a hero…" he said before Miles tuned him out.

He checked his twitter, the comments on his video post devolving into Spidey vs. Marauder arguments. Who was better, who would win in a fight, or if they were dating. Miles never understood people's obsession with that theory. It seemed as if a fifth of eithers twitter activity was dedicated to dispelling it.

"…For acts of extraordinary bravery above and beyond the call of duty, it is my privilege to present Officer Jefferson Davis with the Department Medal of Honor" declared Mayor Osborn as he pinned the Medal to his father's chest over his heart as the Deputy Mayor came alongside and whispered something to the Mayor, though Miles couldn't decipher what it was. In any case he was too focused on his old man, standing stiffly and still nervous about all the eyes on him.

The two shook hands before Osborn discreetly departed, Miles frowned, didn't his dad deserve this? The flicker of contempt was overcome by pride as the uniformed Officer took his spot behind the podium, looking at the crowd before his eyes settled on Miles and his mom, both flashing reassuring smiles. "Uh…Thank you Mr. Mayor" he began before clearly taking a deep breath, spreading his feet and squaring his shoulders. "I share this honor with my family – my wife, Rio, and my son, Miles. Without their support I couldn't do what I do."

Miles couldn't have been prouder of his old man as he continued the acceptance speech, it was simple, but if he knew his father than the last thing the Cop wanted to do was spend any more time talking about himself than he had to.

When he finished, Davis stood with the Deputy Mayor at the center of the stage as the reporters to either side of the family readied their cameras to take photos. Miles faced twisted as the Deputy Mayor began to glow, at first, he thought it was a trick of the light and he was so entranced by it he barely registered the shockwave from an explosion behind him. To his horror, he saw the man pull back his jacket to reveal a bomb vest, it had to be, it looked just like all of the ones in the movies. "DAD, LOOK OUT!" he yelled at loud as he could, hoping his dad would run, jump, just anything to escape the grim reaper at his back.

To Miles' utter horror, his father did nothing of the sort, instead running at the man and tackling him to the ground just as the vest detonated. The concussion knocked Miles back, head slamming into a chair as his vision became fuzzy, he blacked out before coming back, head pounding like a jackhammer was going to town on his skull. He was only aware for a few moments, long enough to register that he was being dragged, his mother was okay as she looked down at him, screaming his name.

But it wouldn't be the sights or sounds he experienced that would stick with him, it was the smell. The burning sensation of the cordite, the rotten smell of charred flesh, the saturated dust that soaked it all in, the gasoline that fueled the burning fires, they all mingled into a stench that could only make Miles think of one thing:

Death.

It was a relief that he passed back out almost immediately.

He didn't remember much else until he really came to as he pushed passed his muscles that ached in protest to stand. His eyes watered as he coughed, dust thick in the air as the horrible smell assaulted his nostrils. "Peter! Peter squeeze my hand if you can hear me!" begged a woman as she crouched down next to a bruised man, the first signs of tears rolling down her cheeks as she looked down at her red stained hands from the blood soaking his shirt. Miles couldn't help but pity her, but he had to be brave and find his parents. He knew his mom was alive and his dad…he had to be alive too.

Steeling himself, he shielded his face from the dust with his forearm as he called out for his mother, more people, some bleeding and limping, heading away from ground zero. Guard towers twisted and collapsed by the explosions blocked the way as fires spread from the gas leaking from a cruisers fuel tank. With the direct route blocked, the teen went into a bombed-out storefront, trying to ignore the sight of a paramedic packing up his bag and closing the eyes of a lifeless corpse on the floor as he vaulted over some debris.

Continuing forwards, the teen crawled under a tottering car as fires continued to spread through the wrecked shop. Making his way back outside, he was stunned by the scale of the destruction, so much so that he almost didn't notice the EMT helping a woman trapped beneath the wreckage. "Mom?" he said in disbelief as the remains of a tower with lights on it pinned her to the ground. "MOM!" he shouted in horror as he realized it really was his mother.

The Hispanic woman's eyes darted up to him, "Miles!" she shouted in recognition as the teen moved to the other side, scrambling to grab hold of the steel tubing and aid the EMT. With every ounce of strength he could muster, he pulled on the tower. "Can't…breathe…" panted his mom as Miles strained again, only to slip and fall as he saw the terror in his mother's eyes.

"Damnit!" he cursed as he picked himself off, "Think, think!" he chanted as he looked around frantically and his eyes settled on the piece of steel that had snapped off and he jammed it in under the tower.

"Hurry kid, it's slipping" informed the EMT as he strained to keep the tower from completely crushing the woman. With all of his strength, Miles heaved, throwing his weight into the lever as he propped the tower up just enough to get clear of his mother. The EMT dragged her out, "I got her!" he called as Miles let go, the tower slamming into the asphalt.

"Miles, Miles, Miles…oh my god" breathed Rio as Miles stumbled over himself to reach her, embracing her immediately as the EMT complimented him, though the teen was more focused on the sorry state of his mother.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he held tight. For a brief moment, Miles forgot about everything else, the heat, the dust, the smell, the sights he had seen minutes ago, just focusing on the here and now.

He felt his mother nod as she answered. "Yeah…yes…yes…yes…are you…are you okay?" she asked, almost on the verge of panic.

Slowly letting go, Miles could see the full extent of her injuries, the cuts and scratches on her face, the blood stain on her shirt. "I'm alright mom. I'm alright" he assured before looking her over again, "are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm going to be al…ah!" she cried in pain as she nearly slumped over before recovering. "I'm going to be alright" she assured as the EMTs arrived with a stretcher and Miles' mind was drawn to other issues, and more specifically, other people.

"I have to go find dad okay?" he said as he pulled away, doing his best to focus on the task at hand despite his mother's pleas. Looking at the wreckage that blocked his path, he steeled himself as he began to climb. "Dad's still in there" he assured himself.

"Miles! Miles come back!" pleaded his mother as the teen continued to climb, ignoring her as he focused on what he had to do. "Baby, please stay here!" called his mom from below, but again the words fell on deaf ears as the teen reached the top of the fallen tower to see the square, a few people still milling about, searching for survivors amidst the wreckage.

"Dad's alive, I know it" he whispered, intuitively knowing it to be true as he saw the stage where his father had been. Suddenly, a pair of sedans pulled up to the scene, the door opening as suited men wearing masks and carrying guns got out. Dropping down, he didn't know who these guys were, but he needed to press on.

As his feet hit the street he made to get behind a generator as two people held their hands up in surrender to the masked men before they fired, cutting the civilians down where they stood. "Oh my god" breathed Miles as he scampered away from the opening, hoping that he hadn't been spotted as he heard more bursts of gunfire.

Crawling through the shattered back window of an overturned SUV, he did his best to avoid the shards of glass littering the surface he crawled over. A man fell next to the SUV, Miles holding his breath as he saw the man raise his hands and plead for his life before a glowing sword was thrust into his chest. There was a disgusting gurgling sound before the sword was yanked out and the man fell flat on his back, lifeless eyes staring straight at Miles. Breathing heavily, the teen swallowed and pushed on, only to nearly jump up and bash his head into the seats as the body of the driver came unstuck and nearly fell on top of him.

Quickly averting his eyes, he forced himself to take deep breaths as he tried to calm himself lest one of the masked guys noticed him. Biding his time, he watched their feet, waiting for agonizing minutes and unable to do naught but watch as men and women were cut down until he thought it was finally safe to emerge.

Staying low and moving around the perimeter, Miles could still see and hear several gunmen sweeping the area, their flashlights slicing through the dust like knives and just as lethal. As quickly as he dared, he scampered down the sidewalk, staying out of sight and doing his best to not make a sound. Climbing up another destroyed tower, he looked down to see a man swing a sword that unleashed a burst of black and white energy that splashed over two people, killing both.

Creeping across the creaking beam, the teen didn't look down after he did once and saw the singed corpses sprawled out, clothes and skin melted away to expose the bones and organs inside. Dropping down on the other end of the tower nearby the stage and podium, he poked his head over the wreckage he saw a man with a rifle and immediately ducked as the flashlight passed overhead. Peeking through a gap, he watched the man wait for a moment before turning his back.

Seizing the chance, Miles clambered over the debris and stayed low as he made his way to the twisted wreckage of the stage. The attackers were speaking in some foreign language as Miles pressed himself against a barrier until he saw the group of gunmen move away from the stage. Knowing this might be his best chance, he began to climb the steps as he saw a single masked man at the top with a sword in hand, standing over the decapitated body of a woman as Miles boiling blood screamed for him to act.

Without thinking, the teen picked up a steel pipe and raised it as he rushed up to the swordsman, only for the killer to parry his attack and punch him in the face, sending Miles down the steps. "No! Please!" cried out the teen as the swordsman made his way down the steps.

His sword crackled with energy as he twirled it before pointing the tip at Miles' throat, the teen feeling the heat radiating off of the blade. The weapon came up, poised to strike as Miles raised his hand in a futile attempt to defend himself when a commanding voice boomed out. "Enough! Leave him as a warning of what happened here" ordered the unknown voice as Miles craned his head to find the source, only to see a man's back as he disappeared into the dust.

Without another word, all of the armed men turned and left, leaving a thoroughly distraught Miles Morales as the sole survivor of the massacre. Getting to his feet, he ran back up the steps in spite of the pain that wracked his body. "Dad!" he called out as he reached the top, his heart dropping as he surveyed the scene.

Blood painted the steps; a few body parts had been separated from their owners as twisted and mangled bodies and they littered the area like twigs. Wading through the carnage, Miles began looking for his dad, but came up empty. A bit of hope welled up inside him as he turned to leave, looking down at one of the bodies. This one was so badly burned as to be unrecognizable, the face deformed, arm blown clean off, and leg bent and a gruesome angle as blood turned the tattered police uniform crimson.

But what was completely unmistakable was the Department Medal of Honor pinned over the man's heart.

* * *

Cooper groaned as Felicia came up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, he was standing over his workbench; his freshly set up armor repair system humming as he wore an undershirt and basketball shorts. "Hey Darlin'" he drawled quietly as he bit back a wince when she squeezed his bruised ribs, "are you doing this just to tell me to not take generators to the face again?"

Felicia hummed an affirmative as her chin rested on his shoulder. "Just because I don't mind the scars doesn't mean I want you to try and collect them" she purred, digging her fingernails into him through his shirt in warning. Cooper didn't mind as much and was content after the action, the Demons had been neutralized, even if it was as clean of a takedown as the Marauder would have liked.

There was a sense of peace in the refurbished warehouse, the two were curled up on the couch enjoying the free moments with some food. Felicia had picked the movie, The Italian Job, but Cooper had put his foot down and thus they were watching the original and not some remake. Both were still too wired to sleep, but enjoying the quiet to do much else as they watched Minis drive around in the titular heist. "How come when you choose the movie it's always about thieves?"

"And how come whenever you choose the movies it's always a relic?" shot back Felicia as she gave him a quick kiss to get rid of the sour expression on his face, though the Marauder still grumbled incoherently. Hardy giggled a bit, but the banter was soon cut short.

The movie suddenly paused as BTs voice came from the TV. _"Pilot, multiple reports of explosions at City Hall. Captain Watanabe is requesting your presence immediately"_ intoned the Vanguard Titan as Cooper shot up from the sofa. _"Alert, multiple gunmen spotted on camera feeds at City Hall"_ updated BT as the Texan took the stairs in twos and threes down to the armory.

By the time the _Widowmaker _pulled up to the police line and the Marauder emerged, there was nothing left to do but walk through the warzone. Cleanup crews were starting to get to work and the wounded were being relocated and treated, but the dead remained undisturbed. It was a haunting feeling as the Pilot carefully treaded through the square, rubble, debris, and bodies littering the space, the dust having settled to give a fine coating to the scene that made it more gruesome, the red tinted dust.

Watanabe was standing in the middle, though this clearly wasn't the same woman Cooper had come to know and respect. The Captain seemed…hollow, a shell of her former self, not barking out orders like she always seemed to be. She was standing in the middle of her own failure, the price of it paid with the blood of the innocent. Yuri turned and saw the Marauder, but didn't say anything as the Pilot looked down into her hollow eyes. "Don't worry Captain" he said quietly, barely audible amongst the commotion of the workers, "We _will _get them" he promised with deadly calm. He was overwhelmed with the same cold fury that had compelled him to enact his plan with Felicia.

There was a flicker of anger on her solemn features. "Is that all you can think about? Revenge? The next mission?" she asked hoarsely, still struck with disbelief.

The green striped helmet shook slowly, "The dead have settled their debts Captain…" he began tentatively. "It's up to the living to pick up the tab."

* * *

Peter jolted awake as his eyes snapped open to see the hospital room he was in before they widened and looked down at his bandaged stomach before remembering he had changed out of his Spider-Man suit before joining MJ at the rally and breathing out a sigh of relief. "Peter dear" came a motherly voice as the Queens native turned to see Aunt May standing up from her seat at the side of the room, "take it easy Peter. They just finished the surgery an hour ago, you had three pieces of shrapnel in you" explained the woman in worried tones.

Laying back down gingerly, he made a show of wincing in pain for his Aunt's benefit. His quick healing ensuring that he was practically good as new, they probably weren't that big of pieces. "How's…MJ" he croaked as May offered him a glass of water and he gulped it down greedily.

"Worried about you, but otherwise fine" revealed the older woman calmly as she placed a hand on Peter's shoulder, "I am too. What happened Peter? You could have gotten killed today" she reminded sternly. "I can't afford to lose you" she finished softly.

He took a deep breath and nodded, "I know, I just…I saw something strange and wanted to have a look. I had no idea…" he began to explain before he was hushed by his Aunt. "I'm sorry" he said simply as he averted his eyes.

"It's alright dear" assured the woman. "What were you doing at that rally anyway?"

The superpowered hero couldn't help but feel heat rise in his face, "I uh" he began before clearing his throat, "was there with Mary Jane while she covered it for the Bugle" he revealed sheepishly. After a second of silence he looked up to see the woman giving him a small but knowing smile that did nothing to help his composure. "May…stop it" he pleaded when he caught sight of a familiar head of red hair in the doorway.

"I don't see why I should Peter" retorted the woman firmly. "I'm just so happy that you two are speaking again. You two would make some beautiful babies" she reminded as Peter tried to become one with the hospital bed. His attempts didn't go unnoticed by May as she furrowed her brow and turned around to see a rather shocked looking journalist in the doorway. "Hello Mary Jane."

"Oh uh, hi Mrs. Parker" returned the redhead dumbly while her face did the same as Peter's in trying to match her skin color with her hair color. The awkwardness in the room increased tenfold as nobody moved for what felt like a small eternity, time being relative and all. The two young adults were content to avoid all eye contact, while May looked from one to the other expectantly, only to realize that neither was willing to break the stalemate.

With a small sigh, the woman turned back to her nephew, "Take it easy Peter, don't make me come back here and dote all over you like I had to back in middle school" she threatened lightly. "I need to head back to FEAST, call me when you are released, okay?"

"Okay" he returned, "be careful" he cautioned as the woman gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and turned to leave. With the older woman gone, it was just the two exes left, and the stalemate held for a little bit longer until Peter finally swallowed his pride and looked at the redhead. "So, what happened exactly?" he asked.

"Demons had the whole block covered in bombs, even corrupted the Deputy Mayor and had him wearing a suicide vest" she revealed as she pulled a seat up next to the bed and sat down in it. "After the bombs went off then more demons arrived to kill any survivors and first responders, most of them all got away. The Marauder showed up half an hour after the bombs went off, he's out there now" she said as she took his hand. "The current death toll is over a hundred and fifty, but they're still finding bodies buried beneath the rubble" she finished lowly.

That statement sent a spike of fury through Peter's being, "Li" he ground out lowly, only to look up and see the confused look on Mary Jane's features. "The last thing I saw before the bombs went off was Li, he was there, but…" he said as he tried to remember the scene, but it seemed impossible and he wondered if it was the concussion talking. "But he was…glowing, just like the Demons" he whispered lowly as he leaned in closer, close enough to pick up the traces of her perfume that were still left. "I think Matt was right" he admitted.

"You're sure?" asked MJ, skeptical for only a second before he nodded in affirmation and her features hardened as she opened her large purse to reveal one of his spare costumes he had left in a duffel bag on the roof of her apartment, "then let's get you out of here so Spider-Man can get after him."

* * *

The next week was a flash; everyone had been busy with trying to do their part to even the scores. Sleep and coffee were in equally short supply on the island as the bombing at City Hall proved to be the beginning. Manhattan soon found itself under siege by the Demons, who used Guerilla tactics to devastating effect and were able to disappear into the population as quickly as they appeared. It was a pattern that had a frightening simplicity to it, Demons would emerge and attack, killing or robbing something before getting out of sight, shedding their masks, suits, and weapons, rendering them practically invisible before making their escape.

The NYPD were completely overwhelmed by the coordinated series of attacks as they were still licking their wounds obtained at City Hall. They had unexpectedly found themselves locked in an intricate and deadly dance with the cunning Demons, only unlike their partners, the NYPD were wearing earplugs and a blindfold. Not to say there weren't making a herculean effort to remove such impediments, but as soon as progress was beginning to be made a car full of gunmen would shoot up a precinct, resetting their progress.

Cooper had wanted to tear apart the city to find Li and try and get some answers, but Watanabe had forbidden it, she needed the Pilot to try and do _something_ to take pressure off of the beleaguered police force. With a bit of help from the NYPD forensics lab and a hunch from the Marauder, they soon determined the extent of the City Hall bombing. In addition to the suicide bombers, conventional explosives had been placed in surrounding buildings and by the various towers on the perimeter. Those had been conventional Composition 4 plastique, with the same chemical signature as the explosives used in Cinderblock, meaning they had the same source: Fisk.

The Marauder had then made it a point to hit the remaining Fisk weapon stockpiles and gunrunning points, with emphasis on securing the weapons they contained. Taking down three or four a day was a grueling pace, but it soon became much easier when he arrived at one construction site to find it deserted with a burner phone sitting on a weapons crate. Cooper hadn't been surprised when Fisk called it as soon as he laid eyes on it, but what he said once the Marauder answered had been.

"_My sources in the NYPD told me about the origins of the explosives. I won't allow my weapons to be used in such a way again. My men have orders to begin transporting them out of the city since they've proven they can't keep them secure. There is no need for you to continue interfering in my business."_

"_That may be, but you'll understand if I'm suspicious enough to want to confirm that for myself."_

"_Very well. You may inspect the sites; my men will have orders to cooperate."_

True to his word, Fisk had every weapon moved; Cooper checked every Fisk property and came up empty. That didn't stop the Demon's from using the weapons they had already acquired off of the deposed Kingpin, but there was finally some good news.

Peter had spent a few hours in a hospital bed before checking out and getting back to work, patrolling in an effort to stop Demon and Thug crimes as they happened. Spider-Man had been busy and active, and was now finally taking Cooper's advice that Li needed to be grilled seriously, though the man had disappeared.

All the chaos meant that Felicia had practically free reign to conduct her business unopposed as she began to take on tougher targets. With everything else going on, the Return of the Black Cat wasn't even page one news as the thief's return went unnoticed, to her chagrin.

But that was all forgotten for a few short hours as Cooper, in full Marauder kit, stood alongside other uniformed officers under the overcast sky, light rain dotting their headgear with water droplets. The Pilot stood motionless as Mayor Osborn handed a folded American flag to Rio Morales, the remains of her husband lying in the flower covered coffin. No words were exchanged as Osborn offered his solemn condolences to the fallen man's wife and son.

A flight of police helicopters did a flyover as Cooper and the other uniformed officers saluted their fallen comrade to bring the ceremony to an end. Many offered their condolences to Davis' family while the Marauder approached the coffin, pulling a banner from the satchel and unfolding it. On one side was the SRS Logo and motto, 'United We Stand; Divided We Ambush' while the opposite side had the words that he himself spoke as he crouched down. "For us, the storm has passed... it is over. But let us never forget those who faced the howling dark and did not return. For their decision required courage beyond measure; sacrifice, and unshakable conviction. They emboldened all of us, and they shall not be forgotten."

When he lifted his head and stood, he saw Davis' son, Miles, standing opposite him, just staring blankly at the coffin. Matthew couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness at the sight, the kid not even turning to look at the Renegade Gunfighter as he turned and left him be. Heading towards where he had been was Peter Parker in formal wear, the two exchanging slight nods as they passed. Approaching the Widow, he could hear the conversation stop as he walked up. "Mrs. Morales, Ms. Watson" he addressed calmly as he looked at each individual before the visor settled on the grieving widow. "My condolences Mrs. Morales, Officer Davis saved my life and I highly regret not being able to do the same" he said sincerely as he removed a box from one of his pouches and handed it to her. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out."

The woman took the box and opened it, finding an encrypted phone inside before closing it. Just as Cooper was about to turn away to let her be, she spoke up. "There is one thing; could you speak with my son? He's…been taking Jeff's loss hard." Without words, the Marauder nodded as he silently turned to see the teen brush Peter off as the Marauder went off in pursuit.

"Kid" he said carefully as he came to a stop a few paces back from the Teen, who turned around and snorted at the sight of the Pilot. Seeing he wasn't going to get any serious response, the Marauder continued speaking anyway. "I'm not good at this sorta thing, so I'm going to give it to you straight. This thing you're doing right now, it's not helping anybody. Sooner or later you're going to have to decide, decide if you overcome your grief or let it consume you."

After a moment, the teen unexpectedly rounded on the vigilante, a flash of anger in his eyes. "Or maybe if you had done your job my dad wouldn't be dead" he hissed scornfully. "Where were you when the Demons attacked? If you were there, then you could've…"

"No I couldn't" said Cooper flatly, cutting Miles off. "I had been shot earlier in the morning, I was recovering, repairing my armor, resupplying after the fighting" he explained simply. "You want the answer as to why your father died? It was because of a cunning and ruthless enemy who murdered him to make a point. Spider-Man and I both fell for their misdirection that ensured we couldn't respond to the attack; we underestimated the enemy" he admitted with a grimace. "But the details? There was no reason; I've seen enough war to know what it's like, for your buddy to die instead, to know it should have been you. But if you let that fact break you, then it's over, the people that do this will have won. The only way to win, truly, is to endure and prosper. And only you can do that."

The kid didn't answer, finally just walking past him as if the words hadn't fully registered, still in a trance as he approached his mother. Sighing, Matt checked his watch and got moving, heading to the parking lot and waiting _Widowmaker_. His mind was already pushing past the funeral to one singular thought: Payback. All week he had been focused on Fisk's hideouts or small time crime, but it was time for that to change. MJ had a few leads and she told him the first one might be ready after the funeral, ever since then the Marauder had been chomping at the bit to take the fight to the Demons.

But he knew he wasn't the only one and so wasn't entirely surprised to see Spider-Man crouched atop the green McLaren, but it was annoying. "Hey! My car is not a perch! Off!" he barked as the vigilante flipped off and the two got in, Matt firing up the twin turbo V-8 as his friend worked the infotainment to make a phone call. "Davis earned his rest, it's time to make sure he can rest easy" said the Marauder solemnly as he put the car and gear and the hybrid pulled away.

Spider-Man didn't respond as he sat back, putting his seatbelt on because he had to be as much of a square as possible while the car dialed a mutual friend. _"I'm busy, what's up?"_ answered Captain Watanabe brusquely.

As Cooper pulled the Hypercar out onto the road the webhead answered the Lawwoman. "Have you started looking for Martin Li yet?" asked Spider-Man as the Marauder watched traffic part for the _Widowmaker_. While Cooper wanted to speak to the philanthropist to see if he knew anything, that had been superseded when Peter claimed to have seen him at City Hall.

Watanabe however, wasn't having it. _"No, I told you, I can't start a manhunt based on a hunch from Spider-Man" _she said, Cooper having no doubt that his friend had been pestering the woman incessantly about it all week. _"Or you Marauder, I know you're listening"_ she added.

Cooper sighed as he brought the P1 to a stop at a red light and relaxed a bit. "I'm not asking you to hunt him down, but at least consider him a suspect and put a BOLO out on him" shot back the Marauder. "Yuri, I'll be blunt, if you don't start hunting for Li, then _I _will" he threatened darkly.

Spider-Man turned to look at Cooper, eye lenses wide in shock as he was about to open his mouth and object when Watanabe relented. _"You want to play hardball?"_ she asked with a wry laugh, _"fine, get me some solid evidence and we'll talk about going after Li _together_"_ she emphasized before hanging up.

Spider-Man did have someone who could help with that, and Cooper remained quiet, focused on driving his baby while the wallcrawler spoke with his ex-girlfriend using the phone in his mask. While talking he leaned forwards and input an address into the navigation system, a recycling center. Without needing to ask, Matt took the next turn, clicked the left paddle to drop the car down into 2nd gear, and buried the throttle as 950 horsepower were turned loose to propel the pair towards their new target.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Submachine Gun: Volt (XR-341-E7)_

_The Volt is a bizarre case, a proof of concept protype that proved so effective it was thrust into frontline service. Pioneering a unique electrically actuated firing system that has since been upscaled into the D-2 Double take and thoroughly excellent X-55 Devotion. In comparison to those, with their multiple barrels and variable cyclic rate, the Volt is a standard weapon in practice. A modest rate of fire of 625 rounds per minute and a paucity of moving internal parts means recoil is nearly nonexistent, the sleek design and short barrel makes the weapon easily to handle, but the high velocity that comes as a result of the linear accelerator mechanism means that range is better than would be expected. _

_The downside is that the gun is pretty hefty, at over 7 and a half pounds fully loaded, the ammunition is also not light either, especially considering the projectile is, at the end of the day, a bigger, hotter 9-millimeter. Armor piercing power is substandard, and at medium range a true assault rifle will outgun you every time. That being said, presentation does count for something, and few guns inspire awe like the Volt, so alien and futuristic in its design and operation that it alone reminds people who they're dealing with. With skeleton stock and strange compensator/suppressor on the muzzle, it has a distinct profile that has become as associated with the Marauder as the bloody mouthed and eyepatch wearing skull that adorns my helmet. _

_In short, the future is always around the corner and you have no idea what it'll look like…at least until you see it. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: So, the title track was one I agonized over for a long time. But there is a reason for it is probably a bit more obvious now. It tells of the Bosnian Genocide in the 1990s that resulted in around 50,000 dead, to this day the exact number is unknown. Obviously there is a lot of weight to that story, weight that the attack at City Hall should have had in the game but was denied, mostly due to the T rating. For this story I have the M rating to give me the ability to give this event more detail, and I think the result was quite effective. And then I threw in a quote from, of all places, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Review and let me know what you think. **

**Of course next week is all about punching back, hence the short chapter and abrupt end. Having it stop there allows for both this chapter and the next to be more consistent in tone and content. The next chapter will have more action bring with it a character teased several chapters back who I have been waiting to introduce properly and have in the story.**

**While our heroes have been peeking around and messing about, a new faction is spooling up their War Machine.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	32. Chapter 32: War Machine

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respwn Entertainment, etc.

Thanks to ravens18 for betaing this chapter.

This past weekend I got to experience 1917, and in my opinion it is one of the most incredible films out there. Certainly, it exceeded all of my expectations and I cannot reccommend it highly enough, it is one of those things where seeing it in theaters is absolutely mandatory. I can't really compare it to anything because there isn't anything like it, not really. A simple premise that was brilliantly and beautifully executed to create the best war film since Saving Private Ryan. In my mind it is right up there with The Longest Day, Zulu, Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers, and Black Hawk Down. In the words of Joe Bob Briggs, "Four stars, go check it out!"

As for the title this week, this is the second song off of the 2008 AC/DC album _Black Ice _that I have featured, with the title cut being used back in chapter 11. Still, this song is great too, winning the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance. If you know the game then you know why I have this song and if you don't then you will find out very soon. The classic AC/DC groove, bad attitude, with a hard and hungry sound complimented by the vocals from an aging Brian Johnson give it a gravitas that I like, and the subject matter make it the ideal tune to bring in a certain faction.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 32: War Machine**

_Make a stand, show your hand, Call in the high command_

_Don't think, just obey, I'm like a bird of prey_

_So better get your name, come on in_

_Gimme that thing and feed your war_

_War Machine_

* * *

With the _Widowmaker_ parked a few blocks from their destination in an underground garage, the pair attracted a bit of attention as they casually walked to the surface before taking to the rooftops. Cooper's head was still spinning after what Parker informed him of what MJ had told him. The Demons were being mind controlled, at least to an extent; none of them were fully in their normal state of mind when they were acting. It certainly explained why more than a few Demons had been model citizens before taking up the mask.

Such revelations caused Cooper to check that arc rounds were loaded in both the CAR and B3 Wingman. The revolver had a suppressor screwed onto it to make it quieter, aided by the subsonic rounds the manstopper naturally fired. Splitting up, each vigilante had a separate vantage point over the recycling center as they looked down at the masked men patrolling inside the high walls. _"MJ's hunch was right. Place is crawling with Demons"_ confirmed Spider-Man, the quieter hero getting far closer than the Marauder.

"Copy that" replied Cooper in flat, serious tones from his rooftop vantage, getting a feel for the patrol patterns and points of interest. "We need to clear the area and have a look see. We going loud?" asked the Marauder.

"_Not if we can help it"_ answered Spidey as he leapt to another light pole while Cooper slung the SMG over his shoulder and he pulled out the hand cannon. The webhead then fired a webeline down and ripped the Demon's legs out from under him, his face slamming into the ground before the limp body was hoisted up and suspended by his ankles. Two others turned at the sound of their comrade face planting, completely unaware of the Pulse Blade that buried itself in the ground or the Renegade Gunfighter boring down on them.

With a hiss of the jump kit, Cooper slowed enough to send a kick into one's head, causing him to go sliding across the ground. The other tried to call out before an exoskeleton equipped hand wrapped itself around his throat, squeezing his airway shut before the other hand was rammed into his gut and the shock knuckles activated, causing him to crumple to the asphalt. A string of mandarin caused the blue visor to snap up as he saw the outline a Demon coming to investigate the noise. Raising the Wingman, the suppressed weapon hissed as an arc slug slammed into his chest and the Pilot cradled the body before it too could draw attention by slamming into the ground.

Spider-Man streaked overhead as he planted his hands on the railing atop the building Cooper was next to and launched himself to a streetlight on the opposite side of the center while the Marauder keyed his cloak and rounded the corner. Matt was just in time to see Spidey toss a sphere that stuck fast before exploding, sending blasts of webs in every direction and securing two Demons to the wall. The one in the middle of the lot turned to the disturbance, giving the SRS Pilot the opening he needed to get him in a headlock and pistol whip him in the head.

Cooper approached Spidey, who was looking at the door with a careful eye before shaking his head. "No good, it's a High Security Lock, they're meant to be used on bank vaults, not recycling centers" explained the Wallcrawler as Cooper looked at the lock. "Maybe if we find where it gets its power from…"

The Texan unceremoniously shoved Spider-Man aside as he holstered the pistol and pulled a pack from his harness. "Or we could do this" he suggested as the Knock Knock was placed into the gap between bars before the pilot turned around. "We might want to get back" he advised dryly.

Spider-Man blinked dumbly for a moment as his head turned form the Marauder to the explosive before realizing that the Gunfighter wasn't trying to damage the lock, but rather the somewhat flimsier metal that made up the gate and fence. "Good idea" he agreed as he pulled himself up and away.

Shaking his head, the Marauder merely jogged over to and took cover behind a dumpster. "Fire in the hole" he called out as he pulled the trigger on the clacker twice, the explosive detonating with a wet 'whump' as the pair pulled back the mangled metal and proceeded through the gap. For a few minutes the two found nothing as they made their way through the facility. At least until they dropped down from a vent into one particular room. "Holy shit" said Cooper in astonishment as he surveyed the surroundings.

A table was full of containers with various chemicals inside while crates of assault rifles, ammunition, and explosives lined the wall. Spider-Man looked over a map and some of the more high tech pieces. "These must be the places where they're planning to attack…wait – these are Osborn campaign offices" he noted in shock.

Cooper grimaced, that choice of target was strange, and such a pattern wasn't a coincidence. Looking at the next table, he could only have one reaction. "_Fuck me_" he whispered as he looked back at the chemicals and it all finally clicked into place. "That's the 'where' and I just found the 'how'. Truck bombs…packed with Napalm." Napalm, an incendiary developed in World War 2, was the stuff of nightmares. With the consistency of jelly, it was impossible to put out with water and would stick to anything it touched. The thought of it being used in the tight packed streets of Manhattan…it set Cooper's teeth on edge and sent shivers down his spine.

He may have killed people, and he felt he understood killing and could sympathize with people who felt lethal force was needed, but this, there was no justification for this.

Spider-Man made a call, linking Cooper as MJ answered. _"Hey – did you find Li?"_ she asked, the mention of the name reigniting a fire in Matthews core as the two made their way outside. Whoever was calling the shots for the Demons, it was clear they were willing to go to extreme lengths, they needed to be neutralized and it had already been shown that they could manipulate others to escape prison. That left only one real choice, as much as Cooper may not have liked it.

"No" answered Spider-Man. "But you were right, Li's using this place as a front for the Demons. Bomb-making, gun running…" That didn't truly describe what they had found, but it got the journalists attention, nonetheless.

"_Oh my God"_ breathed Watson in shock.

"And it looks like they're planning another attack" revealed the webslinger as they made their way back to the rooftops. "This time on Norman Osborn's campaign offices…"

Cooper cut in, "Listen Watson, what they're planning puts Cinderblock to shame. The Demons are trying to send a message by racking up as high a body count as possible. If they succeed with this, we're looking at hundreds of dead, easily" stated the Pilot, his tone hard and cold.

"_My god"_ whispered the woman, _"if this isn't another property grab…then Li must have some kind of beef with Norman Osborn"_ she theorized. The two men were already moving again, though Cooper wasn't sure where Spidey was leading him.

"I found an address here" revealed the Queens native. "I think it's their staging area…Marauder and I are on our way, if we hurry, we might be able to stop them" said Spider-Man as they continued through the streets of the Big Apple in their unique traversal methods.

The Marauder grit his teeth, "They had better hope we stop them" growled the gunfighter darkly. If they did set off those truck bombs then there would be little that could stop him from doing something he might eventually come to regret.

"_Be careful"_ warned MJ, though Cooper didn't know if it was to ask them to not get hurt or to not do what Matthew was very much considering at that moment. The connection was cut as they continued the 2 kilometer charge through the city.

Cooper made another call; if the plot was underway then they would need all hands on deck if they wanted to keep the death toll out of the stratosphere. "Yuri, Marauder here" he said as soon as the line was picked up.

"_Make it quick"_ replied Yuri, _"I'm busy getting yelled at by my boss"_ she explained.

"Well you're about to a whole other kind of problem. I've sent the address of a recycling center Spidey and I just hit. Intel there suggests Demons are planning a coordinated citywide attack" said the Texan before taking a breath. "Captain…listen to me" said the Marauder forcefully, "if I'm right, were looking at trucks packed with incendiaries…napalm, to be exact, targeting civilian concentrations. If they carry out this attack…"

"_Jesus"_ responded the Lawwoman absentmindedly, _"Are you sure? We've had a lot of false leads this past week"_ said Yuri nervously. Cooper had been sent on more than one wild goose chase at her behest.

"_The Marauder and I just saw it with our own eyes, go to that address, you'll find all your evidence there"_ assured Spider-Man as the two continued through the city, drawing ever nearer to their objective. _"Li's targeting Norman Osborn's campaign offices. Between the bombing last week and this I think it's safe to say who his target is."_

"_Got it, I'll get those campaign offices evacuated and send officers to secure the center to begin processing that evidence"_ she said before taking a slight turn._ "But if you two are wrong about then you're going to help me find another job" _she threatened before cutting the line.

Chuckling within the helmet, the Marauder came to a stop on a rooftop as he and Spider-Man looked down on their destination below. "Consolidated shipping" hummed the wallcrawler as Cooper activated the magnification on his visor and scanned the area.

"Lots of hostiles, snipers with overlapping fields of fire from multiple vantage points, roaming patrols with automatics" he rattled off before slinging the CAR back over his shoulder. Turning to his friend, the Pilot grunted as he posed the question. "I assume we're doing this quietly? Or would you rather rock and roll through here?" asked the Renegade SRS Pilot.

"Quietly…but also with style" quipped the webslinger in reply as he pulled out a few of the bits from the recycling center he helped himself to. "Thankfully, I have an idea to help with that" he said as he began taking apart the laser tripwires. Rewiring the device so that instead of tripping an alarm it activated the web cartridge he buried in the sensor, he tossed it to get a feel for the weight before throwing it to the Pilot, who caught it with ease. "Trip mine, should trip up the Demons no problem" explained Peter as Cooper merely grunted and pocketed the trap. "Let's use their own weapons against them."

Spider-Man went first, the quieter of the two crawled along the outside of a building while Cooper kept his weapon trained on the Sniper in case he got too close for comfort. Pulling out a second trip mine, Cooper watched the disc stick to a wall of boxes, the noise getting the attention of a Demon. The masked man moved to investigate, walking right up to the blinking red disc before it fired a webline and pulled him into the mine where the rest of the webbing ensnared him and pinned him to the wall. _"And that, my friend, is what karmic justice looks like"_ said Peter as Cooper repositioned, moving closer to his ally. _"Let's start at this side of the compound, work our way over."_

"Copy that" replied the Pilot calmly as he dropped down, resisting the urge to fire his jump kit and just let its built-in features slow his descent just enough for his Exoskeleton to be able to absorb the impact. Activating his Cloak, the vigilante approached the Demon and did a sweep the leg kick, the move straight out of Felicia's playbook. As the Demon flailed, Cooper then placed the palm of his hand on the back of the suited gunman's head and slammed him into the asphalt as hard as he could, destroying the mask and breaking his nose.

Spidey crawled around the corner, still three stories up, the white spider on his back enabling Cooper to track him as he dragged the downed Demon out of sight. _"Two on the driveway, think you can take the one closer to the building?" _asked Spider-Man.

Removing the kunai like tactical, the Pulse Blade was tossed into the fence, lighting up both men on their respective HUDs. "Take your guy when I engage" said the Pilot as he moved into position around the corner of the building. Checking one last time at his targets position, the pilot twitched his left hand and felt himself get torn from reality as he moved through the compound like a phantom. When he came back, he was nose to nose with the Demon, who was more than a little startled by his appearance. Wrapping his hands around his neck, he rammed his armored knee into the suited man's gut twice in quick in quick succession before shoving him to the ground and planting an arc round in his chest.

Turning around, he saw the other Demon webbed to a wall, struggling against his restraint to no avail. "Far one's mine" called out Cooper as he saw a sniper atop the tallest building, rifle scanning over the inside of the compound. Since the sight of their masks would attract unwanted attention, they weren't visible to anyone outside the compound, meaning if Cooper moved along the outside, he wouldn't be spotted either. Wall running, he moved unseen until he was on the same rooftop as the sniper, crouched low and Wingman raised. Wrapping his left arm around the marksman's throat, he choked out the scream building up in his chest as the muzzle of the revolver was pressed in the Demon's back and fired.

As Cooper pulled the body behind an AC Unit, Spidey was busy plucking a patrolling Demon from the catwalk and suspending him from the building opposite Matt. Cooper then moved to take out the next sniper, tossing the trip mine Peter had given him to cover the stairwell up, he dove from one roof to the next, tackling the sharpshooter. Somehow, the Demon managed to get his rifle up and between the two men enabling him to roll away. The move didn't buy him any hope, just time, jump kit firing, the Marauder was upon the Demon in a second, ripping the rifle away before jamming the muzzle into his gut and smashing the stock over his head.

The less than clean takedown had garnered some attention as two Demons charged up the stairs while more poured into the space below. With a thwip, the trip mine took down the first one while the second came to the top in time to get a grappling hook in the chest and a boot in the face. As the Demon tumbled backward down the stairs, Spider-Man tossed a web grenade into the group congregating below before diving into the fray, punches and kicks being distributed in an equal opportunity ass kicking.

Seeing as their cover was completely blown, the Marauder shouldered the CAR and chambered the first 6.19mm arc round. Vaulting over the railing, he fired a burst into the waiting Demon below before firing his grapple at the building opposite, turning himself into a living bowling ball as he bounced off of two staggered Demons before disconnecting the hook and sliding across the ground, SMG blazing.

Up above, Spider-Man was bouncing back and forth between two airborne Demons, knocking out both before coming down in the midst of the stunned terrorists as Cooper reloaded the Sub gun. Without a word, the Marauder raised his leg and kicked the door into the Consolidated Shipping offices down, weapon raised as he swept inside. Clearing each corner, he found nobody inside while Spider-Man checked a clipboard on the desk. "Hey Marauder, how much did you pay for that car of yours?"

"Million bucks, which was a bargin believe it or not" said Cooper wryly as he was satisfied the area was clear and lowered the weapon. "Why do you ask? 'Cause I know it's out of your price range, and it's not for sale."

The Wallcrawler tapped his knuckles against the clipboard. "Got an invoice here from an auto shop, 'Pale Horse Ridez', for a seriously expensive tune up" he said as he handed the document to the Pilot, who whistled as he saw the 1.8 million dollar subtotal. "What else is around here?" mused the webhead as he took point and Cooper dumped the invoice back on the desk.

The two then moved their attention to a map on the wall, Chinese characters scribbled out at various locations. "Hang on…cross referencing…these locations are all smack dab in the middle of hotbeds for Demon activity" reported Cooper, the information displayed on his HUD. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

The Spandex clad super hero nodded, "The Demons have bases all over the city" said Spider-Man as he ran his hand along the map. "This is bigger than I thought; looks like the Demons have an army." Cooper had to agree with that assessment; these bases would become his priority if he had any say in the matter.

A few more minutes of fruitless searching led Cooper to head back outside, Yuri had already been updated, but with the lack of anything substantial she wasn't rushing to them. Internally, he was debating, those bases were prime targets and he wanted to get to work. Cooper knew he was best in the attack, and he hated waiting. As he did a mental check of his remaining ammo, deciding if he would need to rearm on the way, he was caught unawares.

His proximity alarmed blared as he rolled away instinctively, a whip engulfed in black flame slamming into the ground where he had been, scorching the blacktop. Cooper tried to go for his B3 as his CAR was on his back, only for a whip to wrap around his forearm, the heat deforming the dragon scale plating and searing skin, even beneath all the layers. Roaring in a mixture of rage and pain, the SRS Pilot grit his teeth and made a circle with his arm, further ensnaring the whip.

With his still free left hand, he fired his grapple and when it hooked to the whip-wielding Demon, yanking him towards the Marauder. Sidestepping the oncoming Demon, Cooper then jumped up and wrapped the man in his own weapon, uncaring as its energy tore through clothes and burned flesh with brand like scars.

Spider-Man emerged from the building just as the doors across the way flew open and more masked men poured out. "All at once or one at a time…" called Cooper as he dropped an A-Wall and came to a crouch, CAR pressed into his shoulder, "doesn't make a difference to me." With that, the Pilot triggered the weapon, short controlled bursts making quick work as Spider-Man's webshooters reloaded and he added his own forms of crowd control.

The Demons tried to rush the outnumbered vigilantes, using weight of numbers to overwhelm them, but guns and gadgets whittled down their numbers. However, they did close to melee range as guns and webshooters were exchanged for a combat axe and fisticuffs. "Hey MJ, I think I stopped the Demon's attack on Osborn's campaign offices" said Spider-Man over the phone as Cooper parryed a scythe and delivered a kick to knock him away just as he had to duck an energized punch.

"_Nice, did you find Li?"_ asked Watson as Spider-Man leapt up and back flipped, slamming his foot into the demon's head on the way down, clearing Cooper's six o clock and allowing him to jump into two other masked men.

Blocking one blow with his right forearm, Matt then swung the axe, the handle impacting the elbow, buckling it before the padded elbow snapped back and into the man's head. In yet another example of Felicia's hand to hand training paying off, the Pilot moved as he couldn't have a year ago, pinning the hyper extended arm behind the man's back before shoving him into his ally.

All the while, the living embodiments of 'will they, won't they' continued their conversation. "No" admitted Peter as he sent one Demon up into the air before slamming him back down with a pair of weblines. "But I found something we should look into, a place called Pale Horse Ridez."

"_Sounds familiar"_ replied MJ as Cooper watched another one of Spider-Man's victims go up only to come down atop the two men the Marauder had just dealt with. Shaking his head, he found his next target and sent a hologram out before cloaking. _"I'll check it out and get back to you."_ From stealth, the Pilot watched the man swing his scythe through the hologram only to look down at the blade as if it were defective before turning around. Just as he did, Cooper's cloak faded and the Demon visibly flinched before the Marauder slammed him with a knockout right hook, literally.

Dusting himself off and securing the axe, he heard the line click dead. "When are you two going to quit tiptoeing around it and get back together?" he asked bluntly. Spider-Man just shrugged and tried to shrink away. "Listen dude, I know self-sacrifice is kinda your thing, but you gotta make sure there's something there to sacrifice. Take care of yourself once in a while" said the Marauder sincerely.

Sadly, Cooper's attempts to help his friend were cut short as a series of rappelling lines were tossed over the edge of the surrounding buildings. Both vigilantes tensed, bending their knees and settling into a fighting stance. With Web shooters and submachine guns at the ready and trained on the rooftops, they were surprised at what came down those ropes.

Sleek silver armor contrasting with black as night bodysuits, blue status lights on the harness and helmet. "Cover" hissed Cooper as he activated his cloak, recognizing the markless armor as he slipped into cover and out of sight, Spider-Man doing the same. Muttering a curse, he swapped out magazines on his CAR and cylinders for the Wingman to red marked ones, knowing that if push came to shove then the arc rounds wouldn't stand a chance against that armor. Even still, he slung the CAR over his shoulder and drew the MK6; he would be taking no chances.

"Who're the Storm Trooper rejects?" asked Spidey as Cooper got a look at the troopers for the first time since Monaco. There were only two of them, but no doubt backup was close by as the Marauder's mind whirled furiously.

"Sable International" he answered as the two dogs of war approached a Demon who was beginning to stir. Cooper scoffed as they focused totally on the downed Demon, completely unaware of their audience. "Mercenaries, good ones. We don't want to mess with them if we can help it" he cautioned; memories of the Apex Predators fresh in his mind. Unlike the Syndicate or Demons, these guys were a competent military force; if they engaged then backup would come down on the pair like a ton of bricks. "We should bug out."

Spidey seemed to agree, taking advantage of the turned back to ascend when the Mercs reached the Demon. One slammed the buttstock of his futuristic rifle into the suited man's head, driving him back to the ground. "Are they…" asked Peter over the comm as one of the armored troopers kicked the man in the gut, sending him rolling across the parking lot. The other grabbed the man by the back of his collar and pulled him up so he was on his knees.

It was plain as day what they were going to do, and the Marauder didn't agree with it. However, in the moment, risk/reward governed his actions, and the risks were too high. Every bit of his experience told him to get the fuck out of here, unknown number of potential hostiles, unknown capability, and he was low on ammo and wounded to boot.

Spider-Man, as usual, saw the situation differently. As the Sable trooper pressed the muzzle of his rifle to the back of the Demons head and he wouldn't stand for that. Dropping down, he fired weblines at the back of the second Merc, yanking him to the ground. "Hey!" he called, "that's not how we do things…down…town" he said, timing the last bits as he jumped off the down trooper and slammed his foot into the armored helmet of the would-be executioner.

"Headstrong son-of-a-bitch" snarled Cooper as he saw his worst fears come to fruition. Multiple armored troopers appeared on the rooftops and began dropping down, all focused solely on Spider-Man, ignoring the Marauder as he activated his cloak and slipped out from cover, moving to a better position and preparing to engage. At this point, a shootout seemed inevitable.

"Code SM-One!" shouted one of the troopers as Spidey spun from side to side as Sable Mercs surrounded the vigilante. "Code SM-One!" repeated one as the standoff grew more tense.

"Woah, woah!" called Spider-Man, apparently now only beginning to heed Cooper's warnings about the kind of people they were dealing with. "Before we get started, are you _sure_ you want to do this?" he asked. At least he wasn't stupid enough to give away the Marauder as the Pilot drew a gravity star from his belt.

For their part, the Mercenaries were unamused by the banter. "Code SM-one, code SM-one. Holding for orders" reported one of the armor encased men, still wholly unaware of the Renegade Gunfighter poised to engage, the familiar adrenaline seeping in his veins and clarity of vision brought on by the Gunslinger's Trance.

The familiar sound of a chopper caused the visor to snap skywards as a silver and grey helicopter circled overhead, a figure he couldn't make out silhouetting itself in the open doorway. Eye lenses narrowed, energy pistols were drawn, a jump kit hissed, muscles coiled, and fingers tightened around triggers.

Go time.

The actions of the players told a lot about them, the one in the helicopter shot first and asked questions never, calmly dropping down, pistol in either hand barking as energy bolts, glowing red hot, peppered the webslinger. For his part, the Queens native flipped back away and dodged, letting his superhuman abilities show as he evaded effortlessly in an impressive acrobatic display. The Marauder lived up to his lethal reputation, waiting for the time to strike and then doing so at astonishing speeds and without mercy. Vaulting over a crate, his left arm slung the gravity star as his jump kit send him up and towards the two surprised Troopers before a mini black hole formed between them. Coming back down to the ground in a slide, blue flame propelling him as the MK6 barked four times, smart rounds tearing through armor and flesh.

Up above, one silver handgun switched targets to the unexpected green figure and tried to track it as he reached the wounded soldiers just as the vortex collapsed and exploded. The resulting force only served to launch the Pilot out of the danger zone as rounds missed their mark and he fired his jump kit to lay flat on his back as he slammed his boots into a wall and press himself off, heading up to meet the descending woman.

For her part, the woman recognized the threat, elegantly twisting her body to reorient on the Marauder, but the speed and momentum he had built up were too great, and they collided mid air. Cooper's weight knocked them off course as a knee hit his armored side, knocking the wind out of him as the woman grappled expertly. His superior strength allowed him to get his left hand wrapped around her right wrist and push it away as his Jump Kit worked furiously to slow the descent until the two impacted the ground, rolling as they jockeyed for position.

There was a spike of pain on Cooper's right side, the report of a pistol registering as the round was absorbed by the armor plate. Roaring in rage, the Pilot wrapped his left arm around her right; her shoulder clasped in the bend of his elbow as he pushed himself to his feet and jammed the still warm muzzle of the Smart Pistol under the woman's chin. Her left hand weapon was still firmly pressed into his side as he got his first good look at his opponent. Blue Green eyes, lips drawn back in a snarl and framed by silver hair that was somehow unruffled by the encounter.

Matthew couldn't believe it, with a simple mental thought his external comms were toggled on, just in time for her to hear the tail end of the laugh that emanated from the back of his throat. "Silver Sablinova" he greeted, pressing the weapon into her for emphasis and forcing her to look up at him, "how nice to see you again" he said dryly, taking satisfaction in the look of confusion that flickered across her face, even if it didn't last very long.

Spider-Man interjected, "Aw, look at you two, just meeting and already pointing guns at each other. As far as first impressions go…solid eight out of ten lady" said Spider-Man, sounding only mildly impressed. The slight smirk playing across Silver's lips didn't go unnoticed by Cooper. The four glowing discs, until then unnoticed by the two vigilantes, revealed their purpose. Bolas leapt out, wrapping themselves around the spandex clad hero from shoulders to knees, restricting his movements. "Nine…nine out of ten" croaked the Webhead as he fell to his knees.

Cooper's finger tightened around the trigger as an NYPD patrol car came barreling into the facility, lights and siren blaring as Yuri nearly leapt from the cruiser. "Cut this shit out! All of you!" she barked as the Captain stormed up and grabbed the Pilots gun hand, trying to pull it down unsuccessfully as the Visor turned, glaring at the oriental woman. "We're all on the same team" she assured.

After a two second standoff, the Marauder relented, nodding as he let go of Sable and holstered the Smart Pistol. Yuri then pointed at the still bound wallcrawler, "Release him, he works with us" she demanded. The international mercenary smirked as she nodded towards one of her men and the red bolas fell away and Cooper extended a hand, helping the hero to his feet.

"Yuri" ground out the wallcrawler in a raspy voice. "Explanation Please" he demanded as both vigilantes turned their focus on Sable, who seemed unfazed by the attention.

"This is Silver Sablinova, head of Sable International, a private security force" explained the Captain before leaning closer. "Paid for by _Mayor Osborn_" she finished, emphasizing who was responsible for the Symkarian's presence.

Neither of the two vigilantes were terribly amused by the development. "Oh, so the mayor has a pet army now?" asked Spider-Man sarcastically.

But Cooper snorted derisively, getting the attention of the others. "Then tell him to ask for his fucking money back" retorted the Pilot dryly. "These chucklefucks can't even do a basic sweep decently, not one of them checked their corners, and all of them fixated on Spidey. If you expect these guys to do much of anything then you'll get a nasty surprise" assured the Marauder evenly, taking a bit of joy in watching Silver's face twitch at each observation. Though such expressions were long gone by the time the x-shaped visor swung to face her, "Frankly, I expected better." Almost uncaringly, he added, "you might want to arrange medevac for those two…and be happy it was _only _two."

That threat prompted the mercenary to step up, waving a finger in the two men's faces. "Next time either of you get in my way…I will not be so gentle" she promised as she stared down the Webslinger and the Gunfighter.

Cooper's hand twitched by the Wingman as Spidey curled in the middle two fingers of each hand. "Go" encouraged Yuri, "we'll talk later she said as Spider-Man fired a webline and shot off before Cooper raised his left arm to do the same. "You stay Marauder, mayor wants you to coordinate with Sable directly" informed the Captain, causing the Visor to bore into her. "Come on, we'll get that arm looked at and then you two can patch things up."

Looking down at the still smoking uniform, Cooper sighed and relented, moving to follow Watanabe before turning back to Sable. "Next time you want to stop me, here's some advice" he began, before finishing by saying, only half-jokingly, "don't bother with the guns, just use that accent."

* * *

Sable stayed behind to ensure the Consolidated Shipping compound was secure and reprimand her men while Watanabe and Cooper got into the patrol car. With the adrenaline wearing off, the pain from the wound on his right forearm came back, slowly, but undiluted. Flexing his right hand only sent spikes of pain up his arm, causing the Pilot to hiss slightly, but he said nothing.

Yuri merely watched from the driver's seat as she guided the cop car through the streets, lips pressed into a small frown, not only at the Marauder's wound, but also at what was going on around them. Stark white checkpoints featuring high tech scanning gear, watchtowers, and MRAPs were being placed strategically around the city at major thoroughfares. The Captain couldn't begin to guess how much all of this cost, but it was clear that Osborn hadn't skimped, which brought her mind back to another question. "Did you really have to flirt with the international mercenary?"

Cooper swung the visor around to face her, though Yuri had been around him enough to not be intimidated by the Texan, even when he was in full kit. There was a soft chuckle that brought the faintest trace of a smile to the oriental woman as he answered. "Thought it would be fun, throw her off her game a little bit in case there is a rematch" he explained with a casual shrug. Yuri merely shook her head as the Marauder turned the tables. "What's your take on this?"

The Captain frowned as they came to a stop and a Sable trooper had to examine her badge before letting the car through. "Part of me says we don't need the help but…" she began only to trail off, unable to finish the sentence. Coop merely nodded a bit in understanding. "I don't like how they're 'helping' at all though. All of _this_" she said, gesturing with her hand to their destination, the Sable camp in Central Park. "It's too much" she insisted before looking at the man in the passenger seat. "I know you have opinions on this, spit 'em out" she ordered.

"Didn't know you cared Cap'" he retorted dryly in an attempt to dodge the question, but Yuri continued to stare at him until he gave an actual answer. "I don't trust mercenaries. And don't give me any of that BS about 'private security contractor', Sable's people are mercenaries" he answered, "as for why…bad experiences with mercs in the past." Yuri nodded, knowing she wouldn't get more out of him unless he volunteered it. She had actually come to value the man's opinion, despite his young age he had a good head on his shoulders, even if it was biased based on his experience. "Sable herself…that's a different story. She's good, very good" he said suddenly, unfiltered respect in is tone. "Anyone who has the guts to jump out of a helicopter and take on Spider-Man with only two pistols is alright in my book."

Rolling her eyes as she brought the car to a stop in the base's motor pool, Watanabe had to remember who she was dealing with before realizing that it made complete sense. "Black Cat shouldn't be worried though, should she?" teased the woman as the pair, now joined by a medic, his armor distinguishable by the red crosses on the shoulder pads, headed for the command tent.

The Pilot shook his head, "Frankly, I should be, she has a thing for badass women too" he deadpanned as he sat down in one of the foldable chairs and began releasing the exoskeleton from his right arm. "Captain, your knife please" said the Marauder, not looking up from his ruined armor as he held his left hand out.

Reluctantly, Yuri reached into her right boot and pulled out the concealed microtech knife before handing it to the Pilot. "How'd you know?" she asked, eyeing the Marauder as he took the knife and extended the blade.

"Lucky guess" he responded dryly as he began slicing through the fabric near the elbow, completely avoiding the partially melted armor. She knew just how tough that 'Dragon Scale' armor was, he had taken bullets to the chest and shrugged them off like they were nothing. The thinner layers would resist most knife slashes with ease, so to see it so thoroughly ruined by whatever he had come across sent a chill down the hardened cop's spine.

With a bit of pain, the Pilot and Medic removed the sleeve of the suit to reveal the flesh beneath, burned raw and a gruesome mix of red, pink, and black. Yuri watched as the medic removed the ruined flesh and heard the Pilot's growls and hisses of pain while the Sable man worked, cleaning the wound. Yuri had seen what Demon weapons could do, the shock value of seeing a slice or stab wound also burned so badly made anger well up in her gut and instinctively squeeze her left arm closer to feel the .357 Magnum in the shoulder holster.

When the time came to dress the wound, the Marauder had pulled out a sealed package and told the medic to dress his arm with that bandage. Any protests the man had were quickly shut down by both the Captain and Marauder. The black bandage looked normal, at least until it was in place and started glowing a faint yellow. Yuri had been told enough about Militia medical technology to know the Pilot would be good as new in no time, that she had once been the beneficiary of such technology also helped.

When the medic left and it was just the two of them in the command center, Yuri stood in front of the Renegade Gunfighter and crossed her arms. "I've been lenient, but I need answers about the Black Cat…Right…NOW" she ground out lowly. "There have been six break ins since the Kingpin went down and I can't ignore them forever" hissed the Cop.

The Marauder held up his hand placatingly. "She's back in the game yes, but she's helping me with something. Truth be told if I wasn't busy with all of this shit then I would be helping her" he responded. "Listen, she's gathering intel on a target I've been meaning to go after for a while, but all the other shit she's stealing is a smoke screen. As long as you don't actively pursue her, then everyone will get their shit back when we have what we need" he promised.

Yuri scowled, but resisted the urge to interrogate him like a suspect, he was shielding her from any blowback and the vagueness was for her own good, but she didn't have to like it. "I told Spider-Man as much, hasn't stopped him from bringing those damn cats she leaves behind to my precinct" she admitted with a shake of the head, noting the shoulders shrugging nonchalantly. "Does Spider-Man know about this?"

The helmet shook a negative as the Cop let out a whistle. The two were good friends; despite the first time she saw the two interact they had tried to kill each other. "This is something just me and Cat are taking care of…and we're doing it _our _way. It's simpler if he stays out of the loop" he admitted, though Yuri could tell he wasn't proud to admit it. Whoever the Marauder was after, he wanted them bad.

The woman he had often called 'Dirty Yuri' tilted her head as she narrowed her eyes at the armored pilot. "The Maggia" she said in realization as the Marauder didn't bother to meet her gaze. "You've been asking around about them for four months, don't think I haven't noticed it" she said, the man not denying any of it. "I've told you to stay. Out. Of. It." She said slowly, enunciating each word with threatening exactness. "We're building up a case on them, just like the Kingpin, we don't need you to go charging in and ruin all of the hard work we've done. Why the hell do you care about old mobsters anyway?"

Instead of answering immediately, the Pilot reached into one of the smaller pouches and handed the Cop a folded photo. Taking it, Yuri shot him a confused look before unfolding the image to be greeted by the Marauder and Black Cat, unmasked, posing in front of a big jet fighter, the word 'Marines' emblazoned on the side. Between them was a scarred but smiling teenage girl that Yuri recognized. "You ever wonder why I got a new place? Or what happened to 'Tilda?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper. "It was because those _fucks_ broke into my old place and _murdered her_" he growled. "So yes, I'm going to collect. Yes, they are dangerous. And no, this is non-negotiable" ground out the Pilot as the Captain returned the photo.

Yuri nodded, understanding. _The dead have settled their debts, it's up to the living to pick up the tab_ as the Marauder was so fond of saying. "I see" she said simply, knowing the man didn't want or need her blessing, not that he would get it, but she could at least understand what drove him. There was still the matter of the other vigilante, so she pulled out her phone and dialed a number, knowing both would be on the line. Two clicks meant that they were both listening, so she could keep her voice down as she moved away from the Marauder. "Hey, sorry about the Sable thing…I should have told you two earlier, but it all happened so fast" she apologized.

"_It's okay"_ chirped Spider-Man, he didn't sound nearly as angry as he had looked when she last saw him. _"We're still best buds"_ he assured.

The Captain rolled her eyes before turning to glare and the lightly chortling Pilot sitting by one of the tables who immediately held his hands up in surrender. "We're not best buds" she replied in exasperation only for another small bark of laughter to come from the Pilot.

"_Well _that_ took a dark turn"_ deadpanned Spider-Man morosely.

Realizing that neither of them were going to let up, Watanabe changed tactics, muttering under her breath about the things she put up with to keep the city safe. "Anyway, Sable has the mayor's ear and unchecked authority" she cautioned, knowing that it wouldn't do much good. If Sable International drew the ire of either of the two then there would be no hesitation, displeasure would be conveyed with webbed up or dead mercenaries. "We've searched that address you gave me, found plenty of evidence of a bomb plot, but nothing leads back to Martin Li" she reported.

A fist slammed into the table, causing the Captain to turn around as the Marauder spoke up. _"Did you look into who owned the building? That should be enough to at least have him brought in for questioning, right?"_

The oriental woman shook her head, "It might be for Sable, but not for me. A good lawyer might be able to convince a judge to throw out anything he says by saying we questioned him under a false pretense" she shot back. The Marauder grumbled slightly, be eventually sat back in his chair and looked away, anger radiating off of him in waves.

"_I'll work on that then"_ said Spider-Man simply. _"Call you when I have something"_ he said before the line clicked once and then again as both disconnected. Even after all of these years she didn't know how Spider-Man operated, he remained far more distant than the Marauder, in fact most of what she knew about him came from the Pilot. According to the Gunfighter; the more colorful of the two was a genius bordering on mad scientist, could hold his drinks like nobody else, and was not nearly as smooth outside of his crime-fighting persona.

It was sometimes easy to forget that behind the masks and armor, these were people, some of the best Watanabe had known. But like any other person, they had their limits, they had their breaking points. Yuri just hoped that they didn't hit them.

* * *

Silver Sablinova arrived back at the MOB Yankee, the center for Sable International operations in Manhattan. Stepping out of the low-slung Rapid Operation Vehicle-Response (ROVR), the woman was surprised to see none other than her current employer, Norman Osborn, standing at the gate with his ever-present assistant by his side. Composing herself and pushing thoughts of the dressing down she had to give to her men just a few minutes before, she returned her focus to the Mayor.

"Ms. Sablinova, thank you for joining us" said Osborn with a smile as he clasped his hands behind his back and looked over Yankee. "I must say that I am impressed so far, your people work very quickly" he complimented, though it drew no reaction from Sable other than a curt nod.

Her people were paid to be the best, and with this her first contract to take place on American soil there was even more riding on this, especially considering the man paying for it. Norman Osborn was someone the Symkarian pegged as ambitious and opportunistic, ensuring this contract went smoothly would likely give Sable International a powerful and influential future repeat customer.

Which was to explain why Sablinova was willing to put up with the unique stipulations of the Contract.

"Are they here?" she asked the Sergeant standing just inside the main gate as the group moved off to the side and another platoon departed on patrol. Two troopers moved in at the rear, an escort for Osborn while they were inside the restricted area.

"Yes ma'am. Captain Watanabe and the Marauder are inside the Command Center as you requested" reported the NCO as Sable nodded and made in that direction, working her jaw and rolling her shoulder as the memory of their encounter replayed in her mind. She had been caught off guard when she saw that green blur emerge below and then come up to go head to head with her.

Leading the guests to the tent in question, Sable entered to find the two individuals present, the Captain, whom Sable had judged to be grossly underused in her current role, was pacing one side of the room while the Marauder was seated at one table. His gear cut off from his right elbow down, though the exoskeleton was back in place albeit a bit charred and a bandage covered his arm. In front of him sat his weapon, dissembled and neatly arranged as he ran a dirty rag over one part before he ceased his cleaning.

Norman Osborn swept her aside and stepped in front, arms out wide. "Captain Watanabe and the Marauder, pleasure to see you both again, thank you again for coming" said the CEO turned politician as he looked to Yuri, the Marauder, and Sable in turn, getting no noticeable reaction from either of them. "Captain, Marauder, I want you to give Miss Sablinova a report on your activities and the current situation before we figure out how these 'Demons' are going to be dealt with."

"Well…for the last half hour I've been sitting on my ass in this tent instead of doing something useful" deadpanned the Marauder. Watanabe suppressed a smile at the comment, and Sable suspected the woman felt the same way. "While I've been doing that, a well-funded and organized group of domestic terrorists is out there. You're facing fanatical fighters under the influence of one man with superhuman abilities; their weapons are infused with some sort of energy that means they are even more deadly. One on one the Demons aren't too impressive, but they have a lot of numbers and if one of them gets the drop on you" he said as he held up his bandaged arm, "you'll feel it."

Sable listened as the two went back and forth, describing Demon tactics and what the Police was trying to do to counter them. They were having some success, but Watanabe didn't deny that they the Police were slowly being whittled down and it was a matter of time before the floodgates opened. "Which is why I contracted Sable International, I will not allow wanton chaos and destruction to take place. These madmen must be stopped" interjected Osborn. The Marauder then began looking around the room, "is something the matter?" asked the Mayor.

"No, I'm just looking for someone stupid enough to actually believe you…I don't see anyone who fits the bill" deadpanned the Pilot as he stood, the now reassembled weapon cradled in his arms. "Osborn, I'm pretty damn sure you're hiding something and usually I wouldn't give two shits about it…but nothing about what's going on is usual. So, I ask…what are not telling us… 'cause I'm pretty sure I know what it is."

The unflinching glowing visor had settled on the Mayor, and Watanabe had settled into a judgmental stance, arms crossed as she too narrowed her eyes at Osborn. "What is your proof?" asked Sable as she faced the Marauder.

The Renegade Pilot didn't turn to the Mercenary Princess as he gave his response. "I don't have definitive proof, but I don't believe in coincidences…the universe is rarely so lazy" he said simply. Sable agreed, that was one of those lessons that you learned the hard way or died in her line of work. "The bombing last week was at an Osborn campaign rally, the victims since then have been Oscorp executives or New York City officials you appointed" he began, extending a finger into the air at each of the two points before continuing. "The bomb plot discovered today was targeting your campaign offices, and then there was the first thing the Demons took. A file hidden in a statue owned by Wilson Fisk."

Only now did the Marauder lower his hand with the four fingers held up and look at Sable. "You may not know much about Fisk, but he was many things. Among them, he was an honest man" he said before making a correction. "He may have been economical with the truth…but he never lied or deceived…ever" asserted the Marauder. Sable looked at the Mayor and the Captain, certain they would both object to the assessment of the 'Kingpin of Crime', but neither did. "If he had that file, it was legit. And that file was on something called 'Devil's Breath', something created by you, Osborn." Sable looked to see the features of Osborn turn solid, but not placid, they were twitching with some pent-up emotion as she too turned to array herself against her employer. "If the Demons are interested then so am I. What the _fuck_ is 'Devil's Breath'?"

"That is highly sensitive information, if word gets out…"

"I don't give a shit!" shot back the Marauder. "All I care about is that the Demons are stopped and if this is the key to their plans then it needs to be our focus." The Marauder pointed a gloved finger towards the tent's window as he raised his filtered voice, "because I don't know if you've noticed what's happening out there…but these guys are coming after _you_ Osborn. But I'm sure you knew that, and that's why she's here, isn't it?"

Osborn offered no response, his eyes merely narrowing at the accusation, though the action didn't faze the SRS Pilot in the slightest. "I don't care about your dirty laundry, but if it gets innocent people killed…" he said, trailing off as the arc knuckles crackled and a jump kit hissed the message clear.

The Mayor scanned the room, and upon seeing the expressions of the two women, he relented, deflating as he cursed. "Shit" he said simply before raising his chin back up and beginning. "What you call 'Devil's Breath' is an experimental compound in development at Oscorp. Its current iteration is…imperfect…it's volatile and unstable, and if mishandled then there exists the potential for extreme repercussions." Sable's nearly superhuman discipline was the only thing that kept her from rolling her eyes. Even with so many words the man had actually explained very little.

Still, what needed to be done was clear. "Then it must be protected. I'll assign some of my best men to it" stated the silver haired woman as she turned to Osborn. "I expect your cooperation regarding this matter" finished the Symkarian with all of the authority of an order.

Norman looked like he was about to object before he noticed the looks the others were giving him and thought better of it, nodding in acceptance. The Marauder, even though his body language was muted by his gear, seemed content with the arrangement. It was only Captain Watanabe who looked perturbed by the agreement, but seemingly knowing the futility of arguing it, said nothing.

"One more thing" said the Renegade, "do you have any idea who might be after you Osborn? Any potential lead we should pursue?"

"Marauder" said Osborn tiredly, "I am the Mayor of New York City and founder of one of the largest corporations in the world. My list of enemies is much, much longer than even yours. Many of them have access to the resources needed to fund the Demons" he countered.

"Better than nothing" commented Watanabe. "You give us the list, and we'll investigate, try to narrow it down to a list of potential suspects. Sable and her people can ease the load on us and allow us to do some actual investigative police work. That just leaves you Marauder…where are you going?"

There was a slight pause as he chambered a round in his weapon. "You want to find me? Ride to the sound of the guns."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Pistol: B3 Wingman_

_To those unfamiliar with the intricacies of firearm design, choosing a revolver, albeit and extremely advanced one, over all of the other pistol options that are easier to handle and have a higher capacity would make little sense. But revolvers have some innate advantages, due to the fact that revolvers don't have to eject spent casings it makes it much easier to fire long cased, straight rimmed cartridges. These bullets have more powder and thus higher velocity, these so called 'magnum' loads pack a much greater punch than anything you can get otherwise. These rounds pack one helluva punch, the .454 Casull is a lengthened .45 Long Colt pushed up past 2,000 feet per second. _

_If that's gibberish, then in simple terms you really do not want to get shot by this gun. _

_But while the cartridge may be based on one from the 19__th__ century, the gun most certainly is not, its party piece is the reload. The cylinder is not built into the gun, but rather the entire gun expands to accommodate the cylinder before collapsing around it. This makes reloading far faster than a traditional revolver in exchange for some weight and complexity. While it does kick like an absolute mule, all of that is more than made for by the pure stopping power. _

_This is a more elegant weapon originating from a more civilized age, a space age six shooter for a cowboy on the final frontier. I used it a lot on Typhon as my sidearm of choice and it's fair to say it save my life more than once. It projects power without question and commands authority without asking._

_I absolutely love it. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: I admit, I like Silver Sable, anybody who can rock the duster and dual pistols is automatically cool in my book, and her 'Imperial March' esque theme was among the best tracks in the game. If you don't know the one, it's called 'International Support' if you want to look it up. She will be getting more screen time here than in the game and I want to try and give her a full arc. **

**There was also a reference to the original 'Dirty Harry' film in here. Expect more interactions between people and Sable as the story goes on. Hopefully you all like how she'll be handled, feel free to review and let me know your thoughts on this plan. ****But next week, it's time for the guys to take a break and have one of the ladies take the lead. **

**She wants to think others care, she won't go away, she's gonna stay right in your face, she's the Activity Girl.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	33. Chapter 33: Activity Girl

Author's Note: All Properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn entertainment, etc.

Thanks to raven18 for betaing and editing this chapter.

Also, shoutout to mrGoodCat2277 on DeviantArt for allowing me to use the image for the cover of this story.

Not a whole lot of stuff to say here, review, follow, or favorite if you want, or don't. Hopefully everyone is enjoying the story as we progress further into the main game's story. Sadly, for those who played the game, they probably remember some certain sections shall we say, not too fondly. One of those is here, hopefully they're less tedious to read than they were to play, not that I think that's possible.

As for the song, it's Joan Jett and was recommended by a reader as a matter of fact. I almost didn't use it because the actual title of the song is dumb, so dumb I only used the proper title in the heading below and spelled it properly everywhere else. Joan Jett has some great rock and roll music, and while this isn't one of her really big hits, it's a good tune that fits a character who'll be getting a bit more screen time in this chapter than she usually does. If you have a song you think would fit as a chapter title, feel free to PM me with it or leave it in a review. I have my preferences (if you couldn't guess) but I'm open to anything as long as I think it works. I won't guarantee I'll use a suggested song, but I will guarantee that it will be considered.

Shameless ploy to get reviews over and done with, so let's get to it.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 33: Activity Grrrl**

_She can't accept that life is unfair_

_She wants to think the others care_

_And won't go away she's gonna stay right in your face_

_Activity grrrl trying to change the world_

_She's gonna knock on your door_

_Activity grrl in an uptight world_

_She's impossible to ignore_

* * *

Spider-Man hung up after the update from Yuri, still swinging through the city. Cooper had sent him a few texts letting him know his deal with Osborn meant he was expected to cooperate with the Stormtroopers. The Marauder also promised to pass on anything he learned to Parker, though he wasn't optimistic. With two of his sources accounted for, it was time to check on a third. "Hey MJ" he said, trying not to sound _too _excited that they were talking again.

"_Hey"_ returned the reporter before jumping straight to business. _"So I dredged up some records on Marin Li's other business holdings" _she explained as a file came up on his HUD, displaying a map of Manhattan. _"He has places all over the city."_

Peter examined the map between firing off weblines and quickly noticed something familiar about it. "Hmm…the locations line up with a map we found at that shipping business. Cooper wants those" said Spider-Man, feeling sorry for the poor Demons who got stuck guarding the locations.

"_Make sure you two let me know what you find at each one, I'll work on building a case" _replied the Bugle beat reporter.

"You got it" affirmed Spider-Man as he caught sight of his destination and began to slow. "I'm headed to Li's office at FEAST to see if I can learn more about why he's doing this – and what he's got planned next."

"_Okay, say hi to May for me"_ answered MJ as her voice trailed off before coming back frantically. _"Wait, you don't think she's in danger, do you?"_

"No" answered Spider-Man firmly as he came to a stop, "Li only has one target on his mind: Norman Osborn." Peter could understand having issues with the father of his childhood best friend, but the lengths the Philanthropist was going to…he tried not to think about it as he changed into street clothes.

Making his way inside, he decided to treat this like a normal visit to the center, tracking down his Aunt May and finding the woman hard at work in the kitchen. "So if you're running this place while Mr. Li is out of town…" he began as he approached, "who's doing your old job?"

"Ha ha…me" deadpanned the woman in response as she turned to face Peter. Smiling sweetly, she pointed to a box of foodstuffs sitting on the counter, "but I could always use more help" she 'suggested' as the younger Parker thought back to a conversation he had had earlier that same day "Know anyone?".

"Actually, I do" replied the webhead as he grabbed the box and carried it over to the food prep area. "His name is Miles Morales" revealed Peter as May looked up from the box.

"Now why does that name sound familiar?"

Peter winced, "His father was being honored at city hall…" began Peter before May deflated as she put the pieces together, sighing audibly as the Lab Tech grimaced and moved on. "I talked to him at the funeral. He's a smart kid, he's just having a tough time."

May looked sympathetic, giving her nephew a knowing look, said nephew knew what was coming. "I knew a boy like that, once" she said, looking at the boy in question.

Peter smiled faintly as a few choice memories came back. "I remember it helped to stay busy" he answered. He knew he didn't need to plead his case to May, she would be more than happy to try and help Miles, it was just the kind of woman she was. "Might help him too. Here's his mom's number" he said as he handed off a sticky note.

"Thanks" she said, genuinely as ever, "I'll give her a call" she promised.

Taking a deep breath, Peter knew that with that bit of pleasantness out of the way it was time for the real reason he was at FEAST. "You haven't heard from Mr. Li, have you?" he asked, hoping he could get a lead. If Cooper came across him at one of those warehouses…Peter wasn't sure what would happen, but he didn't doubt the Texan would be willing to kill.

"No, why?"

"Just curious" he brushed off, trying to hide his disappointment as he avoided his aunt's gaze. "I've got a few minutes before work. I'm gonna…look around, see if there's anything else I can do to help you out" he said as he stepped back. He felt bad about deceiving her, but there wasn't another way.

"Oh, you don't have to" insisted May.

Peter just smiled, "I know…I want to" he finished before heading out the doors and up the stairs to the second floor. Trying the door into the main office, he found it locked. "How do I get in there…quietly" he mused, half expecting Cooper to decloak next to him with a breaching charge in hand.

Quickly having a look around, he spotted an opportune air vent. Moving under it he checked that his webshooters were still in place before looking over his shoulder to make sure nobody was looking his way. With that done and his spidey sense quiet, the wallcrawler pulled himself up and into the vent with a flip, sticking to the ceiling as he slowly closed the grate. Making his way through the vent, he noticed a small back room he had never seen before, shrugging it off as he made it to Li's office. Dropping down, he noticed nothing out of the ordinary, the clean and orderly space was just like the man who usually occupied it. Going with the most obvious, he checked the desk first, and found a letter lying on the desk and leaned over to read it.

_Dear May, _

_Very soon, you'll hear stories about me. Stories claiming I'm a terrorist and a murderer. Those stories will be true._

_But the story we wrote together – the story of F.E.A.S.T. – is also true. I want you to know that I've always believed in our mission. It wasn't a front, or a show. It was an honest expression of my heart. When you help someone, you truly do help everyone. _

_Please don't let my failing shake your belief. You are strong, May. Strong enough to tell a new story at F.E.A.S.T., one unburdened by my faults. _

_Thank you for all you've done, _

_Martin Li _

Peter had suspected, strongly, that the philanthropist was behind the Demons, but to have it in front of him in the man's own words…it was surreal. Cooper hadn't admitted it, but Peter could tell the Marauder thought the only way to stop Li would be two to the chest and one to the head. Watanabe had lost too many officers to be willing to do a thing to stop him if he tried, and Mercenary Lady would happily sit back and collect her paycheck.

Matthew, despite making so much effort to break through what he had drilled into his head, could revert to his old ways so easily. It was a constant effort to keep the Pilot from drifting across the line Peter had sworn to himself he would never cross. Every time he reminded Cooper that Li was still a human who had done some good, he always got the same type of response. _"I'm sure that's a real comfort to the innocent people he's killed, and all the families will be happy to know that he didn't 'like' killing their loved ones" _he would say, unbridled contempt in his words. Still, Peter tried to convince him otherwise, in his eyes, everyone was worth saving, and was thankful every day that, despite everything that he had done the last eight years, he hadn't been desensitized to the horrors he came across.

He knew what kind of man Li could be, and he knew that man was still somewhere inside him. But while Peter knew there was still good in Li, he needed to find something to convince everyone else. Looking around to do just that, he noticed the picture on the desk, particularly the shrine in it that he could see on the side of the room before he had an epiphany. "The room I saw should be on the other side of that wall."Looking closely, he noticed a keyhole in the picture frame and went straight back to the desk, searching drawers at random until he found a journal and began flipping through the pages. "Bingo" he said quietly as he found a simple key attached to the of curiosity, he scanned the entry, the last one Li had made.

_Oct 2018_

_Wilson Fisk has been arrested. I can barely believe it, the day I've planned for – dreamed of – is finally here. But for some reason I hesitate. Can I really go through with this?_

_Things will happen so quickly if I give the word. My men will claim Fisk's arms, his explosives, his secrets. We'll use that strength to teach Norman true pain. He'll know what it is to see the things he loves destroyed by his own hands. _

_But achieving that end will mean giving up so much. Everything I've built here at F.E.A.S.T.–all the good I've done – could be wiped out if my plan succeeds. My chance is here, yet I still hesitate…should I turn back? A part of me wants to, but…the Demon is hungry…and I don't think I'm strong enough to hold it back. _

"Li sounds…conflicted. Almost like he didn't want to head down this path…" murmured Parker sadly as he grabbed the key and worked quickly. Once the picture was out of the way he was faced with a puzzle lock. Turning one of the knobs at random, he saw the pieces begin to shift into a familiar shape.

Checking the picture on the desk again, he noticed the shrine had a yin-yang symbol, with that as good an idea as any, he fiddled with the knobs until he was met with a satisfying click. "Yes! Eat your heart out Felicia." Checking that it was clear after his bit of heist film like B&E, Peter slipped inside the dimly lit room. "Woah, what are you hiding Li?"

In it were a handful of items, the first to catch his eye was a sword imbued with the strange black and white energy the Demons had on all of their weapons. Picking up the blade, Peter could feel the weapon vibrate in his hands as it hummed with supernatural power. "Li's giving his power to the others" he realized before his scientific side took over. "How does Li imbue these with his power? Bio-electric induction? Compressed Phase Shift?" he wondered aloud. Placing it back down, Peter turned his attention elsewhere, trying to push the power he felt radiate off the blade from his mind as he inspected the mask, ignoring the other, normal, swords and sickles. "Li sure is obsessed with masks, is it a Jungian thing?" Wishing he paid more attention in that criminal psychology course in college, he tried to connect the mental dots. "Like…he needed to pretend to be someone else to let his darkest feelings out?" That was a sobering thought, since his own quippy, wisecracking side only came out when he was in costume.

More lightly, he had to wonder how anyone could see while wearing the masks, since the Webslinger couldn't see any eye holes.

On the back wall were maps and newspaper clippings about Norman Osborn, circled and highlighted were the names of anything he owned or anyone who worked for him. More than a few of those names were already crossed off. The table in front of that wall had a few other items, his hand was first drawn to the small voice recorder as he played the most recent entry. _"Can feel my power growing, feeding off my anger" _said a twisted version of the voice Peter recognized as Lis. Could this really be the same man who created F.E.A.S.T.? _"Father would say I've lost the path of balance, but he could never understand: the only way to fight a monster is to become one." _

Still reeling in shock at hearing who Peter had always held up as a kind soul say that, the wallcrawler put the recorder down. It was one thing to hear Matthew say something like that after fighting a war, it was another to hear it from Li. As he placed the recorder down, he tilted his head at a photo on the table, "Creepy" murmured Peter. The picture was of a couple, judging by the facial features, they looked Asian, and he surmised they were Martin Li's parents. The last item on the table was the one Spidey was the most interested in though.

It was something he recognized instantly; a file folder labeled 'Devil's Breath'.

Before he could grab it, his Spider-Sense blared, and he immediately leapt up and clung to the ceiling as electricity surged through the exposed wires and arced across the floor grates. Quickly firing off a few electric webs to trip the circuit breakers, he decided that it was probably time to leave. Dropping back down, Peter grabbed the file and tucked it under his shirt before dropping down through the floor.

Finding the one door in the darkened storeroom, the superpowered New Yorker shoved the pallet blocking his exit aside and opened the door. Stepping back into F.E.A.S.T. proper, a calm voice cut through the silence, setting Peter on alert as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. "Hello Peter." Parker spun around, trying his best to keep his composure.

"Mr. Li" greeted the Queens native as he forced a smile. Cursing himself for not noticing his approach sooner. Li looked placid, eerily calm as he strode towards Peter. "I thought you were out of town" said Peter in a questioning tone.

Marin Li was unfazed as Peter met his unnerving gaze. "Did you find what you were looking for?" asked the man emotionlessly. The web head's fists clenched, but he managed to maintain enough self-control to keep them at his sides and not reflexively move to protect the folder concealed on his person.

Squaring up to the man, Peter prepared for anything, including throwing down right then and there, until a new voice cut through the tension. "Martin! You're back!" said Aunt May happily as she approached the two men with a box of supplies.

Peter immediately wanted to get her out, away from Martin, his protective instincts switching into overdrive in an instant. "Here, let me get that" offered Peter, hoping relieving her of her task would convince her to leave. But even as May thanked him, Martin turned towards his aunt, the cold grimace replaced with a more typical smile, though without its usual warmth.

"And heading off again shortly, I'm afraid" said the philanthropist, there was no emotion in his tone, even if it wasn't as cold. "Just needed a few things from my office." Peter scrutinized him as his spine vibrated, hairs standing on end at just being so close to Li.

It was an unnerving feeling, it had never encountered something like that before, of all the villains he had fought, nobody had elicited such a strong reaction from his sixth sense. May, without it, was wholly unaware of the man's power. "Surely you must have heard about city hall?"

Mention of the attack seemed to catch him off balance, knocking him out of his cold persona. "Yes" he said, almost warmly, "tragic." Though his eyes soon turned back to Peter, as if he knew that the younger man knew his secret.

Parker kept a straight face, if only for his Aunt who was delighted to see Martin again to not be subjected to the harsh reality of the situation. "Peter was there" she said, "he was very lucky" admitted May as she gave Peter a small hug.

The nephew didn't even notice, still staring straight into Li's eyes, features placid, and superhuman muscles tensed for the slightest provocation. The Demon merely tilted his head as he placed his hands on his hips. "At an Osborn rally? I didn't know you were a fan" he drawled, trying to draw a reaction from Peter. The Queens native didn't give him the satisfaction however, merely staring unflinchingly and completely still. "Well" declared Li suddenly to break the silence as he drew his hands together, "what matters is that you're both safe."

May smiled, "Amen" she agreed.

Peter, however, did not. "But the bombers are still out there" he asserted with narrowed eyes. "Who knows what they've got planned next?"

Li shook his head dismissively. "I don't think you, or May, have anything to worry about" assured the man before turning back to Peter. All ease was drained from his expression and tone as the two superpowered foes stared each other down. "As long as you stay away from places you're not supposed to be" he added threateningly. The tension weighed the air down until Li smiled towards May, "Well, I should go" he said before turning away.

"When will you be back?" asked May, the question causing the philanthropist to halt dead in his tracks as he seemed to be pondering his response.

"When my work is done" he answered cryptically, though the words caused a chill to go down Peter's spine. What would that look like? When Osborn was dead? When the city was destroyed? Whatever he intended; Peter knew he couldn't allow that to happen.

But in the short term, he didn't want to leave his last living relative alone in the same building as Li. To pass the time as Li disappeared upstairs, Peter made himself busy helping his Aunt however he could. Entertaining her questions about him and MJ while keeping an eye on Li's office for any sign of the man.

Twenty minutes later he felt his brain hum as he snapped his head up to see Li bolt out of his office, phone pressed to his ear as he locked the door once more before storming towards the exit. Excusing himself, he began to follow the Demon from a distance right through the front doors of the FEAST shelter. His danger sense, which had remained silent, erupted just as he watched Li open the door to get into the back of his chauffeured car.

Before Parker could get a license plate, he turned to see one of the homeless men glowing an eerie and familiar black and white throw a punch that he easily dodged. "Wait! Wait!" he shouted in disbelief as he turned to face down even more luminescent attackers. He could hear Li's car pull away as he decided to shift his course of action.

Careful to hold back, he raised his left arm to block the next punch before he lashed out with a palm strike that caused the man's head to snap back before Peter began efficiently dispatching the others. Shoving one aside before planting a kick into the chest of another caused the glow to fade from his hooded head. Another came up from behind and tried to wrap Peter up as the fourth and final one came on the attack. If Peter were normal than it might have worked, but he simply jumped up and did a spin kick, taking down both with the single move. Whipping his head back around, Peter tried to find the black sedan, but to no avail.

Li was back in the wind.

* * *

"_So I saw you had a run in with Silver Sablinova"_ said the Cat Burglar over the radio as the Pilot was only half focused on the conversation. _"What's she like up close?"_ asked the thief.

"Intense" responded the Marauder as he stood and fired his Carbine, the arc rounds slamming into the pair of oncoming Demons and causing them to crumple to the floor before the Pilot ducked back into cover as rounds snapped past his head. The SRS Commando poked his head up to scan for the source of incoming fire. "She's good too" he drawled before he spotted the shooter and activated his Phase Shift to move to the next piece of cover. Once there, he heaved a gravity star towards the platform the Demon was stationed on. A two round burst put down the last opposition for the moment before the black hole collapsed. "Really good."

"_Mmmhmm?"_ purred Hardy, though Cooper could imagine his lover licking her lips for some reason as he reloaded his rifle. _"She's certainly easy on the eyes as well, I think I wouldn't mind meeting her myself, especially if I can get as close as you did."_ Matt shook his head, but didn't immediately respond, at the time his mind was in a different place than Felicia's was at the moment.

His response was cut off by sounds of more Demons, forcing the Marauder to grapple up and into the rafters, hoisting himself up onto the catwalk far above the floor of the warehouse. A door flew open on his left as the Pilot slung a pulse blade into the wall above the entrance as the first Demon made his way in. Eyes scanning as several Demons were lit up by the tactical, the Renegade gunfighter set down his rifle in favor of the Softball on his back. "Now that wouldn't be something I'd be opposed to watching" admitted the Marauder as he tried to push the thought aside and steady his aim.

The R-6P sounded its familiar 'thunk thunk thunk' as a trio of grenades landed amongst the gathered terrorists and exploded in their arc energized glory. Without hesitating, Cooper went back to his R-201 and jumped down to secure the area._ "I'd want you to do more than watch Cowboy" _purred Hardy seductively as Cooper kept his head on the swivel.

"I wouldn't be opposed to that either" he replied with a laugh as he continued his sweep, though it looked like there wasn't much opposition left. "But what about you? How does it feel to get back in the game?" he asked genuinely.

"_Extraordinary"_cooed Hardy happily, _"it's good to see I still haven't lost my touch. No problems so far, and Spider has taken the bait, though he hasn't gotten close to catching me yet" _she added. Matthew didn't like having to deceive his friend, but it was a necessity to mask the Black Cat's actual motive for the heists._ "And the Dons haven't taken notice either, at least judging by the kind of security I'm seeing. I should have no problem with this job either."_

That was a relief, with how the rest of the city was falling apart he wouldn't be able to help his lover with her scheme. This warehouse was the second he had taken down out of ten total properties. Like the first he found modest stockpiles of weapons and explosives, but no real intelligence. It seemed as if the warehouses were staging grounds for Demon 'cells' while the main group was headquartered elsewhere.

"Alright, don't mess with Sable's people though, they got itchy trigger fingers and if we can stay under the radar, we should" he cautioned coolly. "I may have been able to keep Yuri off your back, but Li will only keep this up for so long before we finally nail his ass."

Of course, he knew that something as trivial as the police wouldn't bother Felicia now that she was truly back in her element. The Black Cat was truly extraordinary at what she did, and in Matthew's eyes it was a testament to Peter Parker that he had been able to put a stop to her prior and that she felt he would play his part this time. The scheme he had agreed to wasn't one he would typically prefer, but he had been trying to pay back Hammerhead for nine months and had gotten nowhere, and that was even less preferable._"Now there's an idea" _whispered the vixen seductively, the proposition causing the Gunfighter to immediately send his mind to the gutter in record time. On the other end of the line, Felicia giggled happily at his silence before urging back to action,_ "Hurry up with Li so I can have all of your attention focused back on me Cowboy" _purred the thief.

Cooper couldn't help but grin cockily behind his helmet as he made his egress up and out of the now clear Demon base. "You always make offers I can't refuse darlin'" drawled the Marauder as he took a breath to refocus, "after this is wrapped up I'll make time for the two of us" he promised before cutting the connection, totally unaware of what fate had in store for them.

* * *

Equally unaware was the silver haired Symkarian striding through one of the many checkpoints guarded by troops adorned in gear that bore her name. In the 48 hours since her arrival the situation in Manhattan had evolved very quickly. Attacks by the terrorist group had continued, but they had not engaged the Private Security Force in a prolonged fashion, preferring to use guerrilla tactics. In the six confirmed Demon attacks, all either took place off the beaten path or were two pronged, with one group performing a small attack to draw Sable forces away from their main target. The boldest action had been to perform a drive by on a Sable International Checkpoint once the majority of the troopers stationed there had been drawn away.

Even still, and entire squad had been taken out in the storm of automatic weapon fire, grenades, and RPGs that came at the position. Two dead and the remaining six in the hospital Sablinova had just come from with various levels of injury. Now, in the hope of preventing more of her men from suffering the same fate, the Mercenary was heading through a side entrance into City Hall on the way to meet her employer.

What she wanted was simple; the only person actually making any headway against the Demons was the Marauder. The Renegade Gunfighter had neutralized three Demon cells since her arrival and had nearly free reign to roam about the city, she wanted permission to give her people the same freedom as the vigilante. She met with the Mayor in his office, two of her troopers standing guard outside the door, after making her request, she was surprised at the swiftness of the response.

"No."

That was it, one single word that was so dismissive in tone that Silver flinched ever so slightly as she recovered. "And yet the Marauder has free reign to do as he pleases…and to great effect" she retorted; voice thick with contempt. "You are paying to bring my men here only to have them sit on their hands! If you want us to solve this problem, then we need the ability to be proactive."

Osborn looked down on her as if he was about to lecture a child before he spoke, still calm and unconcerned with her objections. "Ms. Sablinova; let me make myself perfectly clear, Sable International was never contracted to 'solve' the Demon problem. I have full confidence in the abilities of the Police, Spider-Man, and the Marauder to do that perfectly well on their own" he informed simply. Sable's brow furrowed and face tightened as the former CEO continued. "The purpose of Sable International's presence is to provide security for the citizens of New York and offer a sense of safety with their presence. I cannot allow another element free reign in my city."

After a brief flicker of confusion, Sablinova's face relaxed into a placid calm, despite the anger boiling up inside her. She and her troopers had been reduced to political tools for Osborn, a trinket for the ambitious man to parade around for his own benefit. It went against every fiber of her being to be used in this way…she had become a soldier to avoid this very circumstance.

Her mother, who Sable loved dearly, had been very traditional and had wanted to groom the princess into the model of elegant royalty. When she was a teenager she had rebelled somewhat and grown closer to her father, who trained her in his chosen profession. She didn't do it out of bloodthirstiness or a love for combat, but simply because she refused to be subservient to anybody and desired to stand on her own merits.

Instead of being arm candy for a high-class suitor or other member of European royalty she was the pawn for an ambitious business mogul in his political game. If she wasn't so preoccupied with other thoughts, she might have found that somewhat ironic. As it was, Sable dug in her heels and pressed Osborn further. "Yet you let the Marauder do as he pleases…why not allow my men to accompany him?"

"Absolutely not" answered Osborn flatly, a frown manifesting on his face as he only now turned back to the Symkarian. "I will say this only once; I am not pleased with the Marauder's actions. He is reckless and shortsighted, doing as he sees fit no matter the consequences" informed Osborn. Silver mulled those words over and realized what that meant; the Marauder wasn't under Osborn's thumb. "My 'agreement' with him is one I regret making."

The silver haired woman couldn't help but tilt her head inquisitively, "Then why did you do it?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her sound judgement. The Mayor didn't immediately answer, but he didn't order her to leave like she suspected he might. Instead he opened a drawer and produced a bottle of scotch and poured himself a glass before leaning back in his seat.

Only after taking a healthy sip from the glass did he begin to answer. "You're a very dangerous woman, would you agree?" he asked. Sable furrowed her brow before nodding, deciding to play along for the moment. "But you don't scare me. The Marauder however…does. As for why, that's simple" he said as he finished the scotch and grabbed a file folder from the open drawer and slid it across his desk.

It was a copy of a police report that was at least two inches thick, Sable flipped through it. The report detailed the events at a mansion not far from Manhattan and the unprecedented devastation that occurred there. Dozens of dead were found on the property from a variety of causes, mostly gunshots and shrapnel, but more disturbing was the complete lack of survivors. The report stated the combat that took place probably lasted less than twenty minutes, it was a swift and brutal engagement. One page had profiles of the two men responsible, one was Frank Castle, the Punisher, and the other was the Marauder.

"Two men?" she asked in disbelief, "you believe two could do all of this?"

The Mayor snorted faintly, "I _know _two men did all of that, but I _believe_ that they really only needed one. One man and his Titan."

* * *

"Hey doctor" called Peter as he stepped into Octavius Industries, or what was left after the Mayor's people had ransacked the place. To his surprise, there were dozens of haphazardly stacked boxes all over the room. Octavius himself was busy unpacking one of the boxes, revealing some brand-new equipment.

The Doctor looked up from his work to the aspiring scientist. "Hello Peter. I'll be just a minute." In Parker's mind that was just fine, he was more than happy to simply take in the space. In the lab he found some of Otto's notes detailing the new construction of the artificial limbs. While he had been busy as Spider-Man, Octavius was busy inventing, trying to achieve something greater. And even as the city was falling apart around him, he was undeterred, still trying to make the world a better place, he was the kind of man Peter hoped he could be.

"Where did you get all of this equipment?" he asked out of curiosity. It had been less than two weeks since the laboratory had been stripped bare. To see that everything taken had been replaced and then some was mind blowing, nearly unbelievable.

"Called in every last favor" answered Otto, "took out a few loans. It's like we're starting over once again. But this time is going to be different" he assured with fierce confidence. Peter couldn't ever recall seeing the man be more determined than he seemed right now, and it caused the man's confidence to rub off on him.

Parker turned to see the prototype of the new arm he had put together, and just like Otto promised; it was definitely different. "You've been busy" commented the webhead as he examined the arm, impressed at what the man had put together in such a short time span.

"Just getting started" returned Octavius. "You know…until now we've been looking at prosthetics from the wrong perspective" commented the Doctor as Peter turned to him and cocked his head. "Why restore people to what they were…when we can make them _better_?" Peter didn't answer, knowing what 'better' sometimes meant, but nodded anyway. Otto took the younger man's silence as acceptance and continued, "Okay, I think that should do it…"

With that, the balding man reattached the back panel on the controller and approached the prosthetic as it hung lifelessly from its shoulder like mount, a ceramic coffee mug sitting on the table next to it. "You ready?" asked Otto as he gave a reassuring smile and flipped a switch on the controller. The result was immediate, the arm rising to life, fingers stretching in an almost lifelike fashion. With care, Otto worked the thumb sticks to bring the arm down towards the mug.

Only Peter noticed something was wrong, as he tried to make the finer adjustments at the end of the move, the arm began to tremble and shake. Thinking it might be a fault in the build, Peter turned to Otto only to see the man's hands shaking, causing the arm to falter. Octavius strained to steady his hands, but to no avail. "Everything okay?" asked Peter carefully.

Otto didn't answer, still focused on his task as the arm gripped around the mug and lifted it off the table, still shaking with greater intensity. Finally, the grip faltered and the cup fell to the floor, shattering as Peter winced. "DAMNIT!" cursed Octavius loudly, "This is all your fault Norman, you son of a BITCH!" roared the man as he threw the controller.

Otto looked like a much older man as he leaned against the table, breathing heavily after his outburst. "Well, I know who you're NOT voting for in the next election" Parker joked somewhat unwisely, judging by the withering glare Otto sent his way. "Sorry, I have a habit of making bad jokes in, uh, tense situations" he defended lamely.

To his relief, Octavius turned back and chuckled lightly, "It was a good joke Parker" he allayed gently. "Just a bit of an overreaction on my part." Even still, the man looked worn out and haggard, stress was clearly getting to him and Peter couldn't blame him.

"No…don't worry" managed Peter as he thought of what to do. "Why don't you take a break. I'll clean this up and get us ready for another test" he suggested. Otto didn't argue, silently nodding in agreement as he turned away, rubbing his hands gingerly while Parker knelt down and set to work. "So uh…hope you don't mind me asking…but it seems like you and Norman have a bit of a history…" began Peter tentatively, knowing full well he was treading on dangerous ground.

"We were lab partners in College" began Otto, "became friends, decided to start a business. We both had visions of changing the world – just in different ways." Peter nodded, knowing what that was like, him and Cooper working together to achieve the same thing with their own very different and often conflicting methods.

Only then did the gravity of what his mentor was saying click in the wallcrawler's mind. "Wait…you were at Oscorp when it started?" he asked in shock as he got to his feet.

"I'm half the reason it's called Oscorp" revealed Otto with a shrug. "In grad school everyone called us 'the O's'" he explained. Sitting down and letting out a sigh, he continued the story. "Add 'corp' to that and, well…It is a catchy name" he admitted. He seemed to smile at the fond memories as he recalled the early days of the now multibillion-dollar corporation.

"Well why'd you leave?" asked Peter, wondering what the man could accomplish with the might and resources of the organization at his disposal.

Otto let out a sad sigh. "Norman became more and more obsessed with genetics" revealed Octavius as Parker grimaced, _don't I know that_ he mused dryly. "He started a project I considered unethical, and there was this…" he began before stopping himself suddenly and shaking off the memory before resuming. "Anyway, lawyers got involved. I chose to leave in exchange for a settlement" he revealed sadly. "But that money didn't last long, I've relied on grants ever since. If this project doesn't work…"

"Don't worry" said Peter suddenly, cutting off the Doctor. "It'll work" he assured. "Let me just fix this up…"

Otto nodded as he pushed himself to his feet. "I'll brew some fresh coffee" he said as he left Peter to it. After rewiring the shorted-out controller, Peter returned to Otto and offered him the remote. "Oh, why don't you do the honors this time" suggested Octavius with a weak smile as he grabbed his forearm to give it a gentle massage before placing a new mug down on the table while holding a second in hand.

Slowly getting a feel for the controls and finding them surprisingly intuitive, Peter brought the arm down to get a grip on the teal mug. A smile slowly manifested on his face as the mug came up, suspended by the grip of the artificial limb. "I think we did it" he declared happily as he turned to see a similarly smiling Otto.

"Next step: neural interface" replied Octavius, the genuine optimism back in full force.

"That's a lot of work for you to do all by yourself" pointed out Peter. "Sure you can handle it?"

Otto shrugged, "Apparently not, judging by today's debacle" he answered dryly.

"Because I still haven't found another job…"

"My funds are still…"

"I know" said Peter decisively, "It's okay, don't worry, I'll figure it out" he assured. "What's a few bucks when you're trying to change the world, right?" he said with a beaming grin on his face.

Otto returned the expression and raised his mug, "To changing the world." With that, Peter guided the arm down and clinked the two mugs together, both men sharing a laugh at the gesture. The next few hours went by in a blur as they fell back into a familiar rhythm. Though Peter noticed a new development, a certain green and yellow striped helmet was back out, some of the outer casing carefully removed to reveal the inner workings beneath.

The Pilot's helmet was truly decades if not centuries ahead of anything else and it was a blessing to have it available to them. Offering a neural link, HUD, filtration system, communications, and armor protection among other features, every aspect of it was fascinating to the two inventors. And now the most incredible aspect of the helmet was being examined again, the neural link.

Indeed, Peter didn't notice how much time had elapsed until his stomach suddenly rumbled and looked sheepishly at Otto before pulling out his phone and checking the time, only to have a missed call notification with MJs number stare back up at him. "Doctor, I need to go, but I'll be back" he promised.

Otto smiled knowingly, "Don't worry, the work will still be here when you get back" he assured. On his way out he noticed a few things that had escaped notice earlier, samples of armor plating, at least that's what his eye told him, a diagram depicting a hypodermic delivery system, and schematics of the RAFT. Shaking off the sights, he knew full well that Otto was expanding to new avenues to finance this venture, he just hoped the man wasn't doing something that would compromise who he was.

* * *

Mary Jane Watson grimaced as she checked herself in the mirror before going back to her laptop to look at the newsfeeds and emails and then double checking that she had everything Peter needed for whatever he was making. While she wasn't keen on taking a chance there wouldn't be a repeat of the dumpling incident, she was already taking a risk by inviting him over for dinner, why not go all the way and let him cook too? Despite everything they had been through, nobody really caused the same twisting in the redhead's gut and heat in her face. If this time didn't work out, then she sure as hell wasn't going to be the reason for it.

She was still pacing with a mix of anticipation, anxiety and ambient adrenaline when there was a knock on the door. Opening it in a rush, MJ was greeted by a Peter forcing himself to look relaxed, "Peter, you're not going to believe this" began the reporter without preamble before she pulled a surprised Peter into her apartment and slamming the door shut behind him despite his bewilderment. "So you know that address you gave me?" she began as she saw _the _look start to form on his face even before the next words were out of her mouth. "I went there."

His shoulders slumped and the surprise was replaced with sheer disappointment that was so strong it almost affected her. "MJ…" he began, but there was no way he was going to guilt her so quickly.

"I know I know" she allayed instantly, though it wasn't the most effective if the deadpan look on Peter's face was anything to go by. "But wait" she said as she grabbed a coin like object from her laptop and pressed it into his hand, beaming the whole time.

"What's this?" he asked as he examined the device with a curious and experienced eye.

"Just listen –"

* * *

_**A few hours prior…**_

Part of Mary Jane wondered why some people, meaning Cooper and Hardy, enjoyed getting themselves into these kinds of situations. She arrived at this 'Pale Horse Ridez' and found the establishment had about as much class as she guessed given the name, meaning next to nil. Tools, materials, and equipment cluttered the massive and dimly lit garage, of more concern were the men, all having a weapon either in an open holster or simply tucked into a waistband.

Part of her said she should have taken Cooper up on his offer to teach her how to shoot, but her more cynical side said that it wouldn't have mattered with the number of thugs there were.

Exhibit A was the walking stereotype with his back turned to her about five yards away who left the door open after he came back inside from smoking his joint. The good thing about this particular stereotype was that he was as dumb as a box of wrenches and, even with 'medicinal' assistance, was still jumpy at the sound of a falling one.

Proving that there was a God, a box of wrenches fell off a shelf, causing the stereotype to fumble the gun from his waistband and walk towards the sound. "What dumbass can't put their shit away?" he asked rhetorically.

Taking the opportunity, Watson crouched down and made her way to a workbench before 'encouraging' another box to fall, causing the biker to turn and give her an opening to cross the gap. Her best shot of finding anything useful would be in what looked like an office, so that's where she headed. "Woah" she whispered under her breath as she took in what was being worked on. The chassis of the massive vehicle was being fitted with tires as tall as she was when standing up. Hearing the men working on it talk about something called 'Grave Dust' got her attention as she crept along the frame's length.

Making her way around the vehicle and back towards her ultimate destination, the reporter continued to dodge bikers, getting a close call or two that forced her to hide in shadows and hold her breath as gunmen looked around. Slipping past them, MJ soon found crates of what looked like military crates and took a quick peek inside, finding bubble wrap covered metal plate. The label on the boxes read 'Chobham'.

Making her way carefully and quietly through the next area, she soon noticed there were figures in the office she examined the yellow 'Alchamex' labeled barrels. "What's in these?" she wondered quietly before there was a…complication.

"Boss, come on" said a man desperately, his voice echoing through the open office door and into the shop proper. "Li'll never notice…" he argued until he was cut off by the sound of flesh slamming into flesh so hard that the man went flying through the glass window and skidding across the glass covered floor, a handgun flying from his belt.

A massive hulking figure silhouetted himself in the doorway, pale skin giving a ghastly appearance as he turned to the down man and made his way over slowly before addressing him in gravelly tones. "You're right Rick" said the figure as he walked into the light and Rick crawled away in excruciating pain. "He won't notice" began Tombstone as he grabbed the down man by his neck and hoisted him up, "Because it won't be there" growled the crime boss before slamming the man back into the concrete.

The wounded man reached out and wrapped his hand around the grip of the gun, "God damnit" he shouted as he turned onto his back and raised the weapon, "I said I'll fix it" he insisted as one of the massive pale paws grabbed the gun and the hand, squeezing down hard enough to draw a cry of pain as the muzzle was pressed to the grey forehead.

"You got some stones Rick…let's see if they break" taunted Tombstone with an eerie chuckle. The tension only increased; MJ's eyes locked onto the confrontation despite all sense telling her to get out of sight. She was shocked and let out a small yelp that was thankfully masked by the sound that caused it as the gunshot echoed throughout the shop. Even more shocking was the sound of the bullet landing on the floor and bouncing harmlessly. "Such a disappointment" said Tombstone heartlessly before ripping the gun away and slamming it down on the biker, caving the side of the man's skull in with a single stroke. As if that wasn't enough; the man then pressed his boot down on and broke the shooters neck before discarding the gun. "And now I need to find a new welder" he grumbled before trudging off.

Two other men grabbed the body and dragged it away as MJ snuck behind them and into the office. Once inside she found blueprints for a supersized version of the vehicle the Kingpin's men had stuffed her in the previous year. An APC, or was an MRAP? She wasn't sure, but Cooper would know for sure and she snapped a picture to send to the Marauder while wondering what Li needed such a vehicle for. Moving over to the desk and tacky purple chair, MJ then found what she recognized as GPS trackers, complete with blinking red lights. "What does he need these for?" she mused.

"Alright boys" said the voice that could only have been achieved by lining a throat with sandpaper, "Time to move! Let's get the gear from my office." With that, MJ decided that discretion was the better part of valor, pocketing the tracker she had in hand and making her escape out the back door.

* * *

Peter blinked a few times to process the story that MJ had told him as he stood over the simmering pan of chicken curry. Tombstone building an armored vehicle for Li with Chobham, which turned out to be state of the art tank armor, was bad news. MJ had talked with Cooper and the Pilot believed that nothing Sable had would be able to stop that thing, insisting the only things that had a chance would be anti-tank weapons that only he had. Even with that, he had to take this one thing at a time. "Okay" he began, doing his best to not sound condescending, "I want to say 'don't ever do that again' but since I know you're going to anyway…" he said as he reached into his backpack and pulled out a small nylon bag. "Here" he called as he tossed the bag to MJ, "take a few of those next time" he asked, following Cooper's advice to help MJ and do what he could to make sure she came back from her…excursions.

"Nice" answered the redhead genuinely and she pulled out one of the bag's contents and examined it. The gadgets were simple audio-visual emitters in a dense and handy package that functioned as effective decoys, but Peter found he didn't need the help with infiltration considering he could use a burst of webbing to achieve the same thing. MJ would, at the very least, ensure the time and resources he invested weren't wasted.

And considering who they were up against, she needed all the help she could get, even if he didn't voice this thought. "You do know that Tombstone's crazy and pretty much invincible…right?"

"Everybody has their weakness" replied MJ dismissively, causing Peter to wonder if enabling her was really the best idea. That sort of thinking could get her hurt, or worse, which Parker did not want to consider. "Mine is…whatever it is you're cooking right now – smells amazing" she complimented as she turned to face him, flashing that brilliant smile of hers that he sheepishly tried to match.

"Chicken Curry…just needs some time to simmer" he replied as he silently thanked his Aunt May for the last minute recipe and made a mental note of it as he gave the dish one last stir before letting it sit.

"No dumplings I hope" deadpanned the redhead, completely straight-faced as the horrific memories of the now infamous dinner came rushing back to Peter's mind.

Despite that, he couldn't force himself to be angry, not at her. "You're never going to let me live that down" he observed morosely as he emerged from the small kitchen.

"Nope" replied MJ, popping the 'p' as she shook her head with a cheeky grin and gleam in her eye.

"_The Great Dumpling Catastrophe_" he replied with air quotes, shaking his own head at the memory as he sat down next to the reporter, pleasantly surprised that she didn't move away as he hung his head in faux shame.

MJ was clearly taking delight at his expense, which Peter did little to discourage, it made him happy to just see her happy. "I still can't believe they evacuated the entire building."

"I know, and in January too" remembered the webslinger as he sipped his drink and thought about how far back that was. MJ and him dating, Cooper was in a different dimension, Kingpin was still running his empire, Li wasn't a domestic terrorist wanted dead or alive, and there wasn't an eastern European mercenary outfit occupying the city. "Your neighbors _hated _me."

MJ nodded in agreement, still smiling at the memory. "Yeah, they were pretty happy when we broke up." With that, the conversation sputtered for a minute before MJ seemed to focus on business and Peter did his best to do the same. "Let's talk about what you found in Li's office."

As much as he enjoyed the moment, Peter knew he shouldn't press his luck and picked up the file he had brought with him off of the table. "Li clearly has issues with Norman Osborn" he said as he opened the Devil's Breath file and looked through the contents again.

"Yeah but…" began MJ as she tapped away at her laptop, "but _why?_"

Peter shook his head, "I don't know yet" he admitted. "But his next move looks like it involves Devil's Breath, whatever that is" he added. Though Cooper had confronted Osborn about it all he got was that it was something dangerous. The Texan had been adamant nonetheless, Li had to be denied the mystery substance at all costs. Coming from him that meant something considering the Pilot didn't exactly scare easily.

"Yeah…I'll dig into it" promised the reporter as she went back to her laptop. Though Peter didn't need a sixth sense to guess that there was more on the redhead's mind than she was letting on. Instead of pressing, he simply waited, knowing she was bold enough to just come out and say what she wanted to. "So, I was thinking…" she began suddenly, putting the wallcrawler on full alert. "What if we teamed up?"

Peter could feel his brain short out before he quickly gathered his bearings and stuttered out his answer. "Yo…you want to be…my sidekick? Like, uh…Spider-Girl?" he said before he saw MJ roll her eyes and look away as he quickly attempted to correct what he thought he flubbed."Spider-Woman. _**Woman**_" he emphasized.

"No, no" she replied dismissively as she 'hmphed' before recomposing herself. "No not a sidekick…a _partner_" she explained, completely serious.

That assertion took Peter a moment to process as he sat and stared dumbly at the redhead. _Say something Parker_ he mentally scolded himself as his mind managed to mutter "Oh…" as he continued to simply stare, mouth slightly agape. He could see Mary Jane expecting an answer and he knew he would have to give one until the curry sitting on the stove hissed angrily and both of them turned to see steam billowing out of the pan. "Not again!"

Running off to try and salvage dinner, Peter missed the fact that his phone had begun to buzz as he worked furiously in the kitchen. Mary Jane picked up at his phone and saw why it was vibrating before tapping the screen. "Hey Matt, what's up?"

The immediate response was the echoing howl of a twin turbo V-8, giving away where the Texan was, and by the sound of it, he was going somewhere in a hurry. _"Hey Watson, hope I'm not interrupting anything"_ he drawled with a tinge of humor. _"Is Peter there? I need to talk to him."_

"I'm here" replied Peter from the kitchen as MJ put the call on speaker and allowed Peter to talk as he finished turning the stove off. "You're not interrupting anything, me and MJ were just discussing Devil's Breath" he semi lied. "Is something happening?"

There was a screech of strained tires before a pop of exhaust and the hypercar roared back with full force. _"System just pinged, there's a residential break in. The address is for one Charles Standish"_ revealed the Renegade Gunfighter.

"Sounds familiar…" said MJ as she began working away at her laptop before she got a quick result. "Oh" she said in realization, "Oscorp's CFO." Even before those words were out of her mouth, Peter was already shedding his shirt to reveal his so called 'Advanced Suit' underneath.

"_Wait, it gets better"_ said Cooper in the kind of way that said to Peter the opposite was likely true. _"Sable's got a whole platoon protecting this guy, split into four fireteams that are all stationed within a three-block radius"_ he explained before pausing to let it sink in. _"As we speak, all four are heavily engaged with the Demons and could be overrun. Whatever is happening in that penthouse, nobody else can do a thing about it. Li's committing a lot of manpower to this, he values whatever they're trying to do, which means I do too. So get your ass in gear and get over here"_ordered the Marauder with finality before the line clicked and went dead, the implication obvious.

MJ was still going through the man's background information on her laptop when she noticed Peter hadn't answered. "What do you think they're after Peter?" she asked as the apartment remained silent. "Peter?" she asked as she looked up to see Peter trying to make a quick exit out the open window. "Did…did you just leave your clothes on the kitchen floor?"

The webslinger stopped dead in his tracks, eye lenses wide as he looked at MJ, then the kitchen, and finally back at MJ. "Uh…." He said as he began to retrace his steps without bothering to turn around. Quickly returning into the living area with his neatly folded clothes in his hands, Peter awkwardly asked, "Where do you want me to, uh…"

"Just…the couch is fine" answered MJ, clearly having thrown her mental hands in the air at the whole debacle, giggling a bit as he set his clothes down.

"See you later?" he asked hopefully.

The redhead gave him that smile again, "Yeah" she answered as Peter smiled dumbly behind his mask before he remembered she couldn't see him. Mustering his remaining dignity, he turned and planted his foot on the windowsill and threw himself out into the chill of the night air.

He only got a block away before he was calling MJ, immensely relieved that the reporter picked up after two rings. "Hey, it's me" he greeted as he continued to swing towards the waypoint Cooper had sent him.

MJ hummed happily, _"This curry is legit"_ complimented the redhead with her mouth obviously still full of the chicken dish.

Peter swelled with a bit of pride and made doubly sure to not forget that recipe as he quickly refocused on the task at hand. "So what do we know about Charles Standish?"

MJ was quick to answer, Peter quickly remembering how convenient it was having her able to keep him up to date on what was going on while he was being Spider-Man. _"Let's see…Chief Financial Officer of Oscorp. Single. Known for his art collection. And if he owns the penthouse in that building, he must be super rich"_ she stated. It Peter's mind that made him sound like a typical rich pompous ass that was always an absolute…_joy_…to deal with.

Though the description did lead Peter to wonder about one thing. "If Li's after him, it's got to be related to Devil's Breath" he mused, though he wasn't sure what the exact relation was. As he got closer, he could hear the sounds of distant gunfire. He wanted to help but knew that Cooper was right, they both needed to keep their eyes on the prize, especially if Devil's Breath was involved.

"_I'll run a search on everything in that file"_ she assured.

"Let me know the second you find something" he said as he swung closer to the elegant high rise, windows full of light. "I think Li might be planning something even worse than City Hall" he added grimly. That day was still a black mark that he couldn't forget anytime soon, it was something he had never seen before and would do everything in his power to prevent another attack.

But those thoughts were quickly replaced by a whole other set as MJ made a rather abrupt subject change._ "So, are we partners now?" _she asked hopefully_. "Cuz it sure feels like we are"_ she added, layering the charm on thick. For better or worse, Peter couldn't say he was in anyway immune to her considerable charisma.

"Partners" he parroted before deciding to bite the bullet, "sounds good." Once the words were out of his mouth, he was surprised with how right it felt to say. Maybe Matthew had a point when he recommended to let MJ closer to his masked persona. Embracing the fact that Watson was taking a more active part in crime fighting.

"_Okay. See ya…partner."_

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Titan Loadout: Brute  
_

_Some titans specialize in ranged precision, close range hit and run, or even jack of all tradesversatility, but the Brute only does one thing well: Blow shit up. The primary weapon is a titan sized M202, which is a quad barreled rocket launcher, each barrel holding four rockets. With 16 rockets on tap, they can be unleashed either in one continuous stream or four rocket salvos. Either way the result is the same unparalleled devastation. If you need a more precise explosion delivery system, then the same MTMS from the Expedition loadout is also available to put precision guided ordinance on target. _

_If all that isn't enough, then there's the ability to unleash every rocket on tap in one massive burst in pure death from above, saturating a massive area with high explosives is a sure-fire way to get rid of whatever ails you._

_To sweeten the deal, you can always use the Vortex Shield to turn the enemy's own firepower against them. _

_This loadout is perhaps the most common on the Frontier, with something like 35% of all IMC titans being NorthStar pattern chassis with this loadout bolted on to it. They are cheap and plentiful, being easy to produce and economic to operate. When there are no titans to challenge it, the Brute can truly be a force. All of that firepowercan make mincemeat of infantry, light vehicles, and even heavy armor, never mind any sort of fortifications. Against serious opposition, either by virtue of good coordination and tactics or, god forbid, an enemy titan, the Brute is often totally outclassed. _

_However, the beauty of the Vanguard Class Titan is that I can have all of the firepower of the Brute loadout without any of the downsides of the chassis. While the NorthStar or Ronin may thrive with the added agility, the Brute does not need it and is much more suited to the tougher Vanguard. BT can weather a storm, and when it comes to a straight up slugfest, not much can dish out more punishment more quickly._

_Some achieve victory with cunning, or skill, or precision. But with this I achieve victory through superior firepower. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: Yes, I did end it there because this chapter was getting kind of long, the next one picks up immediately after this one ends so look forward to that next week. If you have any comments or critques about this chapter, that review button is down there for a reason. I hope I'm getting the Peter and MJ stuff right as well as the additional bits with Silver Sable and Norman Osborn, two interesting characters who didn't get a whole lot of screen time in game sadly. This isn't me trying to 'fix' the game, I believe they said they had more planned but it was cut for a variety of reasons, and I need stuff for pacing. **

**Also, I'm currently working on expanding and improving the earlier chapters, so expect those to start being uploaded in the coming week as well. This might cause the main chapters to be delayed but I will do my best to ensure that doesn't happen, at least for the time being. **

**But no matter how I try, I find my way to do the same old jam, Good Times, Bad Times.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	34. Chapter 34: Good Times Bad Times

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Thanks to ravens18 for betaing this chapter.

**DoctorWhoXX: Thanks for the feedback. I do agree, that last one was gratuitous, but it was fun, and not everything has to be loaded with meaning. As far as BT fighting Rhino, if you know how to make a fight with a 7 foot tall dude who weighs a third of a ton with armor and a horn against a futuristic walking war machine that is 25 feet tall, weighs 40 tons (120 times as much roughly), _and _has an arsenal of enough high tech weaponry to make Tony Stark need manhood counseling interesting, then please PM me and I'll make it happen.**

**No, seriously, I have absolutely no idea how to make that work. The current plan is for BT to simply not be there but people, understandably, want that fight. If Rhino was Paul Giamatti in a giant mech suit thing then I would have no problems with it, but since this story is based on the PS4 game we don't have that. And thank god, I do not want to be reminded of ASM2.**

Who's ready for a shootout? Hopefully, because there's a pretty long one to start things off. Of course, I do actually read the reviews, which prompted some of the stuff that comes afterwards. So review to let me know if it works or with any other thoughts or suggestions. One other thing I am wanting feedback for are the parts involving Yuri, Sable, and Norman, since most of those sections are original, not only am I hoping that they are good but that they also fit in with the other parts that are lifted from the game (I'm less worried about Cooper's segments since he's always done his own thing).

I am truly shocked that it took 34 chapters to reach this point, but we finally have a Led Zeppelin tune. Not only is it a Led Zeppelin tune, it is off of their self titled debut album and was the first single released stateside and in fact the only single off the whole album. Now, I'm not the biggest Zeppelin fan out there, but I am a big AC/DC fan, and so if any of you is a smart aleck and you want to piss me off then think that 'Back in Black' is a Led Zeppelin song. Yes, I am still irritated by that lame joke in Far From Home, if it wasn't obvious.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 34: Good Times Bad Times**

_She swore that she would be all mine_

_And love me till the end_

_When I whispered in her ear_

_I lost another friend_

_Good times, bad times_

_You know I had my share_

* * *

With a gentle touch, Cooper's gloved hand closed the door to the McLaren P1 before moving to the front trunk and the equipment stored inside. First out was a second pistol, a B3 Wingman fixed with a suppressor and laser sight, was slipped into a low-slung holster on his right thigh opposite his tomahawk. Following that was a heavily kitted R-201 Special Operations Assault Rifle (SOAR) with optic, suppressor, and underslung electromagnetic launcher. Then came the web gear filled with his normal ordinance in addition to the armor piercing incendiary slugs and nonlethal rubber buckshot for the launcher.

Closing and locking the car, the Marauder slid on the skull adorned helmet as the HUD booted up and he made his way towards the surface. Working the tacpad on his left wrist, he made a call as he began to feel that cold burn of adrenaline in his veins. "SITREP Sweetheart" he drawled before the Black Cat answered.

"_Demons are here…and in the penthouse with my loot"_ she pouted, drawing a small smirk to the Pilot's face as he climbed a staircase towards a maintenance passage and the action._ "And Spider-Man is now in the crime-net dead zone, though I don't have eyes on yet" _she reported.

Indeed, the crime system in this sector hadn't been fixed yet, Standish was on the list of people Felicia was going to visit when she spotted Demons during her stakeout. "What about Sable's people? Any chance of them getting their act together?" he asked as he checked that the arc rounds were loaded and dropped the bolt on the SOAR.

"_Not one"_ replied Hardy, _"Demons have eased off but all of them are pinned down. Police have arrived but are being held up outside…or were, your pal just arrived. You and Spider will have the whole place to yourselves."_ Cooper merely grunted in acknowledgement as he neared the door into the subterranean parking garage beneath the building. _"I'll be watching handsome, put on a show"_ reminded his lover before the connection clicked off.

Pulling out the pulse blade, the Marauder used the tactical to see what was waiting for him on the other side. One Demon was approaching the Marauder and began to pull the door open, with an evil grin, Cooper gave him help with that, raising his boot and kicking the door open, bashing the terrorist in his face and knocking him on his ass. The masked man tried to raise his pistol only for the Marauder's rifle to cough twice and a pair of arc rounds to slam into the Demon's chest. "Anyone else want some?" he snarled as the -201 snapped up.

A flurry of mandarin came back as the six other Demons raised their own weapons. Two rushed him and got bursts of fire in reply as Cooper strafed to his right and switched to the whip wielding Demon, memories of his previous encounter with that weapon at the forefront of his mind. The shield wielding man put himself between the Marauder and his comrade, armed with an assault rifle. While the masked men regrouped, Cooper slid into cover behind a sedan and dropped the magazine out of the rifle as he took a moment to blindly toss out a smoke grenade to buy himself some time.

Sliding a fresh magazine into the magwell, his attention was caught by the proximity alert flashing in his HUD as he popped his head up to find himself face to face with a monster of a man, eyes of his Demon mask staring straight into the SRS Pilot's visor. The terrorist's massive hands came down and grabbed the straps of the Dragon Scale armored vest and yanked the pilot out of cover before heaving him across the space. Cooper slammed into the ground, him and his rifle sliding in opposite directions.

Malice radiated off the Demon as he stomped towards the downed Pilot, only for the green clad gunfighter to roll onto his back, Wingman in hand as he planted three shots center mass before the staccato thunder of automatic fire echoed in the confined garage. Rounds impacted the pavement near the Marauder, sending shards of concrete up to bounce off his helmet or bury themselves in his armor.

Rolling one and a half times, the Renegade was now on his stomach, B3 clasped in both hands. The shield wielding man was still covering his comrade who readied to unleash another burst with his rifle. Two .454 caliber arc slugs left the suppressed sidearm in quick succession, the first taking the legs out from under the shield holder and causing him to expose the rifleman, who caught the second round in the throat, sending him down as he gasped for air and muscles contracted.

His proximity alert sounded again, but Cooper didn't fight, instead loosing his grapple at the shield and pulling himself away from the heavy right as the energized fists tried to pound him into the pavement. Halfway to the Demon, he disconnected the hook and slid to a stop on the blacktop next to his carbine, picking the weapon up before slamming it back down to drop the bold and seat a round in the chamber before he loosed a burst from the hip at the now charging heavy.

Half of the mag was gone and he had only managed to stagger the walking refrigerator. Reaching his left hand forwards and cycling the straight pull bolt to put a load of heavy hitting rubber buckshot into the launcher. With a 'vhwum' like sound the 00 projectiles slammed into the Demon, center mass. He stopped dead in his tracks as Cooper emptied the rest of the magazine into him for good measure before his proximity alert flashed yet again and he activated his cloak and dodged away.

The negative charged Demon Shield swung through the now empty air, the wielder whirling around to look for his foe as the air shimmered behind him. "Boo" said a filtered voice flatly as the Demon spun to find himself staring down the Wingman with the glowing blue visor behind it. The last of the six rounds in the revolver slammed into the facemask, snapping the head behind it back before the Demon fell to the blacktop.

Cooper kicked the shield away as he dumped the empty cylinder on the floor before inserting a fresh one, the B3 condensing around the ammo before it was holstered, and a pair of red clad feet landed next to the Texan. One of them nudged the knocked-out Demon, "Friend of yours?"

The Marauder snorted in reply as he unslung the Carbine and inserted another magazine. "Nah, we just met" responded the Pilot dryly before dropping the bolt, "wasn't the best of company." The simple greeting over, the two vigilantes walked side by side towards the elevator bank, only for the chime to sound and doors open.

"Wait" called out Spidey as a group of masked men emerged from the elevators, fists raised and glowing. "You guys work here too?" asked Spider-Man before firing a webline to pull himself to one. The Marauder turned to the second group as he slung his rifle over his shoulder and charged them. Jumping up, his kit fired as he cocked his right fist, arc knuckles flickering with energy before it slammed down into the mask of the first Demon.

The grapple was already fired into the ceiling, pulling himself up and away from the Demons as they remained on the ground. Only one of the two extended the length of his dual whips and the black flaming implement lashed up at the Marauder, tip breaking the speed of sound as it sliced across his leg, burning the armor as Cooper dodged out of the way. Another whip came up immediately after the Marauder only for the Pilot to vanish into another dimension, but not before dropping an arc grenade to the floor, stunning the Demon.

Dropping in behind, Cooper phased back in and popped the whip wielding Demon up before activating his STIM pack, the enhancers flooding his veins as he unleashed a flurry of blows with superhuman speed and strength that broke ribs and caused bleeding before landing a knockout blow to the side of the jaw before the Demon slammed into the concrete. A chill flooded his whole body as the STIM was purged from his system and Cooper took a deep breath only to see a disc fly past his head.

Turning, Cooper saw where the object landed, the Demon staring down at the blinking light on his chest in confusion before the trip mine activated, pulling and webbing him to a pillar. "You missed one" quipped Spidey as the Marauder turned back to the Webslinger and drew the Wingman. "Wait, what are you doi…" yelped the Wallcrawler as he ducked out of the way.

The B3 coughed once, bucking in Cooper's hand, the arc round eliciting a roar of agony from the Demon it impacted, the scythe wielding man falling to the floor just behind where Spider-Man was. "_You_ missed one" informed Matthew dryly before holstering the heavy handgun and smirking behind his helmet. The duo then turned their attention to the elevators and the task of getting to the penthouse. "Elevator's won't work, too obvious."

His companion seemed undeterred as he set to work prying the doors open. "But maybe we can sneak up through the elevator shafts" he suggested as the two made their way into the group of shafts. Slowly but surely, the pair made their ascent towards the penthouse. Cooper was having to work a bit harder since he couldn't simply stick to everything while Parker neutralized any curious Demons who poked their heads into the shaft. Passing through a grate they found themselves in a near identical elevator bank that serviced the middle third of the building.

This section went almost as well as the first, the pair moving quickly and quietly upwards until their luck turned as Cooper clambered through another grate. A light panned over him as he heard shouting. Acting on instinct, the Marauder pulled out his pistol and planted a pair of shots into the offending terrorist as he fell back into the hallway and the doors closed, but the damage had been done. _"Hey Handsome" _purred Felicia over the radio, _"whatever just happened in there caught their attention. Radio chatter is lighting up all across the building. It's gonna be a party…have fun"_ she encouraged before the radio clicked.

"Something wrong?" asked Peter as he noticed Matt had paused to reload his revolver before they entered the final leg of the ascent.

The Marauder chuckled sardonically as he twirled the massive weapon and turned to his friend, "Stay sharp…they know we're coming now" he informed as he opened the hatch into the final elevator bank only to recoil back as a Molotov slammed into the ground and exploded. "And are rolling out the welcome mat" added the Texan dryly before activating his phase shift and leaping past the burning floor and bouncing off the walls.

All pretense of stealth vanished as the pair put the pedal to the metal. Cooper bounced off the walls, jump kit propelling him across the shaft as he used his phase shift to evade incoming attacks while using his Grapple for the occasional momentum boost. Spider-Man web zipped between the steel I-beams, flipping and somersaulting between them as the two kept pace with each other all the way to the top.

Leading the way, Spider-Man led the pair straight past the door that led to the penthouse level and instead entered through a vent above their destination. Waiting for a few minutes for the commotion to quiet down before they dropped down into the lavish penthouse. Cooper's mind was split in two ways, first was the way Demons were patrolling the two floors, seeing how they armed, and points of cover. The second was seeing why Felicia wanted to get into this place so badly.

"There's Standish" called out the arachnid themed ally as he pointed to a circular office with floor to ceiling windows. A middle-aged man with scruffy facial hair and man bun that made Cooper not have any issues with his girlfriend wanting to steal his things was surrounded by Demons and typing on a laptop. "Looks like he needs some help."

Starting with the two Demons just below them, Cooper cloaked and dropped down, the sound of his boots hitting the hardwoods getting the terrorists' attention. With that distraction, a pair of weblines snapped up one Demon. Just as the second tried to call out, a green clad arm wrapped around his neck and squeezed down on his airway while the victim thrashed to no avail. Opening a door into a closet, the body of the Demon finally went limp, though was still breathing as he was dumped unceremoniously into the dark room and the door shut.

And so, they progressed, working from the bottom up as they hunted the terrorists and picked the group apart with ruthless efficiency. Spider-Man would drop a chandelier on a trio of gunmen before saying "Lights out…hehe, good one Pete" only for Cooper to groan in reply before planting an arc round in the back of a Demon's head before cradling the body and dragging it into the shadows.

The Demons weren't completely stupid, they soon realized they were dropping like flies and even knew who was responsible as they brought in reinforcements. Those reinforcements proved to simply be meat in the grinder as the two vigilantes picked them apart with deliberate action. While he was never the lightest on his feet, Cooper's use of his cloak and arc rounds coupled with his training from Black Cat meant that the Marauder misdirected his foes and picked them apart. The Pilot splitting them up so that absolute silence wasn't paramount as he choked out or pistol whipped his mark as the number of Demons slowly dwindled. To achieve the same end, Spider-Man worked from the rafters and ceiling, using his webs to neutralize Demons swiftly.

When the last one was crushed under some modern art sculpture Cooper was sure would get him a lecture from Felicia about how that piece was priceless and a deep look into the tortured soul of someone who actually gave a shit. Both Spider-Man and Marauder regrouped and readied to break into the office when the elevator behind them opened and a sword wielding Demon emerged to challenge them. With a swing of his black flame encased blade, a wave of energy surged at the pair as they dove away before standing on either side of a massive scorch mark.

The Swordsman twirled his sword as he stared them down and they prepared for a showdown. With a quick movement, the Pilot drew the Wingman and unceremoniously planted a shot into the suited man's chest causing him to drop, sword clattering to the floor. Spider-Man turned to the Pilot, eye lenses 'blinking' in confusion as the Pilot merely shrugged nonchalantly.

Both masked men snapped their heads up as a trio of men stampeded towards them wearing the Asian masks and the webhead stepped up, readying his fists before cocking his head and tossing out a web grenade. The device pinned all of them to the penthouse walls before the Wallcrawler turned back to the Marauder and gave him the same shrug.

Shaking his head and chuckling lowly, Cooper and Parker turned to the office to see the executive in his pink button down poking his head up above his desk. Using his enhanced strength, the superhero yanked the power sliding doors open as Standish stood. "It's safe now" assured the wallcrawler, "what were they after?"

The executive looked at the pair, eyes lingering on the R-201 nervously before he stuttered out his answer to the question. "Just – financial records" he answered, trying to sound dismissively casual, though both vigilantes narrowed their eyes at Standish.

"About Devil's Breath" said the Texan in turn, it wasn't a question.

Standish was clearly taken aback as he watched the Marauder move around his desk to examine his laptop while still brandishing his formidable looking weapon, the muzzle pointed to the ceiling. "Ho-how do you know about that?" he asked, looking between the two for his answer.

Spider-Man didn't answer, instead trying to keep the pressure on the CFO. "Why do they want it?" he asked as he looked at the Marauder, who shook his head before turning out the window and flashing his helmet light once.

His action largely went unnoticed as he turned back in time to focus on Standish as he gave his explanation. "I don't even know what it is" he began adamantly, "Mr. Osborn's been pouring money into it for years, but he keeps the whole project a secret" he continued, the other men listening intently. "I'm the only one that has any record of it."

Cooper and Parker exchanged knowing glances, even if they were obscured by their respective skull and spider adorned coverings. "Not anymore" said the SRS Pilot with his filtered voice as he spun the laptop around to show the other two. "The Demons copied your records to a secured server."

Spider-Man immediately took over, scrolling through the information on screen until he found what the Demons were after. "Looks like payroll information…on a Doctor Isaac Delaney. Who is he?" questioned the webhead.

"I honestly don't know" responded Standish nervously. Cooper couldn't tell if he was lying or if his adrenaline had worn off and nerves were catching up to him. The Renegade Gunfighter pegged him for the latter, the CFO was out of his element in a big way.

But there was a complication as the Marauder's radio crackled to life. _"Heads up handsome, company's coming. Helicopter full of fodder on its way…where did they get a helicopter? Do you think there's a place where helicopters are left lying around?"_ Cooper shook his head as he cycled the action on the gauss launcher.

"Hopefully they have more than one" said Cooper dryly before the line clicked off and he turned to the others. "We got incoming" he informed simply just as the Demon chopper arrived outside the window, "Cover!" he barked as he tossed down an A-Wall and returned fire. Tracers ripped through the penthouse, turning the walls to swiss cheese, shattering glass, and wrecking furniture and art pieces as arc rounds pinged uselessly off the metal skin of the helicopter until Cooper got fed up and triggered the electromagnetic launcher. The armor piercing hunk of metal impacted the tail boom at three times the speed of sound, knocking the helicopter off kilter and throwing the gunners aim off.

The three men took that as their opportunity to make a break for it. "MOVE IT!" roared the Pilot as he jammed a red taped magazine into the suppressed Carbine. Spider-Man helped Standish to his feet, but the CFO needed no further prodding as all three sprinted towards the elevator, the rapid staccato hisses of the R-201 clashing against the thundering chatter of the heliborne machine gun. The CFO repeatedly jammed his finger into the elevator call button in adrenaline fueled panic as Cooper cycled the launcher and fired another high powered slug into the nose of the chopper just as the elevator doors opened to reveal the burning inferno on the other side and a rocket streaked from the wounded bird. The Marauder activated his phase shift and dove out of the way as the rocket slammed into the wall while Spider-Man tackled the executive into the elevator shaft, plummeting towards the fire below.

Peter's spider enhanced reflexes were sent into overdrive as he avoided the rubble falling with them. "Try to fall slower!" he encouraged until he was able to land a webline on Standish before turning to land one from his other wrist shooter onto a beam, bringing both to an abrupt halt. "You alright?" asked the webslinger.

The executive nodded wearily, "Yeah, I think so" answered the man as he dangled above the fire below, somehow calmer than he had been at any point previously.

"Good" said Spidey genuinely as he looked around at their surroundings, feeling the sweat on his brow from the heat of their surroundings, "Good. You know, as elevator shafts go…this is pretty nice" he informed just as another piece of burning artwork fell past them, missing by about a foot, causing the hero to laugh nervously at the shocked face of the CFO.

Half an hour later, the Marauder and Spider-Man looked down at the scene below, the Pilot finding himself begrudgingly impressed as Sable troops swept through the area confirming what the two already knew. The Demons had vanished, they had what they came for and they weren't going to waste resources slugging it out with Sable forces or pick a fight with Spidey and the Marauder. Even still, there was one action that Cooper was irritated by. _"You two okay?"_ asked Watanabe.

"We're fine" answered Spider-Man as Matthew continued to scan the skyline. "But we weren't able to get much out of Standish before Sable's guys stepped in and forced us to back off" explained Spidey. Off in the distance Cooper saw a quick series of blinks on a rooftop and blinked his own helmet light once in acknowledgement. "What's the deal?"

Yuri was clearly of the same mind as Matthew_. "I get the sense all they care about is keeping him quiet"_ replied the Captain with contempt. Chances were that she was getting stonewalled too, Sable International troops weren't letting _anyone_ through the perimeter they were establishing.

"Osborn" said Matthew as he turned to Spider-Man. "This has his name all over it. He's trying to keep everything about 'Devil's Breath' close to his chest."

"_Whatever the hell _that_ is"_ said Watanabe lowly, other than the fact that it was very dangerous and developed by Oscorp, they knew next to nothing. Hell, Cooper doubted Sable even knew much more than they did about what she was trying to protect.

"We're working on it" assured the webslinger as he too stood alongside the Pilot. "I think we just got a lead" explained the superhero. Cooper suppressed a snort, calling a name a serious lead was being generous, but it was better than nothing.

Yuri seemed surprised to say the least. _"A lead? You sound like a cop."_

"Don't you mean…_Spider-Cop?_" answered the spandex clad superhero.

The Marauder punched his friend in the face.

* * *

After shaking off his friends blow and bidding him farewell, Peter watched the Pilot vanish into the distance. The Texan was definitely up to something, but that hadn't been the time to press him on it. Firing a webline and swinging through the night sky to get rid of those thoughts before deciding to get to work chasing down this lead. With the Crime System still spotty, another project he needed to finish, his best bet at finding Dr. Delaney would be good old-fashioned sleuthing and, lucky for him, he had one of the best on speed dial.

"_Peter!"_ greeted MJ happily after she picked up on the first ring, the sound of her voice elevating the wallcrawler's spirits instantly. _"What happened with Standish?"_

"He's safe" assured Peter quickly as he bounced off a lamppost and soared over the cars on the street below.

There was a sigh of relief on the other end of the line, _"Okay, good. And the Demons?"_ she asked.

"They were looking for a name" replied Peter as he swung around a corner, hanging onto the line of synthetic silk until he hit the apex and let go, flipping head over heels before he fired off another and resumed his swinging. "You got a pen?"

"_Yeah, go."_

"Doctor Isaac Delaney."

"_Okay"_ replied Mary Jane as Peter imagined her already at work on her laptop. _"Who is he? What's his deal?" _asked the reporter.

Sadly, there wasn't much more Spider-Man could offer the redhead. "I was hoping you could tell me" he admitted sheepishly.

Peter was immensely relived that MJ showed no dissatisfaction at him leaning on her to pull her weight in their newfound partnership. _"I'm on it" _she replied with her tenacious enthusiasm that had made her one of the best at the Bugle. _"Just gimme a few – oh, and before I forget"_ she added. _"You left that Tracker from Tombstone's at my place. I'll drop it by Dr. Octavius' lab in the morning. Let you know what I find on Delaney"_ she promised before the line clicked and went dead.

With time to burn, Peter did a bit of Spidey work, busting criminals in the act, hunting down pigeons for an old friend, cleaning up a chemical spill detected by one of Harry's outposts, the usual stuff. Soon, he found himself atop a Police Precinct, tweaking the settings on a crime tower and checking that the area he had been in all night was now covered before something dawned on him.

Cooper had said his system, which was linked to the police one, had pinged the activity at Standish's place. Only that couldn't have been the case because Peter had only just fixed it. Finding himself an overhang, the red and blue clad vigilante hung upside down as he thought back to the events of the previous few hours. "His helmet light" said Spider-Man in realization, he wondered what the Marauder was doing when he remembered someone who liked to communicate like that, "Black Cat."

Felicia had been there, that was the only plausible explanation Peter could think of as he swung back to Standish's penthouse and perched on top, looking for good vantage points as he went down this line of thinking. Black Cat was back in the game, this he knew for a fact, and she was targeting Standish when she saw the Demons and called the Marauder. That meant Cooper knew what Felicia was up to and either allowing or enabling it, but why?

He knew something was off at her behavior, just robbing places for the hell of it wasn't her style. As he swung over to investigate a likely perch he tried to think of a good reason for her actions. When he arrived and saw a familiar setup waiting for him, he shook his head. "What are you two playing at?"

* * *

Right now, they were playing at getting some rest in Hardy's penthouse with varying degrees of success. Cooper had his arm wrapped around his girlfriend, her head resting on his chest as he stared blankly up into the ceiling. Reaching over to the nightstand, he took a look at his wristwatch and muttered a curse; he had been awake like this for nearly an hour, unable to close his eyes unless he wanted to be pulled into another nightmare.

They had only gotten worse since the City Hall bombing and the current state of the city practically being one of guerilla war with the Demons. Not in frequency, but when they did occur their intensity was overwhelming, so much so that he couldn't tell they weren't real until Felicia woke him up to get him to snap out of it. Just the thought of it made the Marauder tense, not the fact that he needed help, he wasn't that proud, not the fact that he was being affected by the fighting, that made him human, the fact that this was a problem he didn't know how to face.

Neither his firepower, Felicia's scheming, Peter's intelligence, or MJ's perseverance could see him through this. _If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle._It was a passage from the Art of War he had always believed but had never taken the time to consider what it meant for him.

Who was Matthew Cooper?

A Pilot, the Marauder of Manhattan specifically. A Texan, despite having become pretty well traveled in the past year. He was friend and foe, lover and fighter, hero and villain, and none of those descriptors bothered him in the least, they never had. None of Jameson's ranting had gotten to him.

Minutes crawled past as he chewed on the harsh truths that he found himself confronted with. Cooper, once a soft spoken and bright individual at the start of his career, was now one of the most infamous vigilantes in New York City. It felt so natural that it almost unnerved him as he looked back on it, how easily he had done those things that earned him everything he had. Never once had he looked around and felt pity or remorse or fear, not with the very real possibility of more fighting on the horizon, but now, in this brief moment of peace, he could.

He did feel pity for those he had killed, that they had lost their lives so needlessly. He did feel remorse for his failures, and the innocent men, women, and children that paid the price for them. He did feel fear, but when it came time to choose to be afraid or to take action, he took action.

None of that changed the fact that he was still a killer.

His internal musings were halted as Felicia shifted, now draping a leg across his body and pulling them closer together before she resumed her peaceful sleep. The Thief's action reminded the Pilot of something she was keen to remind Peter of, just_ because I've broken the law doesn't mean I'm in the wrong_.

With his blue eyes open, the Pilot admitted something to himself. "I may be a killer…but I am not evil. I still have people who care about me…and people I care for" he said confidently before his eyes shut and he slipped into a calm, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Felicia awoke the next morning and let out a small and content sigh at the sight of Matthew resting soundlessly in bed beside her. After being woken up during the night by his tossing and turning she feared he wouldn't be able to get any more sleep and was relieved to find that was not the case. Giving him a quick kiss, she carefully extracted herself from his embrace before beginning her morning routine while letting the Pilot get all the sleep he could.

Her Cowboy, her Man of War, her Marauder slept peacefully, surprisingly so mused the thief as she got dressed after her morning shower. It was a rare peace for him, and he was more adept at peace than he gave himself credit for, always half-jokingly saying that he was most at home in a firefight. He would never claim to be a complex man, but Felicia had come to realize that he was much more than he let on. Matthew could be aloof at times but was never cold or unsympathetic to those he cared about. For as brutal and devastating he could be in a firefight, Matthew was caring and easy going when not Marauding, even moments before or after in some cases.

There was a phrase he had used regarding soldiers: _No better friend, no worse enemy_, and Hardy felt that was the perfect description for her lover. He was the steady rock she could lean on and rely on, who would always hear her out before passing judgement. Perhaps most importantly, he understood the reality that they were both necessary evils, and that understanding kept the couple together.

Hardy had breakfast brought up by the building's staff, and like a moth to a flame, the Texan was drawn by the smell of bacon, waffles, and French toast. Giving an appreciative whistle as the sight of his shirtless chest, battle scars displayed proudly as he gave her a kiss in greeting before digging in. Felicia smirked as the two ate while exchanging their usual banter with a bit of flirting from the thief and dry sarcasm from the Pilot. It was as Felicia was readying another innuendo when she noticed a familiar and wicked gleam in Matthews bright blue eyes. "You up for a challenge sweetheart?"

Unable to suppress the shiver that went down her spine, Felicia turned to the smirking Pilot, wondering just what her Cowboy had in mind, she always had fun when he gave her that look. "Always" she answered with a predatory grin, "you have something that needs to be taken care of?" she asked coyly, licking her lips for added affect.

Mouth still fixed in that cocky smirk, Matthew calmly got up and went over to the bags he had brought over and returned with a familiar object. "Thought this might come in handy again" he said as he slid the three-ring binder over to her. "What do you think?"

Felicia didn't need to look down to know what was inside the binder. "Oscorp" she said as he simply nodded while the burglar put the pieces together quickly. "You want to know what they're hiding, this 'Devil's Breath' that Li's after?" she supposed. Inside was everything she had compiled on the corporation's headquarters when the she had infiltrated it last year to dig up Norman Osborn's dirty laundry.

"I know going back a second time is going to be harder, but I need to get ahead of Li" admitted Cooper bluntly. "Osborn isn't playing ball which means I have to force the issue" explained the Marauder as he finished off his food. "Sorry to dump this on you with everything else, but…" he explained before trailing off.

Without hesitation, Felicia reached out with a manicured hand and took hold of the Texans larger paw. Flashing a small genuine smile up at the Marauder and green eyes flickering with mischief, there was only ever one answer she was going to give. "So long as you buy me dinner first."

* * *

"What a fucking shitshow" said a very irritated Captain Watanabe as she leaned back in her chair as the other LEOs in the conference room nodded in agreement. The unfortunate fellow who had been assigned to this clusterfuck, a Detective Sergeant Brett Mahoney, stood rather nervously at the front of the room, having given everyone else the rundown of his preliminary findings. Sable International had just received a harsh lesson in Demon tactics, one that the NYPD was well familiar with, but this time had been something different.

Clearly, they had something in mind, because they hit the apartment of an Oscrop executive with at least forty men, most of which had been found either knocked out or webbed up. But the chance to do more hadn't occurred, Silver Sable herself had descended on the CFO's apartment with reinforcements and forcibly ejected the NYPD from the premises. Since then it had been on lockdown, with Standish gone as well, they had no clue what had transpired in that penthouse.

Yuri's frustration was mirrored by all the others present, and eventually a grizzled veteran finally said what they all thought. "These Sable people don't seem to give a damn about 'inter-organizational cooperation' or whatever the hell Osborn called it" he grumbled and the Captain 'hmmed' in agreement. "Though if your source is correct Captain, and this is about 'Devil's Breath,' then we may not be getting any help from on high."

As much as it pained her to admit, the likelihood of Osborn allowing them to do their jobs was slim. Even if they could get a judge to hear them out then the CEO would claim Standish was under protective custody for his own safety and that couldn't be compromised. "Then we find Standish on our own" said the Asian woman firmly, casting a quick glance around the room to gauge the reaction. Not finding any blatant objections, she continued, "pull security cameras and what surveillancetower data we have to track where Sable International took Standish and relay that to me" she ordered.

There was a brief moment of silence before Mahoney spoke up, "Is that strictly legal, Captain?"

"No" replied Watanabe bluntly, "to access that data without clear evidence of a crime in progress_is _an invasion of privacy and against the law" she agreed. "But if we do this by the book then we'll lose time we don't have, and frankly, nothing's been by the book since City Hall." The reminder of the bombing that signaled the rise of the Demons and caused the arrival of Sable International lit a fire in the officers there, agreeing that even if what she wasn't proposing wasn't _right_, it was the right thing to do.

"And then what?" asked one, causing Yuri to look to the speaker, "you planning on going after him yourself Captain? Or sending in the attack dogs?" he asked.

The slang didn't catch Watanabe off guard, but it still caused a small spike of anger to hear two men she did call friends be referred to as such. She knew that just as many people on the Force resented the Marauder and Spider-Man as respected and appreciated them. Spidey had been doing this for eight years, longer than many of his detractors had been LEOs, and the Marauder had been far more open and proven his worth in the short time he had been in New York. Still, some couldn't see past the masks, costumes, and gear to understand that there were still men inside all of that.

Yuri, however, had seen the men, radically different as they were. Spider-Man was a bit of a goof who tried to do what was right and the Marauder was a cocky son of a gun who, while less morally stringent, had never faltered when the chips were down. Without both of them…Yuri couldn't imagine how far up shit creek they would be.

Despite that, she kept her face calm as she addressed the question, "I'll relay Standish's position to the Marauder if we find him, but nothing else" she assured, causing those who didn't care for the SRS Pilot to relax. They knew his abilities would be needed, but not giving him anything other than what he needed put people's minds at ease. Not that it mattered of course, he had total access to their systems anyway, if he wanted to find something then he was more than capable of doing so. "Anything else?" asked the Captain, only to get a round of shaking heads back as she stood up, "alright then, let's get to it."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook –Submachine Gun: SP-14 Alternator_

_Otherwise known as the 'Hatchet' for the way it brutally cleaves through whatever it gets pointed at, the SP-14 is a fairly new and rugged Militia design. The main culprit for that reputation is the round it fires, the venerable 10mm auto dates back to the 1980'sand was adopted by the FBI. It's high powerand reliable automatic function meant that it found use in the future to counter heavier armor and the tougher breeds of automated infantry. The feed and firing system are tricky as hell, dual stack, duel feed magazine leads to a twin barrel firing mechanism. Telescopic bolts mean that the weapon is extraordinarily compact, and recoil is only controlled via a rate of fire reduction and spring system. _

_The end result is a brutally powerful and impressively compact weapon with a few ergonomic idiosyncrasiesincluding being heavy and quite bulky despite its short length. But by far the worst thing about this gun is the way it kicks. Similar to the V-47 Flatline, not only in the recoil mitigation system but the effects of said system, the SP-14 kicks side to side instead of vertically. All the moving mass in the gun combined with effective porting and spring buffers lead to a weapon that is imprecise, and that's being kind to it. _

_It's not a primary weapon, but as a backup with serious bite it excels. A serious step up from the RE-45 in punching power while not being that much larger, the Alternator is a favorite of Pilots, both titan and aircraft, as well as vehicle crews of all descriptions. However, it did also find favor with criminal elements for the same reasons, reliability, concealability, ease of use, fully automatic fire, and stopping power. From drive by shooters to space pirates and truck drivers to Titan Pilots, this is a gun for everyone. Some Pilots carried two, dual wielding them for extra machismo, and taking advantage of the compactness of the weapon. _

_Half criminal, half maverick, and all mercenary. The Alternator is a weapon for total chaos. _

_Ironically, or perhaps not, chaos is where this weapon thrives. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: That 'Friend of yours?' line is from Halo: CE, no, I can't believe I managed to fit it in here either. And yes, a bit after that I was going for a nod to 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' if you saw that, it was intentional. But this is a pretty short chapter all things considered, mostly that long action sequence in the beginning. I'm still Trying to find a good balance of action moments and the more personal type moments to keep things slower and give the story some pace. Let me know if I'm actually getting this right or not. **

**Next chapter will actually be one of the few to focus on a side quest. As you might have noticed there haven't been too many side activities featured in this story, the pigeions, pictures, research stations, and most of the actual 'quest' activities are all absent. Mostly becuase they don't translate at all to a written story when you don't have the webswinging/wallrunning with tunes on and all that. For those of you who never played the game and are wondering what I'm on about, don't worry really. **

**Next week, out of the doorway the bullets rip to the sound of the beat, and Another One Bites the Dust. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	35. Chapter 35: Another One Bites the Dust

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Big thanks to ravens18 for once again betaing this chapter.

**DoctorWhoXX: Thanks for the suggestion and chatting about potential ways to handle the fights down the line. As I said, BT is a pain in the ass to write around from a power level perspective. If you or anybody else has ideas about that (or anything else really) I am more than willing to listen and discuss (shameless plug to encourage reviews goes here).**

Straight off the bat, I want to say that I will probably be slowing down updates to every other week, at least for this month. Meaning the next chapter after this will be the 19th and then after that on March 4th. Once there I will reevaluate the upload schedule, depending on how much work I have gotten done on subsequent chapters at that point. The issue being that I'm currently writing an original arc and those simply take much more time to plan out and actually write, in addition to a few additions to earlier chapters I've put off for long enough, and just making sure everything is good.

Still, this chapter is a pretty good one, we get one of the few Side Missions I'm including, simply because I like the main antagonist. I also get to do a lot of buddy cop stuff, which was one of things I set out to do when I started writing this story as to replicate Bad Boys, Lethal Weapon, or Rush Hour, but with superheroes. I think it came out pretty well, let me know what y'all think.

And we got a Queen track as a title here, this song actually topped the US charts when it came out in 1980. As an AC/DC fan the fact that this song hit number one when neither Back in Black nor Hells Bells did tilts me way more than it should. Even then, I can't deny that this is a catchy tune that came off the album 'The Game.' Interestingly, it was almost used in Rocky III in place of 'Eye of the Tiger' which is bizarre to think about. This song also gave birth to another legend: Weird Al Yankovic, his parody of it was what he played on his first TV appearance. In a very strange coincidence, this song had a very famous fan who helped the band with it, when you reach the closing notes you'll probably be able to guess the coincidence and who said fan was.

* * *

**Power Without Question - Chapter 35: Another One Bites the Dust**

_You took me for everything that I had_

_And kicked me out on my own_

_Are you happy, are you satisfied?_

_How long can you stand the heat?_

_Out of the doorway the bullets rip_

_To the sound of the beat_

_Another one bites the dust_

* * *

Peter strolled into Octavius' Lab after a lengthy patrol and short rest. Despite his best efforts to be there early to catch MJ when she dropped off the tracker, he found a small cardboard box on his workstation. Opening it, he was greeted by a note card that read _Make sure to thank me later Tiger _which he smiled at reflexively before pulling out the coin like tracker and examining it.

It was an impressive piece of technology, especially by the standards of the mutated biker. Not that it was enough to give Peter more than a few moments of pause before he had the frequency the device was working on and made a call. _"Hey Pete, you're up early" _teased the Texan in his trademark drawl as Parker looked down at the time on his phone and saw it was nearly 11:00.

"Yeah well, there's a first time for everything" he joked back sarcastically, getting a chuckle at the comment as Peter rolled the transmitter between his fingers at speeds only his superhuman dexterity could permit. "MJ got a hold of some kind of tracker that Tombstone's using. I was hoping you could scan the frequency for me."

There was a momentary pause on the other end of the line before Peter thought he heard the sound of a door close. _"The Jack of Clubs huh?"_ Matt muttered quietly; Peter unsure if he was meant to hear the designation for the crime boss. _"Okay, give me a sec to get BT in on the call" _said the Pilot much more clearly, though the Marauder was clearly now talking on speaker. The sounds of zippers and straps being done up gave some clue as to what was happening.

Soon there was a crackle of static before the warbling mechanical monotone of the Titan came over the line. _"BT-7274 reporting as ordered"_ rattled off the machine, _"do you require assistance Pilot?"_

"_Send me our profile on Tombstone and help out Parker"_ ordered the Marauder calmly, Peter able to hear that the Texan had flipped the switch and begun slipping into his alter-ego. A ping was heard a moment later as the requested intel appeared on Cooper's phone, _"Thanks buddy."_

Of course, the Pilot had profiles on everyone, always preferring to stack the deck in his favor.

Peter momentarily wondered if he had a profile somewhere in the Marauder's system before realizing that he probably did. "Hey BT, I was wondering if you could scan a frequency for me…" asked Peter cautiously.

"_That is well within my capabilities Peter Parker"_ answered the Vanguard class Titan flatly, as if the answer should have been obvious. The scientist rattled off the frequency and waited for the Machine to get back to him, though it didn't take nearly as long as he expected._ "There is traffic on this frequency. Location pings at regular intervals"_ he reported before a message with GPS coordinates appeared on his phone. _"This is the last ping…be advised, the location is changing at speeds consistent with a motor vehicle"_ reported the Machine.

Peter was already on his way out of the lab about to complain lightly at the complication when the Texan beat him to the reply. _"Sounds like fun."_

* * *

Truth be told, Cooper was relieved to get the call from Peter to ask for help taking another card off of the table. Not that he didn't want to spend time with Felicia, but planning an infiltration into a highly secure skyscraper where raising an alarm was not an option? That was something that really only appealed to one of them.

While suiting up he had gone over what he had on Lonnie Lincoln, better known as 'Tombstone.' He was a piece of work, while thankfully not as ambitious or purely viscous as some of the kings and queens in the deck, the drug trafficker was superhumanly tough. Bullets, knives, and blunt force did nothing to even slow him down. Mix in strength that outmatched his own and a moderate proficiency with weapons and in hand to hand combat resulted in an opponent that Cooper made sure to not underestimate.

As for what he was up to, that Cooper was not able to say with any certainty. Tombstone had a reputation for being willing to do anything. He had been hired muscle for Kingpin at one point before striking out on his own. Once doing that his own group had run protection rackets, fencing operations, drug production and distribution, and now a chop shop. Every new venture he attacked with brute force and immense tenacity, making up for his lack of strategic foresight.

Soon Cooper was in proximity to the latest tracker ping and jammed the pick of his axe into the brick of a building as he scanned the streets below, soon spotting and waving to the red clad wallcrawler on the building opposite. Nothing stood out to the Marauder before the next ping a few moments later sent the pair moving on in pursuit. After fifteen minutes of tedium as the pair searched for the vehicle that all the areas had in common_. "There!"_ barked Peter over the radio comms both had installed in their respective head coverings before the webslinger shot off.

The Marauder fired his grapple as he slingshot himself around the corner before disconnecting the line and firing his jump kit to propel himself to the far building and popping his STIM to catch up to the webswinging Peter. With a swift motion, Spider-Man fired a webline down and pulled himself to a moving truck and stuck fast to the roof. Safe in the knowledge that his friend was covering him, Spider-Man crawled along the roof until he reached the cab and anchored himself to it with a webline. Jumping off he pulled himself back to the passenger side window and shot through, back straight as an arrow and feet out in front. Punching the passenger with his left hand as he shot past before kicking the driver so hard the impact into the door knocked the panel off its hinges and sent the man flying out of the truck.

In a display that always amazed the SRS Renegade, a blast of webbing slammed the driver into a building wall and pinned him as Spider-Man swung himself around to the front of the truck and put his superhuman strength on display. Sticking his hands to the grill and feet to concrete, Matt's friend roared as sheer will slowed the truck down until the old manual vehicle stalled out and came to a halt. Still shaking his head at the sight, even if he had seen the same feat accomplished before, Cooper's grip tightened on his weapon, reminded of why he needed the Hemlock.

An opportunity to put the burst fire battle rifle to use soon presented itself as two sedans ground to a halt and armed men in biker gang garb emerged. Spider-Man didn't notice them immediately, still recovering from stopping the vehicle as Cooper slammed down onto the top of the cargo area and dropped an A-Wall before shouldering the BF-R. "Holy shit! It's the…" began one biker before the Hemlock barked out the Pilot's reply.

The three others that emerged alongside the talkative one soon got the same treatment, the sound of staccato bursts echoing off the surrounding buildings as the Marauder laid into his foes. Another group returned fire, their pistol and shotgun rounds impacting the wall of orange light harmlessly, merely sending ripples across the shimmering surface. "Careful" called a chipper voice as a webline ripped the scattergun from one biker, "You could hurt someone with those things!" Spider-Man threw himself into the group of thugs before effortlessly dodging fists and knives before lashing out with kicks and punches of his own.

With his rifle half empty and A-Wall faded, Cooper turned his eyes and attention to a trio of Bikers coming in atop their custom choppers, sawed off shotguns in hand. "You wanna go?" snarled Cooper to himself as he brought his own Mastiff laser shotgun to bear and jumped down before charging forwards. Slide hopping to build up momentum as the distance lessened and the closure rate passed 30 miles per hour.

The sight of a muzzle flash startled Cooper as lead slammed into concrete well past him, the weapon still out of effective range as Cooper slid over the pavement. Leering evilly, the wielder got a nasty surprise when he found that the Marauder's energy scattergun had no such failing. A flat line of brilliant blue laser beams slammed into his stomach, bending him over the bike's handlebars and causing the bike to veer out of control.

Leaping up, jump kit flaring with blue flame, the bizarre muzzle of the M1901 swinging around to the next target. Firing again, the Biker saw the slow-moving shock shot coming at him and veered to the side as Cooper reacted, firing his grappling hook at a mailbox. The helmet concealed the wicked grin on his features as the line clotheslined the biker, the impact killing the Pilot's momentum as the now rider less bike fell on its side in a shower of sparks.

With a squeal of brakes and tires, the final bike turned around and gunned its engine before it bore down on the Marauder. The murderous sneer on his face betraying his intentions as the Pilot held his ground. Not thinking why the Gunfighter was stationary with his weapon pressed tightly into his shoulder as the distance closed, the Biker's face turned from a sneer to total shock as he went through his target without the least bit of resistance.

Breaking again before circling back around, the man was shocked to find himself looking at two green armored figures, one with his back to him while the other was facing him with pistol drawn. Before he could react a smart 9mm round buried itself in the bike's front tire, the sudden pressure change forced the rider to struggle at the controls while the bike wobbled perilously. As he fought to stay on top of his motorcycle, the gang member failed to notice the flying knee that was coming right at him.

Even with his knee pad, fatigues, and under suit, Cooper could still feel the man's nose get crushed from the impact as the attached head snapped back. If the bike had been going any faster, the impact would have been lethal, either by broken neck or pieces of skull sent into the brain it was supposed to protect. As it was, the man who the Marauder now held by the shirt collar as they descended back to earth and came to a stop was still breathing. "Clear" called out the Marauder as he dropped the man and reloaded his weapons.

"One Biker Gang down" confirmed Spider-Man as he ejected the spent web cartridges and fresh ones were automatically cycled into the chambers, "Let's see what's in that truck." The pair returned to the stopped cargo vehicle and Cooper aimed his Hemlock at the door, covering it as Spider-Man threw it open. "Hmmm…chemical containers" observed the webslinger as he pulled himself up into the truck and examined the yellow barrels. "But they're scrubbed clean" amended the vigilante as he backflipped out of the truck. "Looks like they came from the Alchamex plant in Harlem…but what was in them?"

The question hung in the air as the two men exchanged furtive glances before heading towards the chemical plant. Cooper's mind wondered what Tombstone was up to as the duo worked their way towards Harlem. It was obvious enough that the trackers were placed on the trucks and then the trucks stolen for whatever they contained. After that it was a total crapshoot. Tombstone could be the middleman for another party, possibly Li, tasked with supplying the chemicals. Or they could serve some purpose to the bulletproof gang leader on their own. Shaking his head, the Marauder removed such thoughts from his mind, there was only one way to know for sure.

* * *

Peter perched himself on a pipe extending from the roof of a small corner building overlooking the courtyard of the Alchamex facility as the Marauder went prone, just peeking the top of his head over the rooftop. "Hmm…good timing. Tombstone's men are loading fresh supplies" commented the Queens native at the sight below. "What for though? Is he getting back into drugs?"

"Maybe" answered the Texan next to him, though he didn't seem any less sure. "Could be selling them…Li could use them to cook up explosives or incendiaries" suggested Cooper. The thought sent a chill down the webhead's spine; he had asked why such a weapon unnerved the Pilot once. In response the Gunfighter had simply gotten a book from his office and shown Peter a photo of Dresden after it had been firebombed. The prospect of New York seeing a similar fate was enough to keep him determined to never let it happen. "They're heavily armed" observed the Pilot as he readied his rifle, "but in terrible fucking position. Let's show them" finished the Marauder as he flicked the safety off.

Peter nodded and silently shot across the gap to the main facility with the aid of his synthetic silk before using the same material to pluck a biker on his lonesome as he smoked a cigarette from the ground. Spinning the gang member up before suspending him from the building as he struggled against the material to no avail. Across the way, the Marauder dropped down a bit less gracefully, causing a Biker to investigate. Using his cloak, the SRS Pilot got the drop on his mark and wrapped an arm around the man's throat and clamped a gloved hand over his mouth and nose and squeezed until he stopped struggling.

Though Tombstone's men were not professionals, the lack of patrols or sentries was testament to that, that also meant the pair couldn't thin the heard that much. "Looks like we're going to have to go at them" said Peter sadly as he readied a web grenade and looked down to find Cooper getting ready as well, shotgun and electric smoke grenade in his right and left hands respectively.

"Shame" deadpanned the Marauder dryly as he stepped out of cover and heaved the cylinder, the group of thugs turning to the green armored Pilot as the grenade clattered to the ground right in the middle of the group. With a pop, the obscurant threw up a wall of white smoke that crackled menacingly as the two caught inside writhed in pain before a pair of Mastiff shots put them flat on their backs. That was a mercy as the others didn't care who they hit as a deafening barrage of gunfire ripped into the smoke.

Unlike trained fighters, the biker's fell into the natural tendency to clump up as the smoke cleared to reveal the Marauder had vanished. When the guns fell silent, more than a few found themselves without bullets at the ready as the last pieces of brass hit the ground, and only then did Spider-Man make his move. "Heads up!" he quipped, leaping up from the rooftop, he flipped gracefully over their heads, releasing the web bomb at the apex before he too fell to the ground.

With evil sneers, the bikers raised their guns at the webhead who remained motionless, smirking behind his mask as the gadget detonated. The bikers struggled as their arms were pinned to their sides, some were slammed into cars or forklifts from the force of the device. Those that were lucky enough to not be completely immobilized were seen to by either Spidey or the Marauder, who had just phased back into reality. "Tombstone's men are down…time to find out what's in those barrels."

The Marauder's blue visor looked over the still struggling bikers as he reloaded his scattergun. "Time for you to remind me how much smarter you are Spidey?" drawled the SRS Renegade as he walked up, "should I get my notebook out for another science lesson?" Peter snorted in response as the two walked up to the truck and yellow barrels alongside.

"Nah, wouldn't want to hurt my hand punching the information into that thick skull of yours" quipped the Wallcrawler as he crouched down to examine the labels before turning back to look up at the Marauder. "That is how you learn, right?" teased Parker as the Texan chuckled audibly but offered no response, allowing Peter to focus on the task at hand. Spider-Man's white eye lenses narrowed as he read the label off for his partner's benefit. "Diox-3…isn't this the chemical Tombstone was exposed to as a kid?"

A moment later he had his answer. _"That is correct Peter Parker"_ supplied the mechanical voice of BT-7274 suddenly. Peter jumped in surprise, causing Matthew to snicker behind him and getting a glare in reply. _"Medical records indicate Lonnie Lincoln suffered acute Diox-3 exposure at a developmental age that triggered a heretofore unique, possibly allergic, reaction."_

Peter took all that in, but his friend was more focused on the present. "What does he want with it now? What happened to him was one in a million…he won't be able to replicate it…right?" asked Cooper, though it was clear the Pilot was unsure. But before Peter could respond the roar of chopper engines approached, causing both to ready their respective weapons for more action.

Sure enough, a bike with a leather jacketed man came charging in before doing a tight circle and coming to a stop, rider dismounting. Both vigilantes stepped out and trained their weapons on him as he just grinned and pulled out an inhaler and sealing it against his face before taking a deep breath of the contents. Peter's eyes widened in shock as the dark skinned man's features changed, skin adopting the color and texture of granite and eyes becoming a blazing orange before he slammed the inhaler down. "Yeah! Let's go, come on!" he challenged.

Parker was weary, but Cooper was unsurprisingly up for the fight as the shotgun barked, blue hued beams sizzling through the daylight before impacting the man's chest. Unlike the other times the arc rounds were used, they had seemingly had no effect as Cooper fired again to the same result. "I'm guessing that stuff's not for asthma" deadpanned Peter as he stepped up, pulling himself to the mutated man as the Marauder shifted his fire to the two other bikers who each went down in a single shot.

While Cooper jammed more of the hexagonal shells into the gun, Peter punched and kicked ineffectually at the man, feeling like he was fighting a brick wall, the Biker was as tough and as graceful as one after all. But like a brick wall, he remained defiantly standing despite not landing a single blow on the Wallcrawler. Eventually it seemed like the Marauder grew tired of watching the ineffectual dance and got stuck back in, firing his grapple, the hook burying itself in the thugs boot before his legs were ripped out from under him and he was slammed into a shipping container.

As he tried to get back to his feet the webslinger fired said webs at a barrel and threw it into the man, the momentum driving him back down to his stomach before a barrage of webs pinned him where he was.

There was no rest for the wicked however as more bikers arrived and began to circle the pair, revving their engines in an attempt to intimidate the two veterans. While boxing them in was good in theory, it didn't work so well against those who could move in three, or four, dimensions. Peter fired a silk line at a lamp post and pulled swung away as he heard a distinct _pop_ that indicated Matt had activated his phase shift. "You boys'll have to do better than that" taunted Spider-Man as he swung around the lamppost and came back on the attack, feet sticking out as he slammed into one of the bikers, knocking him from the chopper before webbing him to the side of the truck.

Realizing that their bikes weren't going to give them an edge, the remaining thugs dismounted, Peter saw one reach for an inhaler only for a green armored Pilot to emerge from a 4th dimension behind him. With an armored glove spinning the thug around before an axe slammed down on the inhaler, destroying it. Snarling, Cooper rammed his fist into the biker's gut causing the man to double over and enabling the Pilot to lock the axe behind the Biker's neck. Without hesitating, the Gunfighter rammed his knee into the thug's torso and head until the battered man fell on the ground in a heap.

Peter set to work bouncing back and forth between two more bikers, lashing out with a single punch or kick before going to the other to give the same treatment to keep up the pressure. The wallcrawler noticed both had those strange inhalers on their person and he was doing everything he could to prevent their use. All that effort was wasted when he felt his spider-sense vibrate furiously as he dodged away, avoiding the first punch only for a second cinderblock like fist to slam into his side.

The blow knocked the wind out of them, but the webhead recovered quickly and lashed out with an uppercut of his own that didn't even phase the biker. Backflipping away as a flurry of punches came at him, his head swiveled around, and a plan quickly developed. Extending his right arm, he fired a webline that snagged hold of a motorcycle and whipped it around over his head before hurling it at the Biker it once belonged to. With the opening provided he threw a trip mine onto a shipping crate, the laser activating just in time to be tripped as the drugged up thug staggered back and was ensnared in the trap.

But where one problem was taken care of, two more appeared as the men Spidey had been dueling with threw their inhalers away and raised their fists. They wouldn't have an easy go of it however, hearing a faint hiss and crackle to his right, Peter didn't need to turn to see that the Marauder was now at his side as both raised their fists in return.

Cooper charged in headlong, dodging by sliding under the blow that came at his head while Parker went high, flipping acrobatically over the charging biker as he planted a small burst of webbing in his eyes. After failing to find the now cloaked Marauder, the unblinded thug came at the Wallcrawler only to get a spandex clad foot in the face as the superhero launched himself skyward and the Marauder side armed a gravity star between the two recovering bikers.

As the ordinance activated and the two men were sucked into the vortex, the pair took a moment to regroup as the men flailed ineffectually. When the miniature blackhole collapsed, the two bikers were sent flying in opposite directions and the two vigilantes now had different dancing partners. That thought prompted Spidey to ask, "May I have this dance?" in greeting as he effortlessly flitted around the drug enhanced man. Across the parking lot, the Gunfighter was unable to prevent himself from going on the offensive, counterpunching to no effect.

Finally, Cooper became fed up with not having any impact on his opponent as he jumped up and away, triggering his Mastiff to stagger the thug. Firing his grapple and pulling him the other way caused the Biker to lose his balance and fall to the asphalt. Parker used his webbing, sticking the synthetic silk to his foes boot and attaching it to his other leg, tripping the enhanced thug up as he fell flat on his back. "Spin to win Spidey!" called out the Marauder as the webslinger wondered what the Pilot was thinking as he complied.

With the telltale 'thwipthwip' sound as each webshooter fired out a line that attached to each of the biker's boots, Spider-Man used his enhanced strength to spin and whip the man around over his head. Meanwhile, the Marauder grabbed his opposite number by the ankles, exoskeleton straining as the SRS Renegade spun once, whipping the thug around as Peter lowered the one he had on the weblines, the two slamming into each other before falling to the ground in unmoving heaps. Looking down at them, the Webslinger shook his head, "Got a bad feeling those drug inhalers and the Diox-3 related" he mused quietly.

"Probably" agreed Cooper as he tossed Spidey a discarded inhaler, "Alright Bill Nye, work your magic." Ignoring the jab, Peter carefully removed the chemical reservoir and took a swab before letting a module on his arm analyze it.

The results came back predictably, "Diox-3 plus designer amphetamines" revealed Peter as he set the inhaler down and turned to his friend. "Pretty clever recipe for temporary invulnerability…I'm impressed" admitted the Queens native.

"And addictive, for more than just the power trip" observed the Marauder quietly, the way he gripped his rifle tighter not escaping Peter's notice. "This stuff gets mass produced and we'll be facing a _fucking army _of invulnerable addicts. And there _will _be a market for it, the only way to stop that his to hit hard and fast, destroy this at the source…thankfully, there's only one."

"Tombstone" agreed Peter as he furrowed his brow, eye lenses narrowing at the center of his face as a result before he turned his head to eye the truck. "Maybe I can synthesize a counter drug?" wondered the wallcrawler aloud as he pulled himself to the truck and looked over the supplies inside.

"While you do that, I'm going to get a resupply and grab the _Widowmaker_" said the Marauder through the voice filter. "I'm tired of walking everywhere" deadpanned the Pilot as he began to make his way to the exit of the Alchamex facility.

Always having to get the last word in, Parker called out "Are you doing that because or lazy or just because you want to show off?" The Pilot stopped as if to ponder the question before turning and raising a singular finger in reply, causing the webslinger to chuckle at the response before setting to work. "Time for some artisanal science."

* * *

"_I got an interesting tip today. Remember that barbaric beast named _The Rhino_? Apparently, last night he almost escaped the RAFT. How, you ask? Well, no one there seems to know, but they assure me he's been relocated to a 'more secure' cell. Now, I'm no expert in Supermax prisons, but isn't the whole point of them that there ISN'T ANYTHING ELSE MORE SECURE?" _roared Jameson as the Marauder shook his head while behind the wheel of the custom P1. For some reason, despite their shared distaste for the man, everyone in the merry little band of crime fighting misfits listened to the retired editor's podcast. Him, Felicia, Peter, Mary-Jane, Yuri, hell, even Frank fucking Castle had gotten Micro to explain to him how to download every new episode. If Jameson was right and they all really were Prima Donnas, then he was singularly responsible for satiating their enormous egos. _"I mean, he's a seven-hundred-pound maniac with an indestructible horn! If there's a more secure cell…WHY WASN'T HE IN IT!?"_

As the podcast faded with a burst of static, it was quickly replaced by Bon Jovi as the _Widowmaker_ prowled down the streets of Manhattan towards the Alchamex plant Cooper had been at less than an hour prior. He had barely brought the car to a stop when there was a soft 'thump' on the roof before the passenger door swung open and Peter flipped down and settled into the seat, not even bothering to reach up to grab the handle, instead using his webs to pull the door down. "You're cleaning that off when we're done" deadpanned Cooper as he watched Parker put his seatbelt on in disbelief before shaking his head. "What's that you got there?" he drawled, nodding towards the inhaler the webslinger held in his hand.

The red clad hero held up the device and explained. "One dose of the counter drug" he declared triumphantly as Cooper nodded in approval before clicking the right shift paddle and unleashing the 3.8 Liter Twin-Turbo V8. All around, Cooper was saddened by the significant change of the city since Sable had arrived, on the upside, there was less traffic, but the Sable presence was oppressively heavy as the P1 scythed its way through the city. The pair made small talk and bantered back and forth until they neared their destination, Matthew using the HUD on the car linked to BT to guide the car to an inconspicuous underground car park near to Tombstone's shop. "So how do you want to handle this?"

Cooper turned the car off and took a deep breath, "We only have one shot of that counter drug, right?" he asked. Grimacing at the nod he got back he quickly gave an answer. "Then we need to make it count. I'll engage, wear him down, you stay out of sight and out of the fight until you have your shot…and then don't fuck it up" he added dryly. The Marauder then pulled himself out of the car and closed the door before grabbing his guns from the trunk as Spider-Man got out and stuck to the ceiling.

"Real inspiring there…you know…you should give self-help talks" quipped the webslinger with his usual amount of snark. Ignoring him, the Texan grabbed a CAR SMG and a Mozambique that was holstered, crossdraw style, for his left hand. "Hey Matt, go careful, stay alive" said Spider-Man.

The Marauder smiled back at him through the helmet, "Thanks, you too Pete…and don't be too careful, it's my ass on the line" he joked dryly as he loaded the weapons and checked that all of his equipment was secure.

Peter chuckled, "don't worry pal, I know better than to incur Felicia's wrath." Matt stared up incredulously as Peter took the Marauder's action as a bad sign and began rambling in an attempt to explain himself. "Hell hath no fury like…you know…" he began before trailing off as the Texan was laughing heartily.

"Stay frosty Spidey" he said teasingly as he turned away and made his way towards the chop shop. The heavily armed Pilot arrived outside 'Pale Horse Ridez' and scanned the alley before trying the doorknob and finding it surprisingly unlocked. Activating his cloak, the SRS Pilot stalked inside, scanning the dim and filthy hallway with his weapon until he reached the end and rounded the corner to see a singular massive figure hunched over a table on the far side of the room.

The cloak faded as Cooper flicked the safety off, setting the gun to rock and roll as he watched the crime boss raise a cup of alcohol to his lips, only for a singular 6.19 mm round to smash into it, shattering the cup and spilling the contents all over the table. Surprisingly, the Biker Boss hardly reacted as the gunshot echoed in the shop, instead, the pale man stared down sadly. "What do you call that waste of good liquor?" he asked without looking up.

"A warning shot" answered Cooper darkly as he stepped into the room, making sure he would have full freedom of movement, unrestrained by the doorway. "The first and last one you're gonna get. Get on your knees and place your hands behind your head" he demanded calmly, muzzle of the orange and white subgun still trained on the man's back.

Tombstone snorted, "I never did understand 'warning shots', seemed like a waste of ammo" he replied in a voice that sounded like his words passed over a belt sander on their way out of his mouth. "Then again, I always played by my own rules" he mused as he turned around, hefting a nasty looking sledgehammer as he squared up to the SRS Pilot.

Without hesitating, the CAR spat out another round that smashed into Lincoln's forehead, causing him to snarl before charging across the garage at the Pilot. The speed at which he closed the gap took Matt by surprise as he activated his jump kit and leapt out of the way. "How'd you connect with Li? What did he want?" asked Cooper as he activated his Holo Pilot and cloak simultaneously. The Biker swung the hammer through the decoy before looking around, only for the Pilot's voice to sound at him from the darkness, "Tell me and I might go easy on you."

Instead of answering, Tombstone roared as he put his massive shoulder down and barreled towards the source of the voice, his weapon tearing through thin air until it tore a chunk out of the wall. The Marauder decloaked a few yards to the side and planted a few shots into the man that had little effect other than to annoy him. "I'm top of my game" bragged the drug maker as he turned back to the Marauder, who strafed back towards the center of the garage, "I don't go knocking; people find me."

"Including domestic terrorists" sneered the Texan as he rushed Tombstone, CAR held one handed at his right hip and an electric smoke grenade in his left. As the pale faced man wheeled the hammer around, Cooper grinned as he deftly tossed the grenade at his feet before diving away. Licks of flame shot out of his jump kit, propelling him out of the way of the powerful hammer before Matt tucked his shoulder and rolled into a crouch, spraying a long burst into the smoke as he got to his feet and continued to strafe around the tables.

With a click, the bolt locked open and the Pilot crouched down to swap magazines as Tombstone stumbled out of the smoke, bolts of lightning snapping at his skin. "I'm not picky" he replied, "you ever want to team up, we could do some real damage" he said as he caught his breath and placed the sledgehammer on his shoulder while Cooper vaulted over the workbench he was behind.

"Bulletproof thug on a bike…or Marine in a bulletproof van" growled out the Marauder as he dropped the bolt on his SMG, "I know which I'd prefer." Said Thug's face tightened as he charged the vigilante again as the muzzle of the advanced round SMG dropped and unleashed a burst that sent pain throughout the man's legs as he stumbled while bringing the hammer down into the table behind where the Marauder had been. At the same time, Cooper's world went black and white while he simultaneously fired his grapple to pull himself away before turning and being shoved back into reality.

He could see the enforcer slowly getting worn down as he fired the hook again and swung back just in time to plant his boots in his face before activating his phase shift again and vanishing into the shadows. "Boys!" bellowed Tombstone as he looked for the vigilante, only to come up empty, "Get in here!" he ordered as the other bikers in the building came in.

They all searched for their foe to no avail and soon congregated at the middle of the space, right where the Marauder wanted them. A gravity star buried itself in the floor between them, shaking them all from their nervous focus just before they were ripped off their feet, only Tombstone's immense bulk kept him planted on the shop floor. From the darkness, a flurry of blazing blue lasers slammed into the flailing forms of the other bikers, the overload their nervous systems suffered from the arc projectiles causing them to black out and go limp before being thrown across the shop by the gravity star's explosion.

Slamming a fresh cartridge into the Mozambique as he stepped out into the light, the glowing blue visor of the Marauder met the furious eyes of Tombstone. With a bloodthirsty growl, the crime boss charged at the Pilot with furious anger driving his actions as the sledgehammer swung back and forth. Matthew remained calm, smirk on his face as he bounced around the shop, fluently moving as only he could with Jump Kit and grapple, playing a dangerous game as he kept the distance close to encourage Tombstone to keep up his assault.

After barely dodging a blow, the Pilot looked up and saw a red and blue form clinging to the ceiling and smirked inside his helmet while Spider-Man worked his way over until he was just above the Renegade Commando. Like a champion bullfighter, the Titan Jockey timed it so he rolled away at the last possible second before reaching out and planting a Mozambique shot in the back of Tombstone's knee, causing him to grab it and crouch down, hissing in pain. "I'd also prefer a certain Spider themed hero over you, in case you were wondering" deadpanned Cooper as Tombstone furrowed his brow.

Before he could finish his contemplations, said hero seized the initiative as he dropped down and wrapped an arm around Tombstone's neck, super strength giving the wallcrawler an unshakable iron grip as the Biker roared and got to his feet. Lincoln did his best impression of a bucking bronco as he tried to throw the webhead off his back, spinning and grabbing frantically to no avail. More bikers rushed in from the garage doors as Cooper spun around and reacted, switching his Mozambique to his left hand as he brought the CAR to his hip and began spraying down the new arrivals.

Bursts peppered the walls and floor as he squeezed off aimed shots with the laser shotgun pistol. "Look out Marauder!" yelled Spider-Man suddenly, causing Cooper to spin just in time to catch a punch in the side of the head from Tombstone that sent him sprawling across the floor before he belly rolled out of the way, lest he get trampled by the 300 pound biker. The remaining bikers rushed the now unarmed Pilot as a group, at least until the lead thug watched the SRS Renegade jump up and plant a spin kick on his nose.

The others hesitated just long enough for the arc knuckles to spark to life and punch one thug in the face, causing his muscles to seize up as he fought to stay on his feet. His partner fared worse, the only uninjured biker threw a punch that Cooper blocked before kicking the thug in the knee as he gripped his wrist and twisted his arm before the padded knee slammed into his face, snapping the biker's head back and sending him sprawling onto the concrete. Only now did the shocked thug have control of his body again, just in time for the Marauder to come back for round two. Holding his hands up to protect his face, the stance did him little good as the Gunfighter planted three quick jabs in his stomach and chest. Stunned, Tombstone's man could do little as the Marauder lowered his shoulder and charged, picking him up off the ground and wrapping his arms around him as momentum carried him the four feet to his fallen comrade where he was summarily dumped before Cooper delivered one last knee to the face that put him down for the count.

Meanwhile, Spidey had pressed the inhaler to Lincoln's face despite the fact he had been bashed into some barrels and two walls filled with chemicals and tools as the contents of the inhaler were ingested by the crime boss. Despite the effects of the counter drug, Lincoln's massive hands managed to reach back and grab the webslinger, sending him across the garage and into the Marauder as both became a tangled mass of limbs. Lincoln didn't escape unscathed; the shelving that had helped dislodge the wallcrawler gave way, sending power tools raining down on the Crime Boss and the cement floor. One errant spark from these tools ignited the volatile chemicals spilled across the cement, the crackle of flames and resulting fumes adding to the chaos.

The Marauder grit his teeth as he looked to see Lincoln slumped against the wall as the fire spread across the shop. Reaching out to grab his CAR with his right hand while his left clasped a red clad foot. "Get your foot off my face" grunted Cooper.

"Get your face off my foot" retorted the wallcrawler as the two rolled over and got back to their feet while their opponent did the same. Throwing a fallen shelf off his back, the Biker paused as he looked down at the puddle on the floor, the crimson liquid an unexpected sight. Matthew couldn't keep a predatory grin off his face as he saw the bleeding gash on Lincoln's face as he looked up at them. Shaking out his left arm as he inserted a fresh mag of stun rounds into the sub gun, for now the trap had been sprung the battle had truly begun. Spreading out, the vigilantes stared down, masked faces showing no emotion as Tombstone picked up a chain, the kerosene covered hook burning like the wick of a candle. Still, Peter saw the upside, "The counter drug worked! Time to take him down."

Instead of answering verbally, the Renegade Gunfighter merely flexed his fingers around the grips of his weapon and cracking his neck as Tombstone looked tired and weary, eyes looking cagily at each of the vigilantes. "The hell was that you dosed me with?" he asked. Though he proved he wasn't as dumb as one might expect, using the lull created by the question to strike, lashing out and catching Cooper flatfooted, knocking his weapon from his hands once again. "Feel kinda…funky."

"Oh you know…particulated deblocking agent. The youzhe" answered Spider-Man as he dodged and weaved. It was clear to Cooper that his friend was still shaking off the effects of the initial clash with Tombstone and taking it slow.

Leaping up and away, the Pilot was desperately searching for his Mozambique in the remains of the chop shop between dodging the flaming hook. "What he said" deadpanned Cooper as he reversed directions and smoothly transitioned to the wall before activating his STIM, shooting along the surface in a blur before leaping off and landing a punch across the face of Lincoln.

"My tongue feels funny" replied the Biker as he shook his head to get rid of the haze that was settling over him. "Is my tongue supposed to feel funny?" he asked before recovering enough to whip around and swing the massive chain as the Pilot dove to the floor and rolled away. The fire continued to spread, bad memories of a Fisk distribution center returning to the Pilot.

At least they weren't underground.

"Oh yeah, totally" replied Spider-Man, though his tone was one coated in distilled bullshit. In an attempt to draw the heat off of the Texan, Parker fired a series of web bursts that temporarily bundled up Tombstone, allowing Cooper to get to his feet. "100% Normal…I think."

Cooper took a step forward to find his footing uneven, but he smiled as he recognized the familiar shape under his left boot. Tombstone wasn't done however, adrenaline at now finding himself in a serious life or death situation propelled him to spin again as Cooper kicked the pistol away and dove after it. Sliding on his side as he brought the gun up, he finally got a shot off, then another, and another, until the cartridge was expended, and he activated his phase shift and slammed a fresh one into the gun.

While the Marauder was dimension hopping, the old foes had a moment to themselves. "Someday Lonnie, I wanna find you doing good" said the webslinger genuinely before heaving an oil drum straight into the drug maker's chest. "Running a soup kitchen or something" suggested the webhead.

Cooper reappeared just in time to hear Tombstone's response. "Soon as soup pays…I'm in" returned the pale skinned Biker. The Marauder charged in, arc knuckles crackling in anger as he swung. But Tombstone held up his free hand and caught the punch, gritting his teeth as the energy discharged and the Biker clamped down harder.

To close the height difference, the Jump Kit fired with a _whoosh_ as the Pilot went up and brought the pistol down to whip Tombstone across the face, knocking his nose crooked. Though Tombstone took the blow like a champ and raised his right hand, preparing to whip the chain around and ensnare the Pilot. But Cooper rammed the muzzle of the laser shotgun pistol into the thug's torso and fired twice, Tombstone grunting in pain with each trigger pull. Despite the pain he was in, his grip held fast until the Pilot jammed the gun into the crook of his elbow and fired his last shot before ripping his left hand free.

Firing his jump kit to get himself clear, all the combatants took a moment to clear their heads and compose themselves. "End of the day, this is what I love. Great fight. Great Challenge" declared Tombstone proudly, knowing he would be able to hold his head high after going toe to toe with the two men in his shop with him. Few could claim to have done better.

Cooper couldn't help but shake his head sadly. "Shame you're on the wrong side" said the Pilot lowly as he looked down at the empty Mozambique and holstered the weapon before drawing his data knife and combat axe. The Marauder attacked, leaping through the air and raising the axe as the flaming chain swung and it was clear that Cooper wouldn't make it, but he didn't have to.

With a _snap-hiss_ he disappeared into the phase as Spider-Man leapt up and grabbed one of the hooks dangling from the ceiling and swung to build up momentum before planting a savage kick that knocked Tombstone's crooked nose to be off kilter in the other direction before backflipping and landing a haymaker on the way down that forced Lincoln into a crouch. Orange eyes blazing, Lincoln looked up to see the Marauder sliding on the ground before his right arm shot out and jammed a knife into the Biker's right shoulder.

Howling in agony, Tombstone dropped the chain and Cooper promptly kicked it away as he left the knife in the biker. Leaping up, he planted his feet into the wall and pushed himself back into the fight. Cooper threw his full weight into the much heavier Lincoln as he dragged the razor-sharp axe head across his chest, creating a massive hemorrhaging gash.

With one arm limp and the other trying to stifle the bleeding, Tombstone was unable to stop himself as he stumbled into a wall and slumped to the floor and leaned back. Looking up, he almost seemed thoughtful as both Spider-Man and the Marauder confronted him again. "Tapping out yet?" drawled the Gunfighter in a dark tone, spinning the still bloody axe for emphasis.

Tombstone relaxed his bald head, resting it against the wall as he brought up his good hand and wrapped around the grip of the Data Knife and ripped it out in a single move. "Sure" he said as he looked over the high-tech implement, "For now" he added before lazily tossing the blade back towards its owner. "Hell of a run though" he admitted with a deep, slow chuckle.

"Now how I'd describe it" returned the webslinger tiredly as Lonnie Lincoln smiled weakly and felt the wound in his shoulder, rubbing his fingers together to examine the coppery smelling substance that coated them.

"That's new" he commented dryly as Cooper picked up the data knife.

Matthew smirked faintly behind his helmet as he began to wipe the blood off the blade with the sleeve of his fatigues. "Think it's time to hang it up now that you're…" began Cooper before pausing and taking a deep breath. "What's the word I'm looking for Spidey?"

"Mortal?" provided the spandex clad super hero in an amused tone.

Tombstone seemed equally amused at the prospect, "Not a chance" he answered simply. "Threat of death…just ups the thrill."

Cooper just nodded in agreement. "That it does."

"Heh. I like you."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Pistol: SA-3 Mozambique_

_Ah, the 'Mozambazooka' is a bizarre weapon, but one that I love. A three-barrel laser shotgun pistol, no, I'm not kidding, the SA-3 definitely ticks a lot of boxes. While it is off the charts on the 'weird' scale, that doesn't mean it's a good weapon. All of those gimmicks result in weight and complexity, and while it has proven itself to be reliable in my experience, I am still weary of all the fancy tech and moving parts involved in the design. It is heavy and bulky, almost too big to reasonably wield one handed, and the thing kicks like a damn mule too. The projectiles it fires travel slowly, like a Mastiff shotgun, meaning that even at short range the gun requires careful aim. Stranger still is the method of reloading, the entire cartridge must be inserted in the top like some of the original semi-auto pistols. Guns like the German C96 'Broom handle' Mauser or the M1912 'Repetierpistole' used by the Austrians. _

_Despite all of that, there is one thing the SA-3 has in abundance, and that is raw stopping power. The spread pattern is much tighter than the Mastiff and landing all three bolts on a man-sized target is doable inside the weapons range envelope. As a close quarter backup, it is excellent, especially if I need to deal with more heavily armored or just naturally tougher enemies. It served me well against Stalkers on Typhon, and against some of the massive walking refrigerators I've run up against here it has proven just as effective. _

_One final quirk relating to both the projectile pattern and the name 'Mozambique.' The projectiles form the three corners of a triangle, with the point at the top and the other two corners about ten inches lower, eight inches between them. So, if you put the top projectile on your target's nose, the other two should hit just above his nipples. "Two shots in the chest, and one in the head" as the training mantra goes to ensure a kill. This goes all the way back to the 20__th__ century and Rhodesian Mercenary Mike Rousseau, who developed the technique on the fly and while in combat. The 'Mozambique Drill' then went on be used by instructor Jeff Cooper who trained the LAPD SWAT teams in the 1980s. It has since gone on to be a pillar of close quarters combat shooting the world over. This gun was made to emulate that technique with a single pull of the trigger, hence the name 'Mozambique.'_

* * *

**Closing Notes: This one was fun to write, buddy cop action through and through. I even managed to slip in a reference to Hot Fuzz, which is a great parody of the buddy cop genre and I learned this week that my favorite series in the genre, Lethal Weapon, is slated to get another installment. Truth be told, I have no faith in Hollywood, but Bad Boys 3 was okay, so there's always a chance. We also got a rare Jameson podcast here, I am curious as to what you all think of their inclusion, leave a review and let me know if I should incorporate more. **

**One thing that there won't be many more of is side quests, trying to shove them into a linear story is really difficult and their quality, or lack thereof, doesn't justify it in most cases. Sorry to disappoint. Though I am curious, can anybody point me towards other fanfics centered on the PS4 game? I'm interested to see how others are handling or have handled some of the elements I find problematic. **

**Another weird fact about what goes on behind the scenes. When I started writing this story, Cooper wasn't even Cooper. Originally he was Thomas 'Tombstone' Mullins, he got his callsign from one of my favorite machines, the 250 pound Battlebot 'Tombstone' because to 'Tombstone' something meant to kill it in such a way it stays dead. That sounds badass and the original drafts of the first six or seven chapters were written like this until I remembered Lonnie Lincoln existed. If you're a nerd like me, go look up Tombstone, pure evil and devastation in a tidy 250 pound package, it also gets some great fight introductions. **

**Anyway, next chapter should be a good one as it has one of my favorite setups in the whole game. Whenever that comes out, know that...**

**Horror looks you right between the eyes, and then you're paralyzed, 'cause it'll be a Thriller. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	36. Chapter 36: Thriller

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Thanks to ravens18 for betaing this chapter.

Not much happening to be honest, but I have heard one of my favorite quotes about American politics from Ben Shaprio and I will now paraphrase it. "People think politics is like _House of Cards_ but it's just not, okay. It's more like _Veep." _That will probably be the last thing you hear me say about politics because "there are three things you never discuss with people. Religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin." If you have never heard that quote than I truly pity you.

As for the title, Micheal Jackson's Thriller is a song that everyone should be familiar with. It's music video has gone down as one of the greatest ever made and the first music video added to the Library of Congress for preservation. It's a great pop song and this is coming from a person who _destests _pop songs, but this is simply another example of how things have actually gotten worse. Memorable moments include none other than Vincent Price doing a spoken word type bit at the end some great synth work. The music video is far better than most pop videos today and created an iconic dance and looks great, courtesy of the director of _American Werewolf in London. _

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 36: Thriller**

_You hear the door slam and realize there's nowhere left to run_

_You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see the sun_

_You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination, girl_

_But all the while you hear a creature creepin' up behind_

_You're outta time_

_'Cause this is thriller_

* * *

High above the city, Norman Osborn looked down from his office at Oscrop Headquarters. Technically it wasn't his anymore since he had officially given up his position at the company, however it remained vacant and free for his use whenever he desired to get out of City Hall and closer to the company that bore his name. Down below he saw the stark white vehicles and buildings of Sable International surround the building and hummed his approval. "You have Standish secure?" he asked of the woman behind him.

The Symkarian straightened, "We have, he is currently located in MOB Yankee" reported the mercenary calmly. "His lawyers have been trying to speak with him, but we've been denying entry so far" continued Sablinova with supreme calm even as Norman turned to face her. "Should we allow them to meet?"

Norman frowned for a moment as he deliberated. "No, I'll meet with his lawyer and explain the delicate nature of the situation" he allayed evenly. Even if she barely showed it, Silver was relieved at the words, she was a difficult person to read, but the stress had begun to take its toll on her composure. "I want your men to stay vigilant and ready for anything" he cautioned as he clasped his hands behind his back and resumed looking out the window over his city. "There are others who will want to talk with Standish. They will be…less polite about it."

Furrowing her brow and frowning, Sable considered the executives words for a moment. "You mean this Martin Li?" she asked cautiously. Both were acutely aware of what the Demons under his command were capable of. But it wasn't the domestic terrorist Osborn thought was crafty or brash enough to try and get at Standish while he was in quite possibly the most secure location in the city. Seeing the Mayor shake his head, Sable's frown deepened as she mulled over who he really meant. "Spider-Man?"

Norman cocked his head at hearing the suggestion, reminding himself that the mercenary was not some stupid jarhead as he shook the notion from his mind. "Possibly" he conceded curtly before turning once again to face her. "The Marauder is a possibility as well" he reminded sternly, "He's never been afraid to step on my toes in the past" added the executive dryly.

A single silver eyebrow raised a few millimeters, but it was enough to tell Norman that Sablinova was less than convinced. Not bothering to hide his disapproval as he narrowed his eyes and the Symkarian swiftly corrected as a result. "I'll have all teams be on alert for any sign of them or their known associates."

The CEO nodded, satisfied as he sat back down at his desk and retrieved a ledger before looking back up. "You may go" he said flatly, the woman turning with a flourish of her coat and marching out of the office, leaving Norman to his work. Glass of bourbon in hand, the CEO looked over the ledger, everything was proceeding smoothly, and once Li was taken care of that would be one less loose end.

The Marauder, however, was another such loose end. The man was simple enough, and it was that simplicity that had Norman classify him as a minor issue. That, when combined with the Titan at his disposal had meant that seeing him dealt with directly was out of the question. Then did the man's simple motives help shield him from falling to his ambitions.

Norman smirked as he recalled the Pilot's bragging, _only two things can stop a Pilot_ he had said, _either overwhelming force…or an equal._ Osborn may not have had an equal available, but with Sable International present he had the closest thing possible to overwhelming force…and it was all at his fingertips.

* * *

Unbeknownst to Osborn, someone was looking back at him from the slowly dimming city. "If only Harry was still here…" murmured Spider-Man sadly as he stared up at the top of Oscorp Headquarters before swinging away. The city he had grown up in and risked his life for on a near daily basis was far different than it had been a few short weeks ago. People were shaken, a paramilitary force that even made his gun toting Texan friend nervous was roaming the streets, and the Mayor had seemingly withdrawn away from the public since the bombing at City Hall.

As much as Harry bemoaned his Father's distance from him and lack of respect for the child that took after his mother, Peter could see that Norman did care. Harry may have disappointed him, but Norman loved his son, even if he had a hard time showing it in a way that felt genuine. The words of Peter's best friend wouldn't have been as effective time and again if the elder Osborn felt differently.

The abrupt ringing of his mask mounted phone knocked that train of thought off the rails. Answering the call from his favorite Cop as he began to swing through the twilight red sky he was immediately greeted by Watanabe's familiar tones. _"Hey, do you have time to check something out for me?" _asked the Captain brusquely, knowing that Spidey would find it nearly impossible to turn her down.

Didn't mean that Peter couldn't take the opportunity to mess with the usually unflappable policewoman. "No" he answered flatly, though there was a smile on his face as he backflipped happily, much to the amusement of pedestrians down below. "_But_" he added quickly, not wanting to tempt fate too much, "if you ask nicely…"

Yuri was, as expected, completely unfazed. _"Just got a call about a suspicious looking box on a rooftop in Hell's Kitchen. I could call in the Bomb Squad, but if it's just some kid's science project…" _explained the Captain before trailing off.

Peter understood the predicament Watanabe was in. With Demon plots coming up every day those men and their specialty were in high demand all across the city, wasting their time with a false alarm was not something that the Police could afford. Of course, Peter would never tell Yuri as much. "Yeah I know, budget crisis, yadda-yadda-yadda" joked the webslinger flippantly."So…?" he prompted.

The woman sighed deeply, Peter knew he was pushing it now, Yuri's legendary sighs could shake the fabric of existence. _"Will you…_please_…check it out?"_ she asked, pain laced through the words was such that Spider-Man genuinely couldn't determine if it was real or exaggerated.

"There's the magic word" he quipped with a grin delivering his chipper response before the line clicked and Yuri disconnected. When it was just him alone again, he paused on a nearby rooftop to scope out the address and let Spider-Man be replaced by Peter Parker for a brief moment. "I _hope_ it's just some kid's science project" he murmured softly. "Miss those days…School Projects are so much easier than real life projects…"

Running along the vertical wall until he pulled himself up to the roof and looked around before spotting the box. It certainly fit the mold of 'suspicious' considering its rugged construction, yellow marker lights, and unfamiliar symbols. Though once Peter took a breath and began looking closer, the style seemed familiar, and it didn't take long for the webhead to determine what it reminded him of. "It's definitely military grade. Weird…" he murmured, having seen similar secure crates in Cooper's various safehouses to hold the Pilots gear and valuables.

Scratching the back of his head, the eye lenses widened as the lights began to blink and Spider-Man dove away behind a chimney despite the lack of spider-sense. Poking his head back out he saw that the box had opened to reveal a screen and keyboard while the innards of the container were still well protected. _**"Spider-Man. So, you've found one of my recon points"**_ said a distorted voice, the screen was equally unhelpful, with its image a mix of static and a human figure that was indistinguishable either by inference or intention.

Unsure if the connection was two-way, Peter spoke anyway, since the box had addressed him specifically. "Who is this?" he asked with equally healthy doses of suspicion and caution.

"_**Wrong question" **_returned the speaker shortly. This guy was definitely military or similar, sounding even more focused and no nonsense than either Matthew or Yuri, which was saying something. _**"The correct one is: 'Am I the person who is supposed to be here?' and the answer is 'No'"**_ replied the unknown tersely.

Before Peter could reply and ask what the speaker meant by that, the box returned to its earlier state, sealed up tighter than Fort Knox as it sat on the roof. Standing there dumbly, the Queens native wondered what the cryptic words meant before he slinked off. Usually when some billly badass came into town it was him with a target on his back. Who else could draw that kind of atten…oh.

Punching in a number, the webslinger fired off a line of synthetic silk and jumped off the edge of the building and was already at the bottom of his swing when the call connected. _"Go for Cooper"_ drawled the Texan before Peter heard the beginning of a shout in mandarin that was cut off by a burst of gunfire. _"Though I am kinda in the middle of something"_ deadpanned the Marauder.

Peter rolled his eyes inside his mask as the staccato bursts of gunfire echoed on the other end of the line. Only the Renegade Pilot could be so casual about a life or death situation. Sure, people thought he was, but it was clear to those that knew Spider-Man that it was an act, but the Marauder didn't know how to act, all he did was focus and do what was required, but was always nonchalant about it with the stress never wearing him down.

Or so it seemed.

Peter had thought he noticed cracks beginning to show, and since it wasn't in the man's act, it was in the man itself, and that prospect was more concerning to one of the Pilot's few friends than anything else. "I just found something weird…something you're going to want to hear about" he began as he explained what had just occurred to the SRS Gunfighter. Even if he did have to repeat some that were drowned out by gunfire or grenade going off, he did eventually convey the whole story.

Matthew, unsurprisingly, didn't seem all that concerned, _"They're just coming of the fucking woodwork now_" he answered dryly before there was a singular final gunshot and there was a peaceful silence on both ends of the phone call. _"So, I've got an unknown admirer, they're putting time, effort, and resources into watching me. Military outfit of some type, though we haven't seen anything other than this singular unmanned 'recon point' though there are probably more"_ rambled the Pilot. The Webslinger knew what was happening, the Pilot was conducting a sweep of whatever area he had just cleared, and repeating everything concisely without any distractions for the benefit of his Titan, who could hear everything the Pilot said but not what he heard. What was surprising was what he said next, _"Nothing we can do but wait and let them come to us."_

"What!?" sputtered Peter as he came out of a flip and flailed a bit before recovering and resuming his swing. "You, Mr. Go Out and Pick Fights with People, are going to do nothing?" he asked in utter disbelief.

"_Yeah"_ replied Cooper as if it should have been obvious. When Spider-Man didn't answer for almost a minute, the Marauder explained his reasoning. _"We have enough on our plate as is dude. If all these guys do is watch then I'm content to let them, if they want to do more than that then they're just going to have to take a damn number."_

In the silence that followed the hero mulled over the answer, it was practical and tactical, just like everything else. But there was still enough life in it to not seem cold, though Parkers mind couldn't be stopped from wandering back to earlier that day. "One other thing, did you really have to stab Lonnie?" he asked, making extra sure to do it as glibly as possible. It was always best to gauge things out before Cooper got defensive.

"_If I was trying to kill him then he'd be dead"_ deadpanned the Pilot, _okay, feathers have been ruffled _noted Peter. _"That was dragging out and we had lost the initiative. Sooner or later one of us was going to fuck up and we would be the ones getting carted into surgery"_ snapped the Pilot defensively. _"We had the chance to get it done clean and couldn't make it happen. If you have a problem with that then that's on you."_

The tension was thick as Peter contemplated how to respond. Nothing the Pilot had said was wrong, they both agreed on the same line, the only difference was where the line should be drawn. Try as he might, Peter hadn't gotten the Texan to budge any on that front, and now that the Demons were terrorizing the city, he began to fear that line might move the other way.

Before Peter could bring that up, the phone rang again as a picture MJ's smiling face appeared next to the Marauder's poised visage. "MJs Calling, she might have something" explained Peter shortly before accepting the call without waiting for Cooper's response. "MJ! I got Cooper on the line with me" he greeted chipperly, "what'd you find out about Isaac Delaney?"

"_Check out the picture I just sent"_ answered the reporter smugly, sounding quite proud of herself as Peter first forwarded the image to Matthew before opening it himself. He was greeted with three figures dressed in unnervingly familiar attire.

On the left was a man in a labcoat with a lizard mask and tail, a costume Peter found insulting considering the tragic story of Doctor Curt Connors. Front and center was a cheap cardboard simulacrum of Adrian Toomes incredible flight harness he wore as 'the Vulture' when the two had battled a few years back. On the right was the familiar checkerboard pattern, cape, and fishbowl of Parker's least favorite magician: Quentin Beck, better known as Mysterio. The caption said the three were various professors, including Delaney, dressed up for a costume party being held at their workplace and Peter's Alma Mater, Empire State University. All three had their faces obscured, and they still didn't know what Delaney looked like, which lead to an obvious problem. "Which one is Delaney?"

Sadly, the answer wasn't the one he was hoping for. "I don't know" answered MJ with a sigh, "Guess you'll have to go to the party to find out" suggested the redhead.

There was a completely unsuppressed groan from the third person in the call as Peter snickered a bit and smiled, unable to pass up the opportunity to tease his friend. "Aw, look on the bright side Coop, at least we already have costumes" he teased as the Texan grumbled incoherently, widening Peter's smile. "Oh, and we should keep a low profile" added the webslinger.

"_Meaning?"_ asked the Marauder in a worried tone.

"Meaning you can't take your car" answered Spider-Man with the dopiest grin behind his mask.

The SRS Pilot was less than amused. _"You can be a real asshole sometimes. You know that, right?"_

* * *

It was fair to say that the Marauder of Manhattan got his fair share of looks as he strolled casually down the street towards Empire State University. He was dressed in his full combat gear, freshly restocked after he cleaned out another of the Demon cells that infested the island like cancer. Arc grenades and gravity stars hanging off the straps that criss crossed his armor, with pouches for other items filling in the real estate not taken up by the Smart Pistol or Data Knife. Cradled in his arms like a small child was an L-STAR particle accelerating light machine gun. The most sci fi of his long weapons was the one that he felt he could get into the party without raising any questions.

Not that he wasn't raising questions anyways. A group of college girls in stereotypically slutty 'costumes' scrunched their noses as he marched past, still reeking of cordite and phosphorus, his meticulously maintained kit beginning to show signs of the heavy use over the past few weeks. Scorch marks, grazing marks from near misses, fading, and a mix of oil, grease, and blood stains all were strewn about his gear from head to toe. Worst of all was the smell, no matter how many times he washed every piece of gear, that all too familiar stench of violence had entrenched itself into the Renegade Gunfighter.

Though that didn't seem to deter some people. "Wow" said a dumbstruck and wide eyed college freshman as he looked over the battle worn gear. "That looks incredible man, you got every little detail right…" the kid began before proceeding to point out every single one. Cooper was too busy with two things: one was being thankful his helmet had some really good audio filters and the second was containing near hysterical laughter as he looked at the tall and lankey kids own costume. Dark combat pants and boots, black long sleeve under armor shirt covered by a ballistic vest with massive white skull, and what were obviously coins meant to be bullets stopped by the Kevlar. Even having just met the kid about 90 seconds prior the Pilot already determined he was Frank's polar opposite in appearance, bearing, and personality. "Hey, would you mind if I got a picture with you?"

Matthew quickly brought his laughter under control as he nodded and answered, "As long as I can get one with you" he answered as the baby-faced undergrad's features lit up like a Christmas tree. For the guys benefit the Pilot settled into a shooting stance and raised the weapon so it would be in full view as the flash went off.

Cooper then drew his own phone and got a picture of this random college kid with doe eyes, massive grin, and flashing a thumbs up at the camera while the Punisher's skull adorned his chest. As Matt began to send that photo to a certain Marine when the kid asked one more question. "Hey man, how'd you get that perfect battle worn look? I went through three pairs of pants and two vests before I just gave up" he admitted sheepishly.

Even if he knew the kid couldn't see it, Matthew offered a sad, consolatory smile, "The Hard Way" he deadpanned cryptically. The answer clearly threw the undergrad off as he quirked and eyebrow and cocked his head but turned away without asking any further questions.

A new voice caught the Pilot's attention, "Interacting with your adoring public?" teased Peter as Cooper turned around and nodded in greeting, making note that he was wearing his so called 'advanced suit' as opposed to most of the Spider-Man impersonators here in poorly fitting imitations of his older design. "Though it seems you aren't the only Marauder here" observed the wallcrawler.

And he was right, there were a few others kitted out in dark green covered in plastic ammo belts and cardboard grenades, most had a pistol holster on their chests like he did, though their Styrofoam axes were often on their right side whereas his was on his left. He had even seen a rather attractive brunette in a more risqué take on his gear with green daisy dukes and midriff exposing top, plastic pistol partially concealed under her bust. The girl had spotted him staring at her, and since she couldn't see his agape mouth inside his helmet as he sent images of it to Felicia with every gruesome and heinous threat he could come up with to deter the thief, she thought he had been checking her out behind his glowing visor. She said something to him with a seductive smile on her face as he shook his head, more to forget what he had just seen as he turned away and walked on. "I don't think that means much, I'm pretty sure there's at least one of everything here."

Besides all of the Spider-Men and Spider-Women, there were more than a few of New York's villains, a few Avengers, and some movie and television characters too. Cooper had even spotted a few Black Cat imitators milling about, though none did their inspiration justice in his opinion. Peter just chuckled as he clapped a hand on Matts shoulder before throwing a thumb over his own, "Come on, let's get in there. Sounds like quite the party."

The duo made their way up the steps to the entrance with a massive skull sitting on top of the scaffolding archway that led into the courtyard. Heavy electronic beats and a timed lightshow emanated from inside, as far as cacophonies went, Cooper preferred firefights. "Delaney is dressed as one of my greatest foes" mused Peter, though he didn't sound too pleased or amused by it.

The paused at the entrance as each took in the sight before them for a moment. "Time to find out which one" said Cooper as he slipped into the gunslinger's trance, adrenaline seeping into his veins as he grinned cockily behind his helmet. Both veterans made their way deeper into the party, Cooper still amazed that nobody pegged them as the real deal. Felicia had told him the key to spotting who was important at social functions just by how they carried themselves, apparently that was how she decided who to rob when she started. That, or the massive fuck off sized particle machine gun he was carrying.

Some attention was in fact paid to the pair, though not the kind they were used to. Each took great pleasure in pointing out the others less than perfect imitators until Cooper spotted a helmeted figure on the left side under a sign that proudly read 'Mysterio's Hall of Mirrors.' "I'll take this one, you keep looking and radio in if you find Delaney" ordered Cooper curtly. "Move him off site and away from these civilians. If the Demons try something, we need to limit collateral damage."

Spider-Man nodded and the pair split up without further words, even the seemingly childish webslinger was capable of taking things seriously. "Come one, come all! To Mysterio's diabolical Hall of Mirrors!" shouted 'Mysterio' in a modulated voice as Cooper approached the unknown professor.

"Doctor Delaney?" he asked flatly as he not so subtlety scanned the surroundings for any signs of suited men in monochrome masks. If Li or the Demons made a move here, with the area packed full of intoxicated college students, the body count would be high.

Of course, the threat of being knee deep in bodies wasn't known by whoever he was speaking to, so the Marauder didn't get the desired response. Instead, 'Mysterio' stood to his full height, placing his gloved hands on his hips. "Ah, the Marauder, New York's newest hero. Come see if you have what it takes to face the mighty Mysterio!" With that declaration, the costumed man threw a 'smoke bomb' on the ground before turning and running into the funhouse.

Matthew heaved a deep sigh, "Would a simple 'yes' or 'no' have been that difficult?" grumbled the Titan Jockey before he refocused and shouldered his weapon before pressing into the structure at a brisk pace. The modulated voice taunted him until he saw a flicker of movement and reacted on instinct as he moved in for a non-lethal takedown. Diving and rolling forwards as projectiles flew overhead, the Marauder got to his feet and smashed the body of his rifle into the unknown toy to knock from Mysterio's hands before pressing the barrel of the now whining and humming L-STAR into the Professor's chest as he ripped the helmet from Mysterio's head to reveal a short haired woman's face glaring back at him angrily.

"Hey!" she shouted, "What's wrong with you? I worked on that helmet for a week!" Cooper snorted, as if he actually could give two shits about the helmet he passed back to the woman as she pored over it for any signs of damage.

The gloved index finger flexed, feathering the trigger, even if the safety was on the move didn't go unnoticed. "I need to speak with Dr. Delaney. Where is he?" he asked, the veil of politeness growing ever thinner as the woman refused to immediately answer. "Where?" he barked, shaking her from her stupor.

"He's out in the party somewhere" replied the woman as she picked up the toy pistol and examined it. With his answer, Cooper turned to head out the way he came. "Who are you supposed to be?"

The Pilot smirked behind his x shaped visor, "Me? I'm just an outlaw, quickdraw, evil talking bandit man" he quoted with a chuckle before he activated his cloak and vanished, turning to see the woman's mouth agape before he exited back to the main party outside.

As soon as he was outside, his radio crackled to life. _"Cooper, I've located Delaney, moving to get him now" _said Peter over the comm link. Matthew let out a sigh of relief, especially at the wallcrawlers next words. _"No sign of any Demons yet either. We might just be in the clear"_ he said hopefully.

The SRS Pilot wasn't that optimistic, but at least they had time, time enough for him to plan their next move. "Good work; meet me where we split up. I'll make a call and arrange extraction" he answered before cutting the connection. He needed a good wheelman and a fast car, his first choice was obviously Black Cat and the _Widowmaker_, even if the P1 was more of a handful than her personal all-wheel drive Jaguar, the thief could handle the 950-horsepower hybrid. But Felicia was currently prepping to infiltrate Oscorp tonight and so herself, her Ducatti, and the McLaren, were all in position for that high-risk job. Ideally, she wouldn't need to make a quick getaway, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to have options available.

As he heard the dial tone on the call to his second choice, the information was pulled up on his HUD. The NYPD had a few Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 Interceptors, and even fewer qualified to drive them in the case of a high-speed chase, thankfully, he knew one seriously badass cop who was one of those few. _"Marauder, what the hell is going on?"_ asked the unamused voice of Yuri Watanabe, blunt as ever.

Though Cooper's reply was just as blunt, which was why, he wagered, Yuri liked him more. "Spidey and I found who the Demons are after, Doctor Isaac Delaney. Get one of those Interceptors and come down to ESU to pick him up. No sign of any trouble yet, but…"

"_I'm on my way, bring him to 3__rd__ and Wooster"_ she said simply before there was a firm click, which was when Cooper began to relax. It seemed as if, for once, they would get away with one and come out ahead of the Demons. It should have been easy, the good guys needed to just win _once_ whereas Li and the Demons had to win _every single time_. Yet, they were still on the back foot.

Those thoughts were rapidly pushed aside as the Peter's frantic voice filled his helmet. _"Marauder! The Demons are here, and they have Delaney! Zeek Science Center"_ he called out as the Gunfighter flicked the safety on the L-STAR and felt a familiar coolness in his blood.

"Going Loud" he replied with a grin, knees flexing and Jump Kit hissing before he shot up and ran along the wall above him, much to the astonishment of people below. Across the square, he saw a red blur shoot up to a second floor window and Cooper fired his own grapple, swinging over the dance floor before disconnecting the line and firing his jump kit and firing the grapple again, the pair reunited as they made their way inside.

Caution was thrown to the wind as they sprinted through the offices, enhanced muscles and servos straining to propel their respective wielders towards the Doctor. Both skidded to a halt, combat boots and spandex screeching in protest as they saw a group of Demons in the atrium below, several civilians huddled into the corners of the room until one stood, only to get pistol whipped across the face and forced to his knees. In a set of moves that the crime fighting duo had come well accustomed to executing, Peter leapt through the air and fired a pair of weblines, one connecting with the pistol aimed at the hostage's head, the other impacting the mask on the Demons face. With a single yank, the gun was pulled away and the wielder lost balance as he stumbled right into the webhead's killer right hook. The others perhaps fared worse as the Kit on Cooper's back flared and he turned to face the Demons guarding the door, shouldering the L-STAR as the kit let loose a continuous stream of flame to hold the Marauder steady in mid-air as he cut loose.

A rain of blue orbs of arc charged particles poured down on the Demons, scorching suits, tile, and walls in a flurry of fire. Two seconds elapsed before the Marauder fell to the ground, L-STAR venting heat as steam poured from the internal components before the weapon closed back up and was ready for more. "Everybody alright?" asked Cooper as he scanned the room.

Aside from the groans of those who had been hit by his sci fi weapon, one woman answered.

"Yeah…I think so" even though she was clearly shaken by what had just happened.

Thankfully, he had a real people person with a pure silver tongue with him. Actually, no he didn't, he had Spider-Man. "Good" answered the vigilante lamely before adding "and…. Happy Halloween." Matthew shook his head as he moved to the double doors that the Demons had lead Delaney through, only to be stopped by his friend. "I'm going to go up top, see what's going on in there. I'll signal you when for to make your grand entrance."

"Save some for me" answered the Pilot with a nod as the webslinger pulled himself up into a vent before disappearing from view completely. "Stand back" he ordered as he gestured with a gloved hand, the civilians immediately moving away from him as a Knock Knock was placed on the door, clacker in hand as he waited.

He didn't have to wait for very long.

The lighting coming from under the door changed from the usual white to red as shouting could be heard inside. Cooper smirked inside his helmet when he heard the distinct sounds of hand to hand combat on the other side. Giving the oversized trigger a pair of squeezes, the charge detonated, blowing the door off its hinges as it rattled the Pilot's ears. The Pilot activated his Phase Shift to get through the doorway unscathed, when he returned he found himself in a room bathed in red light, the backflipping form of Spider-Man tangling with a pair of Demons as the Marauder set his sights on a quartet of gun toting terrorists who had been focused on the door.

They all turned to the Renegade Gunfighter as the Texan and sprinted away and slid into cover behind a counter as a torrent of white tracer rounds flew past the corner as Cooper tossed out a smoke grenade and pulse blade. Faced with a wall of white obscurant, the Demons saved the ammo and held their fire, unable to see their mark on the other side. Their mark, however, had no such issues.

Blue orbs poured out of the smoke as the gun shooting them shrieked in fury while those on the receiving end shrieked in pain as the accelerated arc particles found their marks. "Clear" called out the Marauder as he swapped out the now fired energy cells and wavelength actuator that served as the 'barrel', both of which had nearly melted from the sustained onslaught. Getting a face full of toxic fumes that made him happy for his helmet, Cooper looked up to see Spidey webbing up the last of the Demons.

"No sign of Delaney though" continued the webhead grimly. Matthew had to agree with that assessment, and with three different unexplored exits they could have gone almost anywhere. "Split up, I'll head outside and see if I can see anything, you push deeper inside."

The Pilot nodded, there wasn't a better option available to them. "If you find him first, get him to 3rd and Wooster and into the back of the Police Interceptor waiting there" said the Marauder firmly as the L-STAR closed itself up around the newly inserted parts. Going their separate ways, Cooper selected a door at random and twisted the handle before turning it and shouting over his shoulder "don't wait for me! And good luck."

"Right back at you!" called Spider-Man before slipping out the window the same moment the Marauder went through the door.

* * *

Closing the window behind him, Peter took a breath as he looked down at the party still going full swing below. It seemed as if the pulsing music seemingly drowning out the gunshots that occurred inside the building. As Spider-Man began crawling along the side of the building, he was taken back to his time here just a few short years ago as a student. Tests, studying, student life, and sneaking out to do his Spidey work.

He had always intended to come back, maybe as a teacher, maybe just to catch a football or basketball game, but never thought he would be chasing a criminal that had once been the head of a homeless shelter his aunt, best friend, and himself worked at. His life truly was something else, at least the famed 'Parker Luck' was as consistent as it had ever been. Crawling down the side of the building and around some of the decorations, he peeked in a window to see a Demon pointing a gun at the back of Delaney's head as the doctor was forced down the hallway.

Tapping a button on his right palm with his index finger, a pulse emanated from his suit. One of the features that made this suit 'advanced' was the sonar pulse from Matthew's Pulse Blade tactical that Peter had integrated. Even better, it was synced up to the Pilot's HUD so he now could see their target's location. Pausing to get a feel for his surroundings, Parker saw a vent just above him that would let him back into the building.

Not looking a gift horse in the mouth, the webslinger made his way back into the building and through the airshafts as he tracked the now highlighted Delaney. Soon enough he came to a grate overlooking a server room that the Doctor was forced into before he was thrown down onto the floor in front of a group of shadowy figures. "Who – who are you?" stuttered Delaney as he looked up at the lead man.

"You began working with someone in an OSCORP Lab" said a familiar voice in a hollow and lifeless tone as none other than Martin Li himself stepped forwards and into the light. Black jacket and tie over a stark white shirt gave him the same clean and intimidating look as the goons at his command.

It was clear that Dr. Delaney recognized what his situation was as he tried to crawl back away from Li. Terror was in the academic's voice as he looked up at the philanthropist, "H-how do you know that?" he stuttered as a suited and masked henchman got him to his feet.

The situation was clearly bad and would probably get worse. "We don't have much time Isaac" said Li calmly as he closed the distance before raising his voice, "Tell me his name!" demanded the oriental man harshly.

But either due to defiance or being scarred out of his mind, Delaney offered no answer as he shrunk from Li's gaze. Nodding grimly, Martin looked down at his shoes and adjusted his cuff links before looking back up at Delaney, eyes glowing a wicked white before the rest of his body underwent its transformation. Skin became a shimmering black, hair glowing white as his suit became monochrome, a reflective white jacket and tie over black as night shirt. Vapor seemed to emanate off of him, giving the man an almost ghostlike air as his subordinate cocked a pistol and aimed at Delaney's head.

With a sharklike grin on his face that Peter had never seen before, Martin stepped forwards and placed his negatively charged hand on Delaney's shoulder. To the immense horror of the Queens native, upon Li's touch, the scientist began to transform until his skin glowed like the founder of FEAST. Knowing it was now or never, Peter threw the vent open and jumped down onto of a server. "Show's over Li!" he shouted from his crouch as he looked down at Mr. Negative. The crime boss looked up at him, but instead of responding simply placed one hand on each of the two men next to him. Each writhed in pain before slumping to the floor as Spider-Man jumped down from his perch to confront his foe. "Apparently the show's _not_ over."

Shoulder's tense, the superhero walked forwards until Li balled up a massive charge of white energy in his hand and threw it at Peter, who took the brunt of the impact square in the chest. The wind was knocked out of him in a heartbeat and he felt the familiar ache of cracked ribs as he was rammed into the server behind him by the blast. But the attack was far from a precision one, and the floor, ceiling, and servers behind the intended target showed the scars from the energy hurled at them, steel, plastic, and concrete was turned to black and white slag.

Peter's vision went black for a split second when his head impacted the server behind him, and when it came back he found himself pinned under the server, head spinning and body refusing to respond as his enhanced healing endeavored to put it back together. Li was better, but still spent and clearly winded, on all fours and recovering slowly. Trying to move once again, Spider-Man found he couldn't, he was stuck here at the mercy of a villain and mere yards from the man he came here to protect.

The heavy silence of the situation was shattered by the rapid sizzling pops that were soon replaced by pained screams and shouts of panic on the other side of a set of double doors. Realizing that he didn't have as much time as he thought, Li turned slowly to Delaney. "His…Name" he snarled through strained breaths.

Delaney, stuck in his trance like state, staring blankly into space, offered no further resistance. "Doctor Morgan Michaels" he answered mechanically, voice warbling like Li's as his eyes glowed a blank white.

Satisfied, Li managed to push himself to his feet and looked to his subordinate and nodded. "Thank you" he said calmly as the Demon offered his pistol to Delaney, grip first. The Doctor took the offered weapon willingly as Peter could do naught but watch.

The doors to the room were suddenly knocked clean open as a Demon, suit singed and body limp, flew threw and tumbled across the floor as the Marauder entered, strange energy gun at the ready as Delaney pressed the given pistol to his temple. "Marauder! Shoot Delaney!" shouted Spider-Man in what was one last, desperate gamble at saving the man's life.

Despite making what must have seemed like a crazy request, his friend complied without question or hesitation, swinging his weapon to the scientist. The Marauder pulled the trigger of his gun a fraction of a second before Delaney pulled his, but due to odd characteristics of his weapon's projectile, when the paralyzing arc round hit the back of Delaney, it hit a corpse on the way to the floor.

"NO!" shouted Peter as he tried once again to get out, but his body refused to answer his call and he panted in exhaustion. Across the room, the Marauder had never stopped firing, simply dragging his point of aim across the room, blue projectiles lighting up the room as the combatants scattered in every direction. The Marauder slid into cover and looked over to Spider-Man, as if trying to see if he could aid him. Peter saw a more pressing matter, "Look out!" he screamed.

That seemed to get his friend's attention, as he quickly stood and pressed the boxy weapon to his shoulder, unleashing a stream of blue orbs that put down the first two Demons that had been rushing him. When the weapon was turned to the third one, he had a sickle raised high, an alarm beeped in protest as the weapon opened up to vent heat. Unable to use the gun as an offensive tool, the Pilot used it as a defensive one as he stepped back and grabbed the barrel with his left hand before holding the gun up as a shield.

Screaming incoherently, the Demon buried the blade in the weapon, impaling it clean through and only stopped when the handle of his blade hit the energy gun. With a grunt of exertion, the Texan counterattacked, twisting his whole body to rip the gun, and blade buried in it, away from the Demon. With a flicker of orange flame, the jump kit launched the SRS Pilot skyward as he twisted back around before slamming the stock of the ruined weapon down like a sledgehammer on the back of the Demon's head, sending him into the floor hard.

Discarding the now ruined weapon, Cooper then unsheathed his data knife before switching the multipurpose blade to his left, point forwards, and drew his sidearm, steadying his gun hand on his left forearm. "Who's next?" he snarled in challenge, and it was easy for Peter to see just how immensely pissed off his friend was and knew a bloodbath was coming.

Surprisingly, none of the Demon's took him up on his offer, instead holding their ground and spreading out to encircle the Marauder before the Renegade Gunfighter picked one and charged in headlong. Peter looked around and realized what his friend already had, that Li was gone, and the remaining Demons were playing for time.

Which meant Spider-Man and the Marauder were running out.

Cooper jumped up and came down, planting his boots into the Demon he targeted and driving him to the ground as he turned to the next one up. Firing his pistol into the masked man's foot and forcing him to stumble, the Pilot then slashed the arm holding the sword with his knife. As the unarmed swordsman grabbed his arm to stem the bleeding, Cooper charged his arc knuckles and rammed his fist into the man's gut.

Meanwhile, Peter summoned everything he had in an effort to free himself and help his friend. In what was the most difficult push up of his life, Peter willed his arms to lift his own weight and that of the server on his back as he roared in triumph before pulling his legs forward under his body and firing a webline. The synthetic silk slammed into a Demon's rifle and ripped it from his grasp to fling it into the head of another Demon trying to get the drop on Cooper before he leapt, no, _launched _himself out from under the server, fist cocked and at the ready as he joined the fray.

With anger and rage making up for his injuries, he was as strong as he needed to be, even if the fog that clouded his mind had not lifted. His first punch connected solidly, cracking the Demon's mask as he spun to the floor and Peter moved onto the next, pulling himself across the room and tackling another Inner Demon before doing a handstand springboard over the man to the wall and planting his feet on that, sticking as he bent his knees to ready his next attack before propelling himself forwards, tossing a trip mine onto the chest of a Demon that activated and pulled him into a server while on his way to a swordsman.

As the masked man squared up to the hero, a pair of web strands stuck to his chest as Spidey shot past before lowering his feet and planting them on the floor and transferring his momentum to the swordsman, hurling him into a server. As he fell, more entered the brawl as Peter found a computer tower and heaved into the next group, taking out one as a grappling hook yanked another away and to the walking pain dispenser that was the Marauder.

Engaging the next group, Peter's higher cognitive functions began to return, and he knew that they needed to finish this quickly. Sadly, for as long as Li had Demons willing to throw themselves at the duo there was little chance of either of them being able to pursue Li. If tonight wasn't going to be a total loss they would need outside help.

Thankfully, his prayers were about to be answered.

* * *

"_All units: Report shots fired at ESU; we have multiple shots fired at Empire State University. All available units please respond."_

The droning and calm voice of the dispatcher was still enough to immediately knock Yuri from her bored daze as she sat in the interceptor, trying to ignore the looks she was getting from the intoxicated college students all around her. Looking up, she saw there was no hope of forcing the cop car any closer to the party and through the throng of people. Face tightening as she felt that surge of adrenaline, she reached over and grabbed her Rhino off the passenger seat and stuffed it in her shoulder holster. "Time to bail their asses out again" she muttered as she threw the door open and got out of the Interceptor.

Shoving her way up the street, inconsiderate of the people in her way as the Captain approached the college. Despite the reports of shots fired, there was no sign of panic in those milling about as Yuri got closer and closer to her destination. Still alert for any sign of trouble, she pulled her buzzing phone from her jacket pocket and accepted the call without bothering to look at the ID. "Watanabe" she greeted curtly, phone pressed to her ear as she kept her head on the swivel.

"_Marauder here"_ came the distorted and filtered voice of the Pilot. _"Confirm Demon contacts at ESU, including Li. Repeat: Martin Li is at ESU"_ he stated before there were screams of pain and the sound of a fistfight in the background. _"Seal this place off and don't let that bastard get away" _he said with a grunt as there was a single staccato gunshot.

"Li's here?" she said in shock as she picked up the pace to a run, "Outta the way!" she barked as she pressed the phone closer and weaved through the parting crowd. "What the hell's happening? Did you find Delaney?"

"_Delaney's dead"_ answered the Pilot flatly as Yuri shoved a sorority girl out of her way, causing her to spill her drink and unleash a string of curses at the Cop's back. _"But this is our chance, we must stop Li _here_ and _now_" _growled the Marauder, knowing this was as close as they had ever been to getting the man sitting atop their most wanted list.

Watanabe couldn't agree more, "Don't worry, we'll get him" she assured before hanging up and putting the phone back. "Dear god I hope we get him" she prayed before upping her pace to a full-blown sprint for the last block and a half to her destination. Only as she got closer, she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end from the strange energy that could only mean that Demons were around.

Looking around she noticed something odd, a squad car sitting at the entrance of an alley with the lights off but the silhouette of two officers sitting inside. Getting closer she recognized the number on the car, 3234, and knew the officer who drove that car. He had been assigned the same badge and car number and claimed it was his lucky car, got that number on his weekly lottery ticket.

He still hadn't won.

But that fact wasn't at the forefront of Yuri's mind as she peered through the darkness inside the car, it was the fact that the glasses wearing Hispanic man and his odd facial hair were nowhere to be found, replaced with two hard looking Asian men wearing police uniforms. The Captain walked past, taking a furtive glance at them she noticed the badge on the man in the passenger seat, 3234.

The sight was such a shock that Yuri halted on a dime for a split second before resuming her walk, but it was too much, she had been noticed. A flicker of movement in the corner of her eye forced the veteran cop to spring into action by bounding across the rest of the alley and around the corner just before the black and white tracers of negatively charged bullets ripped through the air. Screams filled the street as people scattered in every direction, pure pandemonium filling every soul there except one.

With a slight scowl, Yuri drew her Magnum Revolver, the comforting weight in her hand calming her nerves as the Demon in the car continued to fire the assault rifle at her. Eventually however, he would run out of ammo, and as Yuri pressed herself into the brick, ignoring the chips of stone that flew scant inches from her face, she bided her time. When the gunfire stop and her gut told her it wasn't just a pause in firing, Yuri spun, exposing the top half of her body as she steadied her pistol and fired twice, planting two big slugs in the shooters chest in the same instant the cop car came to life. Watanabe's eyes widened as she saw the driver stare, with blank white glowing eyes, right at her as he opened the throttle and nearly ran her down as the Captain dove out of the way.

Gritting her teeth and cursing under her breath, Yuri got to her feet and saw two blank white cargo vans take off after the police car, driving very close together and obviously coordinated. All of a sudden, she felt an immense pain in her head, screaming as the gun in her hand trembled, her face twisted in agony as the howling became a ringing before it finally, mercifully, subsided.

Staggering to her feet, she looked up the street where the vehicles had stopped and saw a group of figures climbing into the vans, though one stood out. His entire form was glowing eerily like the eyes of the man she had just shot, his skin black as night as vapor and menace radiated off him in equal measure. Even 50 yards away the glare he shot towards the Captain was enough to send a chill down her spine.

Adrenaline flooded her veins as Yuri quickly accelerated forwards, though she was nowhere close enough to prevent the Demons from getting in the vans, but she might have been able to get close enough to get a good look at the plates. But her charge came to a halt when Spider-Man tackled her, knocking the wind out of her as she looked up at the mask of the wallcrawler and saw him ready a punch she rolled her upper body to dodge.

The blow missed, totally and completely, and Spider-Man cried out in pain as he clutched his now bleeding knuckles as the truth dawned on Yuri. This wasn't the _real _Spider-Man, this was some schmuck in a knock off costume, if it was the real thing then there would be a small crater in the sidewalk, or her face. Her training took over as she realized she was confronted with and acted, wrapping her legs around the man's midsection she punched him in the face and twisted herself, throwing him to the ground as she got up, rolled him onto his stomach and placed her knee on his back, pinning him to the ground. She pulled out the pair of handcuffs on her belt and was about to read the man his Miranda rights for attacking a police officer when she looked up and saw the situation around her.

Yuri's jaw dropped.

It was sheer chaos and total confusion as a massive brawl had erupted on the ESU Campus and had begun to spill out onto the street. Some part of Yuri's mind found it ironically amusing to see people wearing costumes of the two famed vigilantes, among others, slugging it out, though such thoughts didn't remain in her mind for very long. She saw a female interpretation of the Marauder's kit that left little to the imagination in a catfight with an equally immodest black cat wannabe. Three different Spider-Men were wrestling drunkenly, while two women in cheerleader costumes beat up a skeleton on the ground.

Truth be told, she had seen stranger things as a beat cop.

"Trust me, this is for your own good!" shouted a familiar voice as Yuri sighed and holstered the Revolver and pulled her taser from her belt, shocking the man beneath her briefly before he passed out and stopped struggling. Raising an eyebrow at how easy that was, the Cop got back to her feet and the pattern repeated itself, heavy footsteps and heavier breathing as she turned to see a cheap imitation of the Marauder charging at her, Styrofoam axe held high.

Raising her hand to block it, she shoved the stun gun under her arm into the gap in the heavy plastic armor and gave him a good jolt until he too fell to the floor, too busy writhing in pain to do anything else. Though it seemed there was no limit to the number of people affected by whatever Li had done as another man came at her. Watanabe was taken aback as the man flailed around within the white sheet over his head, obviously intending to be a ghost. But instead of two cut eye holes, the sheet was practically a sieve with a dozen cutouts all over, the haphazard pattern revealing bits of clothing beneath as he closed the distance only to stop suddenly and be yanked away by a grappling hook.

A gloved hand planted itself firmly on the back of ghosts head before slamming him face first into the ground. "And stay down" growled the Marauder, the real one, complete with glowing blue visor, painted helmet art, and massive kill tally on the back of his Dragon Scale vest. Yuri let out a sigh of relief as she sent a curt and thankful nod his way, getting one in return, both crime fighters turned and got back to work.

The three made quick work of the untrained and unprepared students in the courtyard as they cut a swath through the mob with poise and efficiency. Yuri had a newfound respect as she watched the two men use their unique abilities to bounce around and dispatch foes in their different styles. Spider-Man was definitely the stronger and more agile of the two, flowing like water and incorporating his webs as he smoothly transitioned between those coming at him.

The Marauder was faster, seemingly flying around as he used his jump kit, stim, and grapple to bounce from end to end, only slowing to brutally slash through groups, arc knuckles crackling. Seemingly unperturbed by the overwhelming odds as he simply dashed out and came in from a different angle if it ever seemed like he might be overrun.

Without such capabilities, Yuri was relegated to a support role covering Spider-Man's flank from the recklessly charging group. Not to say the Captain wasn't busy, jumping back as one guy drunkenly swung a chair and missed. Watanabe responded by bringing her foot down on his wrist, causing him to let go as she stepped forwards and twisted his arm behind his back. With his howl of pain ringing in her ears, Yuri promptly flipped him up over her shoulder, so he came crashing down onto his back, straight into the chair he had just come at her with. "Nice moves Captain!" complimented Spider-Man as he turned back to face her. "If you can dance like that how come you are always having trouble getting a date to the policeman's ball?"

Yuri sent him a look that was an odd cross of a glare with some bewilderment mixed in, though she quickly recovered. "I still don't see your black and white suit" she retorted with a small half smirk.

The wallcrawler tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe I could borrow one…" he mused before turning across the courtyard to see the SRS Pilot throw a man in letterman jacket and skull mask into a table. "Hey Marauder! Any chance I could borrow your suit to take the Captain to the Policeman's ball?" shouted the webslinger.

The Marauder just stared blankly at them for a moment, "If I get to watch her throw you on your ass like that? Then yes" deadpanned the Renegade Gunfighter without a hint of sarcasm or mirth. Yuri snickered at Spider-Mans feigned indignation as he crossed his arms and narrowed his eye lenses at the glowing blue visor. Though before the spandex clad superhero could reply, a massive man in a plush Rhino suit took him by surprise, tossing the webhead like a ragdoll.

"Not this guy again!" moaned Spider-Man as he got to his feet and squared up to the 'Rhino' who practically glowed with Li's strange energy. Spider-Man fired a salvo of webbing at the costumed man as the Marauder and Yuri moped up the other students. Out of the corner of her eye, Yuri saw Spidey toss some strange device that unleashed some kind of force that stopped the 'Rhino' in his tracks as he flailed helplessly against it until the webslinger pounced. "What did Li do to these people?" asked Spider-Man as he fired webs to the Rhino's chest and yanked him from the energy field and slammed him into a wall before webbing him to the brick.

Yuri was about to reply when someone unexpectedly leapt up onto her back, wrapping their legs around her stomach while putting the policewoman in a chokehold. Snarling as her vision began to blur and narrow, Yuri stumbled until she back peddled and slammed into a tree as fast as she could, causing her assailant to let out a high-pitched scream and loosen her grip. With her taser in one hand, Watanabe ripped one arm off her with her free hand and turned to face her foe.

Seeing the woman come back at her, Yuriko sidestepped and rammed her knee into the girls gut before jamming her taser into her exposed back, eliciting another scream as she rolled onto her back and passed out.

Snapping her head up to check her surroundings, Yuri saw with satisfaction that the campus was clear, the only ones left standing were Spider-Man, the Marauder, and herself. With a deep breath, the Captain couldn't help but snicker at the risqué costume and, more specifically, who it was imitating. "Some uh…interesting fans you seem to have Marauder" she said as she tried to keep a straight face, though her smiling muscles were taking no part in such activities.

"He certainly does" agreed Spidey, who was alongside her in an instant before the Pilot soon joined them, shaking his head as he looked down at the woman. "Hey, I wonder what Black Cat would say if she saw this" teased the wallcrawler, though judging by the blank stare of the visor that was sent his way soon after, it seemed as if the Renegade wasn't taking it well.

That was until the helmet tilted sideways, "You're not just jealous I have hotter fans, aren't you?" asked the Marauder dryly. Even the electronic voice filter couldn't keep Yuri from seeing the grin on the man's face.

"No?... no? I mean 'no'" replied Spider-Man, carefully enunciating the word as a statement, though his struggles made it far from convincing.

Watanabe rolled her eyes, "Men" she snickered, drawing the ire of both vigilantes, though she didn't feel threatened in the least. Hell, outside of the Force, these two were the closest things she had to 'friends.' "Now" she said, serious as she returned to 'Captain Mode' and met them eye to mask to helmet, "Who is going to tell me what the hell happened here?"

There was a moment of silence before Spider-Man spoke up. "When the Demons broke into Standish's apartment they were after information on Devil's Breath and they found something, a name: Dr. Isaac Delaney" explained the wallcrawler. Yuri nodded in understanding remembering the events of a few days ago before the vigilante continued. "We saw a post on social media that said Delaney would be here tonight so we came to get him before Li could, but we didn't make it. I saw Li ask him about who he worked with on the project, Delaney said it was Dr. Morgan Michaels."

The Captain processed this, wondering why Li would go to such lengths just to get another name, and what was the man's endgame? Pushing aside those thoughts, she got back to the short term. "You said Delaney's dead?" she asked, getting a nod in return from both of them, "How?"

"Self-inflicted gunshot to the head" reported the Marauder grimly as Yuri cursed under her breath. "He was under Li's control at the time. We've seen him incite suicide before at City Hall" reminded the Pilot, eliciting a scowl from the Captain.

Li had that man throw his own life away in the hopes it would buy him some breathing space, in her mind, the head of the Inner Demons might as well have pulled the trigger himself considering how guilty he was. The sound of heavy vehicles forced her from her angry thoughts and back on track as the first Sable troopers got out of their vehicles. Grimacing, the Captain surveyed the carnage around them one final time. "I'll find Michaels and call when I have something. You two need to protect him and stop Li" she said with fierce determination as her eyes narrowed. There was only one thing left to say:

"No one else is dying because of him."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Light Machine Gun: L-STAR_

_Officially, L-STAR is an acronym for LaSTimosa armory Assault Rifle. If you are looking at that an scratching your head at who the actual fuck looked at that and thought "yeah, that's it, put that out" then know that I am too. Not only is it clunky as all hell, but whoever got off with calling this thing an 'Assault Rifle' clearly has never even seen a gun before. This monstrosity is friggin heavy, clocking in at something like 18 pounds, or more than double what an R-201 Carbine weighs. Still, it is fairly short and compact and measures in at 28 inches or 711 millimeters so it is handy for use in close quarters and compact spaces like the cockpit of a Titan. _

_But that isn't my favorite thing about this weapon. That would be how this thing works. It's an anti personnel particle accelerating energy light machine gun. If you want to know what that means, I don't know. There's some sort of energy cell thing in the stock behind the trigger and a critical component at the 'muzzle' that has some electromagnets to 'shoot' the particles as well as a heat sink of some description. Why do I love that? Because I only know that much after calling in the brain trust, read 'Peter', to take this thing apart and figure it out. _

_The result of that is the only time I have ever seen Peter Parker be completely and utterly stumped and it was __**glorious**__. It only took me about half an hour before I finally started getting some enjoyment out of seeing the Queens native mutter and grumble as he tore the gun apart. He tried and failed to wrap his considerably sized brain around its operation. Safe to say that I raised a glass to whoever at Lastimosa Armory made this thing work that night. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: Hopefully the choice of song makes sense, since the main thing this chapter is a halloween party I wanted a halloween-y song. This setpiece also saw some major differences, mainly by having Yuri show up and help out. It always bugged me that Spider-Man never called in backup, no pun intended, and so I had Cooper do it here. I did generally just have a lot of fun writing all of the stuff relating to the Halloween party, the new costumes and interactions were enjoyable coming up with them. For those who are keen eyed, you may have noticed a bit inspired by 'Die Hard With a Vengeance' on my continuing quest to reference every Die Hard film. **

**Though this chapter does have probably the most out of left field reference, being the quick mention of something ripped straight out of _It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. _I couldn't do a Halloween party without a nod to this piece of my childhood, in the mix of in game costumes and the kind you're more likely to actually see on a college campus was one pulled straight from this Charles Schultz classic. **

**Next chapter is due up on March 4, two weeks after this one is posted. That one will be the return of everyone's favorite segments from the game, the MJ stealth missions! I can almost hear all of the cheers about that. Wait, those are groans, fair enough. If even that doesn't sound too appealing then don't worry, there is a lot more going on besides. **

**We'll be running with the Shadows of the Night. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	37. Chapter 37: Shadows of the Night

Authors Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Thanks to ravens18 for betaing this chapter.

By complete accident, this is the longest chapter to date so I won't say much, but I will be going back to weekly uploads, at least for a while.

**Blaze1992: Yes, generally its just an out for me so I don't have to worry about logistics simply because this ain't that kinda story. **

**God of Vampires aka Alucard: To your point about Cooper needing Spartan-II like augmentations, I'll quote the Titanfall wiki. **_"__Pilots do not require augmentation as part of their job, with the majority simply being the most skilled and disciplined soldiers the factions of the Frontier have to offer - in other words, Pilots are not supersoldiers, merely highly-trained and refined personnel with access to the best equipment their respective armies have to offer."_ **So there is that, which also leads into why he has the exo. That enables him to recreate those 'superhuman' feats in a believable way. I'm not going to argue power levels, but the reason he doesn't have the same kind of strength or reflexes as Spidey is to differentiate them and give them a speciality. Cooper has the Titanfall arsenal while Parker has the edge in hand to hand with his superhuman abilities. There's also the matter that I don't want Coop to become an all powerful god or Mary Sue type or anything like that. **

**Lore and power aren't the main reasons, I just want to emphasize that. I like the fact that Cooper is just a guy, a badass guy, but with dedication and discipline anyone can become the same underneeth all the gear, armor, and tech. As those great Call of Duty ads say, "There is a soldier in all of us."**

I hope that didn't come off as too rant-y, I just want to give a complete picture of how I view those things, because those choices are intentional ones that I put thought into. You can disagree, but I want you to understand exactly what you're disagreeing with. Now if only politics was handled the same way. Though if you have any question or comment that you wouldn't mind an excessive answer to, feel free to use that review button.

As for the chapter, we have a song most commonly associated with Pat Benatar and bagged her a third grammy. Not much to say, but in a chapter with two instances of women sneaking around under cover of darkness it was too on the nose to not use. Yes, that means we have another MJ stealth section, sorry, but I don't think they kill the pacing of the story like they did in the game. Also, the music video features Private Hudson himself, Bill Paxton, as a German radio operator, which is too weird of a factoid not to include.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 37: Shadows of the Night**

_We're running with the shadows of the night_

_So baby take my hand, it'll be all right_

_Surrender all your dreams to me tonight_

_They'll come true in the end_

_And now the hands of time are standin' still_

_Midnight angel, won't you say you will_

* * *

Felicia had missed this.

Lurking in the shadows, invisible in her catsuit as she felt the wind against the only part of her face that was exposed. Unlike her old gear, this set included a high tech mask and hood that covered her length of platinum blond hair, leaving only her nose, mouth, and chin exposed. A smirk played at her lips as she looked at her target, for the first time since her return, she was tackling a difficult one, the others had been cakewalks in comparison. Oscorp had been a tough nut to crack the first time, and now Sable International had added their own manpower and state of the art tech to bolster the already impressive defenses.

A spike of anger flared in her chest, both at Rawlins and at herself. Rawlins for what he had done to her, and herself for letting him scare her as much as he had. She couldn't believe she had fooled herself into thinking she could lead a normal life for so long, and now every heist she pulled off only reinforced her belief that she was the Black Cat. The feeling that she got was one nothing else could replicate, feeling liberated, yet one single error could change that in an instant.

That feeling was bolstered by another factor. Looking up, she blinked twice in quick succession, her mask sending out an IR pulse. After a second, she noticed a flash on the same frequency, the sensors for the night vision integrated into the softly glowing green eye lenses picking up the flash. Matthew was in position, and since they were operating on radio silence in order to not tip of Sable International, they had to resort to alternate methods.

Working with a partner was a new experience when it came to her burglaries, but not an unpleasant one. Even if said partner often had to keep his distance, the thought that he was watching her back was still comforting and motivating. Felicia had always had an exhibitionist streak in her and loved showing off, having Cooper as an audience was just another way for her to do that.

That thought brought a grin on her delicate features as she began to descend down the fire escape towards the ground, knowing full well that her Cowboy was probably checking her out through his rifle's scope. Once in the shadow of an awning, the Black Cat waited patiently for the next patrol to pass, eye lenses dimmed to be as black as the rest of her gear. Two men in white armor passed by, totally unaware of her presence before she emerged from the shadows and sprinted across the street and extending her claws to climb up the three-story building. The timer on her HUD displayed 13 seconds, more than enough time to get up and out of sight.

Once up, she allowed herself a short break to catch her breath, moving to the opposite edge of the rooftop to overlook the next section. This area was the block around the corporate headquarters and heavily defended with troops and automated security. To most people, the layers of watch towers, search lights, barriers, anti-riot minefields, roaming patrols, and heavy vehicles would make for an impenetrable defense, but Felicia Hardy was not most people.

Most of last night had been spent observing, looking for chinks in the armor, things she could exploit to get her inside the building. It hadn't taken her long to peel back the layers to reveal that the defense was meant to weather a massive siege more than provide airtight protection against a stealthy infiltrator. The main roads were mined, and the barriers were fitted with alarms, but the smaller checkpoints where Sable foot patrols came and went from had neither of these defenses.

Getting a feel for the timing as the searchlights swept up and down the street below, she saw what she had been waiting for, a squad of Troopers heading back to the checkpoint to be replaced by another. Anchoring her grapple to the roof, she quickly lowered herself down to street and got behind a van as the light swept past. "Anytime now boys, don't keep a girl waiting" encouraged Felicia quietly until she saw the barrier drop. Grinning in victory, she raised and fired her grapple hook at a radio tower as she swung through the darkness and through the opened barrier before gracefully landing on the radio tower.

Usually she would get the feeling of the wind whipping through her hair, but sadly she had to give that up for a bit of extra stealth. Still, she was able to see her destination, an underground car park and loading dock that was lightly defended due to its small size, though it did offer one unique benefit that suited her purposes:

Maintenance Access.

Only the space between her and the entrance was an open field with a pair of watchtowers and several quad rotor drones overlooking the space. But it didn't take Felicia long to subtly pick out the patrol patterns and decide on a route. Setting waypoints and timers to ensure she would avoid detection; the Black Cat stalked her way down the tower and steeled herself before making her first dash across the field.

At the waypoint, Hardy took stock of her surroundings and immediately noticed that something was wrong, one of the drones had deviated from its path and gone right where she had been a few seconds ago. Suppressing the flicker of panic that shot up, Felicia flicked through different vision modes until she settled on Magnetics and cursed her overconfidence.

Pressure sensors had been hastily buried on the lawn and linked to the patrolling drones. The resulting mounds would have been easy to spot in daylight, but at night and the amount of light limiting her ability to use night vision, she couldn't spot them until she was now in the middle of a minefield.

The Thief raced through her options and quickly settled on the only one that could work: misdirection. Using her claws to scoop up a lump of earth, she tossed it at a sensor in one direction and sprinted off in the opposite one, looking over her shoulder and smirking in satisfaction as one of the search beams adjusted to highlight the disturbance. Her victory was short-lived however as a drone was coming right at her, forcing to abandon her plan and move. Felicia had magnetics on and eyes to the ground while treading lightly to avoid any more hidden sensors.

Even though she had successfully thrown off that drone, the third was circling past; they were slowly boxing her in, narrowing down where she could be until they finally found her. Mentally cursing, she decided to reach into her bag of tricks, coming back with a fantastic gadget she had stolen from an arms dealer two years ago. Aiming the emitter of what looked like a tiny toy ray gun at the drone, she pressed the button on it and smiled as the drone bobbled in mid air before crashing, opening up her escape route. The burst of microwaves the device emitted served to 'jam' and fool the sensors, while the effects depended on the target, drones thought they were in a spin and tried to recover, thus crashing.

Escape route now open, the Thief bounded out of the closing killbox and towards her destination, reaching it and quickly picking the lock on the door to let her in, but just as the door swung open the Oscrop Tower and surrounding plaza was plunged into darkness. "Not that I needed the help, but it would be impolite to turn it away" she mused as she activated her night vision, the entire world now an eerie shade of green as she slinked her way inside and shut the door behind her.

Evading the few Sable troopers inside the garage was child's play for the Black Cat, and that was without the cover of darkness to help her. Even still, Sable was now on alert due to her 'help' as she crept through the loading bay and made her way to the maintenance elevators. Hearing a soft 'ding' at the end of the narrow hall and with nowhere else to hide, Felicia jumped up, planting her left foot to lift her higher before planting her right in the opposite wall and doing the splits, a foot pressed against either wall.

Smirking, the woman watched the two Sable men pass right beneath her, none the wiser of the view they were missing out on. _Their loss_ she thought as she silently dropped down and stalked towards the elevator and slipped into the shaft, removing an ascender from her bandolier and attaching it to the elevator cable, the Black Cat swiftly shot skywards. From there it was mostly smooth sailing for the experienced burglar, the few laser grids in the maintenance elevator shafts were relatively simple for her to spoof or disable.

The whole plan from here on out was one she had developed for her first infiltration but hadn't used. While Oscorp patched the hole she _had _used, this one remained wide open, just how she liked them. Osborn's private lab was just below his office with a storage area attached to it that had its own cargo elevator. In fact, it was the cargo elevator that Felicia was watching come up at her as she dangled from a beam on the side of the shaft where a maintenance tunnel intersected with the shaft.

Releasing the beam, she fell only a few feet before the heels of her boots impacted the cargo elevator and she lay flat on it as her ears popped from the pressure change as she made the last leg of her ascent. The elevator approached its destination and Felicia was thankful she wasn't claustrophobic; there was scant little space for her in the gap between the roof of the elevator and the ceiling of the shaft. Waiting patiently as whatever was being moved was unloaded until she heard the doors close and felt the elevator begin to descend downwards.

Coming to a crouch, the Black Cat leapt with the agility of her namesake, burying her claws in the lip outside the doors of the storage area as the elevator continued to fall away. Pulling herself up, Felicia quickly set to work popping a panel off the wall before isolating and short circuiting the doors to open without raising any alarms. Slipping inside, she quickly made her way into the lab itself, her mind reflexively tallying up how much she could get for the scientific equipment.

After reminding herself how much more valuable the information she was after could be, the Black Cat slinked further inside the belly of the beast. Whatever this 'Devil's Breath' was, nothing else had scared her lover more than this nebulous compound, such an effect had spiked her curiosity considerably. Though one thing that didn't surprise her was that Norman Osborn was at the center of it all, the CEO had always been shady and slimy, his name popping up in too many places where it shouldn't have if it were squeaky clean. His association with the Kingpin that she and Cooper had exploited the previous year was simply the most egregious.

Taking creeps like Osborn down a peg had been what Felicia had set out to do when she began stealing all those years ago. Of course, profiting off it was a bonus she didn't hesitate to take advantage of along the way. No matter if it was jewels from the black market, money laundered by the Maggia, or art owned by the Kingpin, Felicia had always reaped the benefits of her labors. Some might have had issue with that, and for a while she thought Cooper would too, since he seemed the self-righteous type. But his response to the question had been music to her ears: _It's not your actions that make you a hero or a villain, but rather who you do them to_.

Ascending the stairs towards the executive offices, she paused at the door, removing a snake camera from her belt and using it to inspect what awaited her on the opposite side of the door. The muffled voices she could hear through the wooden door confirmed what the camera showed her. Norman Osborn walked past, though the accented female voice that answered him didn't escape Felicia's notice either.

"So both Osborn and Sable are here…interesting" mused the thief as she replaced the flexible wire and began to pick the lock to grant her access to her objective. Softly closing the door behind her, she stalked the CEO and Mercenary in complete silence, having to take extra care with the Symkarian present, though safe in the knowledge that a certain Cowboy was at her beck and call. Outside, she could see drones patrolling one side of the building where she hadn't seen them before, and Sable's body language was very tense as she constantly pressed in her earpiece to clearly hear the radio updates. It didn't take someone as cunning as the Black Cat to deduce that something was amiss.

She had a few thoughts about what that might be, and her infiltration was not one of them, she knew she was good enough to not be detected on her way into the skyscraper. However, the fact that her radio remained silent meant that whatever had Sable's panties in a twist wasn't pertinent or a threat. With that in mind, Felicia had to wait and bide her time as Osborn and Sable spoke in the office for some time.

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait for very long; first Sablinova emerged in a huff, clearly beyond irritated at whatever was transpiring inside. A few more minutes passed by before Norman emerged with a cellphone pressed to his ear. "I'm way ahead of you Wilson. I had my people go through all of your files. If you try to expose our business arrangement, it'll be your word against mine…and I'm not the one behind bars right now" hissed Osborn venomously before he got into an elevator and departed.

Not that she had any qualms about breaking into Oscorp to commit corporate espionage, but now any chance of that had been quashed by the man's admission in his own words. Even if she had known well before of their partnership it still sickened her that anyone could stand to work with the Kingpin of Crime while still parading himself as a paragon of virtue and an upstanding citizen worthy of governing the city. She was a thief, but she never pretended to be anything else, Cooper was the Marauder, but he never hid from what he did, but Osborn actively covered up his actions for his own gain and it was disgusting.

At the very least the man had the courtesy to leave the door to his office unlocked as she slipped inside and took in the modern space with modern styling and subtle lighting. Making her way to the far side of the room and sprawling desk with computer on top, she hummed to herself, running her fingers over the fine wood paneling of the wall until she reached the desk. Searching through the files, it didn't take long to find one that looked promising, a review dated two days ago on the technical name for 'Devil's Breath', GR-27. Opening it and skimming through it, her visor recording the screen as she read the slides, unable to believe the details she was seeing.

She was so engrossed in the information that she didn't notice a grate to the ventilation shaft open in the ceiling and a figure drop down. Indeed, it was only the sound of the feet hitting tile that caught her attention as she looked up into shocked white eye lenses.

The burglar couldn't suppress a sly smirk, "Hey Spider. Fancy meeting you here."

* * *

Inside his mask, Peter gaped at the black clad figure standing at Osborn's computer. The skintight suit showcased the womanly curves, a few white accents didn't make the gear any easier to spot, nor did the armor plates or equipment hinder movement. The hood and mask hid the figure's identity, but the voice and profile gave it away to someone who had dealt with her enough. "Hi Felicia" he greeted nervously as he walked towards her, watching her hands in case she tried something, "What are you up to?"

"Same thing you are I'd imagine" replied the woman coolly, gloved fingers still working at the keyboard, though he could feel her eyes on him, watching in case he made any sudden moves. "And I've beat you to it again…you were always a little slow on the uptake" she hummed with the smirk still visible on what little of her face was exposed.

Peter rolled his eyes behind his mask as he caught a glimpse of what was on the screen. "GR-27 Review Summery…conducted by Isaac Delaney" read out Peter in disbelief as the pieces fell into place. Oscorp would have hundreds if not thousands of scientists on staff, having a list of those names would get Li no closer to Devil's breath, but finding one from outside the company paid one time for a top secret project? That was relatively easy. Felicia stepped aside and Peter stepped up to the computer and began looking through the information. "Doctor Morgan Michaels is the Chief Scientist, but the location of the lab is redacted" he realized as he looked at the information.

He was acutely aware that the Thief was distancing herself from him, making a show of looking at some of the items in the office, though he could tell she was still watching him. He kept an eye on her but was far more interested in what Oscorp had been working on. "AI controlled CRISPR?" he breathed in astonishment, "If that actually works…it could cure any genetic disease…" The concept was fascinating, truly science fiction made reality. AI was hardly new and seeing rapid development, true, but applying it in a biological sense and combining it with medicine to treat the human genome was far beyond anything Peter had heard of. "…Cystic fibrosis, Huntington's, this is crazy."

So engrossed by the possibilities, he hadn't heard the burglar circle around so that she was behind him. "Unbelievable…isn't it?" she asked, seemingly aloof, though there was something in her voice, something he couldn't quite place. "Hard to imagine anyone, even Oscorp, doing that…unless they had help" she supposed as she made an exaggerated show of looking inside Norman's liquor cabinet.

Something was undeniably off; venom was present in the undertone of her words that he hadn't heard from the heiress before. Confronting her was not going to work, he had learned that the hard way, she knew something, and hopefully it was what was on the coming slides. The next slide proclaimed that 'GR-27' had 'High Efficacy' and 'Consistent Results' but no further details, which prompted Peter to move on.

The information on the next slide was far less promising, the compound was faulty, incorrectly the immune system part of the genome and mutating it while being highly contagious. All subjects died within a week…when only one had been exposed at the start of the tests. "Creepy" he observed when a picture of the dead rats was waiting for him on the following slide. The final conclusions were most damning. _One infected subject could trigger global epidemic; Lab techs nicknamed it 'Devil's Breath'. _"GR-27 _is _'Devil's Breath'" realized Peter, "It's designed to cure diseases."

"But right now? Right now, it's a bioweapon" hissed Felicia as she stormed over and pulled up the next slide that detailed why the compound was so unsuccessful.

_Using samples obtained from Subject M we have discovered the compound (Composite Solution [CS]:T) that makes human cells more accepting of radical treatment and isolated it. We are hoping that this is the key to make GR-27 a successful endeavor when combined with existing biomedical AI already in development._

_However, our current understanding, or lack thereof, of CS:T due to its advanced nature has made progress in the control of it slow. CS:T is the key to making GR-27 effective while also proving to be the projects greatest risk._

Peter chewed the inside of his cheek as he read and reread the text, each piece slowly coming together one at a time. Subject M? Radical Treatment? New compound of an 'Advanced nature', this CS:T? "CS:T was in the stuff the Marauder gave Osborn" he realized.

The implications of that fact hung heavily in the air above the two infiltrators. The man one considered a friend and the other a lover, in an attempt to be a protector and do what he loved had accidentally enabled the creation of a weapon of mass destruction. As much as the Texan gave off a drawl filled air of indifference, it was easy for those close to him to tell that he did care about people, especially those he deemed worth protecting. Knowing that Devil's Breath was out there and that he was partly responsible would not be something that he would allow idly.

A spandex covered arm lashed out and the attached hand gripped the Thief's tightly, causing the woman to tense, extend her claws, and get ready for a fight. "We can't tell him about this" said Spider-Man seriously as he stared down at the Black Cat. Her green eye lenses conveyed no emotion, though the snarl her lips were fixed in did enough. "If we do, he'll kill Osborn."

Felicia didn't back down. "You're saying he shouldn't?" she asked bluntly, "I may not agree with everything he's done but this…"

"Norman hasn't done anything wrong!" hissed Peter, cutting of Felicia as she yanked her arm away, but made no other moves.

"Other than create a weapon of mass destruction you mean?" retorted the platinum haired woman sarcastically. "Last time I checked that went against a few laws. Worse than the ones I've broken."

Peter didn't want to admit that she had a point, because she did, but that still didn't mean that killing the CEO was a good idea. "Just don't tell him that Osborn used the technology he gave him to do it, okay? If he thinks Oscorp created Devil's Breath on its own, he'll probably just want to destroy it. But if he learns they used his tech to do it? He'll take it personally."

Felicia cursed under her breath as she mulled over the proposal. "You know you're asking a lot, right Spider?" she asked, getting a solemn nod in return. It would be like the Marauder asking MJ to lie to him, but that didn't mean this wasn't the best option. "Good, which means you owe me…give me a minute head start to get out of this place" she suggested as Parker slumped his shoulders in defeat and Felicia grinned in success. "Good, starting…now" she said as she slinked towards the door, "Night Spider" she whispered across the room before slipping out.

Sighing, the Webhead went back to the slides as he pulled up the last one, detailing the next steps in the project. "Dr. Michael's keeps the only sample with him at all times" muttered a gob smacked webslinger. Because Osborn was still demanding the project continue despite the massive risks. He morosely noted that the risk of death if an outbreak occurred wasn't listed, only the potential PR nightmare. "That's why Li wants him. We find Michael's, we find Devil's Breath."

Being a man of his word, he checked that sixty seconds had passed before jumping up into the air ducts and replacing the grate before making his way back out of the building.

* * *

Matthew Cooper grimaced as he carefully listened to what Felicia found inside Oscorp, his fists sub consciously clenching with each detail he learned. A secret off the books experiment gone horrifically wrong, a cure all for genetic diseases turned out to actually be a weapon. Not just any normal weapon, no, that would be too easy, but a biological weapon of mass destruction that by Oscorp's own estimates could cause a global pandemic. Yet in the face of all of these risks and faults, the project was continuing and there was a sample of the compound in the middle of a massive metropolitan area. The sheer stupidity of the entire situation left the Pilot at a loss for words.

There was one other thing they needed to talk about. "Was there a reason you didn't tell me that Spider was the one trying to break in and almost blew my cover?" asked the Black Cat, her emerald green eyes flickering with mirth as she twirled her platinum blonde hair in her fingers. Matthew sat back in his chair in the armory basement of his home, still wearing their gear but with faces exposed, helmet and hood on the table between them.

Now usually, Cooper could look into his girlfriend's eyes and feel his heart come to life as he always took a moment to appreciate her beauty, especially when she did her best to emphasize it. No matter what had happened or whatever was on his mind, he couldn't help but respond with a cocky grin, succumb to her charms and melt in the thief's hands. But instead, his blood only boiled hotter as he ground his teeth to dust. "You had it under control, didn't want to interrupt" he answered quietly, eyes darting around the room as he searched for a solution to the problems plaguing his mind.

Hardy narrowed her eyes as he tried to meet her gaze but found he couldn't do it, his fists still clenched tight, his foot now tapping as well. "Something you want to share Cowboy?" she purred, though he could hear the genuine worry in her voice as he forced himself to take a deep breath and relax.

"Just don't like sitting here on my ass when there's a WMD out in the city somewhere is all" he answered genuinely. "If Li gets his hands on it…it'll make the City Hall bombing a footnote. And worst of all I…" he began before trailing off. Swallowing his fear and pride he admitted, "I wouldn't be able to do a damn thing about it. All the guns and bullets in the world can't stop a virus…I'd be useless." That feeling, powerlessness, was something he hadn't experienced in a long, long time. He would prefer to keep it that way.

Since arriving in New York, that feeling that the city was his home that he would fight and kill and die for it had only grown stronger over time. The city itself, as well as those who inhabited it, those who became colleagues, neighbors, friends, and in Felicia's case, his lover, had all earned a special place in his heart and mind. They had given him something that a year prior he thought he would never have, something few people did: Purpose. To think that he wouldn't be able to fulfill that purpose of keeping the city and its people safe…it almost felt like he would be betraying them.

Felicia got up from her chair and strutted around the table, placing a gloved hand on his neck and sliding it under his shoulder pad to rub away the stress and tension. "Which is why you aren't going to let Li get it" she said with calm certainty. "You're going to go find Li and Michaels, and you're going to put yourself between them. And when Li comes, you're going to kick his ass." Cooper couldn't help but crack a smile at that as he chuckled at the refined woman's uncharacteristically coarse words. "Do you know how I know that?" asked Felicia, Matt just shook his head in reply. "Because I'll be there to help" she answered with a cocky smirk.

Now the cocky grin was on Cooper's face, "You sure about that darlin'?" he drawled as he turned and put his hands on her hips to hold her in front of him. "I won't be letting ya' get in any free shots like I normally would. You'll have to keep up on your own, you up for that?" he challenged as he gave her a squeeze in the way he knew she liked. She may have been able to exert complete control over him at a whim, but he had a few tricks up his sleeve too.

The heiress shuddered and bit her lower lip with a hungry look in her eye, "Why don't I show you I'm up to the task?" she purred as she sat down on his lap. Only now, when his mind had finally moved on did his prayers from earlier get answered, his phone ringing loudly, ruining the moment.

Grumbling incoherent curses as he picked the offending device up off the table, his blue eyes widened as he saw who it was and answered instantly. "Go for Marauder" he greeted curtly, though he still frowned as he looked at a put off Felicia who still remained on his lap. Though upon closer inspection he could tell that despite her appearance she was interested in what was about to happen and not resuming their romantic moment.

"_Good news"_ informed Watanabe bluntly, "_I got a lead on where Michaels is. Sable has him stashed in a safehouse somewhere in the city. He's under 24/7 protection"_ she informed. Though Cooper could hear the 'but' coming and had a feeling it would be big enough to rival the one his hand was currently on. Sure enough, he was right. _"But they won't tell which one they have him at."_

_That _was a problem. "Shit" he answered simply, "I thought we were all supposed to be working together? Why the fuck have these Sable guys decided not to play ball all of a sudden?" he growled out before it became obvious why, _Osborn_. "Because I just found out why Li wants Michaels. Oscorp has developed a weapon of mass destruction…and Michaels has it."

"_You're fucking shitting me, right?"_ blurted the dumbfounded cop, though the unmistakable tone of fear was mixed in with the curses. _"Please tell me you are, there isn't enough Tylenol around here to ease the headache I'm about to get if you're not joking."_

"Then you better send the probie down to the pharmacy" deadpanned Cooper. "That info came straight from the computer in Osborn's office, it's legit" affirmed the Renegade SRS Pilot. "This isn't the time to be playing games, we need to find Devil's Breath and destroy it. For whatever reason Osborn is keeping the project open and won't do it…so it falls to us."

Thankfully, there was no pushback from the hardnosed policewoman on the other end of the line. _"I'll see what I can do on my end, but I've expended most of my options already just to find out what I did"_ admitted the Cop, obviously none too happy at now being on the outside looking in. It was a position Cooper could easily sympathize with. _"But I have a few ideas you might be able to make happen; I'll send them your way."_

"Thanks for that" said the Marauder genuinely. "After that do me another favor Yuri…go get yourself some sleep" advised Cooper. Though he could tell she would object he wouldn't be hearing any of it. "You sound like hammered shit" he pointed out.

There was a bit of a mirthless laugh on the other end and a long drawn out silence as Cooper awaited whatever answer she would give him. Watanabe didn't like to be told to stand down, but she wasn't stupid, sleep was quickly joining sanity, coffee, and peace as a handy resource there wasn't enough of. _"I'll be back on the clock at eight a.m. sharp, I want a report on what you find no later than 8:15"_ she stated firmly.

There was a ding to signify he had an email form the Captain, "Yes ma'am" he assured before the line went dead and he looked at the email. The information inside was quickly added to the board as Cooper and Hardy, mostly Hardy, pieced together the entire tangled web. Watson had sent him a copy of the file and relayed an important find: Osborn had Fisk build him a lab somewhere on the island, but specifically ordered it kept off the record. It had to be for Devil's Breath, nothing else either could think of would warrant such measures. Moving on from that was how Li knew of it in the first place, neither knew that, but it was obvious that he knew where to look in order to pick up the trail.

Hardy quickly went through the new information, most of it was leads that the Police were looking at, though for one reason or another none of them fit in the big picture. Most were tangents that Li might pursue, but the pair knew what the Demons were after, the only thing related to Devil's Breath was a name they had already encountered, Charles Standish. NYPD had pegged his location as Sable's Main Operating Base in Central Park after his lawyers had come to them about being denied the ability to see their client. Since Cooper didn't want to put the screws to Osborn, at least not yet, this was their best shot at learning something. Even better, Standish might even be cooperative, especially if he agreed to deliver a message.

Cooper had an idea, a really stupid one, so stupid in fact that if he was going to do it, he wanted another source to ensure that it would be worth it. Dialing another number, he was met with a voice that was clearly caffeine assisted, though to be fair most were at this point. _"Hey Coop, going to interrogate me? Pete told me he ran into Felicia tonight at Oscorp, and I think we both know she didn't cheat on you" _quipped Mary Jane.

"Oh I know, otherwise I'd give your boyfriend a makeover, and not one you'd approve of" deadpanned the Pilot, though there was a mirthful smirk as he said it. "This isn't about that; I just got some info from Watanabe and I wanted to see if you could confirm it. It's about the location of Charles Standish, know where he is?"

"_Oscorp's CFO?"_ asked the reporter as there was a pause after hummed an affirmative. A few moments later after she looked through her info the redhead gave her answer. _"My sources say he was last seen going into the Sable International camp at Central Park" _said the reporter. _"Why do you ask? Think Li wants to go back after him?"_

There was an unmistakable tone of curiosity in MJs voice, the tone that usually got her into trouble. Cooper sighed and explained what he was scheming. "No, Li is for sure gunning for Michaels, and considering what we know about Devil's Breath it is critical Li doesn't get it. Standish is our only lead and failing that, our only options are cracking Sable security or scouring the entire city. One of which is a total crapshoot and the other is only for those with a death wish." A deep sigh escaped Cooper, betraying how dire the situation was becoming, all he wanted was to be on the field in the right place with a gun in his hands, getting there was supposed the be the easy part. But nothing about the past few weeks had been easy. "I'm going to go and see if I can talk to Standish."

"_And if they don't let you?"_ asked Watson.

Cooper shrugged, "Then I guess I'll have to improvise" answered the Marauder with a wry grin, ignoring the snickers from Felicia as he ended the call. "What?" he asked dryly, "I have great improvisational skills" he asserted.

"Oh Cowboy" she said before giving him a peck on the cheek. "When you start to improvise is when insurance companies start to go bankrupt."

* * *

Mary Jane Watson had a lot of good memories in Central Park, dates, picnics, time with family and friends. One or two times she had a romantic moment at night and a few fun moments while in the spot she was at right now, with a great view but was completely concealed from the outside world. Right now, that spot had a few new uses for the redheaded reporter, such as spying on paramilitary compounds. The Sable camp was massive, with 15-foot-high walls around the white tents and buildings inside. Several watchtowers also overlooked both the inside and outside of the camp.

One side seemed to be a relative soft spot and with caution, the reporter crept down and closer to the wall when her phone buzzed in her pocket. "Hey Pete, what's up?" she whispered in answer as she found a rock to get out of sight. She had spoken to him earlier; both knew what he had found inside Oscorp and what they needed to do. Though as soon as she was off the phone with Cooper, she had come down here, knowing that, if nothing else, there would be a story for her to report on.

"_Nothing much"_ admitted the webslinger, though considering how winded he sounded she had her doubts, though she wasn't brazened enough to push him on that front. Despite what Peter would think, she did in fact have limits. _"Just wanted to know if you have anything on Michaels?"_ he asked hopefully.

MJ bit back a curse as she peeked over the rock and was relieved at the lack of armored goons nearby. "I may have a lead" she admitted quietly. "Charles Standish is being held at Sable's Central Park compound – if anyone knows Michael's location it would be Oscorps CFO" reasoned the journalist. "I'm trying to reach him now" she admitted, almost as an afterthought.

"_Reach him?"_ repeated Peter, dumbstruck at the suggestion. Though he didn't know that the Marauder would be there if things got rough, though the nagging voice in the back of her head said that he probably wouldn't have cared. _"That place is crawling with guards. How are you going to reach him?"_

Watson allowed herself a small smirk, knowing how much the answer she was about to give would get under his skin, but also knowing he could take it. "Very very quietly" she replied, as if it should have been obvious. "Gotta go Partner" she finished before hanging up on him as she saw a Sable trooper come out to work on a generator. Now all she had to do was get past that guard, inside the Sable base, find Standish, find out where Michaels was, and get out before her slightly overprotective prospective boyfriend arrived. As the Texan would say, _The only easy day…was yesterday._

Reaching into her coat, she came back with one of the circular devices the Superhero had given her. "Time to see if these lures Pete gave me work…" she muttered as she got a feel for the weight of the device as she stalked forwards and crouched behind a low wall. She could see a gap in the main fence that she would be able to squeeze through, but not with the trooper in the way. Picking out a spot, she tossed the lure into the grass by some crates as it began to beep strangely at random intervals. By the third Beep, the Sable guard stood and swiveled his head as he looked for the source, "Outta the way fella" she encouraged quietly, wondering when it was she started to quip and decided to never tell Peter. The redhead smirked as the man moved out of the way, seemingly intent on finding the source of the sonic annoyance.

Picking up the pace, she was soon inside the wall as she got out of sight of the man outside and fought to keep herself calm. "How does Felicia make this look so easy?" she wondered as her heart tried to pound a hole in her chest. She got two more yards before the sound of the filtered voices caused her to reflexively press herself against a crate as she strained to listen to what they were saying.

In a massive stroke of luck, they were talking about the reason she was here in the first place. "Gonna check on our house guest" said one, the condescending tone of voice was impossible to miss, and she could imagine that a corporate suit would garner that kind of attitude. "Stay here" commanded who MJ supposed was the senior soldier marched off into the middle of the camp. There was no way Mary Jane could follow him into that hornet's nest, but the catwalk up above them looked vacant, the only guard was the one left behind in the exchange as MJ reached for another lure.

When he was looking away, the woman tossed the lure up and onto a tent and waited for it to do its work. Sure enough, the Sable man bit on it as he moved out of the way to investigate and Mary Jane darted to the steps and took them as quietly as she could, two at a time to go fast as possible as she prayed that he stayed occupied by the disturbance. Looking over her shoulder, she could see that the lure had worked beyond well, "I'll have to remember to thank Pete later" she reminded herself as she reached the top of the steps.

After taking a look, she saw that this place definitely was as big as it appeared from her earlier perch. The downside was that there was no hope of finding the one trooper or Standish from the catwalk, so MJ steeled herself as she prepared to go down the opposite side but noticed something interesting. One of the bulletin boards had the faces of several men and women on it, all of them were Oscorp employees, all of them had been assigned to the GR-27 project, and all of them had been killed by the Demons. "Why are the Demons killing anyone related to Devil's Breath?" she wondered as she snapped a picture to review later. These murders had gone largely unreported, another question for them to figure out it seemed.

A familiar noise caught her attention, the howl of a small V8 motor served as an indicator of who was coming, and her suspicions were confirmed as the dark green hypercar pulled up to the front gate. As expected, the arrival of the Renegade Titan Pilot drew a lot of attention and a serious reaction, including one man in a very flamboyant yellow button-down shirt being escorted to a tent. Working her way back down to ground level, she picked up an interesting radio exchange. _"I'll see what the Marauder wants" _said the accented voice of Silver Sablinova shortly. _"I want full communications lockdown, nothing about Michael's or Devil's Breath gets out" _ordered the Mercenary leader sternly, instantly getting a round of acknowledgements from the different squad leaders around the base.

MJ continued to creep her way through the base, most of the guards were thankfully pulled away to meet the Marauder at the front gate, making it much easier than it should have been to sneak through a high security PMC camp. Still crouched low to use the various crates and equipment to stay out of sight, the reporter could still feel her heart pound in her chest as she fought to keep her breathing deep and calm. Despite her nerves still firing constantly, she was able to keep her wits about her enough to pick up another interesting conversation. "How's it looking? Convoy going to be ready?" asked one.

"Five by five" answered a second white armored trooper across the table from the first. "Soon as boss gives the word, we'll get Michaels moved to the new safe house" continued the trooper as Watson took a knee behind a generator and mulled over that detail. Moving Michaels meant they would be moving Devil's Breath as well, a prime opportunity for Li to take it. With that thought adding a sense of urgency, MJ switched the generator off and scampered away as the lights inside the tent went out and a trooper came to investigate.

While his back was turned, the redhead crept silently into the tent and slinked through the darkened space and out onto the other side. Ahead of her was a wide-open space that had no way for her to sneak through, until she got a stroke of luck, proving there was a god. "Get that truck moving!" barked a mercenary as one of the APCs rumbled to life, "Should have been uptown half an hour ago!"

Rushing to the side of the truck, Mary Jane stayed as close as she dared as it trundled along the track until she was able to pull away and into cover. Unfortunately, she had backed herself into a corner and left her only route out was up onto a catwalk opposite the one she had come from before. On the deck she was met with two more guards and a radio as she listened in to the orders being given. _"I want double strength on the convoy tomorrow!" _barked the woman fiercely, _"Golf and November squads at the very least. I just received actionable intel; an enemy attack is probable." _

"Way to go Cooper, whatever you said seems to have gotten her attention" murmured MJ as she knocked a box over to distract one PMC trooper and used a lure to distract the other as she made her way down the stairs and out of danger. At the bottom of the stairs was another boon, it looked like a briefing area, complete with whatever briefing was being given still on the screen. "Looks like safe houses" observed the journalist as she pulled out her phone and snapped a picture. "If Michaels is in one of these then Standish might know which one…"

Only now was she finally in the main area of the camp, the low slung _Widowmaker_ parked near the one of the few solid structures in the base and guarded by three Sable troopers, all very clearly eyeing it and not touching it. _Probably out of fear for their lives _mused Mary Jane, knowing just how protective the Pilot was of his beloved cars. Though the other troopers who were busy maintaining their equipment at the benches closer to her were much more interesting. "So, what the hell even _is _this 'Devil's Breath' shit anyway?" asked one.

"Don't know, don't care" responded another as he set his weapon aside. "Osborn wants it protected, so it gets protected. Our job is to keep it safe, don't matter if it's the cure for cancer or a fluffy pink stuffed unicorn for his mistress" drawled the trooper in his helmet's filtered tone. The remark drew a round of snickers and laughter from the other troopers as MJ couldn't help but roll her eyes. She could say a lot about Norman Osborn, and not all of it was good, but he had always been faithful to his wife and she didn't think that had changed.

Pushing that thought aside, she had more important stuff to worry about than protecting Osborn's honor as she used the same trick, disabling the generator to cut the lights and get the Sable troopers out of the tent. After that, she used the cover of her created darkness to swiftly move to the next area, ever closer to the tent where Standish was. It was clear that the base was quickly coming alive with activity, a patrol convoy was returning not long after the one she had used as cover earlier had departed. Watson had to begrudgingly respect Sable International, they were terrifyingly efficient, and part of her hoped Peter wouldn't have to tangle with them.

Peering through the gaps in the stacked crates, she watched a patrol go past and took a deep breath as she pulled out her last lure and chunked it in the direction they had just come from after they were out of earshot. Having to suppress a jubilant cry, she watched the sole man guarding the door to Standish's tent move off to investigate as she threw a bit of caution to the wind and bolted up the steps and into the tent.

Thankfully, the man was busy at work on a Sable computer, probably heavily monitored and limited, especially with the communications lockdown in place. Standing idle for a bit and checking that the way in concealed her from any prying eyes outside, Mary Jane approached the CFO. Speaking tentatively, the reporter asked, "Charles Standish?"

He certainly fit the descriptions she had been given and was just as jumpy too. "Holy crap!" he shrieked as he dropped his coffee cup and jumped up from his chair, turning to face her. Mary Jane didn't back down, holding his gaze as best she could as she held her hands out in a calming gesture.

Though she was sure that someone had probably heard something and assumed time was limited. "Charles" she began firmly, hoping to keep the man focused on her and not let his mind wander. "Where is Dr. Morgan Michaels?" she asked clearly, laying all of her cards out on the table.

Sadly, Standish's response was to flip the whole table over. "Li sent you" he said in stunned realization. "Didn't he?" he asked accusingly, this guy was definitely jumpy alright. He had gone into flight or fight mode and MJ had backed him into a corner.

"No" she answered, though her eyes wandered to the same object the executives did, the handgun sitting on the corner of a table, and equal distance between them. Sadly, the CFO hadn't calmed down, his breathing become quicker and shallower as his eyes darted from her to the gun and she could see the gears in his head turning. As she tried to think of a way to calm him down, he dashed forwards and scooped up the gun, pointing it right in her face, though he clearly wasn't a master marksman, the shaky grip betraying his fear.

"If he wants to kill me…" he stuttered as both parties took a step back, opening up the distance. "You tell him to do it…do it himself" he answered frantically.

"I'm not with the Demons" said MJ firmly, cutting off the rant decisively as she tried to take back control of the situation. She did not just sneak her way through the camp just to be stopped by some fidgety CFO with a peashooter pistol. If she had managed to work with the Marauder, then she could get this guy to cooperate. "I'm not with Sable. I'm a reporter" she explained, cutting off the questions that were sure to follow. In what was a risky move, she slowly brought her hand down to pull her ID out of her coat and showed it to the man, who took a deep breath of relief at the sight of the Daily Bugle badge. "And I want to see Li stopped, just like you."

"Watson" he said in realization as he lowered the gun and his features relaxed, "I've heard your byline." Mary Jane allowed herself a sigh of relief, never so thankful that she had been recognized before in her life. "Sable won't listen to me" he said suddenly, a switch seemingly having been flipped. "She has Michaels at an Oscorp Property in the Bowery, they're moving him to a new safe house tomorrow at noon, but she's totally ignoring Grand Central" he said.

He had answered her initial question about where Michaels was, but the frantic way he spoke about GCT didn't escape her attention despite that. "Grand Central?" she parroted, prompting him to explain.

"Demons were talking about it while they held me" he explained, though he was clearly nervous about what was going on. Though it seemed for a brief glorious moment that he would finally tell her what he knew. "They're going there to get…" he began when a sudden 'thump' above them drew their eyes up. A familiar silhouette cast a shadow on the roof that sent MJ's heart into her throat, and it was clear that Standish was about to have a full-on panic attack.

"To get what Charles?" she prompted, hoping to get his attention back on her, though she knew that the moment was fading very quickly. Trying to focus her, hoping that Peter would for once in his existence would just stay out of her way for the next sixty seconds. "What do the Demons need at Grand Central?" she asked, trying to get the man to look at her.

But it was no use, "Is that…" he began, eyes never leaving the shape on the ceiling before a hole was torn in the tent and a thick line of synthetic silk slammed into the gun. The pistol was ripped away and replaced in an instant by an imposing spandex clad figure, the malevolent looking white spider logo on his back staring at her. "What the fu…" began Standish as he recoiled back in shock and tripped over a bump in the floor.

"Charles!" yelped Watson as she jumped forwards to try and stop him, but she was too slow as the CFO fell to the floor. In a testament to Standish's lack of athletic acumen made itself known once again as he flailed all the way down to the hard steel floor and slammed his head into it at full speed.

MJ immediately knelt down to try to rouse the man, to no avail, he was out cold. "Oh…sorry" said Spider-Man weakly. Even if it seemed genuine, the apology only caused the anger in the redhead to spike as she rounded on the wallcrawler.

"What the hell?!" she hissed, unleashing her full fury on her so called 'Partner.' Peter flinched noticeably as he shrunk from the redhead's rage.

The webhead's reply did little to calm her down either. "Oh…that was not a Sable guy" he noted dumbly as he stared down at Standish, eye lenses wide. "Definitely not a Sable guy."

"No shit Sherlock!" she shot back in exasperation. Only before she could lay into him more there was the sounds of scuffles outside.

"Heard something" said a filtered voice. "Moving to investigate" said the now moving Sable Trooper as MJ's glare only worsened.

Before she could make a snide remark about how much help he was being, Peter said "Sorry Charlie" right as he scooped MJ up. "Okay, time to go" he whispered as he fired a webline and pulled both of them out of the tent. Watson continued to glower at the Spandex clad feet as the camp was quickly left behind, and with it their best shot at stopping Li.

* * *

Of all of the things Silver Sablinova was perturbed at since taking this complete mess of a contract, one that always had an effect on her was seeing that ridiculous car the Marauder drove around. And now that car was sitting in the middle of MOB Yankee, the man who made it famous closing the door, irritation coming off of him in waves so much that Sable could sense it from ten yards away. Proving her right, the Marauder turned to the nearest private contractor and pointed his finger right in the trooper's face. "I'll make this real simple" intoned the Marauder flatly, "You touch my car, I'll kill ya'" he drawled before turning away without another word.

Every part about this contract had proved to be complicated. New York itself had been a challenge, the sheer number of people and incredible amount of vital infrastructure that had to be protected had been a strain unlike any other contract Sable International had taken. The groups she was supposed to work with, such as the NYPD, had not been receptive of her or her men. True, some of them had been polite enough, but clearly were not happy with Sable taking the lead in security in the city that was their home. These weren't unique challenges, but the New York attitude most definitely was.

Then there were the people they had been brought in to stop, the 'Inner Demons', though Sablinova had to fight the urge to roll her eyes whenever someone said that idiotic name, had proven themselves to be a formidable opponent. No matter how many Demons Sable troops engaged more always kept coming, they were well organized, disciplined, and relentless.

Lastly there was the man coming into her Command Post, the Marauder. While the man had once caught her attention as a potential recruit, he had proven to almost be more trouble than he was worth. She would concede, begrudgingly, that he was a formidable combatant, she found out how formidable firsthand. But he had totally refused to integrate into the Sable command structure, instead living out his lone gunslinger fantasy throughout the city. Any attempts to reach out to him directly had been met with just short of outright hostility, and Captain Watanabe had refused to even try and communicate Sable's requests to him. The utter gall of the man to drive his ridiculous car up to her MOB and demand to speak with her almost defied belief. "Ms. Sablinova" he greeted flatly as he gave a nod.

"Marauder" she returned icily before leading him inside, leaving two guards outside the door as the Symkarian and Pilot moved into the building, each moving to the other side of the tactical table as they squared up and regarded each other. After a few tense seconds of tense silence, Sable narrowed her eyes and spoke coldly, "Tell me why you are here or get out, I do not have time for you to waste."

The Renegade Gunfighter shrugged and looked down at the slightly shorter woman, "Alright then. Doctor Morgan Michaels" he said slowly. "Where is he?" he asked casually. Sable looked at him as she tried to keep a straight face. Osborn had made it clear that Michaels was her responsibility and hers alone. Neither the NYPD nor the Marauder had been briefed on him or his importance, the fact that he was asking about him was cause for worry.

Not that she was going to let him know that his question had any effect on her; he had barged into her HQ and was demanding answers for questions he had no right to ask. The Symkarian narrowed her blue green eyes at him. "I do not see how that is relevant infor…"

An armored fist slammed down on the table. "Bull-fucking-shit" he snarled, all traces at politeness gone in a heartbeat as Sable gave no outward reaction to the outburst. "I _know _Michaels is the lead scientist on Devils Breath. And as of…three hours ago" added the SRS Soldier as he looked down at his tactical pad on his wrist, "Li does too."

Even Sablinova couldn't help but let some of the color drain from her face. "Proklyat'ye" she cursed angrily. "How did he find out?" she asked, her mind already considering what this could mean, specifically regarding the move that was in the works for Michaels scheduled for tomorrow.

"Li tracked down a colleague of Michaels', an Isaac Delaney, and got the name from Delaney before killing him" explained the Marauder as Sable tried to place the name. Working the controls of the table she searched Sable International documents for the name and found a match. Li's men had pulled the name from the records at the residence of Charles Standish, and several memos back and forth between her and Osborn ended with the CEO saying that the man was not one she was being paid to protect. She was less concerned that he had died and more so that he had placed another HVI in danger. "Do you have a record of the information they accessed from Standish?"

Sable could see the logic, so instead of arguing she began to type out the commands to bring up that information. "What do you think he would look for?" she asked, wondering if he would use the same method she would as she searched for an address tied to Michaels, but found that too be missing.

"Michaels isn't a native New Yorker" began the Pilot, "Oscorp would put him up somewhere in the city. From there it's a case of follow the money trail to residential locations for a substantial length of time, at least six months, probably a year" he explained. Sable inwardly cursed herself for that oversight as she narrowed down the list by that parameter and projected it holographically between them. "And then if it were me…" began the Marauder as the blue x shaped visor scanned the dozen or so addresses, "it would just be a bit of leg work to investigate which of these has a Sable presence, sorry, but your people wouldn't know subtle if it punched them in the face." The mercenary quirked an eyebrow at the bizarre choice of phrase before pushing it aside and looking down at her list of deployed troops before the filtered voice sounded again, "He's in the Bowery."

If the two of them could piece Michael's location together with the same information Li would have inside of five minutes, then there was no doubt that the leader of the Inner Demons would be able to place it together before he could be moved tomorrow. "You will stay away. Sable International has the situation well in hand" she defended brusquely. She did not need some renegade cowboy getting in the way to try and play hero.

However, it seemed that the renegade cowboy in particular she was worried about was not on the same page. A derisive snort emanated from the helmet as he crossed his arms defensively. "Frankly, I highly doubt that" said the Pilot dryly, "The Demons have intentionally not engaged you fully; at most you've seen smaller cells. That will _not _be the case when they come tomorrow…and they will come."

There was something there that put the Symkarian on edge, "What do you mean?" she asked slowly and icily, because if he was not forthcoming then he would find out just what Silver could do in a fight. Instead of answering immediately he reached into a bag and pulled out a small futuristic data pad and began tapping away on it before tossing it down on the table in front of Sablinova.

"Yesterday I assisted in the apprehension of Lonnie Lincoln, who had been paid by Li to build him something. That is a list of materials that Lincoln bought that police compiled after going through the records at his business" explained the Marauder as Silver begrudgingly picked up the pad and began to skim through the list. Massive run flat tires, maritime grade armor plate, and the suspension from a US Army Heavy Engineering Vehicle among other materials. The total cost was in excess of half a million dollars, no small sum. "Conclusion? Li now has a military grade transport at his disposal. Possibly bolstered by MRAPs stolen from Fisk. I know Fisk had some last year, but I don't know how many were left after Cinderblock" admitted the Marauder.

Sable threw the data pad back across the table and keyed the intercom to the officer in charge of force deployment. "Lima Foxtrot, this is Silver Bird. I have a priority dispatch" she said calmly, eyes fixed on the Pilot who stood motionless.

"_Copy that Silver Bird, send your traffic" _responded the controller.

"I want double strength on the convoy tomorrow!" barked the woman fiercely, "Golf and November squads at the very least. I just received actionable intel; an enemy attack is probable." With the message sent, she released the control and turned her attention back to the Renegade Gunfighter, who stubbornly remained planted in her command center. "Is that all?" she asked dryly, her patience only growing thinner with each passing tick of the clock.

Much to her growing annoyance, the visored helmet shook defiantly. "I will be there tomorrow, something tells me Li won't be waiting around" he informed curtly, seemingly appearing to be willfully ignorant of the ire creeping onto Sablinova's face. She opened her mouth to reply and put it into the simplest terms why that would not be tolerated when he cut her off. "This isn't up for debate. If nothing else I'll have a front row seat when y'all do what I couldn't and bag Li" he said, though Silver simply gave him a deadpan look, drawing the rest of his answer. "Or when the shit hits the fan, I'll be there to clean up the mess" he said matter of factly before turning to leave.

As she watched him leave, she got a look at the kill tally that filled the back of his armor and the latin phrase written on his helmet. It was one she recognized, _Primo Victoria_, meaning 'Foremost, Victory' and was something she had been raised to believe. Seeing that prompted a sudden outburst. "Why?" she asked quickly, before she even realized the single word was out of her mouth, and part of her hoped that he hadn't noticed.

But the boots stopped dead in their tracks as he turned around and looked over his shoulder at the Symkaria, "Why what?" he asked as he strode back to the table. "You're going to have to be more specific than that" he informed in a calm drawl.

Sable inwardly cursed herself as she tried to figure out that same question herself. How could a man who held the same phrase as she did to be true act so differently? "Why do you have a problem with me? With my company?" she asked finally.

"You're mercs" he answered simply, "I don't like mercs." Such a short, clipped answer was indicative that the man was hiding something, the profile they had on him suggested he rarely held his opinions back. So she simply continued to glare at him, quirking an eyebrow up as she silently awaited the rest of the answer. "You want a why for that too, huh?" he asked bitingly as Sable merely shrugged in response.

"It would be nice" she said dryly, not entirely sure why she was humoring the vigilante Pilot.

"Because you do terrible shit" he began before pausing, shaking his head, "No, that's not it, I've done terrible shit too. But at least I know why I've done what I have" he distinguished with frosty calm. "You either don't know or don't care why you're here, cause if you did…" he said before shaking his head and looking back at the Security Contractor, "you wouldn't be doing what you are."

Before Sable could ask him to explain what he meant by that, the man obliged her. "You ever wonder why you're here instead of Delta Force? The Navy SEALS, hell, even the FBI or SHIELD? It's because of Devil's Breath, but you don't know what the hell that is and don't care, other than a checkbox on a contract."

"I don't see how the nature of why I'm paid to protect is relevant to how I do business" she deflected, teeth clenching as the two squared off.

"When it's a weapon of mass destruction that was developed by your employer and kept in a major metropolitan area, I'd say it's pretty fucking relevant" growled the Pilot lowly, Sable's eyes widened at the words. "Forgot to mention that…_little_…detail, did he?" asked the Marauder sarcastically. "That 'volatile compound' is a biological weapon capable of starting a global pandemic. Kept in the perfect place to kick off said pandemic and has a domestic terrorist after it. Do I really need to spell this shit out any more than I already have?"

The Symkarian seethed in rage, this contract was like an ever-growing onion, layers upon layers covered by secrets and deception. Mercenary work had always been simple, clear targets, clear objectives, and a way for her to use the training her father had given her before he had died. Only now did she question if there were any such wrinkles that she had missed and been made out as a fool as a result, and if that was why Osborn had hired Sable International in the first place. With these possibilities foremost on her mind, it was easy for her to assume the worst when a trooper burst into the room. "Ma'am, we've had a breach. Someone infiltrated Standish's tent" he reported crisply.

A sneer appeared on her features, "Full perimeter sweep" she snapped instantly. "Remove all non-Sable personnel, including him" she instructed, a finger pointed at the Pilot, "from the base immediately."

The trooper snapped off a quick salute before he stepped towards the intimidating green armored form of the Marauder. "No need" said the Renegade coolly, "I was just leaving" he said, though his blue visor remained locked on the woman as he made his way out.

The Symkarian paused for a moment to consider what she had just been told and quickly doubted what the Pilot had said. The veteran soldier of fortune couldn't believe that the ambitious and image obsessed Osborn would do what the Marauder had claimed. She could hardly imagine _anyone_, especially the CEO, could possibly be that stupid, it was an impossibility.

Wasn't it?

* * *

Peter Parker sat perched atop a water tower on the roof of MJ's apartment building as he watched the Bugle reporter march inside, noticing how she never even seemed to contemplate looking back at him as she opened the door and disappeared from view and slammed the door shut behind her. "Well that was maybe the most awkward swing of my life…" he muttered, "MJ is not happy."

The 'partners,' if they could even be called that, had spent the trip in silence. Any thoughts the webhead might have had about changing that were quickly ended when he saw MJs green eyes glaring daggers into the passing landscape, very poignantly ignoring the superhero she was holding onto.

Firing a webline and swinging away, Spider-Man did his best to refrain from calling and trying to explain himself, thinking it would be best if he let the redhead cool off on her own. He would give her space and let her make the next move when she was ready. It seemed she was ready much sooner than he was expecting, as he was only a few blocks from the building when his phone rang inside his mask and he instantly answered. _"Hey. Ok. Another thing. 'Sorry Charlie?'"_ she began without preamble, her speech so rapid fire that he wasn't able to get a word in edge wise. _"You knock a man out, destroy my background research, and the best you've got is 'Sorry Charlie?' Is everything a joke to you?"_

She was definitely still pissed.

"What?" he answered in shock as he tried to search his brain for a suitable response, though his bag of tricks to web up bad guys was extensive, but when he reached into his bag of tricks for dealing with an irate MJ was not nearly as impressive. So, when he reached in, he drew forth "MJ. No. I screwed up. It was a tension breaker" he tried to explain.

Though the reporter was having none of it. _"Tension Breaker" _she responded sarcastically, _"Right." _There was a deep breath on the other end of the line as MJ tried to compose herself, but it seemed that the assault on Peter wasn't going to let up just yet. _"You know, this is __**exactly **__why we broke up?" _she snapped bitingly. Even a year later that still hurt the wallcrawler.

"I thought we broke up so you could focus on your career?" he replied, using her own words against her, which may not have been the greatest plan. But he only realized that once the words were out of his mouth, and he was too irritated to care.

Though the barb didn't escape Mary Jane's notice. _"We broke up because you wouldn't stop treating me like a baby!" _she retorted angrily as Peter frowned at the memory as he swung through the night sky. _"'Don't do this MJ! Don't do that MJ! That's too dangerous MJ!'" _she hissed venomously. _"I may not have super spider powers, but I'm not made out of glass!" _she argued.

_But you always do the stupidest shit _said Peter internally, though he still had enough self-control to not blurt that out over the telephone. Instead he tried to explain the error in her logic to her. "You snuck into the middle of an armed military…" he began before remembering this was the same woman who associated with the most wanted man in the city, getting caught on film doing it, got kidnapped because of it, and was still doing this stuff. "You know what? Can we not do this right now? Please?" he asked, trying to be civil. "Did you learn anything about Dr. Michaels?"

There was a loud sigh on the other end of the line, _"Fine" _she huffed. Taking another deep breath, she explained what she had just learned. _"Michaels is in the Bowery somewhere. Sable's moving him tomorrow at noon" _she said flatly, though there was a stand-offish tone and inflections.

"Awesome" he complimented honestly. "Anything else? Was he saying something about Grand Central before I jumped in?" he asked, trying to pry without being insensitive.

"_He was…" _began the reporter before thinking better of it…or just wanted to use fewer words to get out of this slow motion trainwreck of a conversation quicker. _"No. It was nothing" _she said impatiently. _"Listen, I gotta go Peter. Filing deadline" _she said before cutting the connection.

He came to a stop perched on top of a gargoyle at the corner of a building that gave a beautiful view out towards his old home in Queens, looking at the bridges and water that seemed quite peaceful under the full moon. "Peter" he said sadly, "That's how you know she's still mad. Peter…" he muttered. "Nice work Mr. Super Hero" he chastised as he began to brood over the conversation.

He didn't know how long he was up there for, but his self-imposed silence was shattered by the whoosh of a jump kit and crunch of combat boots on the rooftop. "Hey pal" greeted Cooper in his southern drawl as he came up behind Peter and sat on the edge of the rooftop, setting his helmet next to him and running a gloved hand through his unkempt brown hair. "Hell of a night, huh?"

Peter continued to ignore him, offering no indication that he had heard the Texan. Even though he had long since forgiven Matthew for his role in his breakup with MJ, his presence here still churned up bad memories. After a few seconds of silence, the Commando spoke up again. "Hey man, for what it's worth I think you did the right thing tonight. MJ had no business doing what she was…" he said honestly, though Peter turned to look at the Pilot. The quirk of the corner of his mouth gave away the 'but' that was about to come, "But 'Sorry Charlie', seriously?" he asked with a grin.

"He was pointing a gun at her, I only meant to scare him, not knock him out" defended the Queens native. Though his words only got a hearty chuckle out of the armored vigilante as Spider-Man turned to the Renegade Pilot and narrowed the white eye lenses.

This only caused the chuckle to turn into a laugh. "I wasn't talking about what you did dumbass" he said as he pulled out a protein bar and began to unwarp it. "I was only twenty yards away you know. And lord knows if I had seen that I would have grabbed Standish by his stupid hair and thrown him through the wall" he said with a smile as he took a bite and chewed. "What I meant was…You're supposed to be the one with the good quips, you really couldn't do any better than that?" he asked dryly, a giant shit eating grin plastered on his weathered features.

After staring at his friend dumbly as the Marauder went back to eating, Parker finally lapsed and broke down laughing. "I guess it wasn't exactly my best work" he admitted sheepishly. Cooper stopped eating long enough to give him a 'Ya think?' look before consuming the last of the bar. "But I wasn't thinking…I just saw MJ being in trouble and reacted" he said as he flipped off the statue and sat next to the Pilot before taking his own mask off.

Matthew merely nodded as he looked out, a grimace forming on his features. "Do you remember last Christmas? When Felicia was taken?" he asked carefully. Peter's eyes widened in realization as he recalled the events, what he knew of them at least.

Matt and Felicia were trying to take out the Market and went to extreme lengths to do so. Even so soon after promising to curtail his use of lethal force, Peter remembered that the two killed at least two Market personnel in cold blood. The head of the Market, Rawlins, had linked Felicia to one of the killings and taken her at a charity event. By the time the sun rose the next morning Rawlins was dead, the Market compound destroyed, and the organization exposed to law enforcement across the world. Felicia was safe, which was a relief to him, and soon after the girl who had started the whole saga had been taken back to France to be with her family. Peter hoped she was doing okay after all she had gone through; she deserved a peaceful life. "Yeah, I remember. Though the details are a bit of a mystery."

"That was for a reason" answered the Texan brusquely before softening, "I'm still not proud of what I did. _Even _if they deserved it, e_ven _if it was for the best, and _even though _I wouldn't hesitate to do it again if given the chance…I'm not proud of it." Peter could tell he was being as candid as always, even though the Texan was speaking barely above a whisper, both knew Peter's enhanced hearing made that irrelevant. "Frank and I…we killed them _all_. I took BT in there and just…it wasn't even a fight. It was slaughter, and I was the butcher."

Parker just sat in shocked silence at the admission. "You saw a glimpse of what BT could do when we hit that convoy, but only a glimpse. Even if nobody believed what the survivors said about what the Titan could do…there were survivors. All anybody found this time were bodies…if they were lucky. A lot of those guys took direct hits from missiles or 40 mike mikes or got trampled and just…ceased to exist." The blue eyes of the Gunfighter were still almost shimmering, but distant, that 1000-yard stare he sometimes slipped into. "The Punisher killed what? Fifteen guys maybe. Me? I killed at least 50. Just like _that_" he said with a snap of his fingers. "The worst part? It was just a reaction; I didn't think about other ways to rescue Felicia or anything. I was going to kill every last one of those fuckers no matter what. I sat in that police interrogation room for almost an hour just imagining the ways I would tear Rawlins' throat out. I never even bothered asking if that was the right thing to do or the best thing to do, it was all just a reaction." With that last word left hanging in the air, the Pilot took a deep breath before continuing. "I'm not insinuating that you would have done the same thing, or will ever do the same thing…" he began before trailing off. Parker just waited for him to finish as he soaked in what his friend had told him. "But that night I realized just how much Felicia meant to me. I wouldn't have gone that far off the rails…at least I hope so…for just anyone. But I did for her, and I don't think that's changed."

"You had fallen for her" observed Peter. The Black Cat had certainly swept him off of his feet before, usually flat onto his back while making her escape, but he understood what his friend saw in her. While her rebellious streak only drove him up the walls during their partnership, he wasn't surprised that Matthew, with his own renegade reputation, took it all in stride.

Cooper nodded in agreement, "I did" he drawled, though for the first time there was a tinge of sadness of regret in the two words.

"You haven't told her" stated Peter in shocked realization. The Texan didn't answer at first as Peter just gaped in amazement before the Marauder shook his head. "Dude, trust me, even Felicia would understand. It's easy to tell you guys are good together."

The armored and padded shoulders shrugged, "Maybe" conceded Cooper. "But I'm not stupid, I know how this ends. Sooner or later I'm going to be staring down the barrel of a gun…and a bullet with my name on it will be in the chamber" he admitted sadly. "I can't tie her down and then just up and die like that. You can't deny she deserves better."

"I don't think she would care man" answered the Webslinger honestly. "You've been doing this for a year and you're still breathing man, I don't think you'll be dying just yet" he encouraged, finding it odd to see the Marauder be reserved. The usually cocky drawl was absent, and the confident poise he had was similarly missing. "And judging by the fact that she's still with you, I'd wager that she feels the same way. I've never known her to do long term relationships."

"You know I was planning on trying to give you relationship advice, not the other way around" said Cooper with a wry grin. "I'm trying to say that if you care about Mary Jane the same way then you need to do something about it. I've told you before, but you can be a stubborn son of a bitch. And even if what she did tonight was stupid you aren't going to get her to change by doing _this_" argued the Marauder pointedly. "She's trying to impress you, impress herself. She sees you and me doing crazy shit and has to report on it all the damn time. She sees all these girls have a crush on Spider-Man and doesn't think she has that special place in your heart. Shit, seeing you with Felicia and now that I've been going steady with her is telling MJ she needs to be as good as that to get you to respect her and give her the time of day."

"You're full of it man. That's crazy!" shot back Peter, almost angry that his friend would suggest the reporter would think like that. "She should know after all we've been through that she doesn't have to do any of that!" but even though he said that, he thought about it and realized that the Texan may have had a point. Even more than that, Peter was cursing himself for not seeing the same perspective sooner. She was one of the few people who knew who Spider-Man was and was the Bugle's defacto reporter on the Marauder's actions; her days were surrounded by their unbelievable exploits. And with as competitive as she was it was no shock that she was measuring herself up to them and found herself falling short. "But she is anyway" he admitted with a sigh. "God I'm such an idiot, how am I going to fix this?"

"You're a smart guy, I'm sure you'll figure it out" answered Cooper confidently before slipping his helmet back on. "Though, word of advice, though what she did may have been stupid…it _worked_. She _did _manage to sneak into the middle of that Sable base" reminded the Pilot before giving the Spider themed hero a half salute and pushing himself off the ledge, leaving Peter once again alone with his thoughts.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Ordnance: Fragmentation Grenade_

_While you imagine that every single thing would be massively improved or overhauled in the future, this tried and true gadget hasn't changed since its modern invention in 1906. In the intervening time the device has become a staple of modern warfare with extensive use in the World Wars. The first was the British 'Mills Bomb' which entered service in 1915 and the basic premise hasn't changed since. Time fuse that sets off an explosive that blows apart the casing and turns it into shrapnel. That's what give the 'frag' its name and its killing power. The explosive isn't really enough to be really lethal, but it is enough to shove that jagged metal up past the speed of sound as it perforates who or whatever is within about a fifteen foot radius. What changes that have been made consist mostly of incremental improvements, better explosives, more reliable fuses, those kinds of things. _

_One part of the device that nobody has seemingly settled on is the shape of the casing. In the old days there was the 'Pineapple' type, the 'Lemon', the 'Baseball', the 'Stick' where a handle is attached to give more leverage for throwing, among others. The kind I use, which I just learned are labeled 'Mk. IX,' have oversized handles to make them easy to grab with the pin equally massive to enable gloved fingers to prime the explosive. Strangely, they also have a throwback idea in the oversized nubs all over the grenade for the same reason the old Mk. 2 Pineapple had its ridges; they make it very unlikely the thing will slip from your hand, at least until you intend for it to._

_Despite all that, the purpose of the Frag hasn't changed. Useful for clearing out rooms and foxholes with the same set of motions soldiers the world over has gotten used to over the course of the last century: Pull the pin, toss, and duck._

* * *

**Closing Notes: Jesus that was a long one, I didn't actually realize it was so long until I uploaded it to the site. I will be back next week with the follow up, and it should be shorter and a bit quieter. Hopefully the pacing has been bearable, and the more personal moments are enjoyable. The interaction between Cooper and Sable was fun to write and I like the way it turned out. Same thing for the one between Cooper and Peter, in the movies especially, Peter has a 'bro' in the form of Harry or Ned where the game lacks a character like this. I only noticed this on a recent playthrough, but there are two dudes in this game who aren't antagonists in some way. One is Jefferson Davis, who was alive for like 15 minutes, and the second is Miles Morales, who fills a mentee type role. That's not a knock against the game, but it is something I can take advantage of and I think makes Cooper work as part of the world. **

**Also, this story passed 200 followers, so I guess I'll have to keep going because people seem to care. Thank y'all so much for checking this story out and I'm glad you're getting some enjoyment out of it, let me pretend its my charmingly witty commentary in these notes that does it. **

**Next week, you'll never hear me complain, 'cause I've got Friends in Low Places.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	38. Chapter 38: Friends in Low Places

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

**Guest: Wait, really? *_Googles frantically* _Huh, well...shit. So, I learned something today, besides why engineering majors don't normally write fiction stories. I honest to god never knew that was a thing and I do sincerely apologize for the comically massive amount of errors that have occurred as a result. I just wrote the way it felt natural without knowing that the way I was doing it was wrong. I am even more shocked that you're the first person to actually tell me this, some 37 chapters and 350k words into it. **

**Blaze1992: Thanks for reading and glad you enjoy, as to your problems:**

**1\. I've mentioned this in respoding to another review, but trying to write around BT is a bitch from a power perspective. Giving Cooper a near impregnable sky fortress would only make this problem worse, at least with the warehouse type hideouts he is more vulnerable, as Hammerhead demonstrated. Another reason is to force Cooper to be a part of the city and make him more attached to it, having him be based on a ship above it would remove that. **

**2, Well spotted, nobody has gone after Cooper for his tech...yet. **

**3\. I specifically picked the PS4 version of Spidey because it is so barebones. In my view the comics are an unmitigated clusterfuck that I can't get into and I like the simplicity of this new universe. As for why I haven't expanded it, that's a deliberate choice because I prefer to read and write stories with more depth than breadth. I'd rather have a small cast of well defined characters that interact, evovle, and are easier to follow. I have added some things, Cooper and the Punisher most notably, but beyond that? I've toyed with the idea of adding chatacters like Blade, Jessica Jones, Bullseye, or Elektra, but they felt really tacked on, like Kraven back in the first arc. ****There is some stuff like that coming, but they are more caemos than anything. As for those other ideas...I had to google them since I've never seen them before. I grew up watching 'Dogfights' and my dad's DVD set of 'The Rat Patrol' so you're more likely to see that stuff. **

**Yeah, I actually wrote it out both ways where Mathilda survived in one and didn't in the other. What ultimately tore it was that I didn't feel she had much left to contribute, she would go home and get her happy reunion and...that was it. This way there's still a loose end out there, and if you played the City that Never Sleeps content you know what's coming. **

As always, reviews are welcome, though this chapter is a shorter one without a whole lot happening if I'm being honest. Mostly set up and some lighter moments with a sprinkle of action. With that said, I really just wanted to get another country song as the title since we haven't had one in a long time. That, and I finally remembered there are more country singers than just Johnny Cash. This is a 1990 Garth Brooks classic about escaping the hardships of life with alcohol. Really uplifting, positive message. Honestly, I'm fed up of people thinking this Lil Nas whoever singing 'Old Town Road' counts as country. This is a proper actual country song damnit.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 38: Friends in Low Places**

_I've got friends in low places_

_Where the whiskey drowns_

_And the beer chases my blues away_

_And I'll be okay_

_I'm not big on social graces_

_Think I'll slip on down to the oasis_

_Oh I've got friends in low places_

* * *

The chill of another beautiful fall morning greeted Captain Yuri Watanabe as she stepped out of her apartment building and onto the street. Dressed as she usually was, jeans, plaid shirt, leather jacket, with her badge and piece in her jacket, the veteran began walking to work with confident measured strides. She had just gotten off the phone with the Marauder and received an update about the worsening situation with Devil's Breath. Sable had been kept in the dark about the nature of the substance and the Pilot doubted they would be of much help. He had learned where Michaels was, the Bowery, and that he would be moved today at noon. Both agreed this was when they thought Li would make his move.

She still had hope that she could get Sablinova to listen to reason but had given terse permission for the Marauder and Spider-Man to prepare to intercede if something did happen. If her superiors learned that she had approved the two to interfere with Sable International operations she would take serious heat for it. But considering what was at stake, she had no qualms about playing her two trump cards.

Since her shift didn't start for another hour, she was able to take the time to walk to the precinct. Even if part of her was ready to get back to work, the part that won out was the one that had appreciated the full night's sleep and wanted to appreciate this beautiful morning before her responsibilities resumed. The usually bustling streets seemed quieter than she was used to, and the overbearing presence of the massive Sable APC and the white clad troopers alongside had an effect on the civilians trying to live out their daily lives through the crime wave.

Because of her position as NYPD Captain, she knew where Sable stationed their checkpoints, though the PMC made it a point to move them around every so often and at random to try to catch out Demon activity. There was a new one up ahead, and while she was enjoying taking the scenic route to work, getting frisked by one of the 'Storm trooper knockoffs' as Spider-Man called them was far less appealing. Instead, she simply decided to cut down an alley a few blocks from the precinct and out of sight of the checkpoint.

It wasn't the prettiest part of Manhattan; graffiti tags filled the walls and trash blew in the breeze along the concrete. In one doorway, two men in hoodies were huddled together smoking cigarettes and speaking in hushed tones as they eyed Yuri who simply kept her eyes forward and walking towards her destination. At the halfway mark, two more hoody wearing men emerged from a shop ahead of her. Both of them turned towards the policewoman and she could see the leers on their faces before red tracksuit called out "Hey! What's a pretty little thing like you doing pass through here?" he asked.

Yuri ignored him, walking on at the same measured pace as blue tracksuit continued to eye her. "I think she's looking for a good time, and that she came to the right place" said the thug as he put a hand on Watanabe's shoulder and squeezed forcefully as the Cop refused to wince in response as she looked up at the man. "What do you say? Want to have some fun?"

"No" she said flatly and calmly, part of her shocked that this was happening not five blocks from an NYPD precinct.

"Well, that's a problem" replied red as he flashed a crooked grin. "I want to have fun, we're fun guys who just want to have a good time" he said, tone sickly sweet.

"And you" continued blue tracksuit as Yuri narrowed her eyes to watch red move to block the part of the alley his smaller compatriot already was from directly in front of her, "you look like a good time."

Yuri tried to take a step back, see if she could get out of this situation without a fight. But blue tracksuit simply held his grip and stepped forwards, trying to push her down as the oriental woman's body tensed and adrenaline began to flood her veins. "Not for you two" said Yuri with venomous calm, "you'll want to let me go now."

"No" replied the blue tracksuit as he reached behind his back, "I don't think we do." At that, Yuriko nodded, resigned to what was about to happen before she sprang into action. She picked her right leg up and jammed the heel of her boot down onto the man's toes as he cried out in pain as she followed up with an elbow strike to his nose, breaking it. As he wailed in pain, the Cop didn't let up, reaching out to get two handfuls of his mangy hair as she pulled his head down and rammed her knee into his broken nose.

Red Tracksuit finally registered what had happened as his friend went down and pulled a knife from god knows where before he rushed the woman. Unknowingly, he had brought a knife to a gunfight as Yuri drew her .357 and leveled the six shooter at the thug before pulling the trigger. The Magnum round slammed into the man's chest and stopped him dead in his tracks as he fell to the ground. Behind her, the other two hoodies joined the fight, one pulling a gun from his waistband and getting the revolver pointed his way.

Just as Watanabe was about to fire, a flash of movement in the corner of her eye caused her to react to the charging man with a crowbar as she sidestepped to avoid the blunt instrument. With an echoing _'ping' _the metal slammed into the ground as Yuri lashed out with a kick to disarm the man. His weapon gone, the criminal went for the Captains gun instead, latching onto the Rhino with both hands as he drove her to the ground.

Yuri squirmed and thrashed as she fought against the man's weight as he pinned her to the concrete until she eventually closed her eyes and slammed her forehead into the man's face, breaking a second nose in the span of a minute as she scampered backwards. But before she could get her gun up the man came back at her and fell on top of the Cop once again. Only this time she had her gun at hip level, muzzle pressed into the man's gut and didn't hesitate to open fire, quickly putting two slugs through his stomach as he cried out in shock and pain and rolled off of her.

More gunshots echoed in the alley as the last criminal opened fire, semi-automatic held sideways in one hand as the other held his trousers up and he walked towards Watanabe. Still flustered from the close quarters experience, her first shot at him missed as he ducked before looking up again just in time to see the muzzle flash of the second shot before the round went through his head.

As he dropped to the ground, Yuri got to her feet and scanned the area, still breathing heavily after surviving the attempted rape. On either side, citizens carried on, unconcerned by the fight as Watanabe stood in shock. Her surroundings were far from silent, the groans and screams of the wounded men still filled the narrow alley as the Cop winced in pain, looking down to see red stain her shirt from her tumble.

Just as she was about to call the precinct and report what had happened, the report of a pair of energy pistol shots derailed her train of thought as she whipped around to see Silver Sablinova herself standing at the end of the alley, sneer on her face and weapons in hand. The Blue tracksuit man she had downed first lay face down, two smoking holes in his back and a bright chrome pistol that hadn't been there before on the ground next to his hand. "Thanks" said Yuri honestly, cursing herself for failing to check what he had been reaching for.

The Symkarian mercenary ceased her sneering at the downed men as she looked the Captain over, lip quirking in as close as Yuri had ever seen Sable get to a smile. "It was no problem, I'm impressed Captain Watanabe" remarked Silver Sablinova coolly, "you seemed to have the situation mostly in hand." Before the Cop could respond a fireteam of Sable troopers rounded the corner and the Symkarian shifted back into the hardass commander persona, "Sergeant, restrain these men and secure the perimeter for NYPD. Captain Watanabe will escort me to the precinct" she ordered with her usual authoritative air. Yuri watched as the troopers used their usual amount of care when fitting plasti-cuffs to her attackers before Sable beckoned her over, "Walk with me Captain."

Not seeing a practical alternative to accepting, Yuri holstered the Rhino revolver and stepped up alongside the mercenary before the two women walked down the street towards the Chinatown precinct as ambulances and police cruisers streaked towards the alleyway. "Did you go looking for trouble this morning or did it happen to find you?" asked the silver haired woman lightly.

Yuri snorted, "I don't make a habit of looking for trouble, I leave that for Spider-Man and the Marauder" she said dryly before adding, "but there seems to be more than enough trouble to go around these days."

Sablinova 'hmmed' in agreement, thought there was more on her mind than she was letting on. "I'm sure it's helpful to have them available to help. At your beck and call…and able to do things you can't do" said Silver as she flashed a hint of contempt, "like sending them into my Main Operating Base to interrogate a VIP" she accused. Yuri kept up her poker face, even if she had told the Marauder where to find Standish, she certainly hadn't ordered him to do something as brash as barge into the camp in Central Park.

Instead she merely shook his head, "I'm flattered, but I don't think anyone can control either of them" she admitted wryly, "especially me." Both of the masked vigilantes were fiercely independent, even if they were both prone to take risks. "If they were there then it was of their own accord" assured the Cop as they made their way up the steps of the building.

Watanabe turned to the Symkarian and saw the grimace on her face, "Regardless, tell them to stay away from my operation today. Any interference will incur…severe penalties" she assured with threatening iciness before spinning on her heel and heading down the steps to one of the stark white vehicles, leaving Yuri with another phone call to make.

* * *

Rustling his hair to make it not look like he had spent more than the normal amount of time wearing his mask, Peter entered the backdoor into the lab of Octavius industries. He had a few hours to get some work done with Otto before he had to book it to the Bowery if he wanted to meet Cooper in time to oversee Michaels' transfer. It was clear that the Pilot was taking this very seriously, having said something about 'pulling out all the stops.' Part of Peter was concerned that the Texan might have been going too far, but all that concern got him was a reminder of what was at stake.

Pushing the thought of seeing Devil's Breath unleashed from his mind, the young scientist stepped into the lab and saw Octavius hard at work on the next phase of the project. So far, the prosthetics were far and beyond what Parker had thought possible, a perfect combination of modern and futuristic technologies to achieve something straight out of science fiction. Octavius had made it clear that there was only more to come, true integration of the link technology Pilots used to control their Titans. "Morning Parker" greeted Otto, "or is it evening? Ah, doesn't matter" finished Octavius dismissively with a forced chuckle to try and inject some levity. But it was clear to the assistant that the Doctor was running himself ragged and starting to fray under the stress. "Check the neurosensors, would you? We need a faster response time."

"On it" answered Parker as he quickly set to work on the prototype headgear. Next to it on the table was the green and yellow striped helmet, other than the paint scheme the one that Cooper used to this day was almost identical. Though the composite armor plating had been removed, the visor and breather were still in place, watching Parker as he worked. Otto's creation appeared nearly identical to the internals protected by armor and insulation and was almost as capable. After Peter finished fine tuning and streamlining the systems to get the reaction time where Otto wanted it. "2.8 Milliseconds" Peter announced triumphantly as he held up the prototype.

Otto had prepared the arms for a test of dexterity and reaction time as Peter prepared the prototype. Unlike the Militia helmet they didn't have a method of wirelessly transmitting the data the helmet picked up efficiently enough, so they had to use a hardwire connection. With an encouraging smile, Peter handed the prototype to Otto, who slipped it on before Parker moved over and was ready on the emergency stop. Tentatively, one of the carbon fiber arms picked up a tennis ball from the bucket on the floor before tossing it in the air. Out of reflex, Otto reached out with his arm as the mechanical double did the same, extending to double its normal length to snatch the ball from mid air.

Peter stared in shocked amazement as the arm collapsed back into its original shape before tossing the ball to its opposite, "Yes!" cheered Parker quietly as Otto gave a small smirk of confidence before having the second arm toss the ball back to the first. From there things progressed rapidly, with the two arms picking up three more tennis balls and beginning to juggle casually. Faster and faster, more balls were added to the display until the bucket was empty and both arms were a blur as they kept all the balls in flight. Peter was in awe at the sight while Octavius had the happiest and most triumphant expression his young protégé had ever seen plastered on his face. Proving that the arms worked, Otto began directing the arms to put the balls back in the bucket until they were all back where they started.

"I'd call that a mild success" said Otto in sheer understatement, the grin etching itself deeper into his sagely features.

Peter shared his delight, but not his subtlety, "I'd call that unbelievable!" whooped the Queens native in joy. He then turned to see Otto trying and failing to disconnect the cable at the base of the prototype as Peter's joy turned to concern, "Do you need some help?"

The elder scientist nodded, "Yes" he admitted quietly as Peter nodded and stepped behind him to remove the cable from the headgear. As soon as it was disconnected the indicator lights on the arms flickered off as Peter gently removed the prototype and turned to Octavius. "Doctor, what's going on?" he asked candidly.

"It's become that obvious?" asked Otto dryly before taking the prototype back from the assistant. "My doctors call it a 'degenerative nerulogical disorder', probably caused by overexposure to toxic chemicals in my…reckless youth" explained Octavius.

"I'm sorry" offered Peter genuinely, "is there anything I could do?" Octavius was too good a man for Peter to watch suffer like this, and to think it would only get worse…

"You already are" assured Otto as he gestured towards the prosthetics. "The worst part is it only affects the muscles – the mind continues to work, but it can no longer do" explained the Doctor sadly. Peter simply stared in silence as he digested this revelation that the man he looked up to had time going against him. "You're the only one who knows, Peter. I'd like to keep it that way."

Well, it wasn't as if he wasn't used to keeping secrets. "Of course" he assured without hesitation, the man had done so much for him that honoring his request was the only choice Parker would make.

Otto nodded thankfully before taking a deep breath and looking down. "Uhh….if you'd like to seek a position with more of a future…" he began before Peter cut him off.

"I came here to work because of what you got up here" he said as he gestured to his own mind, "that's not going anywhere. So neither am I" promised the young genius.

Otto was visibly relieved and quite emotional as he embraced his protégé before the two got back to work.

* * *

Miles Morales was experiencing something new; he was in trouble. Not the kind of trouble he got into when he missed his curfew because he was at his buddy's playing video games and working on their pet projects. Not the kind of trouble he got into when he didn't keep his room as tidy as his mother would have liked. Nor even the kind of trouble he got into when he got fed up that asshole at school shoving him into lockers and punched him in the face. No, this time he was in real, _serious_, trouble.

He had thought his dad had been exaggerating when he told him stories about teenagers who went down random alleys and got mugged. Miles had always chalked it up to his job as a Police Officer meaning he saw these sorts of things in disproportionate numbers and that it would never happen to him. But only now, as he stared up to the two masked thugs who were blocking his way, did he begin to reconsider that position. "Whaddaya' doin' here?" asked the one in the leather jacket.

Before the teenager could explain himself, the thug shoved him to the street with ease as the wind was knocked out of Morales and he coughed before the thug drove his boot into his gut while he was still on the ground. Snarling in anger, Miles charged the man, burying his shoulder into the goon's stomach as he managed to push the man back as his buddy shouted "Ho! We got a fighter!"

Eager to prove him right, Miles managed to force his attacker to the ground as he reared his arm back and punched the man in the face once, then twice as the mugger threw up his arms to block the weak blows before the other came up behind and ripped the teen off the thug. Morales grunted as he was thrown into a brick wall and slumped to the ground, groaning in his side as it throbbed in pain, the teen sat up to face the two thugs who loomed over him. "You just made your last mistake, punk" threatened one of them before the one in back was plucked up by a white line before being unceremoniously dropped back to the blacktop.

The lead one turned around and saw his friend sprawled out on the asphalt before he looked up in horror to see a similar white line pull him up as Miles eyes followed the man. Streaking down from the building overhead, a red and blue clad figure rammed his feet into the man's back and slammed him into the ground before back flipping off. "Does it seriously take this many guys to rob a teenager?" asked the brightly colored figure as Miles noticed for the first time the half dozen other thugs in the alley.

Blinking back the haze and glare from the sun, Miles stared up in awe at the white spider logo that covered the man's back outlined by black piping and black webbing on the red sections that extended down to his shoulder blades and also formed a 'belt' around his waist. The teenager watched in awe as he began firing bursts of webs at the thugs before using his lines to rip one off of his feet and whip him around before slamming him into his compatriots.

And that was just the beginning as Miles was a spectator while Spider-Man bounced from wall to wall and flipped acrobatically around the muggers so fast he had a hard time keeping up. Powerful punches and kicks staggered the men and sent them back before one came at Spider-Man who simply fell flat on his back and stuck his feet up before using his whole body to launch the attacker into his two accomplices before webbing all three down. Miles then looked up in awe as the man extended his hand down to the teen, "You hurt?" he asked genuinely.

Only then did the teen realize truly who it was who he was looking at as he took the offered hand and sprung to his feet. "Y…you're Spider-Man! The amazing Spider-Man! You…you're the Spectacular Spider-Man!" He rambled as the teen continuously shook the hero's hand.

"And a few other choice adjectives Jameson uses" remarked the webhead dryly as he steadied the teen's hand. "Look" he said candidly as he turned serious, "that was really brave, but next time leave the fighting to the pros, okay?"

"Ok" answered Miles before reflexively asking, "but what if there aren't any around?" The question caused the hero to come to a stop as he paused to ponder the question.

To Miles' utter delight, his idol turned back around and the blank white eye lenses looked straight at him. "Well…you can't just go around swinging at someone twice your size. I mean, don't get me wrong…" he began before quickly amending the statement before Miles could point out what was hypocritical about his advice. "I fight guys who are stronger than me all the time, but when I do it I hav-"

"Like that time you fought the Rhino on the Brooklyn Bridge?" asked Miles excitedly. "That was so awesome!" gushed the teen as he began to ramble on. As Morales' mind queued up another example, the Superhero cut him off.

"Perfect example" interjected the vigilante quickly before Miles could continue on his tangent. "If the other guy's bigger, you gotta be quicker" explained Spider-Man. Miles nodded in understanding, the advice seemed obvious, but you had to start somewhere. "Ok?"

"Ok" replied Miles, "but that's easy for you to say" pointed out the teen. He was definitely no Spider-Man, hell; nobody was like Spider-Man. Scorpion, Rhino, Electro, even other heroes like Captain America or the Marauder couldn't move like the wallcrawler could. "I just can't do what you do."

Spider-Man cocked his head sideways, looking the younger man over before nodding in understanding, "Alright, put 'em up" he ordered.

The teen stared back dumbly at the hero, jaw hanging open as his mind checked and rechecked that he had heard correctly. "Seriously?" he asked in shock as he took a step back, thinking that this wasn't exactly what he was hoping to get out of this encounter.

"Yeah, come on" encouraged Spidey as he half raised his own fists, making it clear this was just a friendly exercise and not the real thing. Gesturing with his hand, the webhead asked Miles to approach and he did, trying to remember what his dad had taught him before the wallcrawler held up his hand. "First thing…don't let the adrenaline get to you" he said calmly, spoken like a true veteran. "Breathe slow, breathe deep, _relax_" he emphasized. "Hips square to your opponent" he commanded firmly as Miles complied, "let your opponent make the first move."

Miles nodded as Spidey continued his instruction by pointing down, "Use your feet…and when they go off balance…" he explained as the teen shuffled his sneakers and Spider-Man turned his head to expose his chin before holding his palm up in front of it and tapping the back of his glove clad hand against his face. "When you see an opening…" he began encouragingly.

Hesitantly, Miles moved his balled fist in slow motion to impact the superhero's hand. "Like that?" he asked tentatively.

The masked face nodded, "Yeah, yeah that's it" he affirmed as Morales drew his hand back. "Okay. Now only this time, just let me have it" Spider-Man said as Miles nodded and did as he had been told, squaring his hips and shuffling his feet, eyes locked on the expressionless mask. "Right on the jaw, okay?" said the Wallcrawler as Miles saw his opening and lashed out. "I can take – urgh!" growled Spider-Man as he turned and stumbled away, hand clutching his bruised jaw. "Oh shi…." Hissed the masked hero as he turned back and Miles all of a sudden realized he might have overdone it a bit.

"Sorry" he offered meekly as he saw his life flash before his eyes, fearing the worst and that his hero would want retribution.

To the teen's immense relief, Spider-Man just took the haymaker in stride. "No, no, no, it's all good" he assured as he worked his jaw inside his mask. There was a smile in his voice as he looked back at Miles, "you keep that up and uh…you'll be fine" he assured. "Alright, lesson's over. I gotta go."

Miles watched his hero walk off and remembered one last thing he had to say. "Hey! Uh…thanks."

Spidey pointed back at the Teen, "Anytime" he finished amicably before firing off a webline and acrobatically swinging away.

Miles watched, beaming like he hadn't in a very long time before looking down at the hand he was still subconsciously flexing as what had just happened settled in. "I just punched Spider-Man" he realized, part of him hoping that this didn't make him a criminal while most of him was too elated at meeting his hero to care. After taking a few seconds to sort himself out and let reality sink in, the teen got moving again.

Heading back up the street towards the FEAST shelter, he was interrupted by a ringing in his pocket as he pulled his phone out and answered. _"Yo Miles, what's up?" _asked Ganke Lee, the ever excitable friend who was a programming wiz while Miles did the hardware.

Having only just gotten his nerves under control, the teen quickly lost his composure once again. "Bro, you are not gonna believe this – I just met Spider-Man!" he revealed. He knew Ganke was a Marauder fan, but still, the chance to met one of them was once in a lifetime.

"_What?" _returned a shocked Ganke, _"That's crazy! Hey, did you show him our hacking app?" _

Miles felt like punching himself for his stupidity, "Oh man!" he moaned, "I totally forgot."

And just like that, his friend turned on him, _"You suck" _shot the other teen with no real malice behind it. _"He totally would have bought it off you. And then we'd be like famous!" _said Ganke excitedly, though Miles thought there was probably more to it than that.

"Yeah, I'll show him next time" promised Miles, though he was ninety nine percent sure there wouldn't be a next time. "I gotta go, I promised my mom I wouldn't be late" he called as he looked down at the time and grimaced.

"_Cool, later" _answered Ganke simply before hanging up, leaving Miles with his thoughts as he continued down the streets. Ever since his dad had died he hadn't gone out much, just school and home every day, head down and unaware of how the city had changed in the wake of the attack that had claimed his father's life. The streets felt mellowed as people were more prone to keep their heads down as if they were in fear of having them blown off. As the teen continued on he saw a car accident as bystanders crowded around to get a decent look. After that was a checkpoint manned by the Private Security Firm the Mayor had brought in.

Getting in line, he looked down at his phone and saw the time. There was no way he could get through this line in time and he looked for alternatives. He noticed that the guards were all focused on checking papers and left the small drones out to make sure nobody slipped past, if that drone were to become suddenly disabled then he should be able to easily get through. Deciding he had nothing to lose if he tried, he opened the app he and Ganke had been working on and found the drone's signal. Tapping the icon on his phone, the hacking app uploaded a virus to the drone.

To his utter amazement, the drone's IR sensor flickered out as the essential flight systems rebooted and kept the drone aloft. Deciding he might as well go through with this, he checked that nobody was looking before vaulting over the fence and crouching down before charging across the street. "I can't believe Sable systems are unsecured" he whispered to himself as he used a car for cover before crossing over the next wall and catching his breath. "Maybe I'll send an anonymous tip" he mused.

Looking past the gate to the garden he was in, he saw more patrolling Sable troops, causing his mind to race. He didn't fancy his chances getting by and he looked for alternatives. No open windows or doors, no alleys either, he couldn't go around. But then he thought like his hero, "Maybe I can go up…that scaffolding, bingo." Clambering his way up, he soon got his footing on the wooden construction. Making his way forward, he disabled a few more drones before dropping down and hopping the wall into a public area just across from the shelter.

Proving that there was a god, not thirty seconds after he escaped danger, his phone rang loudly. Quickly looking at the screen, he saw the Caller ID as his mother and answered instantly. "Oh, hey mom" he greeted, trying to make sure he regulated his breaths. _Breath slow. Breath Deep. Relax _he mentally chanted.

"_Hey Honey" _greeted his mother's soothing tones. _"Did you make it to the FEAST shelter okay?" _

Miles did what any decent teenager would have in this situation, he lied his ass off. "Uhh, yeah" he answered in the least suspicious way possible. "Almost there" he informed nervously, hoping his mother wouldn't call him out on this, he might not survive the tongue lashing he would get if she knew.

Thankfully, he was still being looked out for and his mother, with her fiery Latin temperament still intact, didn't notice his lie. _"You don't have to work at that shelter, you know" _she offered tentatively.

"You said I did" replied Miles, slightly peeved that he might have just taken all of those risks for no reason.

"_No, I gave you a choice" _corrected the woman gently.

"Yeah" conceded the son as he looked up at the Shelter and heaved out a heavy breath. "And I chose this over more therapy" answered Miles. _Not like that's much of a choice _he groused internally. "I mean, it was helpful. The guy said everyone grieves in their own way. This is mine."

"_Okay" _replied Rio, _"I'm sorry" _she said, figuring she had hit a nerve with her prying.

"Mom" he answered firmly, cutting her off.

There was a slight pause, _"…yeah?"_

"Just because I don't want to talk about it doesn't mean I don't love you" he explained quietly. He knew he had been shutting her out, but he would still do anything for his family, and she was his only family left.

"_Oh honey…" _she answered quietly, _"I love you so much. We'll get through this" _she promised as she began to choke up.

"We will" returned Miles with a faint smile. "I gotta go, I'll call you when I'm on my way home" he promised before hanging up as he finished crossing the street and when he saw a white blur heading his way. The car pulled up to a stop alongside the curb before the driver gave the engine a rev, rock musing blaring from the open windows before they were rolled up and the car switched off.

Out came a broad shouldered man Miles guessed to be in his mid-twenties wearing blue jeans and an old Houston Astros jersey, aviator shades covering his eyes. The man's fingers danced on the hood of the Mustang as he removed his sunglasses to reveal blue eyes that seemingly lit up in recognition when the fell on Miles. "You Morales?" he asked in a calm drawl as he extended his hand and the teen nodded. "Name's Cooper, Matthew Cooper. Welcome to FEAST" he introduced warmly.

"Yeah, happy to be here" returned Miles as he looked back at the car and noticed the badge on the back. "Nice car" he complimented, "Shelby?" he asked. Part of him had always liked cars, and while he preferred futuristic electric cars, his dad had instilled a respect for the old school.

"Sure is, GT350" answered Cooper with a nod as he led the teen up the steps. "If you want, I'll give you a ride, let you feel that Voodoo V8 in action" he offered as the two made their way inside to the lobby.

"I wouldn't be so quick to take him up on that offer. It's only a matter of time before one of his passengers dies of a heart attack" quipped a familiar face awaiting them inside the shelter. Peter Parker gave a lopsided grin as he pointed his finger at Matt. "I made the mistake of riding with him once, aged five years in five blocks."

"That's 'cause you don't know how to handle _real _speed" defended the Texan wryly, a glimmer of mirth in his eye. "One of the problems with you New Yorkers is that you think the subway counts as fast" he drawled with a dry chuckle tacked onto the end. It was easy to see that the two were good friends, the banter flowed easily between them. But the conversation soon became more serious, "so where do you need us Pete?"

It didn't take Miles long to figure out the dynamic the pair shared as Peter's eyes darted around. The Queens Native was the more high strung of the two, mind working as fast as his while the southerner was more laid back, though his eyes glowed with attentiveness nonetheless. "May told me they were having trouble with the ovens; they aren't heating up right. Could you take a look at that?" asked the New Yorker. The Texan merely nodded and strolled off towards the kitchen as Peter turned his gaze to Miles, who instinctively straightened. "Miles, why don't you just start by getting comfortable with the place. Meet a few people" instructed Parker before pointing to a simmering coffee pot. "You know what, everyone loves coffee" he suggested before clapping the teen on the shoulder.

Miles nodded, "Coffee, alright" he said with a nod as he picked up the pot.

Peter made to follow his friend into the kitchen as Peter gave him one last glance. "And I'll be back in a little while to check on you, is that cool?" asked Parker, thought his tone made it clear that that was very much a question.

"Yeah…" answered Miles tentatively, "yeah, I should be fine" he assured, getting one last nod before the older guy walked off. He decided to swallow his pride and go up to the first person he saw with a half empty cup and offer a refill, then the next, then the next until he was halfway across the room that was the size of the gym at Midtown. "Coffee?" he offered to a man sitting at one of the cheap folding tables, hunched over and studiously working on a crossword puzzle.

The man glanced up and nodded, "Thanks" he grunted quietly before setting back to work as Miles filled his cup.

"Need help?" offered the honor roll student.

"Not unless you know what the hell a 'quark' is" answered the man sarcastically.

Miles cracked a smirk, "It's a subatomic particle" he offered happily. "You know, the basic building block of protons, neutrons, hadrons…" he prompted. "Subatomic" parroted the homeless man in realization as he looked up at Miles and flashed a genuine smile, "That fits! Good one kid" he complimented. Morales just nodded in return and resumed his coffee run as he snaked his way through the beds, shocked at just how many there were, and how many were occupied. He didn't think there were that many homeless people in the city, he hardly ever saw any on the streets. _Because they're here _he realized, beginning to understand the value of FEAST.

The sound of irate grumbling knocked him from his thoughts as he saw a stereotypical looking crotchety old man mumbling at and smacking a television set. "…piece of junk…aw hell!" he cursed as Miles made his way over to investigate. "Damn hunk of junk!"

Miles looked the TV over, it was an older model, bulkier and had a rotary dial and buttons on the front face. The same kind he had taken apart a dozen times, just to see how they work and to find out if he could put them back together. "Mind if I take a look?" he offered.

The older man turned around, startled, "Eh?" he chirped as he squinted his eyes at Miles.

Miles thought that, as usual, people doubted his technical abilities because of his age, so he explained. "We have a couple of CRTs at school, I know to fix these when they—"

"CR what?" asked the man in genuine confusion. _Ah, that would be the issue_ realized Miles. "No, you just smack it a couple times" insisted the white haired man as he began to do just that. "Get it going."

"Or…" offered the youth, "it could be a loose coax cable" he suggested.

"Alright, alright" conceded the man as he backed off and gestured wildly towards the static filled television, "Be my guest. Mr. Smarty pants. Please, go ahead." Smiling cockily, Miles set the coffee pot down on the floor and set to work. Pulling out the cable, he inspected it and blew the dust out before screwing it back into place. His ears told him that static was replaced with the news as he stepped back in front of the screen.

"…_tributes continue to pour in for Officer Jefferson Davis, the hero killed in the City Hall bombing, as reports emerge that he used his own body to shield others in his last moments of life…"_

Miles smiled a bit, his father may have died, but he went out doing what he thought was right. For some reason or another, that thought helped keep Miles at peace. "Hey, new kid" called the old man sitting and watching the screen, "I'm empty here." Tearing his eyes away from the news, he picked the pot back up and filled the man's cup. "Hero? Man didn't do nothing heroic except getting himself blown up" snorted the old man derisively.

The comment made Miles sick to his stomach, and he balled his fist before realizing the geezer wasn't worth getting mad over and he turned to move on, try to forget about the man's comment when a hand clamped down on his shoulder and stopped him in his tracks. "Hey Ernie" said Parker as Miles looked back at the hand holding him in place and who it was attached to. "I see you've met Miles. He's going to be helping out around here. You may have heard of his father – Jefferson Davis." Miles looked at Peter in shock, hoping the guy would stop when he noticed Parker hadn't come alone. "Pretty great that even though he's got a lot of stuff going on right now, he decided to come and help volunteer. Don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah" answered Ernie weakly. "Thanks" he grunted before muttering something to himself and standing. "Listen kid, I'm sorry about your dad. He was a hero I guess, just like him over there" he said, nodding towards the Texan standing straight in the doorway, arms crossed, and eyes narrowed at the old man.

Miles cocked his head in curiosity as he turned back to the old man. "Why? What'd he do?"

"What I had to" answered Cooper, drawl absent and tone cold as ice, "nothing more…nothing less."

With that, the Texan turned and made his way back towards the kitchen, "C'mon Miles. Let's see if Aunt May needs a hand in the kitchen" prompted Peter as Miles looked back at Ernie one last time before turning to follow.

When the two entered the kitchen, Miles saw Cooper helping a kindly looking older woman in her early sixties carry plates of sandwiches when he heard a strange gong like sound. "Are those…church bells?" he asked, confused.

"Not quite" drawled Matthew as he pulled out his phone and tapped the screen, stopping the sound. "Those are Hells Bells…'cause there will be hell to pay if I miss this lunch date" he quipped coolly, the easygoing joking tone Miles expected absent as he gave the woman an apologetic smile. "Time for me to head out, take care ya'll, and nice meeting you Miles" he said with a wave as he left.

"I gotta go too Aunt May" said Peter suddenly. "But I brought some help" he offered as the woman turned to look at the teen for the first time.

She gave a warm smile, the same kind his mother had. "Hi Miles, nice to see you! Grab an apron, wash your hands, and I'll show you around." Miles nodded and began to do just that.

While he was fumbling with the ties on the apron he called out to Peter's back, "Hey Pete, thanks for that back there."

"Course" replied the older man with an easygoing smile before turning to follow Cooper out of the shelter.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Sniper Rifle: D-2 Double Take_

_The Double Take is a curious weapon, developed as a way to create higher hit probability by solving this complex problem with a very simple solution: shoot more bullets. _

_Even simpler was the way they went about solving it, they took a page from the playbook of the old west by simply making the gun a side by side. There are two barrels firing caseless ammunition with an energy firing mechanism like that in the Volt and Devotion. Obviously, the shots don't hit dead center, but as long as your aim is close then at least one will hit, and if you aim really well then both bullets will hit and not very much will survive that. _

_Of course, this weapon is actually usable because the entire package is well thought out. Caseless ammunition and energy actuated systems make it lighter and more compact, paired with a bullpup construction to make it a manageable length, the holographic sight is easy to use and excellent. _

_Interestingly is the way that others tried to solve this problem beforehand. Many have turned to rapid fire bursts like the G11 and AN-94. Still others have turned to flachettes like Styer in their ACR program. But the best attempt was the XM-16E2 developed by Colt, which simply stuffed two projectiles into each 'bullet.' The D-2 is much simpler, peeling back the futuristic tech all it boils down to is lock, stock, and two smoking barrels. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: I know its short, but after the massive chapter last week I wanted to keep it brief and give the story a bit of time to breathe, especially with what's coming in the next chapter. Though it was fun to write an action sequence with Yuri, mainly because I do really like that Six Gun. But really this one was pretty straight forwards, leave a review if you have anything to say, good, bad, or otherwise. **

**Next week will be a chase sequence where everyone has to go like a Bat Out of Hell.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	39. Chapter 39: Bat Out of Hell

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Jesus Tapdancing Christ, what is going on out there? For those reading this long after posting, this chapter is coming out amidst a global pandemic, and the ensuing panic that is somehow more concerning than said pandemic. However, there have been some lighter happenings too, for example, home improvement stores (Home Depot and Lowes) are making a killing. Apparently everyone has decided to spend their time at home working on projects and doing useful stuff.

Even though I am making light of the situation, I do sincerely hope everyone is in good health and keeping a cool head. Don't let any alarmist rhetoric affect your good judgement, unless they have to dig up central park and use it as a mass grave or something, then we can panic.

**Blaze1992: Thanks for discussing some of these things with me over PM, but for those with these questions, here are the answers.**

**1\. BTs power is something I have had trouble with and there is a reason that 'Who would win in a fight between...' is such a common lead in out there for many matchups. Ultimately, BT has the firepower and durabilty to go up against almost anyone or anything, but it comes down to all of the other factors to determine who exactly would win. Each character BT would have to fight would have a way to take him down, but anything can happen on any given day. **

**3\. The plan is for this fic to continue after the end of the DLCs but if the game gets a sequel then that will be a seperate story. **

As for the title, this is a classic tune, even if Top Gear relentlessly shit on it back when they did their search for 'Best Ever Driving Song.' Despite that, this massive, nearly 10 minute long song is still quite good. Performed by Meat Loaf, no seriously, I will always like it because it is a blend of music and storytelling that you rarely get these days. About wailing sirens, awesome vehicles, the ultimate woman, and a massive crash, it was the song that ultimatley won out the race to be the title of one of the highlight missions in the game: the APC chase.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 39: Bat Out of Hell**

_I'm gonna hit the highway like a battering ram_

_On a silver-black phantom bike_

_When the metal is hot, and the engine is hungry_

_And we're all about to see the light_

_Nothing ever grows in this rotting old hole,_

_And everything is stunted and lost_

_And nothing really rocks, and nothing really rolls,_

_And nothing's ever worth the cost_

* * *

Cooper looked down the Advanced Optical Gunsight mounted atop the R-201 Carbine, scanning the bustling streets below for any sign of suspicious activity. With a full load of ammo and the belt fed MGL on his back, the magnetic grenades should be able to deal with vehicles while minimizing collateral damage. It was clear to the SRS Commando that there was something going on here with the heavier than average Sable presence, and they weren't exactly being subtle about it.

All of that was not at the forefront of his mind, that honor went to the Police Captain in his headset. _"It's my ass on the line Marauder. I have Sablinova herself showing up to my precinct telling you to back off," _she revealed tersely, _"with you doing your solo act I end up being the one to catch all the blowback."_

Matthew let out a sigh, he sympathized with her, he really did. "Captain, if Li gets his hands on Devil's Breath then _everyone's _asses are on the line" he responded coolly. "Passing the buck isn't an option anymore, someone has to step up and make a play. If Sable's people can do it then that's fine…"

"_But…" _interjected Yuri dryly.

"But" parroted Cooper, "I don't trust them as far as I can throw them. There's too much at stake, even if I did trust them, to think I can sit this one out. You can try and convince Spidey but he's of the same mind I am."

"_Hope for the best but prepare for the worst?" _asked Yuri dryly. The veteran lawwoman had always held a similar mindset and the understanding in the words caused Cooper to crack a small, knowing grin.

A flicker of movement down street as a figure settled down onto a rooftop and waved caught his attention as he waved back and checked the time. _On time, huh, miracles do happen _he thought. "It's kept me alive this far. And who knows, maybe the best will happen, Sable's people will send Li packing and I get to sit back and enjoy the show" he drawled with a mirthful chuckle, _fat chance of that_.

Yuri offered a small laugh of her own, _"First time for everything" _she replied dryly, _"but if you get yourself shot by Sable, you better live long enough to explain yourself. Cause if I have to do it the explanation will be that you were a fucking idiot" _deadpanned the Captain.

Cooper burst out laughing, "That's incentive" he drawled before cutting the line and getting back to his watch, looking down at the face of his tacpad on the inside of his left wrist as he aimed his rifle. The time read 11:57, "Showtime."

* * *

Dr. Morgan Michaels, an African American man in his late fifties who was soft spoken and mild mannered, thought of himself as a good man with a good job and a good family. Two daughters in college that were the pride of his life, that he would do anything for. He was also a curious man, and so when he was assigned to a project by Norman Osborn himself to work on an experimental compound that could revolutionize medicine, he took the opportunity without a second thought…until now.

He had effectively been under house arrest for almost two weeks in this Bowery safehouse, unable to contact his family, unable to go outside, and burdened with protecting his creation. Looking down inside the lined and padded briefcase and the OSCORP branded container of red liquid inside, he wished he had never accepted the offer to work on the project and the Pandora's Box it had opened. "We're ready for you, Dr. Michaels. Is that the Devil's Breath?"

The filtered voice of his 'guard', meaning 'warden,' snapped the wizened scientist from his internal conundrums. Sighing, the Doctor turned to the two armored soldiers, "It's called GR-27" he corrected tiredly, "not…" he began before realizing the futility of it and sighing once more. "Just be careful, in the wrong hands this could…" he tried to remind them.

But the pair were dismissive, "Don't worry, we're the best in the world" assured one of the soldiers confidently. _Yeah, but that may not matter if the threat isn't from this world_ thought Michaels. From the beginning of the project, Osborn had made it clear that, of all people, the Marauder could be an issue.

Michaels had never learned why Osborn thought this, or why that crime fighter in particular, when the dubious morals of what they were doing could attract much more attention, but in a project full of secrets that one was a mere footnote. Closing the case and snapping the attached cuff to his wrist, Michaels was ready to get this over with, "I feel better already."

* * *

"Black sedans…really racking up the originality points there" hummed Spider-Man to himself as he watched Michaels get hustled out of the building Cooper said he would be in and into the back of one of three cars. He was sure that the Marauder could tell him exactly what kind of sedans Sable was using, but what was important was that it seemed that Sable was taking the subtle approach to moving the Doctor. While there were armored vehicles and troops aplenty around, it seemed like they were going to try and slip Michaels out right under the noses of the Demons. It was a bold strategy, and Peter had to give them credit, it wasn't nearly as dumb as he was expecting.

And for a brief, glorious moment, it seemed like it might actually work. There was a rumbling that Peter felt as his Spidey sense began to hum at the base of his skull, something was up. _"Heads up, possible contact on the west side. Stand by" _called Cooper over the comm link in Spidey's mask as the wallcrawler tensed, eye lenses narrowing. It seemed that the Sable troopers noticed too as they rushed to defensive positions behind their vehicles, readying weapons. The rumbling slowly morphed into a deeper, foreboding sound as everyone tensed in anticipation.

The source burst onto the scene with a massive crash, plowing through the corner of a building and throwing debris up into the air before the colossal black armored truck fully revealed itself. Massive tires crushed cars parked on the sides of the street as it charged forwards with a near suicidal single mindedness.

The unknown vehicle towered over even the Sable MRAPs and bore down on the soldiers of fortune as a masked man leaned out of the passenger window and shouldered a rocket launcher, prompting an immediate response from all parties. Sable troops opened fire with their high-tech weapons, a barrage of red energy blasts peppering the front of the truck to no affect as it charged headlong through the perimeter. The Demon APC smashed the defenses, either shoving MRAPs aside or crushing smaller vehicles under its immense weight while shrugging off the gunfire like gnats.

For their part, the Sable troops reacted quickly, encircling the massive intruding vehicle as it screeched to a halt, keeping up the fire as they took cover, the distinct report of their weapons echoing up the street. Peter watched as the back doors of the Demon APC swung open, immediately drawing a hail of red energy fire as rounds poured into the opening, causing the first two demons in line to get torn to shreds, their bodies convulsing with each impact before falling onto the street in bloody heaps. And for a moment, it looked like Sable International would contain the breach and win the day.

But the Demons weren't mindless drones, and it showed, two suited men holding shields put themselves between the fire and their comrades, absorbing hits and providing cover for the rifle armed Demons to return fire. The two sides slugged it out, but momentum was beginning to swing in the Demons favor as side doors opened and grenades and rockets soon came out, forcing Sable Troopers into the open for the shielded riflemen. Soon the Sable troopers were funneled towards the rear quarter of the truck as the Demon shield wielders parted to let a Brute pass through. Energy weapon fire shifted to this new target, but the sustained fire had depleted their batteries and harmed their accuracy and only a few shots found their mark, unable to stop the monster of a man as he jumped down from the APC and slammed his fists into the ground and unleashed a shockwave of negative phasic energy so powerful that it threw the car with Michaels up and flipped it, throwing the last remaining Troopers away like ragdolls.

The remaining Demons filed out of the truck, firing at any exposed Sable soldiers as the brute ripped the door off the black sedan and dragged Michaels out by his feet. _"God damnit" _muttered the Marauder as the suited men got back up into the massive APC. The Brute moved up to the cab at the front and the passenger door opened to reveal Martin Li himself sitting in the APC. Michaels was unceremoniously tossed up and into the cab before the Li disappeared back inside and the door shut. _"Sorry Yuri, but I've seen enough. Spider-Man…" _began the Renegade Commando as Peter heard the distinct sound of him chambering a round, _"let's rock."_

"You rock" replied the webslinger as he dropped down from the perch he was on, tucked his shoulder, and rolled across the roof before springing off the roof, "I'll roll" quipped Peter. Unsurprisingly, the Marauder didn't respond, meaning he probably muted his mic. Firing a webline, he swung through the smoke and saw the Demon APC pull away from the wrecked Sable position.

Dropping down on the street, Spidey scooped up one of the white armored Troopers and helped him to his feet as the Mercenaries tried to regroup. "Get off me, we got this!" snarled the trooper as he clutched his bleeding side.

Peter stifled a chuckle, "Yeah, sure looks like it buddy" replied Spider-Man as he slammed his foot down on a manhole cover, causing it to pop up before it was snatched out of the air and slung like a frisbee into a fire hydrant with such force the hydrant cracked open and sprayed water onto the raging fires.

A green armored figure slid into the fray, tossing a cannister onto a burning car as the smoke snuffed out the flames before streaking out as fast as he came in, firing his grapple and sling shooting around a building to follow the Demons. Spidey followed suit with his webs as the Marauder activated his STIM while running along the sides of buildings while Spidey swung from his webs. As the Marauder bounced between buildings, the webhead opened the comm line to his best bud in the NYPD. "Yuri, Marauder and I are in pursuit of Martin Li. I think he's got Dr. Michaels _and _the Devil's Breath" reported Spider-Man.

Whatever emotions Watanabe was experiencing at that news, she was professional enough to not let them show, immediately focusing on her job and getting it done. The Captain may have been too harsh sometimes, but in situations like this he was thankful that she was on his side. _"Copy that. More units coming your way."_

"_Be advised"_ interjected Cooper, _"Li took Michaels alive." _The APC continued to barrel down the streets, but its width meant it was constantly running over parked vehicles, slowing the monster machine down enough for the two vigilantes to close the gap. _"And wherever Li's going he's in one hell of a hurry."_

Though the NYPD Captain was focused on the practical reasons for Li's actions than Peter's first thought of being thankful the man was still alive. _"Probably going to force him to make more Devil's Breath" _suggested Yuri. That was a thought that Peter didn't want to have as he pushed himself to ensure that didn't happen. Below, Sable cars were racing off in pursuit, though they couldn't contribute much.

"_That's not going to happen" _stated Cooper firmly as he shot past, _"we're stopping that thing. Spidey, on me" _he barked. Just as he did the back doors swung open to reveal two men holding rocket launchers as they fired at the leading Sable car, both rockets slamming into it and turning the front into a twisted mangled wreck as it veered off to the side. Both vigilantes were spurred into action as Cooper activated his STIM, exo glowing in a blue hue as he shot forwards while the wallcrawler launched himself off a streetlight. Flipping over, Peter caught sight of the SRS Pilot launch himself off the wall before coming to a hovering stop behind the truck and unleashing a long burst from his rifle that sent the two Demons down before he fired his grapple to get his momentum back up.

The webslinger may not have approved of the Private Security Force, but he had to give them points for persistence as another vehicle took the fallen one's place and gave the hero an idea. Firing a webline, he pulled himself to the white vehicle and stuck firmly to the roof just as more Demons emerged from the truck tank thing. Only this time their fire was focused skyward as a hail of bullets left the distinct contrails on their way towards the Marauder. The assault took the commando by surprise as Peter saw at least one bullet hit him in the chest before he activated his phase shift and disappeared.

Picking out the gunmen on top of the vehicle, Spider-Man gave them both webshooters, emptying the cartridges to wrap them up in the synthetic silk when there was a distinct crack behind him. _"Spidey, can I get a boost?" _as the Marauder over the comm as Peter turned and saw him coming in hot. Jumping up, Peter reached out and grabbed the Pilot's outstretched hand with both arms before pirouetting in midair and launching the heavier Gunfighter towards the truck.

While Peter pulled himself back to the car, he could see the hurt that his friend was laying down on the Demons as he slammed into one with his full weight before jumping up with his kit and slamming his knee into the chin of the mask. "A hand getting over there?" asked Peter as he fired a webline at a streetlight and pulled himself from the car to start running along the side of the building. The Marauder heard his request as the armored vigilante surged forwards and grabbed the fallen man by the ankles before heaving him upwards as Spider-Man used the masked man to pull himself closer before whipping the Demon around over the top and slamming him down onto the roof of the truck just in front of the wallcrawler. "Hope you saved some for me" quipped Peter as his eye lenses widened and the Marauder looked over his shoulder.

Six more Demons were clambering up onto the top of the vehicle. "You just had to jinx it, didn't you?" asked Cooper as he pulled out an arc grenade. "Pull" he called out as he tossed the grenade up and the wallcrawler snatched it out of the air with a web before bringing it down right onto the top of one trio of baddies. With his other hand, the webhead fired a webline to pull him to the other group and got to work.

Space atop the truck was a precious commodity and neither fighter would be able to truly stretch their legs, efficiency and clean takedowns were the name of the game. With that in mind, the Webslinger swept the legs out from one Demon before impact webbing him to the roof and seamlessly dodging a punch, coming up ready for his friend to deliver a knockout blindside blow that sent the Demon wobbling off course.

Peter returned the favor as he fired a burst of electric web at another masked criminal on the Pilot's six before leaping up and vaulting over Cooper's shoulders to kick the stunned man in the chest. While Spider-Man continued to duel with this Demon, he felt the need to make small talk. "This is kinda fun isn't it? You and me, two pals enjoying the city, the weather, the…"

"The target rich environment" deadpanned the Texan as he grunted with effort, sliding behind a Demon before putting him into a headlock and jumping up before slamming the criminal into the metal roof.

"I was going to say the company" replied Peter sarcastically as he ducked a clumsy punch before casually throwing the Demon over his shoulder and webbing him down. There were still two more Demons, but that wasn't Peter's main concern at the moment.

That was the newly arrived helicopter that was staring menacingly down at them. Crisp white coloring and winglets packed with wicked looking weapon pods betraying its allegiance and purpose as it swooped in like a bird of prey.

"**This is Sable International" **called the leader of that organization as the chopper easily matched the armored trucks speed and settled in above and behind the truck. **"We have authorization for deadly force. There will be no further warning."**

Spidey looked towards the other Vigilante to gauge his reaction. "Well" began the Texan dryly as he pressed his hand to the side of his helmet, "now it's a party."

* * *

Machines aren't alive…but they can have souls. That soul can manifest as traits, quirks, and an attitude. And for one machine, its soul had gone dormant long ago, never truly able to live as it would have wanted to if given the choice. But ahead of it was the prospect that it could what it had would have always wanted, if it could want. To earn the reputation that its name had garnered, her name, _Widowmaker._

She was currently at idle, running lights showing the smallest glimpse of the dark, damp environment she was currently in. While this was ordinary, little else was. She was tense, with carbon fiber bones and hydraulic tendons as stiff as they could be. Her purpose was simple in premise, but if it truly were so simple then she would not have been called upon to carry it out.

The soul was not truly her own, but an amalgamation of the hundreds who had worked tirelessly, spending countless hours designing, building, and testing her. Added in with those who had seen her and fallen for her around the world. The man who was her master, laboring over her to make sure she was always at her best. Lastly the woman who was in the driver's seat, fingers tapping the steering wheel as they waited together for the moment when they were called upon.

"_Now it's a party."_

The doors in front opened to reveal the crisp fall day as _Widowmaker's _heart beat faster, giving a war cry as it charged forwards.

Machines may not be able to think, but if this one could…it would have known it wouldn't let anyone down.

* * *

Felicia, in full Black Cat gear, almost buried the car in a building as she turned out of the garage. Slamming the throttle down, she had forgotten what Matthew had told her about how easily the 950 horsepower hyper car could get away from you. And for a split second as the tail swung out wide and the building was getting closer, she wished she had taken her Jag instead.

Until, suddenly, almost as if the machine had a mind of its own, the big rear tires found grip and latched, launching the car forwards as Hardy worked the wheel to straighten it out. The city became a blur outside the McLaren's windows as the Black Cat pushed the car as fast as she dared before slamming on the breaks, the carbon ceramic discs and tires screeching in protest as Hardy was thrown forwards into her seatbelt.

Just off to her right was a screen showing her where she needed to go and how to get there as she wove the car through traffic, quickly getting a feel for the _Widowmaker_. As the tires heated up, getting even stickier, Felicia grew bolder, taking turns faster as the wing designed to keep the car pressed into the road would pop up to be an air brake. The exhaust, howling so loud it drowned out any thoughts other than _faster, _worked with the rear diffuser to create a low-pressure zone that would suck the back of the car down, keeping it more firmly planted the faster she went.

The gap closed within two minutes as Felicia took sight of the situation ahead of her. There were several white Sable cars in pursuit of a massive black armored truck, two familiar forms on top. Above the precession was a helicopter, raining laser fire down on the truck, though it seemed to do little other than char the paint. With a confident smirk, the woman upshifted with a click of the silver paddle and mashed her boot to the floor, the car responding instantly.

In seconds, she was through the entire group and alongside the truck and in its blindspot. "Hey boys" she called out over the radio as she grinned in the driver's seat. "Someone say something about a party?"

"_What the hell is she doing here?" _asked a bewildered Spider-Man over the comm as Felicia slammed on the brakes so the massive armored vehicle didn't crush her lover's prized car. _"We've already __caught up__, now we need to _stop _this thing" _reminded an exasperated Spider-Man. Hardy just smirked as she looked at the Archer Rocket Launcher in the passenger seat with one of its famed 'Titan Hammer' rockets loaded.

While she had scoffed at the thought of Li doing something this brash, she was reminded that most of the villains in New York didn't do subtlety. Which was why she had come up with this plan to deliver the Marauder his most powerful anti-vehicular weapon. _"Which is why we don't care about the car; we care about what's in it" _revealed the Marauder as he beat down the last Demon. _"Hold her steady babe, I'm coming" _he called as she pulled in trail and watched him jump off the back of the truck as she lowered the passenger window.

For a brief moment, Felicia watched in horror as it looked like he would miss wide to her right before his gloved hands grabbed the window frame and he dug his boots into the ground, being dragged by the car until he pulled himself inside the cramped cabin. "Ride 'em Cowboy" she teased as he twisted until he was more or less the right way up. "I'm going to get us out in front, get ready to take your shot" she called over the roar of the motor and gun battle while waiting for an opening.

When the Demon truck swerved, Sable shifted her guns to pull lead and Felicia seized the opportunity, downshifting to push the car near redline and rocket out in front down a long straight road before slamming on the brakes and turned sideways as Cooper stood half out the window, rocket launcher on his shoulder.

Hardy watched as the rocket streaked from the weapon and shot forwards, straight and true, slamming head on into the oncoming vehicle, throwing up a massive wall of smoke and dust from the shockwave. A massive wall of smoke and dust the truck promptly tore through as if nothing had happened, despite the appearance of the mangled front end.

On instinct, Hardy shifted the car into reverse and slammed the throttle, backing it into an alley as the whole ensemble shot by. Cooper cursing loudly as he hurled the empty weapon. _"Hey man, hope you got some bigger guns in there" _said Spider optimistically.

Next to her, the Texan shook his head. "I don't" he admitted, "but I know someone who does. Just buy some time."

* * *

"You say that like it's an easy thing" muttered Peter to himself as he tried to figure out how to stop this stupid truck. While doing that he had to constantly be on alert as more laser and the occasional missile came down at him from the circling helicopter. And now his phone was ringing in his ear on a three-way call, and he wasn't looking forward to another earful from the second most problematic silver haired woman he knew. "Rethink your plan yet?" he asked in greeting.

Sablinova ignored him completely. _"Spider-Man, Marauder, get clear" _snapped the Symkarian, the words an order in all but name, only it was one neither had any intention of complying with. _"You are interfering in this operation."_

"_Bullshit" _snarled Cooper over the line before Peter could think of a witty remark. _"Sable, _you _are interfering in _our _operation" _retorted the SRS Commando in a low growl. The pair were getting dangerously close to becoming openly hostile towards one another and Parker didn't have a clue as to what had the Texan so wound up. _"Two words: Fuck. Off."_

"Yeah, and I'm not exactly on board with operation 'Missiles in Manhattan' either" added the Webslinger cheekily before there was a sigh on the line and a burst of static indicated the Private Security Leader had disconnected. "So it sounds like you have a plan, care to enlighten me?"

"_You slow Li down, buy time"_ repeated the Marauder calmly, _"the cavalry's comin'" _he assured before there was another burst of static and the Webhead was left alone with his thoughts once again. The one thought that was at the forefront of his mind was who the 'cavalry' was. He couldn't possibly mean…

A loud crash caused the Wallcrawler to snap his head up to see the Sable cars in pursuit get smashed off the road by two big black SUVs, Demon's hanging out the windows and standing out of the sunroofs. "Need to clear out the guys in the trucks before I go after Li" realized the hero aloud as he prepared to do just that when he heard the distinct howl of a McLaren.

The _Widowmaker _came skidding around a corner with the green armored form of the SRS Pilot hanging out the window, grenade launcher pressed into his shoulder. The weapon fired four baseball sized grenades that attached to the rear quarter of the Demon vehicle and detonated as the rear suspension collapsed and the back half of the car slammed into the asphalt. A shower of sparks was thrown up into the air before the driver lost control and the car spun out, crashing into a storefront as Felicia deftly avoided the vehicle. The second one saw the new threat as the muzzles of the rifles swung around and fired, rounds striking the asphalt as the green McLaren veered off and shot through the side entrance of the Sable checkpoint the Demon truck had smashed through.

When the car emerged, Felicia had the car sideways in a perfect drift, tires squealing and throwing up smoke as Cooper leapt out the widow and fired his grapple to slingshot him forwards as the car shot off out of the fight. On his way down he unloaded the rest of the explosive grenades as the rounds stuck down the entire passenger side of the vehicle and exploded. Both tires on that side were wrecked as the car rolled onto its side and skidded to a stop.

Peter's Spider-sense rang loudly as he turned to see an oncoming wall of scaffolding, the massive vehicle not slowing down in the slightest. Jumping up, the superpowered vigilante fired a pair of weblines forwards and pulled himself as hard as he could before pinning his arms to his sides as he shot through the gap like a bullet travels down a barrel. Coming out cleanly on the other side, his momentum propelled him forward until he landed on the wrecked hood and straddled the exposed engine as he came face to face mask with Martin Li. "Li! Hand it over!" he barked.

The glowing philanthropist reached down and produced a pistol as Spider-Man instinctively dodged, able to feel the distortion in the air as the bullets missed him by scant millimeters. Rolling off the side, he slammed a hand to the metal and stuck fast, dangling perilously before finding his footing and moving to the door. Li glared at him through the bulletproof glass as the webhead threw a punch, putting more strength than he usually did as the 4-inch-thick window spiderwebbed before the second punch shattered it completely.

With a snarl on his face, Mr. Negative unlocked the door and gave it a kick, the energy blast the impact generated buckling the steel and flinging it out as Peter held on to the window frame, ignoring the pain from his cut and bleeding fingers. But the kick had done too much damage as the hinges bent and bent and bent until they could hold the weight no longer and snapped. The Webslinger held on as he felt his teeth shake from the impact of the armored door on the road and ignored the shower of sparks raining down on him as the door skidded under the truck. Desperate to not get pulled into one of the massive tires, Peter reached out for any sort of handhold, managing to find a big rubber hose as he grabbed it with one adhesive hand, the other stuck fast to the door.

His reprieve was short lived as the hose was ripped out from its socket under the added force on it, covering the wallcrawler in its contents as the thick fluid splattered on his eye lenses and seeped through his mask into his mouth. "I hope that's not important" he muttered between spitting the stuff out, his now free hand already letting loose a webline at the rear subframe as he shot out the back. Looking up he could see inside the compartment at the back, where the Marauder was pinning a Demon to the wall as he relentlessly punched the man in the face mask, cracking it as blood could be seen dripping from the bottom edge.

Another Demon jumped on his back and tried to bear hug him, but the SRS Commando fired his kit and launched himself back, slamming the criminal into the wall and breaking his grip. As soon as he was free, the Pilot spun around, bringing his rifle to his hip to fire a burst point blank into the Demon. The first one he was beating on got up to get the stock of the rifle thrust backwards into his gut before the Marauder raised the weapon and slammed the masked criminal in the back of the head with the gun.

The brutal beatdown took Peter by surprise, but a ringing in his ear diverted his attention. _"What's your status? Have you apprehended Li?" _asked Yuri bluntly. Only then did the x shaped visor snap up to look at Spider-Man as Pete gave a quick wave before he fired another webline and pulled himself back under the truck.

"Working on it" he replied in flustered tones as he got his bearings and ended the call. It was clear that Cooper was on the warpath and if he didn't get to Li before the Pilot did then there was a chance the philanthropist would end up in a morgue and not the RAFT. Switching back to the comm channel with the Texan, he was relieved to hear the slight distortion of the Pilot's comm suite. "I'm heading back to the cab, I'll handle Li" said Peter.

"_You crazy bastard" _grunted Cooper in reply as the sounds of more hand to hand combat raged in the background. _"We need to get the fuck off this thing before that backup arrives" _insisted the Marauder, but Spider-Man wasn't having it. The two of them could do this, what had changed to cause the Pilot to do something as drastic as what Peter thought was coming.

Instead of responding, the Webslinger pressed on, crawling up onto the side just next to the ripped off door and reached into the cab. "I'll take this" he quipped as he reached in to grab the briefcase before Li's glowing hand lashed and grabbed hold of Spidey's wrist. The burning sensation was horrifically painful as Peter screamed in pain and agony before he blacked out.

But it wasn't like any other blackout he had ever experienced as he snapped back to consciousness to be greeted by a twisted and warped black and white version of City Hall. "What the hell? What did he do to me?" asked Peter aloud as he recognized the scene. The aftermath of the bombing.

"_Give you a new perspective" _answered the distorted and disembodied voice of Martin Li as Peter looked wearily at his surroundings. _"I must be honest, I was hoping to bring you here" _admitted Mr. Negative as the man appeared before Peter, hands behind his back and completely calm as he eyed the superhero. _"My abilities lend me a certain…persuasiveness." _

With that final, haunting word, Li vanished as Peter stalked forwards slowly only for a flicker to send him to high alert, Li had reappeared on a catwalk, looking down on the Webhead. _"I've been watching you. I was waiting for you at City Hall" _revealed the philanthropist. The mention of that tragedy caused pangs of regret and anger to spike up in Peter's chest. _"You never came…where were you?" _asked Li as Spider-Man grit his teeth and didn't answer.

"Is this real?" he wondered. No, it couldn't be, none of this was right, leaving only one possibility, "or in my mind?" He continued forwards, seeing shadowy figures surround another apparition of Li in the middle of the wrecked square . The vigilante's sixth sense hummed annoyingly in the back of his head, setting him on edge as he steeled himself and pressed on.

"_It's such a shame so many had to die with no heroes to save them" _taunted Li as Peter tried to block his voice out by shaking his head. But everywhere he looked another shadowy figure transformed to have a face, a face of a victim of the bombing. All staring at Spider-Man accusingly until one figure silhouetted himself on the ruined stage; Jefferson Davis. Li turned and looked up at the cop before cocking his head, as if trying to remember something. _"That officer saved your life, didn't he? He was here because of you."_

The white suited man then appeared beside Davis as the scene transformed into the Officer throwing himself at the Deputy Mayor as he revealed the suicide vest he had been wearing. _"And Norman wanted to __**use **__him" _hissed Li with vile hatred. Li regarded the Officer for a moment, _"a futile gesture in the end" _he observed coldly before the scene changed with a wave of his hand to show the aftermath of the bomb. None of the bodies could be recognized as human, blown apart, bloodied, charred, and shredded by shrapnel.

"_And where was Norman during all of this?" _he asked as he strolled along the stage with the Webslinger in tow. _"Slinking away like a rat. He __**knew **__what was going to happen…and he fled" _said Li, answering his own question with disdain dripping from his every syllable. The Philanthropist set his hand on Peter's shoulder and walked him down the steps back into the square. _"Norman is a hidden cancer on this city" _explained Li, _"he must be excised with no trace of his corruption to return. Norman hides behind a mask of lies, I will break it apart and drag him into the light!" _vowed Mr. Negative.

The pair reached the base of the steps and Peter had to concede that Norman Osborn wasn't squeaky clean. His was ambitious, his ethics and morals could be called dubious at the best of times, and his treatment of Harry never sat right with Peter. _"Put on the mask; become one of us" _offered Li as a glowing version of the Demon's ubiquitous masks appeared before them.

Slowly, Peter stepped forwards and took the mask in hand, getting a feel for its weight. In one certain motion, he turned and hurled the mask with all of his superhuman strength at the apparition's face. The impact staggered Li as he dropped to one knee. "Thanks, but no thanks" added Peter, as if his rejection wasn't clear enough.

But Li merely laughed ominously, a sword appearing in his hand as he stood back up. _"One way or the other, you WILL join me!" _he shouted as he raised his arms and the shadowy figures all turned to the wallcrawler, the faces replaced by masks before they rushed him. The webhead tossed out both web grenades to buy himself some breathing space as he dashed out of the middle to try and escape, but the edges of the square were consumed by towering walls of black and white fire. _"All the souls you lost. The 'innocent victims' you couldn't save" _sneered Mr. Negative tauntingly while Peter fought for his life against the masked horde.

Grabbing one, he spun to knock the others away before hurling the shadowy form into a group. "MARTIN!" he roared, "their blood is on YOUR hands" as the shadowy figures stood back up, bodies broken and mangled form the beating they had just received at the hands of Spider-Man.

The masks disappeared again to reveal human faces, beaten and bloodied as they surrounded the vigilante. Arms and legs twisted and bent, chests caved in, backs snapped as some hunched limply as Peter realized he hadn't been holding back. Li merely smiled as he looked down at the display. _"You can stop Osborn. You have so much strength" _hummed Li approvingly. _"I can give you the will!"_

Before Peter could respond, the masks reappeared on the figures as they shambled forwards at the vigilante. However, their injuries had slowed them down and as the webslinger tried to take them down gently and cleanly he found that his attacks had no effect on the figures. As two slammed into him he was forced to the ground as more piled on. _"Their bodies filled the gutters and you did nothing!" _reminded Li as Parker's simmering anger began to boil over into a rage.

"I can't save everyone!" he groaned out in reply as he tried to shove the bodies off of him and get to his feet, but his hands passed straight through the shadowy forms. He tried to use his feet but found they were similarly useless as his arms and legs were pinned to the ground and blows began to pound him from head to toe.

Li grinned viciously as he watched the beating the Wallcrawler was taking. _"What's one life? A simple trade, one life for a city of souls…a good proposition, at least your friend seems to think so" _drawled Li casually. Peter's eye lenses went wide at those words and he began to thrash angrily against his tormentors. He refused to let his friend fall victim to Li's conniving scheme as his muscles tensed with all of their enhanced strength. From the stage, Mr. Negative merely smiled.

With a roar befitting a bayonet charge, Spider-Man pulled his legs up with all his might, ignoring the feeling of breaking bones as those who tried to restrain him were overpowered with brutal results. His whole body twisted and contorted as he unleashed full powered kicks until he launched himself up and fired two weblines, slamming full force into a Demon so that he drove his feet clean through the specter's chest. _"You defend Osborn while he sits in his Ivory Tower?" _asked Li as Peter ignored him and ripped through the mob. Single punches snapping necks and kicks shattering rib cages with such force the bones were driven through hearts and lungs.

The moans of the mauled ghosts only grew louder as Spider-Man kept fighting, breaking limbs for a second or third time and crushing the heads of those that tried to crawl to him only for the now headless bodies to stand up and have to be put back down. "This isn't real" he reminded himself as he noticed the carnage he was inflicting.

But all at once, the attacks stopped as Li grinned from his position. _"Show me your true strength" _he ordered as the masks were removed to show the human faces behind them. The no longer faceless figures charged again despite their numerous lethal injuries. At first, Peter hesitated, but when his Spider-sense went off in warning he reacted as he dodged and counterpunched, driving his hand clean through the ghost as he picked the man up off the ground still impaled on his fist. Without thinking he used the body as a battering ram to bulldoze the others to the ground before he looked up and saw the face of Jefferson Davis staring back down at him, eyes rolled back, dead. As soon as he saw that, Peter recoiled back in horror as the mob disappeared and Peter fell to his knees in shock.

The next time his sixth sense buzzed he looked up at Martin, grinning evilly as he reached out. _"Kneel before me! I will pull your mask off and expose you!" _announced Mr. Negative as he reached a hand out to a broken Peter only for a red clad up to shoot up and block it as Spider-Man pushed back, getting to his feet.

"No" he said calmly as he crouched down, "you're not." Li merely summoned his sword and shot skywards, the scene swirling around the square as the sky became tumultuous, the clouds and lightning being drawn to the raised blade.

"_The shadows are sworn to me, and I will give them strength!" _Peter could only watch in amazement as the shape of a Demon Mask formed and fireballs rained down from the sky.

"I have to destroy the mask" realized the webslinger as he shot out a web and redirected a fireball into the massive demonic visage, cracking it. "I won't abandon you in the darkness Martin!"

"_Then I will break you and leave you brain-dead!" _vowed Mr. Negative as the Webhead flung another piece of burning debris into the damaged mask. _"You can't!" _shouted Li as the mask began to crumble, pieces falling down to the street and shattering on impact.

Peter dodged as lighting snapped down at him like the tongue of a viper, leaving a burning crater where he had just been standing. "I can bring you back to the light!" argued the Queens Native as he fished another fireball out of mid-air and launched it at the mask, "and I will" he vowed to himself in a whisper as the projectile found its mark.

"_NO!"_ howled Mr. Negative as the mask was blown to bits and the illusion quickly collapsed around them. Peter found himself face to face with the real Martin Li, his right arm still on fire from the man's energized grip before Spider-Man ripped it away and threw a carefully controlled punch that staggered the Criminal.

A thud on the hood of the car caused both men to snap to look at the armored form of the Marauder crouched on the damaged panel. His R-201 in hand and pointed at Li, the magazine sticking out the bottom of the gun covered in bright red tape. "NO!" cried Peter as he fired a webline, the impact of which knocked off his point of aim as the rounds went high and missed before Spidey ripped the gun away completely.

Looking back at Li, Peter saw the evil sneer on his face as his free hand glowed with his negative energy before unleashing it all in a powerful blast that slammed into the Marauder. The Pilot was caught off guard, unable to brace or evade as he was thrown backwards, body armor singed as he was flung off the truck and sent flying.

But he never hit the ground, a massive mechanical hand burst through a wall and plucked him out of the air.

* * *

Silver Sablinova couldn't believe what was happening before her, as events had quickly escalated from the ridiculous to the obscene. The operation to move Michaels and Devil's Breath had quickly fallen apart and at this point was almost unrecognizable. Two vigilantes had hijacked the situation and had flat out refused to let her do her job. Even worse, Li was making a mockery of Sable's efforts to stop him, his vehicle shrugging off everything the PMC was throwing at it. Already this fiasco had cost her several good men and a lot of equipment.

She wasn't focused on any of that, her attention lay solely with the massive arm that had just broke down a wall and grabbed the Marauder before what it was attached to revealed itself. Slowly, the wall crumbled as this new force fully emerged. The hulking black machine stood two stories tall as the front opened up and the vigilante was stuffed and sealed inside. "Chto za khren'" she cursed under her breath as the bi-pedal robot launched itself at the hostile vehicle. There was the screech of metal against metal as the massive unknown threw its whole weight at the equally massive truck.

Sable watched in shock and awe as the steel beast's massive hands lifted the truck up off half of its wheels and pushed it off course, causing it to clip a building before the Demon at the controls fought back, turning away to rip the machine off its feet. One metal hand held fast onto the roof of the truck, the armor buckling and crumpling under its powerful grip while it was dragged along the street. The Truck veered back over, causing the unknown robot to be pulled through the cars parked alongside the street as it contorted, rolling over to reveal the massive thrusters and box like weapon on its back. _"Ma'am…rules of engagement on the unknown?" _asked the pilot of the helicopter.

Still entranced by the spectacle blow the helicopter, Silver numbly keyed the mic on her headset. "All Sable units; continue to engage all hostile targets. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT fire on any unknowns until fired upon" she ordered professionally as the battle continued below. Boxes extended up from small arms on the machine's back that revealed themselves to be rocket launchers as plumes of smoke shot out the back and the weapons slammed into the forward tire, blowing it apart, causing the entire truck to keel over. "All Sable units; target the front left side!" she barked quickly the machine raised its free arm and buried it in the street, shredding concrete as it used the hand as an anchor.

The pilot suddenly jerked the helo up to avoid the weblines that shot up as well, Spider-Man's unique weapons attaching themselves to the side of a building as more rockets came pouring in from the circling helicopters. The guided munitions found their mark, shredding the other front tire as the rim ran along the ground, throwing up more sparks as Spider-Man and the Machine strained against the runaway truck's momentum. Civilians fled in a panic as the vehicle careened off the road and plowed straight into a building.

A massive dust cloud was thrown up as Sable helicopters circled, weapons trained on the point of impact. _"Movement" _called out one of the pilots as Sablinova narrowed her eyes and saw something moving inside the dust as it began to clear to reveal the massive form of the unknown machine standing over the wrecked truck. _"Confirm, unknown is active."_

"Hold fire" ordered Silver curtly as the machine loomed over the truck and ripped the top of the trop compartment clean off and discarded it before lifting its leg and slamming its oddly shaped foot down and pressed until the spine of the vehicle snapped. Reaching down, she toggled the controls of the PA system and spoke calmly, **"Attention unknown element. You are interfering in a Sable International security operation. Step back from the vehicle" **she commanded.

The machine stopped what it was doing as it stood back to its full height and turned so that the singular blue light at the center was looking up at her. After a tense moment it raised one hand before extending its middle finger up at her. _"I uh…" _began the pilot as he tried to suppress his laughter, _"I think that's a 'no' ma'am." _Sable narrowed her eyes and glared at the defiant machine, pondering her next course of action. _"Ma'am, do we have permission to engage?"_

"Negative" she shot back instantly, an unknown with unknown capabilities, and after they had accomplished their objective? There was no reason to take the risk and drag this out any further."All units, I say again, hold your fire. DO NOT ENGAGE" she ordered in such a way that brokered no argument, she didn't need someone getting trigger happy as she moved to toggle the PA system back on. A streak of light caught her attention as she looked up to see a salvo of rocket fire come down from a Sable helo, directed straight at the unknown. "I ordered weapons safe! All units hold your fire!" she barked quickly.

She watched as the ordinance bore down on the machine with lethal intent. Almost casually, the obscene gesture disappeared, and the hand turned around and opened as swirling blue light was projected from the palm and held up as a shield. Undeterred, the rockets hit the shield squarely but did not explode. Instead, Sable saw the weapons float in the light, flowing around as if they were caught in the swirling current of the projection. **"Big mistake" **growled an unmistakable mechanical voice that boomed from the machine as she realized that it was controlled by none other than the Marauder.

And her men had just fired at him.

The missiles were shot back towards the helicopter that had launched him, taking the pilot by surprise as he tried to evade only for all of the explosives to slam into his craft, turning into a fireball. **"Who's wants some more?!" **challenged the Pilot of the machine as the missile pods extended up and a massive four barreled weapon filled the mechanical hands.

"_Unknown just destroyed 2-4! Confirmed hostile" _called out another Sable pilot over the radio channel. _"Kilo flight; engage and destroy unknown hostile" _ordered that same pilot as the other three Sable International gunships dropped down to engage, energy guns firing relentlessly as the machine shimmered from the impacts.

"Belay that!" snapped Silver over the comms. "All Sable International units, this is Silver Bird. Break off and disengage immediately, that is a direct order" announced the Symkarian as she glared at the stunned pilot and he kept the lead craft she was in steady. The metal monster deployed a smoke screen as the rogue helicopters pressed the attack only for missiles to streak up out of the smoke to greet them.

Two pulled up and away while the third dove closer to the deck, just above the smoke cloud and fired again, unloading into the obscurant. Sable watched, not thinking it could be that easy, and she was correct. The black machine emerged, not from the sides, but upwards, hovering with the aid of those massive thrusters as it threw a hand forward and grabbed the helicopter before dropping back down and crushing it with ease, the screams of the men inside filling her headset. Like a toy, the helicopter was tossed aside as a mere smoldering wreck of twisted steel. In response, the other two gunships went on the attack to avenge the second fallen bird.

But with startling quickness, the massive machine dodged to the side to avoid the strafing run as it raised its weapon and unleashed a continuous stream of rocket fire that caused the two helicopters to break away again. While one broke into the cover of some tall buildings, the other was exposed. Instantly, those back mounted missile pods extended again as two missiles leapt from each and sought the Sable Helicopter with unrelenting vigor. A third helicopter was down inside of a minute.

Only now did that last surviving helicopter try and break off, but the unknown was relentless, hovering again, it unleashed a massive volley of rockets that saturated the sky around the fleeing helo. The Sable pilot tried to evade, but against that volume of fire there was no way he could dodge all the rockets as one eventually slammed into the white machine and incited a massive explosion. Its work done, the machine settled back down to earth amidst the destruction and turned back to the disabled truck. "Find the nearest landing zone and set us down. Then arrange transport for me to the crash site of the truck" she ordered flatly.

"_Yes ma'am" _replied the pilot crisply as the helicopter peeled away, Sable's silver eyes still locked on that machine.

* * *

Grabbing the CAR SMG from the rack inside the cockpit of BT, Cooper pulled the bolt back to chamber the first lethal round in the gun before the hatch opened and he dropped down onto the street. Shouldering the weapon, he advanced towards the wrecked Demon vehicle cautiously before hurling out a pulse blade to receive the worst possible news:

It was empty.

"Fuck!" snarled Cooper as he sprinted forwards and jumped up, clambering onto the side of the overturned machine and peering inside to see an empty briefcase and nothing else. "BT, anything on sensors?" he asked, hoping that the Titan could come back with a miracle.

"_Negative Pilot, all hostile elements have withdrawn" _reported the Vanguard as he kept vigilant watch on the skies and ground in case anybody else decided to randomly start shooting at them like Sable just had. Except, not exactly, BT had cracked their comms long ago and he had heard the woman call of the attack multiple times, and before that had ordered them to hold their fire. Either she really needed better control over her people, which he doubted, or there had been a rat, which he could believe. _"Alert, Spider-Man and Dr. Michaels detected, relaying locations" _notified BT as Cooper moved to the closest one.

He saw hints of the white spider logo through the rubble and quickly slung the gun over his shoulder as he began to dig his friend out. "Wha…what happened?" asked his friend blearily as sunlight hit his eye lenses and he began to dig his own way out. Soon, the Texan pulled the Wallcrawler to his feet and the Queen's native dusted himself off.

"Well, we stopped the truck" returned the Marauder dryly, "but some of Sable's people went rogue, shot at me. I shot back" he explained simply as he turned to head for Michaels. "Li escaped in the chaos with the Devil's Breath." Cooper knew he was being short with the webslinger, but he hadn't forgotten that Spidey was the one who knocked his aim off and caused him to take a blast of energy from Li.

"Rogue?" asked Spider-Man with concern, "what do you mean rogue?"

"I mean Sablinova herself was ordering them to not shoot…but they did anyway. Since they aren't lacking in discipline, I'd say that something smells seriously wrong" he answered lowly. "Somebody went behind Sable's back, weather it was one of her men or someone else, they definitely wanted me dead."

A coughing fit caused the issue to be dropped as both rushed to Michaels and helped the scientist gingerly to his feet. "You okay?" asked Spider-Man as he got his coughing under control, nodding as best he could.

"Did they take it?" he asked, nobody having to ask what 'it' was.

"Yeah" replied Cooper, "they did."

"How worried should we be?" asked the Webslinger. Though Cooper was already worrying, not only was there a WMD in the middle of Manhattan, but now it was in the hands of a terrorist.

Michaels let out a deep, depressed breath. "Very" he said lowly.

"Shit" cursed Cooper simply.

"_Pilot, Sable International troops are on approach" _alerted BT-7274. _"Silver Sablinova is with them" _he reported.

"Stand down" he ordered, "let them come through, but keep an eye on them." The Pilot unslung his CAR and held it casually at his hip, ready to bring up at the slightest provocation. Turning to Michaels, the Renegade Pilot said "looks like you're a popular guy" in a deadpan tone through the filter. The scientist merely snorted in derision at the comment.

The three men squared up to the small convoy as the white vehicles came to a halt and troopers began to file out and sweep the area while none other than Silver Sablinova herself made a beeline for them, ignoring the massive form of BT. Matthew and Peter both put themselves between the Symkarian and the scientist, but Silver was on a mission. "Where is the serum?" she asked without preamble as Spider held a hand up to stop her and the two soldiers raised their rifles, promoting the CAR to come up in return.

"Gone" reported Michaels simply.

"Didiskoya" cursed Sable loudly as she worked her jaw and surveyed the carnage, the torn up street, the wreck of the truck, and the downed helicopters. "So called 'Super-heroes'" she hissed vehemently as she rounded back on the pair. "You think you save people, but you just make it worse" she growled lowly, "this is your fault, both of you."

Cooper wasn't having any of that, he was not her subordinate to push around, "You sure about that asshole?" he ground out. "Because…if you're people hadn't shot at me, I neutralize Li, secure Devil's Breath, and you're getting paid. Everyone's happy" he snarled as the woman's steel eyes turned to face the glowing visor. "Instead your people get trigger happy…and you wonder why I fucking hate mercs."

Though his CAR was till trained on the Sable troopers, when Silver reached for her pistols the SMG swung only to be kicked away as the Symkarian drew her sidearms. But the webhead sprung into action, "Do you really need two of those?" he quipped as he snapped off a pair of weblines to grab hold of the guns. But Sablinova yanked down, pulling Spider-Man closer and catching him off balance before performing the same viscous spin kick and sent him to the ground as Cooper drew his Smart Pistol.

Spidey lay flat on his back, one pistol pointed at his head while the other was trained on the center of the x shaped visor while the Smart Pistol was leveled at Silver's temple. To further escalate matters, BT had reacted as well, raising the Quad Rocket and extending the Acolyte pods while the other Sable Troopers surrounded them, safeties off and ready to fire at the slightest provocation. Already in the Pilots mind was he picturing his actions, pulling the trigger, putting a bullet in the woman's head before phase shifting over to BT and embarking. From there he would shoot his way out.

The square was so silent you could hear a pin drop, the Mexican standoff dragging on for what felt like an hour, even though it lasted no more than five seconds before it was Dr. Michaels who broke the stalemate. "Stop!" he barked as he shoved his way forwards and forced both the Marauder and Sable to lower their weapons, "We need to brief Mr. Osborn. _Now_" he added for emphasis as the webhead slowly got back to his feet. The Oscorp scientist turned back to the two vigilantes, "I'll go with her…" he said calmly as Cooper grit his teeth, he hadn't trusted Sablinova fully before, and that was when he thought she had control of her men. "Thank you, both of you. I'll remember this" he said sincerely, getting a pair of nods in return.

Cooper holstered his handgun and retrieved his SMG without a word before circling his hand. Without a word he felt the massive hand of BT encircle his torso as he was hoisted back into the cockpit before the hatch sealed and he began marching the machine down the street.

"…_eyewitness claims indicate the machine then stopped the unknown vehicle with the aid of Spider-Man before it was unexpectedly engaged by Sable International forces. The machine then returned fire and in the resulting engagement, four Sable International helicopters were shot down. The Security Force has stated that there were no survivors of the downed craft."_

"_Rumors abound as to the exact nature of this machine. Sources close to the Mayor's office have reached out that this could very well be the 'Titan' that the Marauder claimed to pilot. Reports that the Marauder was seen entering and exiting the machine make more sense in this context, but questions remain as to the relationship between the SRS Commando and Sable International following the incident."_

"_Both the Marauder and the Mayor's Office have yet to respond to requests for comment…" _

Pursing his lips into a frown, Osborn spoke, "Turn it off" he commanded curtly as the news report was muted instantly by his assistant. "I want all calls from today wiped from the mainframe, the backups too" he ordered as the woman simply did as she was told, turning and leaving the CEO to his own thoughts, her heels clicking on the floor. Norman's head drooped, chin almost against his tie and heaved out a sigh. "What a mess" he grumbled lowly.

At the very least, the Mercenaries he had reached out to had been killed. The provisional money he had transferred had been canceled and they couldn't rat him out. With the logs of the calls to them offering a considerable sum if they could kill the Marauder gone, there was nothing left to link him to the attempt on the SRS Pilot's life.

Despite successfully covering his tracks and avoiding any blowback, the day couldn't have been more of a disaster otherwise. Not only had the Marauder's claims about having his Titan with him been proven to not be a bluff, as Norman had suspected, but GR-27 had been taken by Martin Li. Osborn had to shake his head again at that name.

Martin Li…he had never expected to hear that name again. The last time he had, his company had barely survived.

He had to get the city back under his control, and fast.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – 2015 McLaren P1: The Widowmaker_

_One of only 375 made, my P1 is chassis number 308 and was completed during the last of three years these cars were built. Not is it the most expensive car I own, it is also the most powerful. With modifications this thing puts 950 horsepower down through the rear wheels. The power is the defining feature of this car, it is not only vast, but also unrelenting. A dual clutch gearbox means it changes gear faster than you can blink, literally. Even during those short periods of downtime, the electric motor fills in, meaning the acceleration is constant. All of that power goes through two wheels at the back too and the tail will wiggle around and break loose even high up in the rev range. The moniker 'Widowmaker' is in reference to this, because you can very easily go out in your million dollar carbon fiber sports car and come back in a pine box. _

_But for those who don't get to expiereince the thrill, and terror, that comes with the speed, the styling is the standout element. Compared to the other two members of the 'Holy Trinity' of hybrid hypercars, the P1 lacks the showoff-yness of the LaFerrari or the sophistication (read: boring) of the Porsche 918, but to me the McLaren is downright sinister in appearance. That's why I'm amazed that the darker colors were only special order, and the deep British Racing Green Rawlins got his car in is the only thing I will give him credit for. _

_Still, there is no doubt that the Widowmaker is the Marauder's car. The Bandit had his '77 Trans Am, James Bond has his Aston Martin DB5, and Marty McFly has the DeLorean DMC-12, but I've got them all beat. The McLaren is one mean machine, terrifying, brilliant, and devastatingly fast all at once. And somehow, it feels __**alive**__ in a way that's hard to describe. When you have your foot down and the whole car is talking back to you through the wheel and seat, the V8 howling in your ear, sounding like the starship _Enterprise _being sucked through a jet engine, and the numbers on the screen ahead of you climb, you hit the vanishing point. Simply put, the throttle is a hypserspace button, step on it and you are __**gone.**_

_Felicia like to joke that this car is the only thing I like to be in more than her…and she isn't wrong. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: There we go, I kinda went all out on this one since this APC chase was my favorite setpiece in the entire game. And to be honest, did you really expect me to not use the _Widowmaker _to make this a full on car chase? I couldn't resist the temptation. If you couldn't tell, I had a blast writing this chapter and was really just trying to make something out of a Hollywood blockbuster, review and let me know how you think I did.**

**But don't expect me to let off the gas in the next chapter, since that will be the final battle with Mr. Negative and the Inner Demons. **

**And alone, across the highway of death, marches the Hero.**

**Stay Frosty and stay safe everyone, Misfit Delta out. **


	40. Chapter 40: Hero

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Well, in the least surprising news of the year: DOOM: Eternal kicks fucking ass. Seriously a ton of fun, though playing it on a controller is a challenge, especially one certain enemy with a name I found amusing. If you've played the game I'm sure you can guess what I'm talking about. But yes, you should play DOOM, now onto the reviews.

**Blaze1992: Spidey still has a serious aversion to killing people, especially since he is trying to save Li. So it made sense for him to prevent Cooper from killing him. As for Osborn, a running theme that you will see persist is him putting his own self interests above common sense. **

**A fan: I do remember you, though you do seem more excitable this time, which I'll take as a good sign. I'm glad last chapter was satisfying and its a relief to hear that the work of setting up all the side elements is starting to pay off. There should be more of that ahead hopefully, since this is supposed to be the climax of the story arc. As far as the observations regarding the similarities shared between Spider-Man and the Division, I agree. However, I don't have the time to do a seperate story for it. What will happen is that some elements of the Division will make their way into this story. Not to the extent where it would be a full on crossover but enough to where fans of that game will recognize it. There have even been a few already, the chief of the NYPD was Roy Benitez and Cooper's axe is the same one the Hunters use, expect more little things like that. As for the song, I've never heard of it before, but google tells me it's the theme of Shadow the Hedgehog. Admittedly, I've never played a Sonic game, at the age most were, my favorite video game characters were 'Ding' Chavez and Scott Mitchell. **

Speaking of Scott Mitchell, the title of this chapter is here because of the memories I have of it in _Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2_, which is a title that just rolls off the tongue. The band is called 'Ministry', but I don't know them and don't care. I have no particular love for the tune, but it invokes a very specific mental image for me; that of a US Army Green Beret team, M1A2 Abrams Tank, and 160th Nightstalker AH-6 Little Bird making a desperate all or nothing push through Juarez, Mexico in a last ditch attempt to stop the launch of a nuke at the United States. This chapter ended up having the same sorta attitude about it, being that it isn't very subtle and instead is a punch in the mouth, which was why this song got picked. That, and I love those old GRAW games and can't pass up an opportunity to gush about them.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 40: Hero**

_They're gonna set you up_

_So they can take you down_

_They're gonna suck you dry_

_They've left the blood to be found_

_They're gonna rip you apart_

_You're gonna burn at the stake_

_Cause when it's time to collect_

_It's only heroes who pay_

* * *

"So you agree with me on this, about Sable not being responsible?" asked Cooper as he looked up at Felicia. The heiress was lounging in the shirt he had been wearing while he was busy performing maintenance and cleaning on BT, since he didn't have the usual small army of MRVNs and mechanics to service the Titan it was a time-consuming process. But today had given credence to the almost religious schedule of upkeep he performed on the Vanguard Class. After storming off before he did something really stupid, he got BT underground and into the mess of tunnels under the city before spending the better part of two hours getting the machine back to his hideout, taking great care to not be tracked.

After a quick diagnostic and fixing a few more pressing issues with BT, Matt had joined Felicia in bed and grabbed some sleep, which lead to this work being done well past midnight. It wasn't like either had sleep consistently for the last three weeks anyway. Even if Felicia's eyes were torn between the Texan and the McLaren, her mind was as sharp and focused as ever. "I do cowboy, Sable is shrewd and controlling. She would know better than to pick a fight with you and BT." The woman then uncrossed and recrossed her legs, leaving Matthew transfixed while also wishing he hadn't shown her _Basic Instinct_. "Sablinvova's reputation is that of a professional, she is very good at what she does and very strict with herself. Even if she does want to kill you, she wouldn't unless ordered to. And if she had then she wouldn't have been ordering her men to hold fire" responded the heiress thoughtfully.

Matthew had her listen to the same communications that he had heard when BT cracked Sable's comms. And now that the 'brains' in the room also thought that it wasn't Silver who had been responsible for the shitshow that afternoon, that led to an obvious question. "So, who did want me dead? Just one of the mercs?"

Hardy shook her head, "Not without reason. And it isn't hard to guess what that reason is, someone paid them" she said simply. "Someone with money and the ability to contact Sable's Mercs wants you dead. But beyond that everything would be guesswork. If they were willing to do that then you can bet that they won't be dumb enough to leave a trail back to them." Matthew cursed under his breath as he pulled out a battery and was lowered by BT's hand as he went to grab a replacement. "And with you…you've got a long list of enemies. Li, Fisk, Hammerhead, and those are just the ones who are open about it…" she said, trailing off.

Matthew knew that tone of voice. "Babe?" he called out as he slammed a fresh battery into place and locked it firmly. Turning back, he could see Felicia's eyes narrowed, hand pressed to the side of her face, deep in thought. "What are you thinking?"

She didn't answer directly, but he could still hear her response. "Or maybe you're just a loose end…" she murmured softly, eyes widening in realization. Only then did she look up to meet his gaze. "I'm not sure if it's anything…might not be" she admitted carefully as she got up from her seat and sauntered towards him as he jumped back down and wiped his hands off on the rag tucked into his waistband. The platinum haired seductress ran her hand across his bare chest before standing on her toes to plant a quick kiss on him, "but I'll handle this, okay?" she asked, kissing him again before he could give an answer. "You have enough on your plate, go kick Li's ass Cowboy" she said encouragingly before pressing herself into him, turning, and strutting off, Cooper taking in the view as she left him alone in the subterranean armory/garage.

The Pilot took a minute to calm himself down and resist the urge to follow the thief, instead turning back to the Titan and beginning the process of topping off the various fluids. Unexpectedly, BT spoke up, "Pilot, someone is hailing you on the police contact frequency, point of origin is a Sable International camp." Cooper stopped what he was doing and cocked his head, curious, he gave a nod of approval to the machine.

"_Hello? Marauder? Are you there?" _came the nervous voice of Dr. Michaels, the man clearly frazzled, understandably so. Immediately, the Renegade Gunfighter was left with even more questions, but they would all have to wait. The Oscorp scientist was taking a big risk by reaching out to him, and if Sable International was compromised, then Cooper didn't want this to drag out for any longer than it had to.

"I'm here doctor" he responded calmly. "Send your traffic" he drawled simply, cool and collected, but with all of the weight of an order.

Thankfully, it seemed the man still had his wits about him enough to still his nerves and say what he needed to. _"Listen, transit hubs are the most likely release points for Devil's Breath. Airports, bus terminals, train stations" _rattled off the scientist. Cooper had figured as much but remained silent as the man continued. _"It'll spread like wildfire from there."_

That depended on one factor in particular. "Assuming Li just wants to do the most damage" mused the Marauder. It may have been obvious that that was Mr. Negative's goal, but he clearly had one target in mind above all others. He could use the Devil's Breath to target Osborn specifically, but it was the brutal calculus of war, would he prioritize the civilian population over the one man who created the compound in the first place? "What else can you tell me about Devil's Breath? Like why the fuck was it being developed _here _of all places?" he questioned.

There was a pregnant pause on the other end of the line before Michaels sighed deeply while the Pilot remained steadfastly silent, awaiting his answer. _"It's been Norman's obsession for a decade" _began the scientist slowly. _"It's personal for him, but we weren't making any real progress until last year. We broke every state and federal regulation on the books to hammer out a working version of GR-27…but it didn't quite work."_

"Understatement of the goddamn year" muttered the SRS Commando under his breath. What the hell could be worth the risks Osborn was taking? "What kind of consequences is Osborn looking at if this gets out?"

There was a derisive snort; _"He'd be tried in the Hague for war crimes" _answered the scientist bluntly. Something told Matthew that it wouldn't come to that, Norman had too much power, influence, and money, at least that's what his inner cynic told him. But that still begged the question, _Why? "Li's actions have been a wakeup call; we've been ignoring the project's risks for far too long. I trust you Marauder, you and Spider-Man. You two are the only ones trying to do right by the city. I beg you, protect it from our mistakes."_

"Understood doc" vowed Cooper sincerely, a grimace plastered on his features, "we'll get it done…or die trying."

* * *

Yuri Watanabe had learned that any sort of regularity had left her life long ago, but even now life found new ways to surprise her. "What the fuck are you doing here?" she asked bluntly as she narrowed her eyes at the woman sitting in her chair. A set of high heels were sitting on the ground as her stocking clad feet were perched on her desk, hands behind her head of platinum blond hair as she leaned back in the chair, perfectly balanced at the tipping point.

With a sigh, the mystery woman took her feet down and spun the chair around to fix the captain with a mischievous look from her emerald green eyes as she smirked coyly. "Nice to see you again Captain Watanabe" she drawled sarcastically before reaching back and picking a cup up off the desk, "Coffee?" she offered. Yuri merely continued to glare, brown eyes narrowing as she tried to remember where she had seen this woman before. "No? Fine, suit yourself" replied the woman with a shrug before helping herself to a healthy sip before setting the cup down on her other hand in her lap. "You'd probably like to know why I'm here."

"It'd help" answered the policewoman dryly, her patience quickly running thin.

But the mystery woman seemed to take no notice of that fact, merely smiling coyly despite the Captain's glare as she set the coffee down. "I'm here to ask a favor, I want your help regarding a…mutual acquaintance." Yuri raised an eyebrow, prompting her uninvited guest to get on with it already. "Cooper" revealed the woman simply.

The pieces fell into place as Watanabe fought to keep her poker face up, the woman sitting in her chair was Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat. "What the fuck are you doing here?" she repeated lowly, the cop's voice almost a growl. She didn't know why the Black Cat had come to her of all people to get help for her boyfriend, it wasn't like the Captain was in any position to give relationship advice. But Yuri was through playing this woman's games.

Felicia, for her part, looked up at the Captain and scrutinized her features, Yuri holding her ground before the Thief nodded slowly. "Yesterday" she began, voice barely above a whisper, "Sable's people tried to kill Cooper and BT…it wasn't a mistake, it was a hit" she revealed. "We're sure that someone paid those men to disregard Sable's direct orders and try to kill the Marauder."

"You're saying Sable International could be compromised?" asked Yuri, stunned. If that was true then it was bad news, as much as she hated to admit it, the Private Security Contractor was practically the only thing holding the city together. NYPD was helping as much as they could, but they had been ground down by the numerous factions vying for control.

Hardy nodded slowly, "And I think I know who ordered it" she revealed, "but this stays between us until we have concrete proof. Whether you like it or not we both have targets on our backs because someone wants the Marauder dead, someone powerful" she said before taking a deep breath. "Norman Osborn."

"You're sure?" hissed Watanabe, getting a small frown in reply that told her that the woman wasn't, but Yuri crossed her arms and worked her jaw in thought. "You might be right" she confided, "what makes you think that?"

"Devil's Breath was created by misusing medical supplies handed over when Osborn cut his deal with the Marauder last year" revealed Hardy. "No, he doesn't know that, but Norman's afraid of what could happen if word gets out." Watanabe's features remained placid, feeling that there was more to it, but as far as motive was concerned it was a good one.

Yuri finally 'hmmed' an agreement and nodded slowly, "Osborn's always wanted the Marauder dead, even last year" recalled Yuri, riled up that the Mayor hadn't let that desire die as much as he had let on. "What do you need me to do?" she asked suddenly, she owed the Marauder her life and more, she would do what she could to help.

Felicia's eyes scanned the room as she reached down and put her shoes back on. "Enjoy your coffee captain" she said simply before standing, grabbing her handbag and walking out of the corner office. Yuri watched the woman leave and watched many of the male officers do the same before they noticed the Captain's glare and quickly got back to work. Sitting down in her desk chair, Yuri stared at the cup of coffee before picking it up and examining it with a careful eye.

Running her hand over the outside, she wondered what the Thief had meant when her fingernails hit an odd shape on the bottom. Picking it off, she soon realized it was a thumb drive and quickly slotted it into her computer as a set of documents and files opened up on her screen to answer her question.

After taking a few minutes to look through them, she pulled the memory stick out and pocketed it. That would have to come later, right now they had a bigger fish with a WMD to fry. Thankfully, their BOLO had come back with something and facial recognition had confirmed it, Li had been spotted that morning and it was time to give her heavy hitters some work. Picking up her phone, she dialed the secure three-way line and made sure the door to her office was closed before there were two clicks. "I have a lead on Li's location. We have footage from a guy at a coffee shop, looks like he hopped into a black sedan just an hour ago."

"_Oh, is that all?" _asked the Marauder's filtered tones, which were dry enough to kill a rainforest.

_Ass _Yuri thought, shaking her head. "Wait, let me finish" she interjected before the webhead could add a wisecrack of his own. "We have a partial plate" she revealed, "and one of my patrol guys found a matching plate, black sedan, in a parking lot near Canal and Hudson."

"_You're a good cop Yuri" _replied Spider-Man genuinely, causing her to crack a tiny smile. _"I'm on my way" _said the Wallcrawler before there was a click. A _single _click.

"Marauder?" she asked tentatively, "you hear that?"

"_Yeah, I uh…one sec" _he said, the gears of the man's mind were clearly turning as she waited patiently. He would always say that he wasn't the smartest man, but he had a way of seeing the simple things that were staring you right in the face. _"Grand Central" _he said suddenly, _"There's a subway station at that corner, one train change and you're at one of the biggest transport hubs on the East Coast. It's the perfect target."_

* * *

Rush hour at Grand Central Terminal was an experience that Mary Jane hadn't had to face in a long time, even if she felt she did vicariously through some of her coworkers. Though as she walked through the doors into the main concourse, she realized that none of their venting came anywhere close to the reality of the packed train station as commuters shoved their way through with typical New York courtesy. Taking a deep breath, the Bugle reporter got stuck in, "Standish said the Demons are looking for _something _at GCT. But what could they possibly need here?" she murmured to herself as she made her way down the stairs, towards a large cluster of Oscorp displays on the center of the main floor.

With a flurry of "excuse me's" and "pardon me's" along with one or two thrown elbows for good measure, the feisty redhead bullied her way out of the current of commuters and in amongst the displays. "Should probably call Peter and let him know what I'm doing" she mused before quickly rethinking that point. "Actually, scratch that. He'd probably just tell me to go home and chain myself to my laptop" she ground out bitterly, fists clenching involuntarily at the thought. "What about Matt? No, if he showed up it would just cause a panic. I'll just check things out real quick and let them know what I find" she decided finally.

The first table she approached was a display with models of enough high-tech ordinance that she was sure the Texan would be drooling over. According to the display, the weapons were state of the art sensor equipped 'smart' munitions. Just seeing the disassembled missiles brought back memories of similar weapons coming down around her when she had been taken by the Kingpin's syndicate. But this probably wasn't it, the missiles were dummies, no explosive or any actual technology in them, this wasn't what the Demons were after.

Moving on, she saw displays about new battery technology, drones, encryption, nanotech healing injections, and more stuff that Oscorp seemed to be developing to give Cooper's sci fi equipment a run for is money. But none of that was more than an advertisement, Osborn using the public space to show off his company. Mary Jane needed to find something that couldn't be easily obtained using google.

On the opposite corner from the missile display was another display with a device sitting on top of it. "The Gaia Micro Dispersal Device" read Mary Jane in horror as she scanned through the info sheet, this was a fully functional prototype meant to deliver designed microbes to heal environmental damage, but she was willing to bet that Li wanted it for a different end. The curious Bugle reporter was so engrossed in her reading that she failed to notice the man slicing through the crowds behind her. Feeling a presence, she turned and found herself staring up at none other than the most wanted man in New York. "Mr. Li" she said in surprise.

The suited man looked eerily calm; his features placid as he looked down at her as if she were merely a bug to be quashed. "This will be easier for everyone if you remain calm and do as I say" he threatened icily as his eyes began to burn with black and white fire. For a moment, Mary Jane was ensnared by indecision.

In the blink of an eye, that indecision became defiance as she narrowed her eyes and subconsciously barred some of her teeth, "Like hell" she whispered. Spying a cop out of the corner of her eye she called to the officer. "Police! Over here!" she screamed over the hustle and bustle of the station.

Thankfully, the policeman heard her and turned, his eyes widening as he saw Mr. Negative while he went for his gun, though he never got the chance to get it out. Li merely extended a hand and fired a massive blast of energy that sent the cop back into one of the massive glass display boards shattering it. Watson could barely stand to look at the cop as his body lay dead, neck snapped, ribs broken like toothpicks, and eyes staring lifelessly into the distance.

Then the screaming started.

Masked gunmen emerged seemingly from everywhere at once, some firing their weapons into the air. Some civilians made a break for it while others froze and were quickly corralled by the masked men. Li locked the reporter's arm in an iron grip that prevented her from making a mad dash before she too was tossed in carelessly amongst the others. In less than two minutes, the Demons had completely taken over Grand Central.

As Mary Jane sat towards one edge of the huddled crowd, she started to rethink her position that she didn't need Peter to coddle her all the time. She would fully admit that, this time at least, she had bitten off more than she could chew. Maybe she would have to make a change about pushing Peter away, she could really use some backup right now. Of course, putting that newfound realization into actions required her getting out of this alive.

With newfound resolve, Mary Jane pulled herself out of her introspection and started paying attention, trying to find anything that could help get out of this. Keeping her head down, she spotted Li with a cell phone pressed to his ear and read his lips from the corner of her eye. "I would like to speak to Mayor Osborn" he said as the redhead recalled his vendetta with the Billionaire CEO. "The man he is looking for…I want you at Grand Central Terminal in thirty minutes, by yourself" specified Li, he wasn't hard for Watson to surmise he was speaking to Osborn. "Or there will be more blood on your hands" he threatened darkly before crushing the phone in his hand and placing a red container into the aerosol dispersal.

"Devil's Breath" realized the reporter, a new spike of fear working its way up her spine.

Checking to make sure that the Demons weren't too interested in their hostages, Mary Jane slipped her phone out of her pocket and hastily typed out words into the group chat she had with the two vigilantes. _Party at GCT _read the first, _Bring your best suits and your guitars_ ordered the second. She quirked a corner of her mouth up, not realizing she had referenced _Desperado _until she had put the words down. Putting her phone away, she pulled out a small earpiece and throat mic Cooper had given her, the black color betraying where it originated. Letting down her hair and adjusting her scarf, she concealed the communicator just as it crackled to life.

"_MJ! I'm on my way. Are you hurt?" _asked a flustered Peter as she tried to remain calm.

"No" she replied, the word not needing to leave her lips for the sensitive mic to pick it up. "I'm fine, just hurry" she begged as she kept her head down but eyes up.

"_Watson" _said Cooper calmly, _"I've got eyes on, Cat's working on finding a way in. Listen to me, real talk, if something goes bad, I have Li lined up. If it looks like he's going to start killing hostages or release Devil's Breath I'm taking the shot" _explained the Marauder, voice as solid as steel.

Taking one quick glance at the dispersal device, Watson grimaced but nodded. No matter what happened, they could not let the bioweapon get released. But Peter didn't see things that way. _"No!" _he shouted in near panic, _"I'm heading there as fast as I can. We'll figure something out" _he said hopefully before directing his next comment at the redhead. _"What are you doing at GCT?" _

"I'll explain later" she answered hastily. Now, more than ever, she wasn't going to entertain his incessant questioning. "Coop's right, Li's going to release Devil's Breath" she hissed, trying to get the Webslinger to focus on what really mattered.

But instead he was focused solely on her safety. _"You gotta get out of there!" _he called over the line as MJ took a look at the two dozen demons around her.

"Not much chance of that Tiger" she answered sadly before trying to find the silver lining. "Listen, he's not going to do it until Norman Osborn gets here" she relayed, meaning they at least had some time.

There was a filtered growl, _"That must've been Li's plan all along" _ground out the SRS Pilot. _"Force Osborn to release the Devil's Breath, put the blood on his hands. Theatrical motherfucker" _cursed the Texan as his usual drawl became a full-on snarl.

Mary Jane wasn't sure who she was more afraid for in that moment, herself or Li. "Sort of makes sense – in a twisted, psychotic way" she amended. Mr. Negative was absolutely nuts; but he was far from the only villain in the world, and the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. The seconds turned to minutes, time crawling by with agonizing slowness until there were new developments.

"_Okay" _called Peter over the comms line, _"I'm here. Coming into the terminal now."_

"_Cat and I are too" _added the Renegade Gunfighter. _"Watson, call it, what're we lookin' at?" _drawled the Commando, his anger taking a back seat as he slipped into his 'gunslinger's trance.'

Seriously, who came up with these names?

Shaking her head minutely, she glanced up and looked around. At first, she didn't see anything that stood out, patrols with rifles and melee weapons, some static sentries, the grouped-up hostages…until she saw one masked man pull something out of a crate. "Looks like he's got some drones patrolling" she reported, "guess he's prepared for you guys."

There was a slight chuckle in reply to that, _"That's what he thinks. Cat has us coming up through the maintenance areas, ETA 30 seconds" _reported the Marauder.

"_Don't worry, I'm in the ventilation system" _assured the webslinger. _"Can you see a safe exit point?"_

Mary Jane took a risk, looking over her shoulder as she raised her arms to stretch and faked a yawn, but confirmed there was a way in. "Southwest corner" she supplied as she returned to looking between her shoes, hoping her actions had gone unnoticed.

"_If I get any closer the drones could spot me" _said Peter after a few moments. The Bugle reporter chewed on her lip nervously, knowing every second was precious.

Looking for a way to help, her eyes quickly settled on a tablet sitting on a now empty crate. "See that Tablet I'm looking at? That controls the drones."

"_Think you can snag it?" _asked the webhead.

She took a deep breath, it was a risk, but there were some that you had to take. "Yes" she replied instantly, "if one of you can distract them and not get shot" she added, reigning in her expectations, she didn't have super spider powers after all.

"_Leave that to me" _answered Cooper, _"stand by, in five…four…three" _he counted down as MJ prepared herself before she heard a _psst – PING _as a suppressed shot glanced off the large clock above the central reference desk.

The Demons reacted immediately, scanning the area as some searched for where they heard the shot as MJ got up and got moving slowly towards the edge of the crowd and then the crate when another shot rang out, blowing out one gunman's knee as he crumpled to the floor with pained screams echoing through the station. Picking up the pace she snatched the tablet and stuffed it into her coat when a second Demon who went to aid his comrade got a round through the shoulder and spun to the tile floor.

Behind her, there were whisperings in the crowd as they saw their tormentors start to fall, their pained screams still filling the room as the others were paralyzed with fear, just waiting to see who would be picked off next. Then she turned to make her way back when she saw a few looking at her, one man turned to the others and said "Hey, she's got the right idea" while pointing to her, "I'm not going down without a fight."

Before MJ could try to dissuade him, the brash man got to his feet and charged forwards and readied a punch with a cry, a cry that alerted his intended target who turned around and bashed him across the face with the butt of his pistol, sending a tooth flying as the man twisted and collapsed. Still clutching his jaw, he cried out in agony as the masked man grabbed him by the neck and got the civilian to his feet, the gun pressed to his temple. Even if MJ couldn't understand the Chinese phrase he said, the Demon's intentions were clear enough.

She couldn't sit back and let that man die, she needed to buy time. "Wait!" she screamed as she stood and stepped out from behind the crate, hands up, but her jacket with the tablet was zipped closed.

"_MJ what are you doing?" _hissed a frantic Peter over the comm that MJ ignored. She had to do this, for this man and herself.

"Let's just all calm down here" she pleaded, keeping her hands up and voice as steady as she was able, though it still involuntarily wavered. When he shouted back at her in that foreign dialect she just stared blankly, keeping her hands up. "Listen, I'm a reporter" she reasoned urgently, slowly lowering her hands, "I have a direct line to Mayor Osborn. I can help make sure he arrives – on time" she bluffed.

"How?" asked the Demon.

"First" began Mary Jane, narrowing her eyes, "let him go" she demanded. By now a second masked gunman had arrived and the two exchanged looks. The second spoke into a radio, rattling off mandarin so quickly that MJ couldn't hope to understand the individual words. Much to her relief, the two men exchanged words before the wounded civilian was tossed back in with the others.

The Demon who had been holding the hostage gestured with his handgun as Mary Jane began walking slowly in the indicated direction with no less than three armed Demons behind her and watching her every move. Careful to keep a steady pace and not make any sudden moves, MJ strode as confidently as she could out of the central terminal and through an archway to a side area. Soon after she passed through, MJ heard something behind her and turned to see Spider-Man, the Marauder, and Black Cat each at work taking down a Demon.

Peter had swooped down and scooped one off his feet before taking him back up out of sight, webbing him up to a window far above the ground floor. The Marauder had put one Demon in a headlock as the Black Cat squeezed the third with a Fiber Wire garrote, turning and crouching to pull the man down onto her back as his air supply was cut off. When both finally ceased their struggles, the couple silently dragged the knocked-out men towards an open supply closet and deposited the bodies. "Let's go, over the top!" hissed Cooper as MJ bounded to the railing and the three leapt over before dashing into cover at the base of the staircase.

"_Looks like two up ahead" _called the webslinger over the comm as the redhead watched the SRS Pilot point in one direction to his hooded girlfriend and motion with his hands for her to strangle this one as well. MJ turned to look into the glowing green eye lenses as the Black Cat tensed the Fiber Wire again and began to creep up the stairs.

The Marauder then turned to the bugle reporter, "On me, let's go Watson" he ordered curtly before he two began to head up the stairs, SMG raised as Mary Jane kept up until they reached the top. Holding out a hand to signal her to wait, he slung his weapon, "On my takedown" he whispered over the comm before he activated his cloak and rounded the corner. Peeking around, the redhead saw the shimmer close in before the Demon had his rifle ripped from his hands before it was brought down on the top of his head like a club. His partner got to witness the whole thing but was more focused on trying to pry the garrote from around his neck. Both were unceremoniously dumped into the plants between the flights of stairs before both drew suppressed SMGs and the three got moving again.

"_Drones! Get to cover!" _called out Spider-Man as the three did just that, pressing themselves into the wall as they huddled near a crate, both armed vigilantes raising their weapons and ready to unload on anything that spotted them. _"You still got that tablet?" _asked Peter.

"Yeah."

"What are you waiting for Red?" asked a perturbed Felicia, her mouth fixed in a thin line verging on a scowl as she fought to hold her nerve. Not needing any further prompting, MJ opened up the tablet, letting out a sigh of relief the text was in English as she navigated the screens.

"I got this" she assured as she tapped away, the sound of the hovering drones telling them all that they were still there, even if they couldn't see them. "C'mon…c'mon" she encouraged, "almost there…" she said as she finally found the right settings and disabled them before popping her head out to see the drones lower their weapons, their automatic alarms also disabled. "I did it!" she reported happily.

At that moment, Spidey descended, hanging inverted as he was eye level with the other crouching individuals. "Good job. Now let's get you out of here" he said calmly. Though Mary Jane instantly bristled at that command, and by the way the others looked at the webhead, they also thought he was crazy.

"What about the Devil's Breath?" she countered passionately. They were already working against the clock and they couldn't afford to waste any more precious time.

But Peter, the stubborn ass, continued to argue. "I'll come back for it" he assured, but it wasn't good enough.

"No" hissed Mary Jane. "We're partners, remember?"

But the spandex clad hero shook his head, "Can we argue later?" he pleaded.

The fiery redhead wasn't having it. "If we don't help those people, they could die."

"Lady's got a point" interjected Matthew suddenly, "Li releases Devil's Breath and we're all gonna die. There's no time for this shit, get your head in the game and let's get this done" ordered the SRS Commando as all three fixed the wallcrawler with stares of steel.

After a tense second, the Webslinger accepted the situation before narrowing at MJ, "Don't die, I can't lose you" he admitted honestly.

Mary Jane nodded an acknowledgement. "Didn't plan on it" she assured with a faint smile, "now I got myself into this, I'm going to get myself out" she assured as she pushed herself out of cover and began to creep forward, the two armed vigilantes guarding her flanks.

"What do you mean you got yourself into this?" asked a bewildered webhead as he pulled himself back up into the rafters and surveyed the area. _"Four, coming up the stairs ahead of you, MJ, still got those decoys?" _asked Peter as Mary Jane pulled one of the devices from her coat pocket.

Tossing it behind a shuttered coffee stand, the reporter could hear two distinct pairs of footsteps move to investigate. _"Spidey has the lead, Cat the trail. I got the other pair covered" _whispered Cooper over the comm, _"on my mark, 3…2…1…mark" _he ordered as Mary Jane poked her head out to see one masked gunman get plucked up by a Spider's web while the other found himself pinned to the coffee stand and had a taser rammed into his side. _"Clean takedowns, you're clear" _reported the Marauder.

The next two fell in much the same way before the group split further, the Marauder remaining on the second floor as he got a better angle to set up on overwatch as Felicia and Mary Jane descended back down towards the main concourse. "I'm going to break up that group" reported Mary Jane, pointing towards a gaggle of armed Demons.

Felicia crept forwards to the base of the stairs and got ready as the redhead tossed another decoy behind a cart full of luggage in front of her. Like moths to a flame, the Demon's reacted, one peeling off to investigate while the other two watched. Just as the first was about to get into position, Mary Jane tossed another decoy to distract the others and by the time she turned back to see how the Black Cat was faring, the Demon lay still on the floor. _"MJ, did you know Li would be here?" _asked Peter as he fished a Demon who had wandered off onto the opposite side of one of the large screens.

"Not exactly" admitted MJ as the redhead hit the bottom of the stairs and began to move forward towards where the last Demon had been before he was picked up. "I thought _something_ might happen, but not like this" she explained.

Just as she heard footsteps approach, a Demon rounded the corner and turned to see her when an arc round slammed into the back of his head and Mary Jane stepped forwards to prop his limp form up as she dragged him out of sight. _"Why didn't you tell me? I thought we were partners?" _he asked, causing MJ's temper to spike, he did not get to use her words against her.

"Partners trust each other Peter" she reminded flatly as she watched Black Cat pounce on another Demon with her garrote as the man's partner was picked off by another marksman rifle round. The foursome was making quick progress, picking the Demons apart with speed and ease.

The most difficult part about this was arguing with her boyf…partner. _"What do you mean? I trust you" _he insisted.

"Yeah, when I'm sitting at home behind a laptop" she retorted feistily.

"_Just get a room and fuck already" _interrupted Felicia suddenly. _"You should know Spider…angry makeup sex is the best sex." _

If MJ wasn't so busy trying to not sputter indignantly, she would have thanked the vixen for shutting Peter up. _"I resent that darlin'' _deadpanned Cooper in his southern drawl as he sniped another. The arc round knocked the Demon and before he was promptly picked up by Parker and suspended from the ceiling. With the comms silent, the four operated like a well-oiled machine. The two women were light on their feet, creeping forwards, MJ able to distract and check the drone's cameras to warn of any surprises while Felicia could dart forwards and take isolated Demons or join in a double takedown. Above, the two men kept them covered with rifle and web alike, and while MJ did admit she wasn't able to contribute as much as the others, she could also proudly declare she was contributing and not a burden.

Soon MJ could see the dispersal device with Devil's Breath loaded, but then a complication, or more accurately, a dozen or so, walked in. Li and a massive group of armed Demons emerged from the tunnel that led to a bunch of train lines down below and Mr. Negative entered a heated exchange with one of the remaining guards, their mandarin shouting echoing through Grand Central. "Gotta get past him" she whispered; voice barely audible over the radio.

"_I'm ready."_

"_RTR."_

"_Start the party."_

Mary Jane took a deep breath, "Do it."

Two weblines latched onto a display board and pulled it down onto a pair of Demons, pining them beneath it as the place fell into pandemonium. "Start the timer!" yelled Li before one of the Demons next to him collapsed to the floor, a convulsing screaming mess. Mary Jane watched one masked gunmen rush to the Devil's Breath and press a button as her heart leapt up into her throat.

"He did it, we don't have very long!" she warned hurriedly, "I gotta go for it now, cover me!" she asked.

"_You heard the lady, smoke out!" _

"_Cover your eyes Red! Flashbang!"_

"_I'm dropping some web grenades!"_

Every sense was bombarded at once as MJ made her made charge to the dispersal device, ignoring the smoke that obscured her vision, some if it crackled menacingly as the Demons caught in it wailed from the arc energy. Her ears were useless, the 'bang' part of the flashbang causing them to ring as she kept her eyes closed, not daring to look anywhere but directly down. The distinct aroma of web fluid, usually unnoticeable, but not to her after having to help clean up one too many of Peter's lab accidents, filled her nostrils as she snorted in an attempt to eject the smell. Only as she held up her hands and felt them contact the pedestal where the device was did she know she had made it. Blinking back tears, she snatched the device and scampered into cover as pandemonium broke out all around.

Hostages were screaming in panic as Demons fell left, right, and center. She figured that Cooper and Hardy had some way to see through the smoke in their visors as they continued to lay into Demon forces while Parker was reduced to picking off stragglers who isolated themselves. Thankfully, that also meant she could use him to help disarm a WMD. "Keep 'em busy, I'll take care of the Devil's Breath. Peter, can you help?" she asked as she tried to figure out where to start.

"_Sure thing, how's it wired?"_ asked the webhead.

"I see four wires" she began, "two blue, one yellow, and one red." Turning the Devil's Breath on its side she blinked a few times to clear her vision as she tried to make out the symbols on the end. "Oh! Okay, looks like the blue is connected to the battery. And yellow to a fan. Red one has a little exclamation mark."

"_Okay, you'll want to detach the wires from the battery first" _instructed Peter calmly as the battle raged all around her. _"Trace the wires to the other end and unplug them down there."_

Doing as she was told, she commanded herself to focus despite the chaos and yanked the two wires simultaneously as the device beeped angrily. "What!? The timer just dropped to thirty seconds!" she exclaimed in near panic.

"_It must be a collapsing circuit! Pull the fan, then the other! Do it now!" _

The redhead didn't need to be told twice as she quickly pulled the third and fourth wires one after the other. "Got it!" she announced with excitement and relief.

"_Wow! You did it! Nice job" _congratulated Peter, the praise managing to bring a blush to her cheeks.

"_Get. A. Room." _enunciated the other couple over the comms as they continued to fight. Demon's began firing wildly towards wherever they thought they saw movement as hundreds of 5.45mm rounds tore through the terminal, shredding brick, display, and storefront with equal ease. The symphony of the guns was the music of death as Mary Jane curled up around the Devil's Breath and covered her ears to ward off the auditory assault.

Despite the onslaught, none of the bullets found their mark as they fell silent one by one, their magazines empty. The Terminal then became eerily silent as the Demons held their ground, Li standing in the middle, eyes narrowed as he scanned the surroundings and began shouting commands in Chinese. _"Stand by everyone, I'm calling in the cavalry" _said Cooper over the line as there was a static burst before the Pilot spoke again. _"Marauder actual, confirm Devil's Breath neutralized. You are cleared to engage, light 'em up."_

And that was when all hell really broke loose.

* * *

As soon as the message was sent, the Texan slung the Longbow DMR over his shoulder and raised the R-97 SMG while waiting for the cavalry to arrive. _"All units, execute, execute, execute" _ordered Yuri as several things happened at once. Muted explosions sounded from multiple directions as breaching charges detonated, but that was mostly a distraction. Two helicopters appeared over the station as Silver Sablinova herself led the armored troopers down, fast roping in and swinging in, breaching through the windows as they landed on the upper deck, guns blazing as all the Demons swung their weapons to this new, greater threat.

Red lasers and black tracers clashed as the Sable International troopers moved to cover on the second floor while the Marauder added his own gun to the mix, the long bursts stitching rounds across the Demons as they were boxed in and totally outmatched. Soon a third group joined, NYPD burst through the gates on the ground floor, riot shields in front as they moved to evacuate the hostages from the warzone that was Grand Central. _"Li's getting away!" _cried MJ frantically as Cooper popped his head out for just long enough to see the suited man calmly stride through the barrage of bullets before a chunk of the pillar he was hiding behind was torn away. _"He's heading for the train lines!"_

The Marauder cursed as he raised his SMG and fired a long burst before assessing the situation, he needed to get after Li, but there was no way for him to get across the station with the hailstorm of lead and lasers that was in the way. Thankfully, he wasn't alone, _"I got him!" _called the Webslinger as the Commando craned his neck up to see him swinging down from the ceiling towards the gate Li had just gone through. _"Rest of you get the hostages out! Don't worry about me!"_

"_Tear him a new one Spider" _encouraged the Black Cat as she stalked from the ground floor, suppressed P90 PDW hosing down Demon's exposed flanks as she helped clear out the more stubbornly entrenched groups. _"We'll handle this crowd. Little help cowboy?" _she asked as Cooper slammed a fresh 40 round magazine into the sub gun and dropped the bolt.

"Yippy ki yay" he drawled back as he activated his cloak and sprinted out from cover, jump jetting up to bounce off the wall before leaping into the fray. Hitting the ground in a slide, the Marauder opened fire, his cloak faltering before falling away completely as he dropped the hammer on a pair of Demons before pressing himself behind a crate, ignoring the rounds snapping past or the sizzle of the lasers as he stood and got back to work as Felicia stepped out in cover and the two moved in parallel. Rolling up the flank of the terrorists, the Demons found themselves caught in a pincer with the vigilantes on one side and the NYPD SWAT teams on the other.

"_All units advance. Press the attack!" _barked Sable over the radio as the silver armored soldiers responded instantly, sealing the fates of the Demons. Boots hit the tile floor as the PMC troopers vaulted over the railing, cutting off the last escape route as Sablinova stood tall, both energy pistols blazing away as the last of the opposition was cut down. The fanatics fought to the last, the final gunman standing and trying to take someone with him when rounds poured in from every direction and turned his body into sludge. As quickly as the shootout began, it was over, the

"Cease fire!" called the Symkarian as she waved her hand and holstered her weapons. "Secure the area and see to the wounded" she ordered to a pair of sergeants as they immediately got to work while Cooper and Watanabe moved towards the mercenary.

"Hostages are secure, EMTs are checking up on them now" reported the Captain. "Good work all around, I don't know how but we pulled this off."

Almost, there was still one last loose end. "Not quite, Spider-Man still has to apprehend Li, then we can pop the champagne" deadpanned the Renegade Gunfighter as the other two women nodded before Matthew turned to Silver. "And none of your people tried to kill me this time, today's getting better and better."

It may have been a low blow, but the anger didn't last long on the silver haired woman's features as she nodded and Cooper turned away. "Marauder" she called out suddenly, causing him to stop and turn to look over his shoulder, "well done" she complimented flatly.

* * *

The only thing that was more uncomfortable than the continual gunfire that echoed through the terminal for Spider-Man was the even more continual blaring of his sixth sense as it warned him to be anywhere but here. Ignoring it, the webslinger ducked, dodged, and zipped through the wall of life-threatening projectiles until he swung through the gate and fired impact webs at the two Demons who were guarding the platform as he saw a train pull away. Wasting no time, he launched weblines at the trail car and yanked himself to it, laying flat on his back as his feet smashed through the rear glass and he came to a stop inside the barren subway carriage.

Waiting for him inside was Martin Li, exuding power, the air around him rippling with heat and energy as an evil grin appeared on his blackened face, with white eyes, hair, suit, and tie glowing ominously. "Finally" he said calmly, his voice distorted as Peter stood to his full height and narrowed his eye lenses at the former philanthropist.

"Sorry I'm late" quipped the webhead, "it's kinda my thing." Both men sized each other up as the train began to pick up speed before the Superhero struck first, firing a webline and pulling himself into Li. The opening blow staggered the suited man as he clutched his chest, but the wallcrawler didn't let up as he threw more punches before his spider sense rang in warning. Getting one last parting blow, his spandex clad foot came up and bashed Li in the chin as he somersaulted away.

As he did he could feel the heat from the energized punches that missed as he returned to his feet in time to see Li charge up an energy blast as he sprung up and flipped, attaching himself to the ceiling as the black energy ripped through the air where he had been less than a second ago before Peter dropped back down. Going back on the attack, Spider-Man cut loose with his web shooters as Li was soon bound by the globs of synthetic silk, but the webslinger didn't let up until the cartridges were empty and ejected with a hiss as new ones were cycled in. But Peter didn't wait for them as he used his strength to launch himself forwards and plant both feet in Li's chest before backflipping off as the energized man slammed into the wall of the car.

Not giving him a chance to breathe, Spider-Man fired a line at either side of the car and yanked himself forwards, striking Mr. Negative with such force that both went through the doors and into the next car as Li went skidding across the floor. "Why are you doing this?" asked Peter while Li shook off the blow. Part of the hero was hoping he could convince Li to come in peacefully and wanted to give him a chance to surrender.

Instead of giving up, Li got to his feet as two henchmen came up, one either aside as the villain rolled his neck. "Paying off an old debt" he answered cryptically before placing a hand on each of the Demons before ripping the energy he had imbued in them out by force. His hands and eyes gave off black and white vapors as he stood straighter, his newfound power surging through him.

Li raised a hand and made a 'come here' gesture as Peter obliged, leaping forwards only for a energized forehead to slam forwards and crash down on his own skull. The Demon leader was moving even faster as he swung at the webslinger, forcing the hero to dodge as he of pursuing the more agile webhead, Mr. Negative elected to use his ranged attacks, charging and then flinging massive waves of deadly black-white energy that ripped through the subway car. The floor, ceiling, walls, and chairs were all singed and smoldering from the heat of the attacks as Spider-Man relied on his experience, reflexes, and spider-sense to dodge the lethal blasts.

Finally, Li paused to draw more energy, the entire area around him turning black as night and even more frightening. But it was the best opening Spider-Man was going to get as he webzipped to Li and began laying into him, holding back less and less with each successive blow. The air began to crackle and hiss as Peter tried to get back, but a massive shockwave threw him back, his feet clipping a standing bar and spinning him around as he fell to the floor. He opened his eyes just in time to see Li charge up another wave of energy as he heaved his body upwards and latched onto the ceiling as the wave passed beneath him, singing one of his arms on the way by. "Give up to me now Li…or the Marauder _will _kill you" he threatened, knowing that the SRS Pilot could already be in pursuit.

"Nothing can hurt me!" called back Li as he fired his blasts with even greater ferocity until one slammed square into the Wallcrawler, charring his chest as he fell to the ground and Li charged forwards, fists clenched as he punched the hero in the face and pinned him to ground. "Not anymore!" he snarled as he began throwing punch after punch, but he was becoming flustered and the webhead blocked them with his forearm. Mustering his super strength, Spider-Man threw a nose breaking hook that hit home before he sprung up and used his weblines to jam both feet into Li's chest, throwing him back into the mangled control panel of the battered two car train.

A blood curdling scream was heard over the clacking of the train as untold thousands of volts was pumped into Li's body while he could do naught but spasm and writhe in pain as his muscles refused to obey his mind. Finally, Li could take no more as his cries fell silent and he collapsed to the floor in a heap. Spider-Man stepped past, focused now on stopping the runaway train before someone got hurt. "No brakes, no problem" he mused as he stepped out onto the front and braced himself, this would hurt.

Approaching an arch, he fired as many weblines as his shooters could, gripping them tight in his hands as he planted his feet and pressed his back to the front of the wrecked train. Just as he felt the weight and force of the train begin to try and rip his shoulders from his sockets, the lines snapped, hanging uselessly in his gloved hands. "That totally worked last time" he grumbled as he looked for an alternative. Looking ahead, he saw recognized the station approaching and remembered something. "BT - they still doing construction on 42nd and 1st?" he asked, knowing the machine was always listening.

"_Affirmative Mr. Parker" _returned the Titan as Spider-Man launched himself forwards and stuck fast to the roof, _"the street is closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic at this time" _confirmed the machine. That was as good as he was going to get, so he fired a series of weblines at the tracks before jerking the lines up and ripping the tracks up. Screaming in exertion, Spider-Man strained as he took the whole weight of the subway train while it shot upwards.

Up above, those who were watching saw the train breath through the asphalt like a steel whale, throwing chunks of blacktop as civilians and workers ran for cover as the train came back down to earth in a shower of sparks before rolling over onto its side and screeching to a halt. Taking a second to catch his breath, the webhead followed the train up onto the surface and came down on top of the mangled front car as a battered Martin Li tried to crawl his way out when he looked up at the webslinger, white eyes blazing with fury. "Next stop" quipped Peter through heavy breaths, "prison."

* * *

Their jobs done, the three masked vigilantes watched as Martin Li was secured into a massive contraption meant to ensure he couldn't escape even with his powers to channel the electrostatic negative energy or corrupt those guarding him. With the Marauder and Black Cat leaning against _Widowmaker_ and Spider-Man crouched on top, they were the subject of dozens of photos as press on the opposite side of the Sable perimeter blazed away with their cameras. Peter wasn't sure how to feel as the doors of the armored truck closed on the still glaring Li, though he could tell that Matthew, arms crossed and right hand twitching next to the grip of his pistol, still wanted a crack at Mr. Negative. That, and he was perturbed at Silver Sable totally shutting him out of handling Devil's Breath after the toxic compound had been trucked off earlier to some unspecified location. The Black Cat was far more relaxed, regally watching from her position next to the Gunfighter, her green eye lenses masking where she was looking.

With reality finally beginning to set in that the nightmare was about to end, fatigue slammed into the Webhead like the train he had just stopped. His eyes struggled to remain open, his limbs felt heavy, and he was willing to bet his entire body was one big bruise. The 'Advanced Suit' was not faring much better, seams were barely holding together, and the white spider logo was burned badly.

Without being able to say a word, he clapped a hand down on the Marauder's shoulder, causing him to turn and the helmet nodding and the wearer giving a small salute while the Thief blew him a kiss before he fired a webline and pulled himself away. Sticking to the side of a building, he saw the couple get into the P1 and heard the McLaren fire up before pulling away. Arriving at Grand Central to find not only the Marauder, but with the thief there as well, and both telling him that the NYPD and Sable International were mobilizing and were at their beck and call had been a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

Used to working alone with little to no backup, seeing what having all of the powers in New York coming together to crush the Demons at GCT was new, and the result had been a sight to behold. But there was one part of the experience that hadn't gone smoothly, and now he had to try and rectify that. Pulling out his cell he opened up his contacts before taking a deep breath and hitting the call button. "Please pick up…please pick up" he whispered.

"_This is Mary Jane Watson. Please leave a detailed message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can" _droned the automated answer as Peter mumbled a swear under his breath before the tone beeped.

"Uhh…" he began dumbly, "hey, it's me." _Wow, really off to a great start here _he mentally chided himself before pulling it together. "Lemme know when you want to talk" he said simply before hanging up. He didn't want to pressure her, especially since he didn't know how she was holding up after having to see the Demons work up close. Being Spider-Man for eight years had hardened him somewhat, and he knew that Cooper had probably seen worse on Typhon, Felicia had a surprising resilience to the mental strains of their occupation. Mary Jane? Well she hadn't seen that much, and he had no idea how she'd react.

There was also the, _small, _matter of their argument.

Leaping up, he stuck to an antenna as he felt the smart phone buzz in his hand. Looking down he looked at the words staring up at him. _Not ready to talk yet _they said, prompting a bout of confusion from the Queens native. "Texting isn't talking?" he wondered aloud as he tapped out his response.

_Ok, it's over btw _he informed, quickly firing a line to another building and yanking himself through the clear sky, fully able to appreciate the elation he subconsciously felt as he did so without the threat of Li hanging over the city.

But he was quickly reminded he was talking to the sharp-witted MJ, ever alert and scrutinizing any and everything her mind could focus on. And the quick message he had sent got the same treatment. _Over? OK fine _she responded as Peter's eyes widened in realization.

"N-n-no-no-no, not that kind of over!" he shouted in headless chicken blind panic mode, thankful he was on a rooftop and out of earshot for those below as he suffered a significant emotional event. _I meant Li. _He typed out quickly as he tried to calm down, pacing nervously on the edge of the rooftop, _I beat him_ he clarified as the webhead swung across the street and planted his feet on a perpendicular wall.

With tension in his gut he looked down at the response he could feel in his hand, he hoped for the best. _Oh…_ he read, causing him to groan in response as he 'sat' on the wall and let out a sigh of hope, or relief.

Finally deciding to take a page from the Texan's playbook and quit dancing around the issue, to bite the bullet and just flat out ask the question. _Do you want it to be 'over'? _he asked before leaning back and clutching the phone to his chest. "Please say no. Please say no…" he begged before he got moving again, streaking through the cityscape as he felt the phone buzz again.

Bracing himself, he looked down mid webzip to look at the screen and saw two simple letters that made his heart leap for all the right reasons, _No. _Backflipping in elation, he snapped off a webline that brought him swinging round a crane and to a stop beneath it as he felt the phone buzz again. _But maybe it should be _read the message, causing his heart to move in the wrong direction, up into the pit of his stomach. _Need some time to figure things out_.

"What is there to figure out?" he wondered aloud, exasperated before he thought about it and decided to ease off the pressure, he didn't want to push her any more than the day's events already had. _Sure, me too_ he sent as he continued to make his way through the city, moving slowly but surely towards the safehouse Cooper had given him.

His phone buzzed again, the unexpected sensation prompting him to stop and perch atop an antenna and read the message, not having a clue number one what he would find when he did _Think we both had different ideas about this 'partner' thing _it read. Peter couldn't help but roll his eyes and the smart aleck in him wanted to snap off a salute to 'Captain Obvious' when he read the text. "Oh, you think?" he snapped back verbally, knowing better than to say things like that to her. Before he could give an answer, he got more notifications rapid fire. _I need to do some work, _read the first as he backspaced his words and began retyping a response when he got the second text. The message read _I'll call you tomorrow_ as he backspaced again and his phone buzzed for the third and final time, _Maybe_ said MJs message before her profile read 'Offline' and he knew replying would be pointless.

Letting out a sigh, he looked up at the setting sun, "Great" he groaned as he began the swing towards a hot shower and a cold bed that awaited him. Already, from his vantage point he could see the city that never sleeps slowly waking up, the streets seemed far busier than they had been the past few weeks.

There was a ringing from his ear from his miraculously functional mask mounted phone as he quickly accepted the call. _"You did it – Li's off to the RAFT" _congratulated Yuri, who sounded as exhausted as he felt, or maybe the last few weeks of being too busy to be tired had caught up with them. _"The Devil's Breath is safe with Sable…how do you feel?"_

"How do _I _feel?" he parroted back as he thought over the question and gave the honest answer, "How much time do you have?" he asked.

"_Not much" _admitted the Captain, but he could tell she was smiling on the other end of the line. _"Heroics for you means paperwork for me" _she reminded before adding _"but I just wanted to say…good job." _

"Thanks Yuri" he replied, "I kinda needed that" he revealed, not feeling bad about having to. They had worked together long enough to know that, on occasion, even Superheroes needed pick me ups. He also knew she wouldn't press, Yuri said what she had to say and didn't waste time with much else, so instead of prying she simply hung up, probably getting back to her Captain work. Inside the privacy of his mask, Peter smiled. For now, New York was still standing, and he hoped everyone in it would have the time to appreciate that.

He couldn't possibly know that nothing was further from the truth.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Ordnance: Electric Smoke Grenade_

_These multipurpose devices look on the surface like modern day smoke grenades, throwing up a wall of white obscurant to provide visual cover or mark a critical point. They do that very well, naturally, but they pack an extra surprise for those caught in the clouds. Advanced nano technology means that the clouds are peppered with microscopic electrodes that chain together to give these grenades the 'electric' part of their name. These aren't as powerful as an arc round, but prolonged exposure can yield the same results._

_Beyond that offensive ability, these devices offer defensive utility as well. The nanomachines can put out fires by having the electrical discharge and corresponding lightning bolts suck up all the oxygen to snuff the flame. Similarly, they offer enough interference to spoof missile tracking systems as well as Infra-Red and other thermal imaging technology. _

_All of these attributes are carried over from the electric smoke discharges emitted by Titans for self-defense, but on a smaller scale. For someone who relies on speed, misdirection, and the element of surprise, these handy smoke bombs will make sure the bad guys never see me coming. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: I...have mixed feelings about this one, I hated GCT and it was one of the few segments I wanted to make alterations to. I get why the sequence played out the way it did in game, but it felt really dumb that everyone else would be sitting on their hands while all this is going down. That, and writing boss fights is hard folks, let me know how you think it all turned out. **

**We aren't moving straight into the next major story arc, there will be a few transition chapters to ease the story into it. Tying up a few loose plot threads, doing a side mission or two, and setting some stuff up. **

**Let the people know my wisdom, fill the land with smoke, better Run Through the Jungle.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	41. Chapter 41: Run Through the Jungle

All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Big news here first off, in two weeks (April 15 2020), when chapter 43 is posted, this story will move to the crossover section with Titanfall. For those of you who just read and don't follow or favorite or anything, I'm just giving you fair warning. The reason is that we're taking a bit of a detour from the story of the game to do an original story arc with a few Titanfall elements to the point where I feel the story becomes a crossover. Equally important, if you are not one of those people who want this story to become 'bigger' and stuff, you just want the story of the game, then just bear with me. Once it is over, the story will resume the path set by the game with this story arc having no effects on those events, just the characters. If you want some idea of what's coming, I'll give a hint: 1648.

And no, that's not an April Fools.

**Blaze1992: Sable was under orders to secure Devil's Breath and so she did so. In all fairness, I should have made this more clear and I may go back and tweak that chapter to do just that. Again, another fault, Hammerhead followed Cooper when Yuri took him home from the police station after he was arrested, it is mentioned briefly, but I should have made that more clear. Again, I will probably go back and tweak that chapter to make it clearer that he's being followed or Hammerhead has a source in the NYPD for example. Thanks for pointing out those small things that slip through the cracks, I do appreciate it. **

**Guest: Fair enough, I didn't mind the relationship in game that much even if both do have their pants on head moments. But a choice I made was to follow the game fairly closely and not change something like characterization just becuase I think I could 'improve' it, or, if I did, I would need a good reason for a change. Maybe for them to expierence something that they didn't in the game that might affect them so they act differently. I will now redirect you to the author's note up top. **

**Inquisitek: Yes, that Roy Benitez. I reallly enjoyed that first game, it's still my favorite virtual New York, and I had to have a nod to it. Expect more cameos like that, Jessica Kandel, Paul Rhodes, and maybe someone to give JJJ a little competition on the airwaves...**

**A fan: Thanks as always for the kind words, things will be slowing down for a little bit but the stuff on the horizon is pretty good, at least I think so, hopefully you enjoy.**

**FireandIce4664: Glad to hear it, hopefully that trend continues. **

As for the song this week, it's a lesser known track by Creedence Clearwater Revival, better known simply as CCR. Despite hailing from San Fransisco, they have a great 'southern rock' sound and a lot of great tunes despite only being around for a few years. This is one of their lesser known tracks off the 1970 Album 'Cosmo Factory' and it should be a Vietnam war song. Everything about it fits every stererotype about 'Nam, and that was what I had in mind when I picked it, except this time it's an urban jungle everyone is running through. It was even used in films like _Tropic Thunder _and _Kong: Skull Island_. Googling it, I read through the Wikipedia entry on it where there's a quote from John Fogerty who claims it was always about the proliferation of guns in the United States. I'm not going to talk politics, but with that being said 45 years after the song was released it feels like a retcon to me. Am I nuts? Give it a listen and decide for yourself.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 41: Run Through the Jungle**

_Whoa thought it was a nightmare_

_Lord it was so true_

_They told me don't go walking slow_

_The devil's on the loose_

_Two hundred million guns are loaded_

_Satan cries "take aim"_

_Better run through the jungle_

* * *

Sleep gradually released its hold on Matthew Cooper as his eyes slid open slowly, his brain quickly spooling up to get ready for the next fight when it reminded itself that for the first time in weeks…there wasn't one. Letting out a breath, the Titan Jockey felt his muscles unwind as he relaxed into the bed and appreciated the feeling of Felicia draped across him, her peaceful sleeping face mere inches from his as he stroked her hair. If memory served then she just had one last heist to pull before they could move on to phase 2 and then after that…he wasn't really sure, but he would have to talk to her at some point, and that was more nerve-wracking then anything they had done the previous day.

How the hell could he admit that he had fallen completely head over heels for her? And not just her body, that would have been too easy, but for everything about her.

Careful not to disturb her, he turned to look at the clock and it read a quarter to four, early to be up, even for him. Deciding he had nothing more pressing to do, he decided to stay in bed as he pulled the sheets up to cover both of them, though he moved his hands to pull the Thief closer to him, the smooth skin concealing powerful muscle beneath. Taut curves mixed with fleshy breasts and an ass that was somehow both at once, every time he experienced her gave him new appreciation for something about her, and the list had only kept growing. For an hour, he wrestled with those musings before he felt her begin to stir before those all-seeing emerald eyes were looking at him with their usual mischievous gleam.

"Morning stud" she purred as she planted a quick kiss on his lips and hit him with that all knowing smirk as she ran her hand along his face, "hopefully you're up for spending all day in bed cowboy."

She shimmied right up to him, closing the gap between them and they shared another deep kiss that served to get his blood flowing so early in the morning. Sadly, he had to pull back again, wincing at the groan of frustration that came from Felicia. "I'll finish you off later darlin" he drawled, emphasizing his accent to make him seem more relaxed than he was. Getting out of bed he threw on some sweatpants, keeping the grins coming as Felicia just glared murderously at him from the bed. "You should know that there's no rest for the wicked."

"Cowboy" she said seriously, "who said anything about resting? I was talking about _fucking_" she said, exaggerating the last word as she turned around to show off her heart shaped ass and wiggled it enticingly. Biting his lip, the Marauder took a step closer before regaining his self-control and coming to a halt.

"Hold that thought, got word that somebody's been watching me. We both know I don't do my best with an audience" he quipped as Felicia sat back down on the edge of the bed and gave him a questioning look. "Spidey told me about it a while back, but I haven't had time, I need to tie up this loose end first."

The heiress pouted as he caressed her check and tilted her head upwards to look him in the eye. "Hurry back" she commanded, "don't keep me waiting."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

* * *

Fully armored and loaded for bear, the SRS Marauder came down on the rooftop where Spider-Man had found the 'recon point' as it had been called by his secret admirer. Peter had been right, it did look military grade, and just as his friend had described, the box opened as he approached. _"So you finally decided to show up Marauder" _said a calm, filtered voice. _"I've been watching you, very impressive. Never seen anyone with moves like you before."_

"Then you've never seen a pilot" retorted the Titan Jockey mirthfully. "But if you just wanted to talk shop you would've PMed me on twitter" he snapped, there were things he would much rather be doing, mainly Felicia. "You're not an amateur and neither than I, so extend me a professional courtesy and quit the bullshit."

There was a wry chuckle from the box. _"Okay Marauder, I'll give you that much. I'm being paid to evaluate you; my employers believe you could be of use to them. If you pass, then there's a lucrative contract in it for you" _explained the unknown, though the Texan could only snort in derision.

"If they want to offer a contract then they should offer a contract, I've done work like that in the past" replied the Renegade Gunfighter nonchalantly. "But one thing I don't do is play games. I don't have anything to prove to anyone, so if that's what they want then you tell them to take that contract and shove it up their ass" he sneered angrily, not believing he had gotten out of bed for this shit.

Without another thought, he spun on his heel and began to walk away when the mystery man spoke again. _"I wasn't finished, you see, my employers believe that to fight at your best you need the proper motivation. I've also been paid to inform you that a group of mercenaries has been paid by a third party to assassinate someone of interest to you: Captain Yuri Watanabe."_

The Commando stopped dead in his tracks and began to turn around slowly as the screen had changed to show a ten-man crew that had been paid a generous sum to kill the NYPD officer. "Your mercenaries?" he asked lowly as he memorized every one of their faces, his hands moving on their own as he unslung the R-201 and swapped the magazine to one bearing red tape. "Because if they are…after I deal with them, I'm coming for you" he promised.

"_They're not mine" _the mystery man responded simply as Cooper loaded another red taped mag into the EPG-1, _"and I'm not lying to you…professional courtesy." _The Pilot snorted as he shook his head, but his gut said the man was being honest and he was going to take this one thing at a time. _"My employer says they were hired by the same party that tried to hire Sable International Operatives to kill you a few days ago…the money originates from the same numbered account."_

Which meant they were trying to go after his friends, causing the boiling of his blood to be tempered by the cool surge of adrenaline as he scrolled through the information and learned that they had only just now been given the order to execute their mission. "Then they'll meet the same fate" answered the Marauder darkly as he leapt from the rooftop and fired his grappling hook. Mentally working his comms suite to pull up the cop's phone, he called as he got moving, trying to be erratic to avoid unwanted eyes. "C'mon, pick up" he encouraged aloud as he phase shifted and ducked down into an alley before doubling back and coming out the same way.

"_Marauder?" _answered a very groggy Yuri, _"what the hell? You'd better have a good reason for this, or I swear to god…"_

"Someone's put a hit on you" he cut off, causing the cop to shut up instantaneously. "I'm heading your way but get up, get your gun, and get ready, they could be there any minute" he ordered tersely, but calmly. He didn't want to panic her and cause her to make a stupid mistake that could cost the Captain her life and him a friend. "Do you understand?"

There was a moment where he wasn't answered, but he could hear the woman moving in the background. _"Yeah, I got it" _she answered, her voice more awake and alert as the vestiges of drowsiness were pushed aside. _"What's going on? Is it the Demons?" _she asked as he heard the distinct sound of a wheel gun cylinder being spun and slammed into place.

"No Captain" he admitted as he began to follow the route on his HUD that would lead to Watanabe's address, "these are professional mercenaries, hired by the same people who tried to kill me." There was a tense silence as the words set in and a pang of guilt cropped up in Cooper. "I'm sorry it's come to this."

"_Don't be" _responded Watanabe instantly, _"it was bound to happen sooner or later." _With that statement, and the sense of finality it carried, Yuri ended the call as the Pilot continued to blitz through the city, a man on a mission. In the back of his mind, the Marauder promised himself that when he found who was financing all of this, he would give no quarter, a line had been crossed and it was something that couldn't be forgiven. It had been the same one that the Kingpin and Rawlins had crossed, they had gone after his friends.

Fisk had only gotten away with it because it was clear that kidnapping Mary Jane had merely been a distraction and would likely have been returned after Cinderblock ended. That's why he was in the RAFT, and Rawlins, who had nothing but malicious intent with Felicia, was killed by his hand. Whoever was responsible for this was a dead man, he just didn't know it yet.

Soon he arrived at Watanabe's apartment building, his axe buried in the wall as he called again. Looking up towards the window he knew led into the Captain's apartment, he readied the Carbine when the phone picked up. _"Marauder, where are you?" _she hissed quietly as the Pilot ascended the building. Slowly nearing the window, Cooper took a second to scan the horizon to look for any snipers that might be watching from other rooftops, thankful the sun was at his back so that their scopes would glint.

Seeing nothing, he answered. "Just outside your living room window, I'm coming in now, don't shoot" he cautioned before opening the window and slipping inside, not surprised to see Yuri watching him, phone in one hand and revolver in the other. Quickly closing the window and locking it, he drew the curtains as Yuri visibly relaxed and pocketed her phone. "We can't stay here, get dressed, grab spare ammo. Three minutes" he ordered as the woman nodded and went back into her bedroom. The Pilot remained on alert in the spartan living room, it had all of the basics but wasn't exactly 'homely' in his eyes. There were a few family pictures and some awards from the NYPD, but the apartment hardly seemed lived in. Considering how much time its occupant spent at work that wasn't much of a surprise.

While waiting he sent a quick text to perhaps the most reliable man he knew. It simply said _Need pickup, hit placed on Yuri_ before giving the address of a back alley not too far and that could be reached while staying out of the open. Safe in the knowledge their ride would be there, Cooper allowed himself to relax for a brief moment before he heard the door open behind him.

In just under three minutes, Yuri had gotten into her trademark flannel shirt, leather jacket, and dark jeans. Her Rhino in hand and her belt fitted with pouches containing speed loaders, she was ready for whatever was ahead of them. "I got point, you stay glued to my ass and don't expose yourself, understood captain?" Yuri looked like she made to argue, but quickly thought better of it, simply nodding once. "Good, now shut up and get behind me…ma'am."

With that, the Marauder shouldered his weapon and slowly opened the door into the hallway, checking to see that it was clear before taking a step and coming to a crouch. Yuri moved outside, quickly locking her apartment before they got moving, staying pressed to the wall. With the Carbine pointed ahead of them and the .357 covering their six, they made rapid progress towards the elevators. "The elevator? _That's _your exit strategy?" asked a confounded Yuri.

"They know where you are, speed trumps stealth" he explained simply. "Besides, I don't do quiet…you don't _want me _to do quiet" he quipped dryly as he moved to press the call button, only for the indicator light to ding a second before he pressed the button. Both shared a knowing look before Yuri moved behind him, weapon ready as Matthew watched the floor indicator steadily rise. Rocking on the balls of his feet, the Titan Jockey felt that all too familiar cold surge of adrenaline seep into his veins as the number came to a stop and the door slid open.

Out stepped two men pushing a cart with a large box on it wearing deliveryman's uniforms. Cooper was about to relax and spit out a canned apology when the closest one turned to look at him. There was a millisecond of standoff as the two recognized one another, but the SRS Pilot was faster when he realized this was one of the mercenaries and snapped his rifle up. Teeth grit and mouth set in a snarl; the gloved finger squeezed the trigger. The first 8.19 mm round entered up through the man's jaw and exited the top of his head, killing him instantly even though three more bullets made sure of that fact.

The second one barely had time to register what had happened before he too was cut down by the long burst of fire, the chatter of the assault rifle serving as more than one tenants wake up call. Without spending a second to look down at the bloody bodies, Cooper dragged Yuri into the elevator and quickly hit the button for the basement as he let out a deep breath. "Two down" he grunted as he dropped the half-spent mag and slammed in a fresh one, "eight to go." With the descent going smoothly, Yuri seemed to start having nerves, something the Pilot hadn't expected. "You good Cap?"

"Yeah" she answered quickly, "it's just…do you know who's behind this?" she asked finally, her brow furrowed as it always was when she was trying to figure something out.

The skull adorned helmet shook, "No I don't Captain" he admitted truthfully. "But when I do, they're going to wish they had never crossed me" he vowed.

"Marauder, listen, a few days ago…" began the Captain when the elevator ground to a halt, causing both to have to fight to maintain their footing. Trying the buttons, Cooper realized that someone had locked down the elevator and that they would be sitting ducks if they stayed here.

"Shit" he cursed, "hold that thought Captain, we're taking a detour" he said calmly as he jumped up and punched out the emergency escape hatch. Hoisting himself up and out of the elevator before extending a gloved hand to pull Watanabe out into the elevator shaft. "My kingdom for Cat's rappelling gear" he grumbled as his mind raced to formulate a plan. Suddenly, he felt the elevator beneath them lurch uncertainly. "Shit!" he shouted and wrapped his arm around the Captain's waist.

"Wait, what are you…" began Yuri before Matthew fired his grapple to pull them off the elevator as it fell away suddenly and the two were pulled to a wall and hung there, Cooper's boots braced against the concrete. "What the hell?" she shouted in shock, still holding onto her pistol.

"They must have a man in control of the elevators, which means they probably have cameras and other utilities too" supposed the Commando, the fact that this made their escape that much more difficult went unsaid. "We still need to get down this shaft. Hang on tight" he said simply before he released the hook and the pair dropped, freefalling down the blackened space.

While Yuri clung onto the Pilot with all she was worth, the Marauder raised his grapple and fired it again, pulling them across the way and bringing them to a stop once again. Repeating this process, the pair soon made their way all the way down to the basement level, where the Marauder pried the doors open to enable access into the sublevel. If the elevator shaft was hard to see in, then the basement was downright impossible. It was diabolically hot from the steam lines, and some of that steam filled the air, making it impossible for NV to punch through, and the hot pipes diminished the value of thermal vision too.

It was the perfect place for an ambush.

If he could see it, then he was willing to bet the mercenaries had seen it too, so the pair was making haste. Only pausing every so often to hurl out a pulse blade and see if someone was stalking them through the blackness and obscuring steam. Coming up to a corner, he came to a crouch and drew the pulse blade. "Wait one" he whispered as he activated his cloak and slipped out into the open before flinging the kunai down the corridor. Muscles tense, he watched the orange pulse grow until it deformed to show two figures holding guns pointed down the hall. "Gotcha" he whispered as he sighted up the nearest one when his world turned white.

He had inadvertently triggered a flashbang mine, and the devices assaulted him even through his helmet, his ears ringing as he staggered and tried to get out of the corridor, placing his hand on a pipe and using that to guide himself out while cursing himself for forgetting to check for booby traps. Gunshots registered to his overwhelmed mind as he dove to the floor and half crawled, half scampered back around the corner. Once back around the corner he stuck the carbine out and sprayed a short burst to try and keep their heads down when the situation got even worse. "Behind!" called out Yuri as more bullets filled the air, buzzing like angry hornets.

The Captain raised her .357 and returned fire, the heavy handgun thundering in the confined space. The Texan raised his own rifle and tried to draw a bead through the smoke. Despite the gunfire and the muzzle flashes, he couldn't see any persons until he saw a faint shimmer. "They're cloaked!" he realized in shock as he decided to fire at the muzzle flashes before realizing that they couldn't stay here any longer. Pulling out an electric smoke grenade, he tossed it down the corridor around the corner before yanking Yuri up and pulling her back as he fired rapid single shots at the cloaked assailants, "Move it, move it!" he barked before both turned and sprinted away.

Running through the maze of the basement, it was clear that they were being hunted, but, Cooper decided, it was time to set an ambush of their own. "Get down, cover that way" he ordered quickly as Yuri crouched down in a small alcove and reloaded her Rhino as the Marauder set to work. Taking out a frag grenade, he pulled the pin but kept the spoon clamped down as he wedged it between two pipes on the wall. Then he found a spare pipe and carefully guided it in so that it was between the same two pipes and in the same position across the wall. As a result, when someone came up the hallway and tripped on the pipe it would knock the grenade out, releasing the spoon and igniting the fuse.

Now that the trap was set, all that they needed was the bait. "Captain" said the Marauder as he joined her in the small alcove, "I need you to fire a shot, get their attention" he said simply. Yuri complied, nodding as she poked her head out and fired a single shot. After that, the SRS Pilot forced her back down and shielded her as he readied his own rifle. The seconds crawled by with agonizing slowness, the only thing that reminded Cooper that they were both alive were the sounds of deep but hurried breaths.

But the silence was soon shattered by the sound of someone tripping to the floor and the metal pipe clanking on concrete with a muttered curse before a much louder "shit! Grenade!" Gritting his teeth, Cooper heard the explosive detonate, knowing that there was no way for the mercenaries to escape the 10-foot lethal radius and absolutely no cover in the narrow corridors. Activating his cloak, the Pilot slipped out and confirmed what he had suspected, finding two shredded bodies lying in the hallway, but only two. There were still two more out there, and he didn't want to use the same trick twice.

Decloaking and beckoning the Captain to her feet, the two moved swiftly, doubling back the way they had come in hopes of finding their original route through the maze. For a while it seemed to be smooth sailing, and Matthew hoped they might, just might, be able to get out without running into any more trouble. Heading back up the corridor where they had been stopped the first time, the Pilot was reminded that the only easy day was yesterday.

As soon as his rifle went past a corner a pair of gloved hands grabbed the fore of the weapon and twisted it before trying to rip it away. But the Pilot had trained for this, his hand sliding down with practiced ease to the angled magwell to push back against the rotation as he stepped forwards and levered the gun around to bring it to bear on his attacker. Instead, he found himself facing both, their nearly invisible forms shimmering as the smoke surrounded them and the second holding a pistol.

The handgun barked twice, both 9-millimeter slugs slamming into his chest plate, knocking the wind out of him as he fought to hold onto his R-201, but he could no longer claim to be in control. He was less in control when the one holding his gun followed up with a kick that knocked one of his legs out from under him as he ripped the rifle upwards while the other prepared to put a pistol round through his helmet when the man's head exploded.

Yuri, her revolver still smoking, stepped fully out to take down the second man when he swung the Carbine, knocking the gun from her hands. But the Captain was unfazed as she ducked the return swing and lashed out with a kick that pinned the rifle to the wall before throwing a punch across her body into her assailants' nose, snapping his head back. In the narrow passage, Cooper was reduced to a spectator as Watanabe pulled her foot away before slamming it down, probably breaking the man's hand and causing him to lose his grip on the SOAR.

Still cloaked, the mercenary tried to tackle her, but the Captain swiftly danced around him and hooked his arm in hers and spun to redirect him into the wall as he other drew her knife from her boot. When the cloaked man spun around to face Yuri the blade was jammed into his throat, leaving him gasping for breath he would never get before his neigh invisible body slumped to the floor. "Fucking assholes" spat Yuri as she wiped the blood off on her sleeve and sheathed the knife. "You good?" she asked as she kicked him his rifle.

"I'm good" he assured as he gave the weapon a once over and got to his feet, taking a good long look at the camouflaged men lying dead on the floor. Despite their wearers being deceased, the poncho like gear still made them difficult to spot, even camouflaging the blood that was around the bodies. Shaking the sight from his head, the Marauder turned to the Captain, "Just remind me to never piss you off" he deadpanned as they got moving again. Not long passed when they moved out of the steam filled basement and found themselves in the storerooms for adjacent shops. With alert eyes and rapidly beating hearts, the pair soon made it through those without incident.

They were almost home free.

* * *

Despite the steady hands that held the Rhino Revolver, the steely eyes that looked down the sights, and the measured strides that kept it moving forward, Yuri's mind was racing at a mile a minute. Had Osborn really sent these men after her? If so, was it because she had looked into him after Felicia Hardy had delivered that flash drive to her? If not, then why? Even so, this was the Mayor, what would have happened if they were successful? The thought that what she had would simply be buried caused her anger to spike because those who ran the system would likely manipulate it to their own ends.

Shoving those thoughts aside, she followed the Marauder as he led her up a stairwell and opened the door at the top, the chill of the November air smashing her in the face before he stepped out slowly. Taking a second to survey the surroundings, he deemed it safe as he turned back, "C'mon, not much further to go" he revealed as Yuri came out and closed the door behind her.

"Thank god" she muttered back, her nerves starting to fray, she was used to waking up and the worst thing she would see would be an angry email from her boss, not a call from a far future soldier that a hit squad was coming to kill her. "Who are we meeting again?" she asked, though she needn't have bothered as they rounded a corner to see a black van sitting in the alleyway, back doors facing them. "You've got to be shitting me" muttered the Cop.

"'Fraid not" drawled the Marauder calmly as he stepped up and knocked on the back doors of the Battle Van. "Open up Frank, we gotta go" called the Pilot as the doors opened to reveal none other than Frank Castle himself, fully armored and holding an AA-12 at his hip.

"You're late" he greeted gruffly as Yuri stepped forwards and the Marine helped her up into the van.

The SRS Commando wasn't fazed by the Punisher's foul mood, "Yeah sorry about that, we ran into some trouble" he explained casually. "Listen, get her to ground and keep her there until I sort this out" he ordered before rattling off an address and instructions to getting into one of his safehouses that was there. "These guys are well trained and well-funded, one group had some fancy cloaking tech, don't underestimate them. I'll call when it's all clear" he said before slamming the door.

Castle then slid into the driver's seat and started the van, the big 427 cubic inch LS7 motor thundering to life as Yuri got in the passenger seat and the van moved out slowly, Castle seemingly taking it slow in an effort to not draw attention to the heavily armored vehicle. There was an uneasy silence between the two as the van soon got bogged down in Manhattan traffic. "You know" said the Marine suddenly, causing Yuri to snap her head over to look at Castle, who had one hand casually on the steering wheel as he spoke, "I don't usually ask for favors, but since I'm helpin' you out, I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to arrest me Captain" he said in his gravelly voice.

Yuri couldn't help but shake her head, "Sure, why not? Not like I've aided and abetted two vigilantes in the past. What difference would a third make?" she muttered as much for her own benefit as the Punisher's. If her friend Jean DeWolff wasn't the acting interim Commissioner after Benitez's death in the City Hall bombing, then she probably would have been tossed out on her ear already. "But don't think that I owe you after this Castle. Soon as we part way's I don't have to do shit for you" she spat.

The Punisher turned and offered her a wry expression and matching chuckle. "From the way the kid goes on about you I wouldn't expect anything less Captain" he said honestly before adding his horn to the symphony of them sounding around them. "But when you do it, make sure, and I mean really _damn sure_ that you want me gone. You know why? 'Cause people like me, like the kid and his girl, we don't grow on trees. The type that will do anything that has to be done and don't give a damn. And you might say that you don't need people like us, and that's true…right up until it isn't."

"That's bullshit" spat Yuri angrily, though it didn't seem to faze the Marine in the slightest. "We never needed people like you, it's why we have a system. And it's a good system" she argued. "The Marauder is working within it now; he gave up his outlaw streak and went clean Castle. You think that your way is the right one? Killing whoever you think deserves it?" she sneered Yuri, thought all her harsh words seemed to bounce off the Punisher's tough exterior.

"Yeah, sure" he responded as he fought his way through traffic, "not like the system has failed anyone before. Let murderers and rapists and drug dealers get off without so much as a slap on the wrist or anything" he answered calmly. "And by god, it's not as if the system isn't worth a sack of shit if you have people who run it without a shred of integrity, taking bribes and what not" he said pointedly, not even needing to look at the Captain next to him to know his words had gotten under her skin.

Watanabe grit her teeth and held her tongue, not rising to the bait about her father. He had been one of those who took bribes from the Maggia for years and let them have free reign in the city. If he hadn't been killed in Rikers almost a decade ago then she was sure he would have wound up on Castle's list. Despite all of that swirling inside her head, Yuri maintained her placid calm outside, though it seemed as if the Punisher couldn't seem to care less about her turmoil as he leaned forwards and looked up, "The fuck is that?"

The Captain gave him a confused look before she too leaned forwards over the dash and peered up to see what had enraptured the Marine before she too could only respond with "The fuck is that?" Her graceless words were the only ones that came to mind as she looked up at the spectacle in the sky above. Pulling out her phone she dialed up their overwatch, "Are you seeing this?" she asked.

"_Hard to miss it Captain" _replied the Marauder, his drawl as dry as ever. _"I've never heard of anything like that" _he admitted. Yuriko had to agree, above the streets, circling around the buildings and swooping down on the rooftops and streets, were four men standing on flying wings of some sort. The wings themselves were unpainted, shining metal that glinted in the sun, the users wore all black tactical clothes as they continued to scythe through the skies with a lethal edge to them. _"I don't think they're out for a joyride, look alive people." _The Punisher grunted in response as he began to fight his way through traffic to get off the main road, seemingly desiring to wait it out instead of taking on the unknowns if the worst-case scenario turned out to be true.

But once Castle pulled the van off the road and put it in neutral, it became clear that something was wrong. The four flying unknowns didn't move on, instead continuing to circle the area lazily. "Any ideas Marauder?" asked Yuri after a few fear strewn minutes, her nerves were starting to get to her, and judging by the way he was anxiously tapping the steering wheel with one hand while the other rested on an Uzi submachine gun, the Punisher's were too.

"_Just the usual one" _replied the Renegade SRS Commando as if the answer were obvious. _"I'll engage, try and draw them away. When I hang up, you need to turn your phone off and pull the SIM card Captain. Frank, give her your phone, hopefully that'll allow you to slip away unnoticed." _As soon as the words were out of his mouth the line went dead as Watanabe did as instructed, cursing herself for not thinking of the possibility her cell was being tracked sooner.

As soon as her smartphone was disabled, the Punisher reached into his jacket and tossed her his phone. Catching it, Yuri looked down at in disbelief before giving its owner an incredulous look. "A _flip phone_, seriously?" she asked as she opened up the ancient device and fumbled her way through the contacts.

"It works" he grunted back simply, the dismissive shrug that accompanied the response indicating that there wasn't much more to the Marine's logic. Though Yuri wasn't stupid enough to think that there wasn't more to it, the nondescript device was nearly impossible to track since it wasn't personalized in any way. The Punisher kept his eyes on the sky as the Captain looked up to see that while those flyers were up there, they definitely didn't seem to have the same focus they had earlier, stopping and looking around a lot more than they had been.

Eventually, Yuri managed to get the Punisher's phone to call the SRS Pilot. _"RTR you two?" _asked the Titan Jockey as soon as the call connected, causing the Captain to recoil back at the phrase.

Yuri's eyes blinked furiously, "What?"

There was a filtered sigh on the other side, _"Ready to rock" _he said tiredly, _"RTR means ready to rock" _he explained. _"Never mind that, let's get this done and get you out of here. I'm going to take down one, get their attention and lead them away. When I do you two need to haul ass outta here. Don't worry about me. Any questions?" _he asked. The two occupants of the battle van exchanged looks without saying a word. After a few moments of silence, the filtered voice came back on the line. _"Alright then, showtime."_

The first thing they could hear were the gunshots as they saw the Marauder leap from a rooftop above them, muzzle of his assault rifle twinkling as he charged out at the nearest flyer. 8.19mm rounds ricocheted harmlessly off the hover board…thing before they were walked onto the man controlling it and had greater effect. From the ground Yuri could see the stricken flyer keel over and slam down into a rooftop as the dead man's companions turned their attention towards the Marauder.

Two dipped over and dove down on the Pilot as he streaked away, blue contrails emanating from his body and jump kit as he bounced between buildings in his mad dash to stay ahead of his pursuers. At the same time, Castle put the Battle Van back into drive and surged forwards, weaving through the gaps made by those who stopped to watch the spectacle in sky above. Their sudden charge got some unwanted attention of their own, the fourth and final flyer spotted them and dove down on them like a bird of prey. Like a swarm of angry hornets, a barrage of bullets rained down on the roof of Castle's vehicle as Yuri ducked reflexively while the Punisher only pushed the Van harder. Taking it up on the sidewalk and plowing through mailboxes, newspaper stands, and trashcans without slowing in the slightest, the Marine continued his headlong charge.

"Look out!" called Watanabe as she looked up ahead to see the man in all black line up directly ahead of them and swoop in, a machine pistol in each hand twinkling angrily. Despite her warning, the Punisher didn't flinch, only putting his foot down as the Battle Van weathered another storm of hot lead, chipping the paint off the hood and spiderwebbing the bulletproof glass windshield. "Had enough of this shit" growled the Captain angrily as she pulled out her .357 and checked that it was loaded before she began to roll down the window. "Hold it steady" she demanded as she began to hoist her upper body out to get a clear shot.

Only for a big hand to yank her back down inside the armored box, "No heroics today Captain" growled Frank angrily, though it was incited by their assailants and not her brash actions. "It's you they're after" he reminded as he swerved through more traffic, the horn sounding almost constantly as he threw the 2 tons of Van around a corner and blew through a red light on the other side while checking his mirror. Finally, he grabbed the sub gun and turned to look at the cop, "but I've had enough of this shit too" he admitted as he rolled down his own window.

Shooting back out into an open space alongside a park, the Punisher kept his eye to the sky and soon narrowed them at a silver shine above as it turned to head down at them. Instead of turning in to throw of the attacker's aim, Frank held his course until the last possible second as he switched his foot over to slam down on the brake and turned the car to the outside. His Uzi held outstretched and chattering angrily as it spat out ten 9mm rounds every second, not letting up until the 32 round magazine was empty. If the stream of bullets didn't kill the man on the flyer, then the faceplant did as the craft flipped over and sent its operator face first into the concrete and separating the wing from him, both going in opposite directions.

Just as Castle was about to drive away, Yuri's curiosity got the better of her, "Stop the car" she demanded angrily as she unlocked the door and jumped out. Running over the scratched and scuffed up but still surprisingly intact wing, she picked it up and found it incredibly light before rushing back to the van and throwing it in the back. Getting back inside with it, Frank didn't wait before stamping the accelerator and getting back on the move. "Now just what the hell is this thing?" she wondered aloud.

"Some fancy high-tech gizmo" grunted the Marine flatly, dismissive of it as Yuri began looking for any distinguishing marks. Her search was soon rewarded as she saw a faint stamp, faded, obviously someone had tried to remove it, but the ubiquitous design was unmistakable: Oscorp. "Just try not to make it explode, ok?" Castle asked in his gruff and gravelly tones, wholly unaware of her findings and the corresponding revelations, "and hope the kid's doing just as well as we are."

* * *

About a mile away, the Marauder had decided he far preferred to chase rather than be chased. He had also decided that these flying fuckers were annoying as all hell as he was forced to stay low and preferably in narrow alleys, weaving through fire escapes and other obstacles. But his pursuers were still doggedly following while their prey searched for a way to turn the tables. Dropping from the fourth story wall and taking cover behind a dumpster, he reloaded his rifle and looked down to either end of the alley to see one of the flying wings at each end.

Slowly, an idea began to form in his head as he collapsed the Carbine and drew the EPG. "What the fuck are you doing Cooper?" he muttered as he checked that the energy propelled grenade launcher was ready to go and drew a gravity star. Picking one at random, the SRS Commando sprung out and fired his jump kit, throwing him up onto the opposite wall before he sprinted towards his target. Bouncing back and forth between walls, he gained more altitude and activated his STIM as he bore down on the black garbed wing operator.

The flyer charged in head on as the two fighters rocketed towards the merge, the plan going even better than the Renegade Gunfighter could have hoped. As bullets began to snap past the Pilot, he slung the gravity star across his body and into the opposite wall as he activated his phase shift, ripping him from his dimension as everything went greyscale. Inside the alternate dimension, the Pilot used his grapple to pull himself up and away as he turned around, engaged his jump kits hover, and took rough aim with the EPG. With a crackle, he was brought back to his Manhattan as he adjusted his aim with the EPG as the flyer fought against the gravity well. If he had another two seconds, then he might have broken free…but he only had one.

The trio of blue energy blasts were pulled towards the center of the gravity well before impacting the hover board and exploding in brilliant displays of blinding blue light. The extreme heat melted through the metal one of the shots struck something vital as the entire alley was filled with a fireball that consumed the flying wing and its operator. "Splash 2" whooped the Marauder happily, but there was no time to celebrate as the final flyer was descending down on Matthew from six o clock high.

The sight of familiar blue tracers streaking overhead was the first warning the Pilot got as the hover ceased and he plummeted straight down, twisting his body and firing his grapple to yank himself in the opposite direction and force the attacker to overshoot. Wasting no time, Cooper craned his neck back and looked over his shoulder to see the flyer shoot skywards, meaning the SRS Commando was in his blind spot. With this brief opening, Matthew slipped into a window and lay in wait. After a full minute of nothing, he slowly drew the pulse blade and hurled it out, watching it stick in the opposite brick wall and emit its pulse.

Scanning with his helmet, it was clear that his pursuer had seen the blade and moved to investigate, putting him in perfect position with his back to the Pilot. Seeing an opportunity to take the mercenary alive and interrogate him, the Marauder stowed the EPG, drew his Axe, and activated his cloak before pouncing on the predator turned prey. When he fired his jump kit to close the distance, the sound gave him away as the flyer turned and tried to jerk away. When the axe swung it might have missed the operator, but it connected solidly with the wing and stuck fast.

The Marauder held on with all he had as the wing accelerated and climbed up despite the thin wisp of white smoke coming from the sci fi device. In seconds the Pilot found that they were well above the rooftops as he held on through the array of acrobatic maneuvers. With ease, the operator put the flying wing through its paces, looping and rolling in an effort to shake his unwanted passenger. But the Marauder had to simply grin and bear it as he looked for some way to disable the wing.

Trying to pull himself up, he noticed a gap in the top of the leading edge and quickly identified it as an air intake. Without hesitation he pulled out a pulse blade and jammed it into the slot, the device getting chewed up in the process as the internals of the flying wing tore themselves apart. While the wing sounded like it had a fork in the garbage disposal, the loss of propulsion allowed the Pilot to focus on the mercenary perched atop the wing. Firing his grapple into the wing, he yanked his axe out as he let the line extend until he was 10 yards behind the man.

When the hit man noticed what the SRS Pilot had done, he deftly spun the wing as it continued its steady descent as the Commando reversed the direction of the hook and bore down on the mercenary, axe raised. Frantically, the black clad mercenary tried to raise his machine pistols, but it was a futile effort as the boots of the Titan Jockey slammed into his gut and knocked him back off the glider. But he didn't fall to his death as Cooper spun the axe and slammed the pick down, hooking it in the gaps in his ribs as the Texan planted his feet on the falling silver wing and leaned in close to the dying man. "Who hired you?" he snarled, twisting the axe for added effect. The mercenary didn't respond, and the Marauder didn't want this to end without a name.

But they were out of time, the ground rushing up at them too fast. The Marauder had to bail from the doomed flyer, but as he yanked the axe back, he made out something gurgled from the mercs mouth, "Os…" before it became a scream, or as close as the man could manage as he plummeted to his death with the damaged flyer not far behind.

Rolling to a more or less controlled stop on a random rooftop, the Marauder allowed himself two minutes to catch his breath before slowly getting to his feet, distinctly appreciative of the sensation of standing atop solid ground once more. Checking that he was clear, he reloaded the R-201 and made a phone call. _"Marauder? You alright kid?" _asked the rough voice of the Punisher.

"I'm fine old man" answered the Marauder with a small grin. "How about y'all, run into any trouble?" he asked, immensely relieved to hear the Marine's voice. If he was still drawing breath, then chances were good that his charge was doing the same.

That still didn't make the Pilot any less uneasy when Castle gave an affirming grunt, _"Sure did kid, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle" _he assured gruffly. While Cooper doubted it had been that easy, if Frank said they were able to handle it, then they were able to handle it. _"I got Wata-whatshername to your place and got her settled in. I'm a block away keeping an eye on the perimeter."_

"Well you don't have to do that anymore; I just took care of the last of them" explained the Pilot as he looked off to the small pillar of smoke from the wreck of the last flyer. "And they sure as shit won't be getting up anytime soon." But in the back of his mind, he was trying to figure out the meaning for all of this, what was the end? "Thanks for the help Frank, I owe you one. And take care of yourself."

"_You too kid" _replied the Marine, _"now I gotta get back to work. There's still a lot of mopping up left to do" _said the Punisher before the call clicked and ended. Frank Castle was about to resume his war on crime, and while his actions hadn't garnered much attention, he too had been having a busy few weeks. Cooper had advised the Marine to stay away from the Demons, both to avoid tangling with their superpowers but also to keep that low profile while dealing with the disorganized common criminals.

The result was the Punisher racking up a body count just as high as his initial rampage a few years prior but without him getting any trouble from the Police, Spider-Man, or Sable International. Of course, he never had anything to fear from the Marauder, who was content to let the Marine work, there was only one thing that could change that and she was waiting for him at home, and they had lost time to make up for. With that enticing thought, the Texan began to get moving back towards his hideout and the heiress there waiting for him.

Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, Cooper would curse himself for being distracted like this and not noticing that he was being tracked. The 'Recon Points' were more numerous than he had realized and had been around for weeks, his movements had been tracked and the patterns had been noticed. While those tracking him didn't know where he lived, they had deduced the routes he traveled most often, including the one he was using now, and were ready.

A series of odd pops and crackles caught his attention as the Pilot's progress ground to a halt to look for the source before seeing small plumes of smoke from a nearby building. Reluctantly, the Renegade Gunfighter moved to investigate the disturbance, thinking they might be gunshots, but they didn't sound quite right. Rifle at the ready, the Titan Jockey scanned around for something, anything, that seemed amiss and found nothing.

Just as he began to back up slowly, the trap was sprung, bolas leapt out form concealed launchers and ensnared the Marauder from shoulder to knee, his rifle clattered to the ground as he snarled in pain, the electric shocks racking his body. His vision pulsed as he struggled against the binds, it was a fruitless endeavor, but he fought on nonetheless, his breathing strained as he fell to his knees. Trying to play his final trump card, he squeezed his left hand, trying to activate his phase shift and escape, but the bolas gave off some kind of interference, meaning all he got in response was a buzz of static.

As quickly as the Marauder had been ensnared, the bolas fell away and the electricity ceased and Cooper threw his hands out to catch himself as he caught his breath and took stock of his surroundings. The rooftop was just as it should have been, with one notable 6-foot 2-inch, heavily armored, and skull masked exception. "Just who the fuck do you think you are?" asked the Marauder as he got to his feet and turned to face this new arrival, hands down, but body tensed and at the ready.

The unknown chuckled wryly as the two sized each other up, to the untrained eye it would have seemed that the SRS Pilot was outclassed. This new figure was taller and heavier, wearing thicker navy-blue armor with orange accents and brandishing a wicked looking straight edged sword coursing with red-orange energy. None of that worried Cooper though, what stood out most to him was the large pack on the man's upper back and strapped over his shoulders, the canted nozzles coming out the bottom of it giving away what it was, or at least what it was trying to emulate. "You can call me…Taskmaster" revealed the unknown in a filtered voice, the dry tones reminded the Marauder of himself as he watched Taskmaster twirl his sword. But the Texan's eyes narrowed on the licks of red flame that shot out from the nozzles from the pack on his back.

In response, the Commando drew his Smart Pistol from his chest rig and his tomahawk from its sheath on his left thigh, the Jump Kit on his lower back flaring blue angrily as he bent his knees and leveled the pistol. "So you're trying to be a Pilot huh?" asked the Marauder as the two began to slowly circle each other, looking for an opening, "you look like you have the toys…let's see if you have the moves" taunted Cooper.

Taskmaster seemed to go deathly still for a second before he charged in, the rocket pack flaring as his 220 pound bulk was thrown upwards and he spun to deliver a crushing kick that the Pilot instantly recognized. Leaping back, the Marauder's kit got him out of the way just in time, but as soon as he skidded to a stop a grappling hook slammed into his armor. Trying to collect his bearings, he saw that red sword slash down and cut into his armor, but not piercing it as the wind was knocked out of the Titan Jockey. While he was focused on getting off the sword, the mercenary got behind him and rammed two punches into his midsection before turning the Marauder around and throwing an uppercut into his chin, snapping his head back as he stumbled to the ground while Taskmaster was able to grab and yank the sword out from the damaged Dragon Scale armor. "I have a photo-reflexive memory" explained Taskmaster as Cooper rolled away and came into a crouch, "Your moves are my moves. Face it, I know your playbook."

Cooper grit his teeth as he raised the MK6, "looks like it's time to turn a new page" he snarled as he pulled the trigger and a trio of smart rounds slammed into the mercenary, one in the knee, one in the gut, and one in the chest. The latter two had no effect, either ricocheting off or being absorbed by the armor, but the first one did the job, staggering the skull masked man and giving the Pilot an opening. Activating his STIM, he shot forwards and slid into his legs, shooting up as he made contact and swung the axe upwards, burying it in the armor plate on his chest. But Taskmaster countered quickly, his jump jet pulling him away from the Marauder. Cooper soon figured out a strategy as they began to circle once again. While he had some of his toys, Taskmaster didn't have all of them, so the Pilot would work around the ones the mercenary didn't have.

Smirking, the Pilot activated his Holo-Pilot and Cloak simultaneously, sending the hologram forwards as he sidestepped and waited for an opening. However, Taskmaster recognized the ploy and tossed out an emp grenade, the pulse shorting out the cloak and turning the tables in favor of the mercenary as he slid forwards, his jump jet boosting his speed. Trying to counter, Matthew leapt skywards but Taskmaster used his grappling hook to yank the Pilot back to the rooftop, slamming him down and knocking the wind from the Renegade.

Rolling onto his back, Cooper pulled his knees to his chest as the skull masked mercenary came down on top of him, planting his boots into the armor plate before throwing him back and snapping off a shot with the MK6. The dumb fired round found a gap and sliced through the unarmored arm of the mercenary as he grit his teeth before going back on the attack. Raising that glowing sword, the Marauder's eyes widened behind the x shaped visor as he rolled away, the blade clanging off the concrete of the roof and blackening the spot it hit. But the Pilot countered, his axe burying itself in Taskmaster's sword arm as he followed it up with a brutal kick to the mercenary's wounded knee.

But Cooper didn't let up, jamming the MK6 into the unarmored forearm and firing two rounds that shredded the bone, causing Taskmaster to roar in pain as the sword fell from his hand. Despite the beating, the skull masked man answered, his free hand reaching across his body to grab hold of the Smart Pistol as his jump pack flared to life, throwing him up and yanking the weapon away with him. The Marauder sprung back up, filling his empty hand with an arc grenade as he smirked at the mercenary holding his pistol and pointing it at him.

Then it fired.

The round slammed into him, the shock that the mercenary had been able to fire it doing more than the impact. Shaking that off, he activated his phase shift and vanished from existence, pulling the pin on the grenade and getting ready to drop it at his foe's feet. Only when he was snapped back to reality, he found that Taskmaster had dodged preemptively as Cooper had to toss the grenade, the delay giving Taskmaster enough time to bring his sword up and slice the ordinance in two, rendering it useless. As the Smart Pistol was turned back towards its owner, the Titan Jockey dropped an A-Wall and three of the remaining five shots slammed ineffectually into the orange light wall.

A gravity star shot through the tactical in reply, the gravity well ensnaring Taskmaster as Cooper seized the opening, tossing an electric smoke into the mix as he grit his teeth and rushed forwards into the maelstrom. With a pulse blade to highlight the flailing mercenary, the Gunfighter leapt into the fray, ramming a knee into the skull mask and bringing the axe down and ripping through the large boxy jump jet just as the well collapsed and both shot out and over the edge. However, both reacted the same way, raising their left hands and firing their grapples to pull them back to the rooftop. Now however, the Marauder had the edge as he used his kit to open up the distance.

But Taskmaster would still know what was coming, and Cooper didn't have many cards left to play. Looking down at the ground between the two, the Texan had an epiphany. Grinning evilly, he charged forwards before sliding and scooping up Taskmasters blade, a weapon he had no idea how to use and now clue what to do with, meaning his foe wouldn't know either. Jumping up, he raised the blade to bring it down on the side of the mercenary's wounded arm only to tuck the blade down at the last second and shoulder check the merc. Taking the opening he slashed wildly, grazing Taskmaster at best before throwing caution to the wind and trying to spear the tip of the blade through him. But the skull masked man dodged, but got himself off balance as Cooper reverted to the classic Pilot kick, jumping up and slamming his boot into the merc's chin to send him into a chimney where an armored knee slammed into his face and the sword jammed into his good side's shoulder.

Ripping the Smart Pistol away and leveling at the defeated mercenary, Cooper's finger poised to squeeze the trigger, but held just short as he eyed the vanquished Taskmaster wearily. "What are you playing at you sumbitch?" snarled Cooper. "Your employer is trying to make Pilots, aren't they?" he deduced, "and wanted to see how they're doing? Tell me I'm wrong" he challenged in a sneer.

"You're not wrong" revealed Taskmaster. "My employers wanted to see if their project was complete…and if not then I'm to offer you a deal to come and work on the project" explained the mercenary far too calmly considering the injuries he had sustained. Cooper didn't even give the offer a thought, snorting in derision as he looked down at the beaten mercenary.

"For fucks sake" muttered the Gunfighter as he crouched down and jammed the MK6 under Taskmaster's chin as he tilted his head threateningly. "Let me be clear: You can't replicate what I am, and I sure as shit aren't gonna help you. So, tell your employers to take that job offer and shove it up their ass" he enunciated lowly before standing and holstering the weapon, "and if they don't get it then I'll come do it myself."

The Skull masked mercenary shrugged, "Your loss, they pay six figures" he said calmly before jumping up and slamming his head into the Pilot's chest, sending the Marauder staggering back as he tried to get the Pistol back out, but a cloud of smoke covered the rooftop. When it cleared, Matthew found himself completely alone as he did a sweep before holstering his weapon for the last time that day.

Taking a deep breath, he took a second to consider what could come of the revelation someone was trying to make Pilots and the offer he had just gotten. "Six figures?" he mused, that wasn't chump change, and while he was far from poor the money would have been nice. "Nah, I'd want at least seven" he decided finally.

Though there was one other thought that wormed his way into his brain, if he would be facing Pilots in the future, then it might be nice to have a few friendly pilots of his own…

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Grenadier: EPG-1_

_This 'Energy Propelled Grenade' launcher is a highly advanced plasma anti-personnel weapon with an explosive edge. As a first-generation weapon it has a few…well I'll be kind and call them 'quirks' instead of those unkinder than I who call them 'faults.' The ergonomics are unusual to say the least, and while the side loading magazine is undeniably cool, it can get caught up or snag on things. Perhaps worse, the weapon is quite costly, requiring specialized manufacturing capability to produce both the weapon and its ammunition. There are a lot of moving parts that are somewhat fragile, too many hard knocks and its enough to 'jam' the weapon. Usually a manual reset of the firing mechanism will set the issue right since the weapon is designed in such a way as to power down to prevent a catastrophic failure. Still, more than one wielder has gotten killed because he dropped his gun and when he needed it to save his life, it merely beeped angrily and needed to have its plasma field generator cycled to restart._

_These quirks have, unsurprisingly, caused the weapon to garner a somewhat unflattering reputation on the Frontier. Not only from those who wield it, but those who are unfortunate enough to have it brought to bear against them. If one were to walk through a hospital treating those wounded in a battle, those who have been hit by an EPG are easy to spot. Skin peeling off, the flesh beneath seared and charred to solid black, these are the marks of an EPG wound, and that's if you're lucky. Those hit by direct shots tend to be completely mauled, limbs blown off and severe burns over the rest of the body, or just vaporized outright. _

_The end result is that this is a weapon that attracts a lot of attention, so when one is brought out and those bright blue plasma shots start to fly, accompanied by that shrieking report, people tend to sit up and take notice. _

* * *

**Closing notes: Remember how I said way back that there wouldn't be many side missions in this story? That really didn't age well. Taskmaster was one of the better fights in the game, plus his look and demeanor were very cool. I do wish that when he was depicted in other media, he kept this same look instead of going with a knock off ODST helmet or something equally stupid, just a thought. I do want feedback on that fight from anyone who has some since it is probable that Taskmaster will appear again at some point down the line. **

**What did you all think of this reimagining of the Taskmaster side quest and fight? I could not for the life of me come up with a decent reason to have the Taskmaster challenges as they appear in game in this story. I also went with this route because I got to include one of my favorite little bits from Halo CE, specifically the level 'Truth and Reconciliation' and I'm curious if anyone spotted that, mainly because I missed a golden opportunity for a Terminator line to put it in. **

**Also, those flying wings should seem familiar to many who are Spider-Man fans, though it's very much a tease, don't get too excited. **

**Next week is, well, more filler to be honest. But it should be a lot of fun in the Badlands.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	42. Chapter 42: Badlands

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Reminder that next week this story will be moved to the crossover section.

**Blaze1992: This is a tricky one to explain, but Cooper has been very hesitant to share his combat equipment for the most part. However, learning that there are groups out there trying to replicate it prompted a rethink and that it might be best if it was people he trusted who had that equipment. Another part is that I don't want everyone to immediately become pilots, that would be boring and rob those who became Pilots of a potentially unique skillset and identity. I should also point out that, compared to what's coming, that wasn't a warzone. **

It's been a while since I've had to say this, but there will be strong sexual content at the end of this chapter. I know the last one was somewhat underwhelming, so hopefully this one turned out a bit better, I think it did, but I'm a little out of practice for these so be sure to let me know yay or nay, or skip it when you get to it, I don't care. Also would like to know what you guys think of the time between those sections because I want to strike a good balance.

As for the song, this is another one off of the AC/DC album 'Flick of the Switch' that is not highly regarded. It sounds like a live album, but is a good listen for the groovy tracks like this one. I have referenced this song before (most notably in chapter 19), and I wanted to include it at some point since it fits Matthew Cooper as a character so well, at least in my eyes. Swaggering and badass in that old school way that just isn't around very much anymore with its in your face power chords and Brian Johnsons wailing vocals. Underrated album and even more underrated tune, give it a listen.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 42: Badlands**

_I got a .45 that'll make you fry_

_Burn your chassis lassie like the 4th of July_

_I ride it hard I ride it high_

_Make love to you till you reach for the sky_

_I'm a man with a fast hand_

_Got it on a last stand_

_Outlaw, quick draw_

_Evil talkin' bandit man_

_In the badlands_

* * *

Peering through a small set of binoculars, Frank watched a trio of beat up old Cadillac and Buick sedans with hideous wheels pull to a stop outside the school he was observing. The occupants got out of the cars and were as equally stereotypical as their rides. Pants that were around their thighs, leaving their underpants exposed, ill-fitting hoodies with gold chains hanging from their necks, and barely concealed Glocks, MAC-11s, and TEC-9s on their person.

The group made their way to the playground of all places and proceeded to try and wait inconspicuously, but the Marine judged it impossible for this group to accomplish that particular feat. Pursing his lips, he waited until a trio of large black SUVs arrived a few minutes later, this time pulling right onto the basketball court before coming to a stop. From these vehicles, men in tactical gear and purple shirts emerged. The total tally was now a full 12 hostiles, six from each faction, all armed with a sidearm or similar light weapon.

Lowering the binoculars, Castle scooped up his H&K 433 carbine and backed away from the window before heading downstairs to street level. While the big-name heroes had been busy with the Demons over the last few weeks, it was obvious that the small time would take advantage of the situation. While Frank wanted to go after the Inner Demons, upon learning that they were normal people under the control of a madman and forced to commit terrorist acts against their will, he had felt sick. He had no desire to kill people who had no control over their actions, so he had instead focused his efforts on these smaller time criminals.

With the news breaking that Martin Li had been apprehended a few days prior, he had been pushing himself to take advantage of the criminal element's complacency before they began being more discreet now that Mister Negative was no longer around to provide a smokescreen. Chances were that, after today, buys like the one he was moving to break up would no longer occur. Stepping out of the building and onto the sidewalk, he saw many of the pedestrians' eyes widen at the sight of his rifle and shotgun at his side as he casually took off his windbreaker to reveal the skull adorned ballistic vest beneath.

Holding his rifle in a relaxed fashion, the Punisher strode confidently across the street, traffic grinding to a halt at the sight of the heavily armed Marine marching across the Manhattan boulevard towards the obvious criminal activity. Though his advance had gone unnoticed by those making the deal, the massive SUVs obstructing their view of the street, enabling the Punisher to cross the street without being noticed by them.

But even the idiots making weapon and drug deals in broad daylight couldn't miss the commotion he left in his wake and he saw one of the thugs point his way and open his mouth to shout a warning. Before he could however, Frank raised his rifle and unleashed a burst of 5.56 rounds that pulverized the man's chest before he fell to the ground and the Punisher shifted his aim to one thug who was struggling to pull his weapon from his waistband. More of the green tipped armor piercing rounds sliced through the man's body as Castle pressed his frame into the side of the left most vehicle, gritting his teeth as the remaining eight men returned fire, peppering the vehicle with bullets.

Unfazed, the Marine pulled out a baseball sized fragmentation grenade from his belt and yanked the pin out before lazily tossing the M67 over the top of the car and into the crowd unloading on him from the other side. "Oh SHIT!" yelled out one before the muffled explosion drowned out the noise. Smoothly rounding the corner of the car and bringing the rifle up, the Punisher assessed the threats facing him and quickly placed the dot sight on the chest of a wounded Fisk shooter trying to bring his rifle up and put three rounds into him.

A blur of movement caught his attention as he brought the H&K to bear on the trio of running thugs and unleashed a long burst, catching one in the hail of fire before the bolt locked open, chamber smoking. "I'M GOING TO KILL YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" roared a mountain of a man as he rushed headlong at Frank, unleashing an uppercut against the vigilante that knocked him flat on his ass. Just as the Devil Dog gathered his wits, the criminal was standing over him, fists raised high to deliver another crushing blow as the Punisher rolled to his right and drew his K-Bar before driving it into the man's knee. As he howled in pain and agony, the Punisher scampered back to his feet and caught his breath before charging back in.

The heavy lashed out, but his wounded knee was unable to support his girth and he staggered and hissed in pain. Seizing the opening, the Punisher sidestepped the wild punch and rammed the blade into his gut and upwards into the vital organs protected by his ribcage. With a roar of rage, Castle withdrew the knife before plunging it in again, slicing through the mans stomach and intestines before repeating the motion a third time, only now the blade plunged into his throat just above his collar bone, severing his windpipe before he fell to the concrete.

Quickly, he pulled out a trio of M14 thermite canisters and tossed one into the back of each SUV, taking a moment to appreciate the sight and smell of the burning drugs and weapons before he heard the sound of one of the sedans coming to life. Without hesitation, he reached around and readied the 'Super Shorty' pump action shotgun before taking off in a dead sprint to intercept the fleeing vehicle. Scaling a chain link fence to take the shortest possible route, he dropped down and rolled before coming up with the scattergun ready.

As soon as the gun was up, the lowrider lurched forwards as Frank pulled the trigger, the weapon bucking violently as 00 Buckshot smashed through the windscreen, turning the driver to mincemeat. While Castle worked the pump action, the car swerved violently out of control and crashed into a parked car on the opposite side of the street, steam rising from the crushed front end. The passenger door opened and another thug made to get out, only to get a chestfull of buckshot, followed up by the criminal in the seat behind him.

While their bodies lay sprawled out on the street, the final occupant of the car finally got out as Castle relinquished the empty shotgun and drew his sidearm, raising the M1911A1 and firing at the same time as his enemy fired his TEC-9. But while the 9mm round flew errantly off into the background, the .45 ACP slug slammed into the thug's face, blowing half his head off and painting the brick behind him with brain matter.

Looking around, the street seemed almost calm, deserted as civilians had run for cover as soon as shots were fired, the only real sound was the crackle of the burning vehicles behind him, but the smell of spent bullets and explosives hung heavy in the air as Frank felt his phone buzzed. Pulling it out, the screen displayed an alert that the NYPD was moving towards the area. With that system given to him courtesy of the Marauder, the Marine knew he had sixty seconds to escape and evade. Doing just that, he picked up the windbreaker he had discarded earlier before pulling it on and ducking into an alleyway, moving to Punish the next criminal that crossed his path.

* * *

After sleeping for 12 solid hours, Peter felt refreshed the day after taking down Martin Li and the good news only kept coming. He found a voicemail on his phone from MJ suggesting they get together sometime in the next week once she had gotten ahead of her work at the Bugle. Peter had let out a whoop at hearing those words, knowing that if MJ was reaching out to try and patch things up then he had a chance of getting back together with the redhead.

When he left the borrowed safehouse wearing his Advanced Suit, the feeling of the day being a new one permeated the air. There was hardly any crime as the life returned to the city that never slept, even the presence of Sable International did little to deter the happiness of the millions of inhabitants. Even with his lazy pace, Spider-Man wasn't interrupted on his way towards Octavius Industries, doing tricks for the pedestrians and drivers below.

When he arrived and changed into civilian attire, putting on his lab coat before swiping his key card and strolling into the laboratory. "Hello?" he called out, surprised to see both the Doctor and the set of prosthetics he had been working on were nowhere to be found. He hadn't been in as much as he would have liked, but every time he had shown up, he found the man hard at work on the arms.

"Parker!" greeted Otto happily as he emerged from his office wearing his favorite welding suit, though the way his strides were clipped and strained didn't escape the notice of the wallcrawler. The scientist picked up a pair of mugs and laughed happily. "Just in time to celebrate" announced Octavius as he made his way towards his protégé.

"Celebrate?" questioned Peter skeptically as he accepted the offered mug and pondered Otto's words. Furrowing his brow, Peter took one last look back to where the arms should have been before he realized what must have happened. "Wait, where are the arms?" he asked. In response, Otto stood straighter and slowly the yellow tipped claws of two of the hyper advanced prosthetics extended out from over his back. "So cool" breathed Peter as he took in the sight of the arms working as they had envisioned at the start of the project. "But how did you –-?"

"Intra cranial neural network" explained Otto, face lighting up as one of the arms shot forwards and plucked a bottle of liquor off of the table behind Parker. "Neuro-transmission speeds under one nanosecond" continued the Doctor as he opened the bottle with the other armed and deflty poured a shot into Peter's mug, "faster than signals travel inside the brain, and faster than the Marauder's helmet" bragged Otto as he poured himself a portion, "never mind an external prosthesis. We did it, Peter" said Octavius as the two clinked mugs and were all smiles, the revelations overwhelming to the Queens native. "No one can take this away from us…"

Peter just stared dumbly as his mind was still busy processing the sight his eyes were telling him he was seeing. "Amazing" he replied simply as Otto took a drink and beamed.

"And your work on the neural web was the key…" continued the older man as he walked across the lab, aided by the prosthetics that took some weight off of the man's weakening legs. The arms proved strong enough to fully support the Doctor and carry him some of the distance to the workstation where Otto had finished creating the web.

But Peter had some rather serious reservations as he thought back to that work his mentor was referencing. "But we haven't even tested it yet. There's so much we don't know…" he tried to argue.

Despite his objections, Octavius was undeterred as he set his mug down on the table and turned back to the younger scientist. "It works beautifully" he argued, "c'mon, take a look" he offered as he gestured towards a tablet on the table.

Taking him up on his offer, Peter took the tablet and began scrolling through the information and work Otto had done. "This is impressive" he admitted as he looked through the system and ran a diagnostic in the background. When an alert blinked red, he pulled up the details, "Hm, little error though" he said to himself as he scanned through the data. "Voltage spike" he read, "should be an easy fix" he said as he set about putting together a schematic to update the wiring to alleviate the issue. "See if that worked…No…this is worse than I thought" he realized as correcting that issue caused another error to appear. Otto had been uncharacteristically sloppy, and something was wrong. Rerouting the charge, it looked like it had been taken care of and Peter allowed himself to relax as he finalized the changes. "Hope that stabilized it…Damnit…the spike is cascading; I don't know if I can fix this…" he realized.

"Come on…" he begged as he updated the next element to the circuits of the network. Only instead of seeing the issue resolve, he saw that the voltage spike could have disastrous consequences. Seizures, memory loss, limbic degradation, and frontal lobe edema could result if the brain was exposed to the improperly wired intra cranial system for any length of time. "This is bad…Doctor" he called out worriedly, he didn't want the man to suffer because they had rushed on this project. Otto came out with his arms stomping with him, "uh, Doctor, I've found a potential problem…" began the webhead.

"Everything has problems if you look hard enough" replied Otto dismissively. "But fortune favors the bold" he asserted as two more arms emerged and extended over his shoulders and planted on the ground before all four lifted Otto up. "It's time to show the world what we've done!" he declared proudly.

"Otto" begged Peter, not taking any pleasure in bringing the man back down to earth. "The motor network isn't isolating your motor neurons" he revealed. "It could be affecting other parts of your brain: your inhibitions, your mood…I just think we need to do some more testing" he reasoned.

But one of the yellow clawed arms came up before slamming back down right next to Peter, causing him to flinch back in shock, his Spider-Sense screaming at him to do so. "We've done enough testing!" roared Otto. "For the first time in my life…I don't feel like a failure. I feel like me!"

Peter continued to back up from his mentor as he hoped he would be able to reason with him…and that it wasn't already too late. "Otto you're not a failure" he argued, holding his hands up placatingly, "but this could permanently damage your mind. Please" he begged.

Otto paused, his face relaxing as he nodded slowly, "right" he agreed calmly as the arms began to collapse and he was lowered back to the ground, "right." Slowly, Octavius reached up and removed a chip from the base of his skull with his hand, thought clearly the effort was strained.

"Don't worry" assured Peter as he approached the older man and placed a reassuring hand on his arm, "we're close."

"I'll keep at it" promised Otto, though he could see that the man was struggling and emotional. It hurt Peter to see him like this, but he knew that when it was finished then they truly would change the world, but they had to do it the right way. "Work out some bugs…go, go."

"You sure you're okay?" asked Parker, concerned that his boss was reaching the end of his rope.

Octavius nodded and gave a small but genuine smile. "Yes." Content, the webslinger offered a consolatory smile before turning to head out. "Thank you, Peter," called Otto suddenly, causing the protégé to turn back, "for everything."

Peter headed out slowly, the only appreciable sound in the room was from the news on the television. _"We now take you live to Grand Central Terminal where Mayor Osborn is about to address the media…"_

"_Martin Li is now behind bars. When I make a promise to this city, I keep it. The people of New York will soon make a decision that could change the course of this city forever. So, when you're casting your vote, remember what I've done. We're all safer now than we ever have ever been."_

Peter was too far away to hear the Mayor's statement, or the sound of the chip going back into the port on Otto's skull as the arms came back to life. "LIAR!" screamed Doctor Octavius as the arm smashed the television, the destroyed electronic sparking as Otto narrowed his eyes, "you have no idea what you're in for…" he vowed.

* * *

"I want to congratulate you on a job well done" began Norman Osborn with what many would believe was a genuine smile plastered on his face. "You and your outfit exceeded my expectations" he complimented honestly. Indeed, things were starting to look up for the corporate executive, Martin Li was behind bars, the city was more or less still standing, and his approval ratings had seen a 14-point jump. Despite the slight dip his chances for reelection had taken following the bombing at City Hall, he was now well out in front in the polls. Once again, he turned to the head of Sable International, who maintained her composure in the face of the Mayor. "With that said, I would like to continue to contract your company to maintain its presence in the city for the next few weeks while the last of these 'Demons' are apprehended and the NYPD is ready to stand on its own again. I am willing to continue paying the same rate until your services are no longer required."

The Symkarian kept her placid expression, "that will be acceptable" returned the woman coolly, thoroughly unreadable as she did everything in her power to not betray her emotions to Osborn. She was doing a good job, but Norman could tell that there was something on the woman's mind, her eyes, blazing with intensity despite the calm setting, betrayed her. "But I want to be aware of all threats my company must prepare to face" she added after a short standoff.

"Of course, Ms. Sablinova" he replied with his most charming smile, "I'll personally see to it that all relevant information is relayed to you in a timely manner." There was a brief flicker of contempt on the mercenary's features before they settled back to their stoic default and she gave Osborn a curt 'see that you do' nod before going still once again. "That'll be all, you're dismissed."

Without another word, Silver Sable spun on her heel and strode out of his office with a small flourish from her code, her boots clacking on the tile as the door closed behind her, leaving Norman alone in his office. Sighing tiredly, the Widower sat in his chair and retrieved a bottle of scotch from his desk drawer and poured himself a glass of the liquor as he leaned back and downed the spirit before rubbing his face.

Even with Li now in the RAFT, there were still several loose ends out on the streets. The list of individuals that knew of his involvement in developing 'Devil's Breath' was only growing and if word of that got out then he could kiss all of his ambitions, everything he had spent years working towards, goodbye. He looked at his computer to see a news report of the high flying battle between the Marauder and the mercenaries he had hired to carry out a hit on the Police Captain that was his contact within the force. After the break in at Oscorp was traced to Spider-Man, Osborn had concluded that the Marauder knew about the origins of GR-27 considering the two of them still being relatively close.

From there it was too likely that the Pilot had relayed this information to his Police contact, hoping that Law Enforcement would investigate his company. Such an investigation, or even the allegations, was too risky, any such actions had to be snuffed out before they could materialize. Perhaps his response was a tad extreme, but every other more reasonable alternative had been considered and dismissed, with him taking extra steps to ensure the success of the hit.

Still, with Sable International's mercenaries remaining in the city there would be plenty of manpower available for him to utilize for another attempt at trimming the loose ends remaining from this debacle.

After everything that he had done, there was still so much work left he had to do, and at the end the risks he took would be vindicated.

* * *

With a soft 'ping' the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened to reveal the familiar layout of the Daily Bugle office as a redheaded reporter stepped out and onto the floor, inhaling the familiar smell of bad coffee and microwave meals. After Robbie had ordered her to take yesterday off following her run in with the Inner Demons at GCT, Mary Jane had returned to work with the goal of starting to compile everything she had about the rise of Martin Li and the Demons into a comprehensive account of the events that had rocked the city unlike anything in the last 15 years.

"MJ!" greeted Gloria Grant happily as the bubbly woman approached and the redhead found herself pressed in a tight hug from her friend, "I heard what happened at GCT. Are you alright?" asked the webmaster excitedly, her ever chipper voice carrying across the offices.

"Shh!" hissed MJ quickly, not wanting her presence here to be noticed just yet. Quickly putting her head down, the reporter made for her desk in the sea of cubicles with the African American woman in tow. Soon arriving at her workspace, Watson sat in her chair and pulled out her laptop before turning back to her friend. "You want to know what it was like? It was _loud_ and it was terrifying, so many bullets, any one of them can kill you" she said. While she hadn't been afraid at the time, now that the adrenaline was gone from her system?

The gravity of exactly what she had done had begun to set in, she had run through the middle of a firefight to disarm a weapon of mass destruction while said firefight had continued around her. She had come face to face with a terrorist who killed half a dozen people in front of her and come out without so much as a scratch. But unlike all of her other crazy runs into Tombstone's shop or the Sable Camp, this one had stuck with her, she could see the faces of the dead in her sleep, and for once she was in no rush to try and seek out a new story.

"Wait a minute" said Glory in realization as she tapped her chin thoughtfully, "didn't Robbie give you the rest of the week off? What are you doing here?" asked the woman curiously, all the while Mary Jane very poignantly avoided eye contact with her coworker. She couldn't stay in her apartment any longer, feeling trapped by the memories that roared back every moment she remained idle.

The implications troubled her, and she was determined to not let her experiences consume her, instead resolving to throw herself back into her work. This story could very well be her ticket to the promotion she had been pining after for the last two months. "I'm fine Glory" returned MJ with a small huff of exasperation, "just wanted to get back to work is all" she assured. She went about booting up her computer and pulling out her notes from her bag and set them on her desk.

Looking back, it was clear the woman was unconvinced as she crossed her arms and leaned against the entrance of the cubicle. "Are you sure you're alright MJ? Everyone here's worried about you" informed Gloria, though it was clear she wasn't nearly as relaxed as she was trying to seem. Mary Jane frowned as she tried to formulate her response, but she never got a chance.

"Watson? What are you doing here?" asked Robbie Robertson, the white haired African American man in his late fifties always projected an aura of calm and reason, hearing the inflection in his baritone voice was enough to surprise MJ. "Go home, the work will still be here next week, I won't be offloading the story to anyone other than the one reporter I have who was at both City Hall and GCT" he assured calmly. MJ frowned as her boss stared down at her, face equally understanding and unyielding against any potential arguments.

"Please" she said quietly, almost begging, "I _need_ this Robbie" admitted the redhead.

Robertson looked at her sympathetically, "give us a minute Ms. Grant" he said softly, but with the weight of an orders as he crouched down to be at eye level with the reporter. "Mary Jane, trust me when I say that I can see you're not you. The events you saw are hanging like an albatross around your neck" he stated coolly, the younger woman not attempting to deny the allegation. "You think that this will absolve you like you're guilty of something."

"Mary Jane, the only people who should bear any guilt are those who committed the acts" he asserted firmly. "You are guilty of nothing, that guilt is a reaction, it means you haven't come to terms with what's happened yet. That's why I want you to take some time off so you can decompress and accept that you had nothing to do with what you went through. Alright?" he asked.

Letting out a shaky breath, Mary Jane managed a nod before she saw another shadow and looked up, eyes going wide at the unkempt head of brown hair and alert pair of similarly colored eyes that was staring back at her. Robbie noticed that something else had her attention and turned, his serious and somewhat somber expression lightening up at seeing who had arrived. "Peter!" he greeted brightly as he slowly stood back to his impressive 6-foot 4-inch height and extended his hand. "You look well son, what brings you here?"

As MJ expected, Peter Parker was as smooth as ever, "Oh, uh, you know" he began as the redhead suppressed a snicker and settled on a small and amused smile at his verbal stumbling. "Just got off work early and was going to see if MJ would like to join me for a cup of coffee" he managed awkwardly, though he added one of the smiles that Mary Jane found so adorable at the end.

Robbie lit up and chortled lightly at the admission, "well I won't get in your way any longer. And try and convince her to do something better with her time off than just work" he added before striding off confidently. MJ shook her head as Peter stood there awkwardly, though she couldn't keep the amused smile off her face as a blush worked its way up Peters neck.

"I was serious about the coffee" he said suddenly, trying to stand confidently in his ruffled button down and jeans that she knew hid his costume beneath. "Come on, let's go to that Starbucks down the street" he offered as he boldly stepped closer, "I'll help with your things."

Something was off, but before Mary Jane could place it, pride stormed in and took control of her mouth, "no thanks Pete, I got it" she answered as she quickly as she stuffed her folders and laptop back into her bag and quickly shut down the desktop. She didn't fail to notice her 'partner' fidgeting behind her as she zipped up the bag and slung it over her shoulder as she stood and flashed him a smile. "Coffee you said? Sounds good, let's go" she said casually as she pushed past him and backtracked towards the elevator.

Peter followed her, though he still seemed to be acting cagey until the doors closed and they began to descend. "Alright Peter, spit it out" she said tersely as she turned to the superhero, who stood there dumbly. "You hate Starbucks, that's why our first date was the Coffee Bean" she reminded as he deflated under her gaze, she just needed to prod a little bit more. "So, what's really going on?"

The Queens native sighed deeply, "I got a call from Matt, he went up against a group of mercenaries today. They were going to assassinate Yuri because of what she knew about Devil's Breath" he revealed lowly. MJ stared at him, wide eyed and in shock as she absorbed the news and Peter continued. "He called me, told me to come get you, apparently the guys that went after Yuri were a serious outfit" he continued. The way his voice changed wasn't missed by the reporter, shifting from the anxious Peter Parker to the cool and confident Spider-Man, his tone calming and hardening with every word. "I know you can take care of yourself but let me get you back to your apartment at least, for my sake" he finished lowly.

She never could resist him when he got that look in his eye and nodded absentmindedly, "so I guess I'm not getting coffee?" she joked to try and take her mind off of things, the quip eliciting a smile from the wallcrawler.

"I uh…" he began hesitantly, "I could stick around, cook some lunch, you know, if you'd like" he offered. When she turned her head back towards him, tilting it inquisitively as she took in his face, though he quickly shrunk back down and turned away. "Or not" he muttered lowly.

Instead of offering an immediate response, she smiled ever so slightly and sought out his hand, taking it in hers and giving it a affirmative squeeze as his head snapped back to look at her as she smiled brightly. "Yeah" she said as the elevator slowed to a stop, "I'd like that" she confirmed as the door opened and the two made their way through the lobby and out onto the street, hands reflexively separating as soon as the doors opened.

The blocks disappeared quickly, forgotten in the idle chatter the two shared as MJ proceeded on autopilot back to her apartment. All of her worries, memories, and stress seemed to evaporate by the time they made the trek through the Big Apple and entered her building. With her apartment almost in sight, Mary Jane's mind going back to an offer made. "So what are you planning on making? Not dumplings I hope" she teased with a small grin as she fished her keys from her purse and ambled up to the door.

Before he could quip in return, she stuck her key in the lock and turned it, only to find the door unlocked as she turned and shot him a look. Seemingly understanding the implications as he closed his mouth and cut off whatever response he was preparing. Pushing the door open silently, she took a step back as Peter glided out in front and made his way inside her apartment cautiously. Watching from the doorway, Mary Jane held her breath subconsciously as she watched Peter make his way through the entry way and into the living room, relaxing for a split second and turn back to her before he suddenly dove forwards and a burst of suppressed automatic gunfire tore through her apartment, ripping through the space Peter had just filled before slamming into the wall. "PETER!" she cried out as she began to run forwards.

Only as soon as she had crossed the threshold into the apartment, a figure in all black rounded the corner into the entry way, submachine gun in his hands as his balaclava covered face locked onto the reporter and he raised his gun. Mary Jane froze where she stood, but Peter did not, with an acrobatic move that only Spider-Man could pull off, his foot shot up and kicked the gun away just as the hitman fired again, sending bullets into the ceiling. Flipping up to his feet and ripping the weapon away in one impossibly fluid move before the two men began struggling.

If she didn't know any better, than she would have been afraid for Peter, the hitman was taller and heavier, grunting in exertion as the pair grappled and slammed into the walls in an attempt to gain the upper hand. Despite her mind screaming at her to do _something_, the redhead remained planted to her spot, entranced by their deadly dance until her eyes focused on a new flicker of movement behind the two men. Another black clad man holding a pistol stepped out and raised the weapon, trying to draw a bead on her as she finally reacted, screaming as she ducked and pressed herself into the wall.

Peter heard her screams and seemingly flipped a switch, snarling in rage as he unleashed some of his super strength to pick the hit man up and drive him backwards, ramming him into his companion and knocking the second off balance. Not slowing in the least, Peter slammed the one in his grasp down into her coffee table, turning it to splinters before rounding on the second who had a gleaming knife in his hands as he squared up to the Lab Tech. Undaunted, the Webslinger leapt at him, one hand effortlessly catching the wrist of the arm with the blade in it as it was swung at him while the other hand grabbed the hired gun and shoved him into the wall, leaving a human shaped imprint behind. While the killer for hire tried to regain his bearings the hand at his collar went to his head and slammed it back into the wall, knocking him out cold as he slumped to the floor.

A groan from the center of the room drew her eyes back to the first black clad man as he crawled to the dropped pistol and wrapped his hand around it only for Peter to slam his shoe down on it, causing him to cry out in pain as he rolled onto his back. Face still twisted with rage, the shy nerd from Midtown dropped down, pinning the man with a knee across his chest as a punch slammed into his face, sending a tooth skidding across the floor before a second slammed into his nose, breaking it with a crunch before another slammed down, and another, and another…

Finally shaking herself from her shocked stupor, Mary Jane shot to her feet, "Peter! Peter stop!" she cried out as she wrapped her arms around him and tried to pull him off from the bloodied assassin, "I'm okay, it's over." As suddenly as it started, it ended, Peter holding his hand still as he let out a shaky breath and looked down at the battered face of the man beneath him before slowly looking around the ruined apartment and then to his bloody hands, still trembling as the adrenaline flowed through his system.

Shakily, Peter got back to his feet, "are you alright MJ?" he asked distantly as she nodded in reply. "I uh, I'd better call the police" mumbled the Webhead numbly as he fished his phone out of his pocket and began kicking the weapons away from the dispatched hit men.

Mary Jane meanwhile pulled out her phone as well and hit a number on speed dial before noticing the questioning look Peter had on his face. "Figured I'd order us a Pizza. I can't have you have you save my life _and _cook lunch," she explained before adding, "that'd just be rude."

* * *

Matthew Cooper was rapidly coming to the conclusion that the definition of 'Heaven' was variable. After weeks of fighting, stress running high with domestic terrorists threatening the city, and some of the craziest shit he had done since Typhon, Heaven was dinner with his girlfriend at a four star restaurant and now finding themselves on his couch in front of a big TV, classic film playing and a bottle of wine Felicia had gotten from god knows where opened in front of them. The Platinum blonde, now in a thin tank top and workout shorts instead of the dress from earlier, was sprawled out on the sofa, back against an armrest as her toned legs rested on his lap.

For his part, Cooper had his glass of wine in one hand as he absentmindedly ran his other along her legs and feet, giving her a foot rub as they watched 'Heat' play out. As Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, and company made their getaway from the armored car heist, Matt noticed Felicia giving him an odd look from the corner of his eye. "What?" he asked wryly.

"Just surprised that this is how the 'Marauder of Manhattan' would celebrate taking down Martin Li is all" returned the heiress as Matthew couldn't help but chuckle. No, most would probably not imagine the SRS Commando enjoying something mundane as sitting on a couch, but he had come to appreciate these quieter moments more and more.

"Believe it or not darlin,'" he drawled, "I do actually want to go at least _one night _without shooting someone. One night, that's all I ask" he added with feigned exasperation, drawing a small smile from the Thief. Sighing a bit and finishing the last of his wine as the crew put their scheme into motion to rob the bank on screen, he sat back tiredly on the couch. "Though I am actually looking forward to moving on from a superpowered madman with an army of mind-controlled followers and back to more normal things. Things like a really hardheaded mob boss" he mused sarcastically, getting a small laugh from Felicia.

Finishing her own glass, the heiress turned herself around and snuggled up against him, easily molding her lithe body into his larger frame as the movie continued. The two of them doing as they normally would and commenting about what the movie got right or, as was more often the case, what it got wrong. All the while Felicia idly ran her finger along Matt's chest while he found himself massaging her shoulders, the stress slowly but surely fading. But as the movie got closer to the final confrontation between DeNiro and Pacino, Felicia said something that knocked Matthew from the tranquil moment. "Do you think that we should have killed Li when we had the chance?"

He was taken aback for a second, almost answering that he didn't before stopping himself and thinking about it. "I'm not sure" he finally admitted truthfully, the words tasting sour on his tongue, "he was just another madman, only more powerful." He shrugged a bit, not really sure what she was looking for, "why do you ask?"

Felicia bit her lip a bit before answering, "what he did…corrupting people, City Hall, the murders, drugs, gunrunning, bombing, all of it, was sending Spider after him really the best idea?" she asked seriously. He could hear the question in the undertones of her voice, and to be honest the question had been cropping up in his own thoughts from time to time.

"If you're asking if Li deserved to die, then the answer is yes" he answered firmly, "a bullet between the eyes would have been a mercy after all the suffering he's caused, but I…deserves got nothing to do with it" he said lowly.

"Deserves got nothing to do with it" she repeated quietly, "I always thought I understood that, a badass way of saying that you just killed people that got in your way, but that isn't it, is it?" she asked, to which he shook his head slowly.

He was not a moral or righteous man and didn't want to think of himself as a judge or jury, so he didn't. "It means that there isn't really a reason for who lives and who dies in a shootout, at least not anything beyond simple reactions and instinct" he explained lowly. Li didn't live because of a belief it was wrong to kill people, the reality was a lot simpler. "I let Spidey go after him because he was in the best position to make a move on Li and has the most experience with enhanced opponents. That's all there is to it" he assured. It was the truth to, as cold as it was, life or death situations had a way of streamlining ones thought process.

Felicia was silent for a moment as she mulled over his reasoning, her expression unreadable with the dim glow of the television. "Is that what it was like?" she asked suddenly as he furrowed his brow, "back on Typhon? Just snap decision after snap decision? Every single one life or death?" she elaborated.

"Pretty much" he answered succinctly, shifting uncomfortably at the transition in topic, his first experience as a Pilot was something he rarely talked about, even with her. "It all just happened so fast, I never had the chance to get settled in, so I was living moment to moment" he answered, though he was being unintentionally evasive, his mind automatically swerving to avoid those memories.

"And you just made it through how?" she asked, "fate? Skill? Luck?"

"Well, I am dating you" he supposed, "so I'm a pretty lucky guy" he returned, trying to shift the conversation away from Typhon and onto more pleasant topics without trying to be subtle about it.

To his immense relief, Felicia seemed to understand his discomfort as she leaned right up next to his ear and whispered "you have no idea just how lucky you are stud" into it huskily, her hot breath sending bolts of electricity down his spine as he nearly shuddered at the words. With a wicked smile, Felicia scooched over and settled down on his lap, grinding her firm ass into his quickly hardening manhood. He wrapped his arms around her taut stomach and pulled her close as the couple finished the rest of the film. Matthew rested his chin on her shoulder, one hand stroking her hair as the other teased her over her clothes, rubbing her breasts enough to easily tell she wore nothing below her thin tank top and petting her core to feel the heat emanating from it before he began to trail kisses down her neck and suckling on her sensitive spot to draw a gasp from her.

But the Black Cat was more adept at teasing than being teased. While Cooper had his hands, the platinum blonde vixen had her whole body, her whole magnificent body, and she knew how to use it to drive him crazy. Reaching back, she grabbed hold of him to steady herself as she went to work with her hips, giving him a lapdance that only served to make his pants more restrictive. Even the moans and gasps he managed to coax out of her contributed to the arousal he felt continue to grow. Soon, he was rock hard, his cock digging into her ass and inciting her to pick up the pace until neither was paying much attention to the film as it came to an end.

The credits beginning to roll was the point that they both finally gave up merely teasing one another. Cooper sought out the bottom of her top and began to pull it up before Felicia finished it off, cleanly removing it to reveal her naked body, illuminated only by the light of the TV as she spun around. Instantly, his eyes were drawn to her beautifully bare breasts, the perky orbs of immaculate pale flesh demanding he caress, knead, or suck on them as they bounced before him. But before he could satisfy those desires, Felicia sought out his mouth with hers, their lips locking as tongues dueled for control while her hands went to work removing his shirt. Separating from him, both panting wantonly, Matthew found himself barechested in an instant before their liplock resumed. Despite tasting the sweet wine she still had on her lips and feeling her erect nipples pressed into his scarred pecs, Matthew wanted more. Trailing his hands down, he pulled down her shorts and smirked at the surprise that greeted him. "No panties" he observed, his voice a low, almost guttural grunt, "naughty girl."

"Your naughty girl" whispered back the temptress seductively, trailing her hands over his bare torso as he worked the shorts down until they too were tossed aside, leaving Felicia straddling him in all her naked glory as she grinned wickedly. Delicate hands and piercing emerald eyes roamed over his scarred and muscled chest, down to his abs and further still to the massive bulge under her dripping slit. Licking her lips, the vixen leaned in and whispered "and _you _are _my _chiseled stud." The lust and need in her words sent electricity down his spine as his erection twitched and the Texan latched his mouth onto the closest breast, marking it as his own as Felicia whimpered wantonly. Finally, as Matthew switched to her other breast, his tongue lavishing her tit as he spanked her firm buttocks, causing her to order "bedroom." Her tone was commanding as it was pleading.

But it was a command Cooper didn't object to as he easily stood up despite her weight, one python like arm wrapped around the lithe body of the sexy theif as she in turn locked her legs around his waist. Doing that caused Matthew to feel the juices from her pussy on his bare skin, adding to the lust fueled haze that coulded his mind as he used his free hand and what little light the TV gave off to navigate the room. Guiding himself along the wall as Felicia nibbled and suckled on his ear before working her way down his neck while her nails scratched at his back, marking him as her own while he hurridly threw the door open. Stumbling inside, he turned to close the door, but doing so only caused Felica to kiss him heatedly once more, moaning into his mouth as she leaned into him.

Taken by surprise, Cooper staggered backwards under her erotic assault until he felt the back of his legs against the bed and tumbled, sprawling out across the mattress as Felicia pounced like a predator, pulling his sweatpants and boxers down before tossing them into some corner of the room to be forgotten.

It wasn't as if he needed further incentive for his erection to extend to its full length, but Hardy was going to give him some regardless as she place da knee on either side of his hips and bent hover, erect nipples grazing his chest as she planted a trail of kisses up his pecs to his neck and then his ears as he felt himself slowly unravel. His manhood throbbed as he ran his own hands down her back and over the delicious curve of her buttocks, giving one a small spank and savoring the yelp and moan that came from her mouth as a result. His other hand trailed down her thigh until it went to the inside of her toned leg and back up until his fingers trailed over her cleanly shaven nether lips.

Smirking as her breath hitched, he delicately began to stroke her most sensitive area while she continued to keep up her assault with her mouth, using her lips, tongue, and breath to maximum effect. In response, he upped his own ministrations, spreading her pussy and feeling her arousal drip out of her before he slowly inserted a finger and began to work it into her, feeling her whole body tremble at the intrusion. Soon, a second finger was worked in as both made a 'come hither' motion in the depths of her velvety tunnel. "Fuck baby, you're so wet" he whispered as his hand became slick with her juices. "Cum for me baby" he encouraged as he pressed his thumb down on the bead of her clitoris and she shuddered, panting and moaning erotically as she came from her pent-up arousal.

After a minute of heavy breathing, Felicia began to recover, back straight as her breasts hung deliciously with her nipples still hard as she slowly guided his hand out of her and brought it up to her face. Without hesitation she began licking her juices from his palm before slowly taking each finger in her mouth and sucking the juices from them as her eyes bore into him as if to say _I know you like it when I do this_. And he did, so very much as he watched her in an almost trance like state, other hand idly resting on her hip until she had finished. "I'd say I'm ready" she purred lightly before her other hand went down to wrap around his cock and give it a single firm stroke and a bit of precum trickled out, "and you're really ready" she continued as she lined herself up, the very tip of his manhood pressed against her slit as she gave him a wicked look.

With agonizing slowness, she worked her way down his shaft, slowly enveloping every inch with her smooth, tight walls until he was fully sheathed in her and she arched her back so that their stomachs were almost touching as she hovered over him, breasts hanging down as she gave a Cheshire grin. Unable to resist the temptation, he lifted his head and planted a kiss on each nipple, giving them a flick with his tongue before going to the other. Felicia whimpered as they held their position, savoring the sensations they were both experiencing before finally desiring more.

The platinum blonde vixen began to work her hips in a circular motion as she lifted them up and then worked them back down his erect manhood. Each stroke loosened her as she adjusted to his size, taking him deeper and deeper each time, every inch he plunged further into her offered a new height of pleasure. After a few cycles, Cooper had a feel for the pattern and contributed a thrust, rolling his hips in rhythm with hers as she shrieked in pleasure. He kept his hands at the middle of her back as he grunted at the pleasure he was experiencing, desperately trying to delay his release as he felt his balls swell. "I missed riding this cock, this long, thick cock" whispered Felicia huskily, always stroking his ego in bed as she rode him ever closer to his inevitable release.

As she continued to work her hips in pursuit of her orgasm, the Texan trailed his hands down to grab two handfuls of her delightful ass, squeezing the firm cheeks as he continued to push deeper into her. "And I've missed this pussy," he grunted as he felt her squeeze around his manhood, "but you've kept it just how I like it, tight, warm, and _wet_." His words were in time with a powerful penetrating thrust that caused his cock to be buried to the hilt in her moist, velvety smooth cunt as she cried out in ecstasy.

Every thrust caused her tits to bounce up and down as she held onto him, fingers digging in as all of his senses were bombarded by the results of their activities. Eyes drank in her form, his fingers and cock felt the touch of her soft skin and moist core, his ears were drowning with his grunts of exertion and her cries of "faster! Faster!" as their skin slapped together to make that happen. The musky scent of their exertion filled his nose before he completed the set by pulling her head down and locking lips again, able to taste the distinctly tangy flavor that he recognized as coming from Felicia's delectable pussy, still on her lips and tongue.

Knowing the end was near, Matthew changed his approach and began to alternate between rapid thrusts and slow, sensual strokes. Every bout of pistoning drove their pleasure to new heights only for him to slow down and draw it out even further. He was rewarded with more cries and moans of pleasure as Felicia failed to form words, face twisted from her arousal as they continued their slow dance, each stroke and caress was gentle and carefully timed, synchronized according to their needs and desires. Their lovemaking soon approached its inevitable conclusion as Felicia took control once more and her hips soon came back down, guiding his hardened rod straight to her most sensitive spot, sending a spike of erotic pleasure through her body as she moaned wantonly. After hanging on the edge of release for several minutes, the Thief answered the calls of her body and made straight for her release, repeating that motion as the tip of Matts dick was pushed to the depths of her womanhood to get at that bundle of nerves at an ever increasing pace and with ever increasing need. "I'm cumming!" she announced elatedly as her whole sweat sheened body shook with her release.

As her tight moist walls clamped down on him, Cooper finally succumbed to his own urges as well, grunting as his manhood twitched and he released into her tight cunt, the sensation triggering another round of cries before their orgasms finally ran their course and she rolled off of him. Reaching over, Matthew pulled her close as she pressed into him and she became the little spoon and the Pilot pulled the comforter over them. Laying there, one arm wrapped around Felicia Hardy and cupping her breast as she pressed her tight bottom into his cock, still wet with her juices, Cooper realized he had found another form of his personal heaven.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Assault Rifle: V-47 Flatline_

_I hate this piece of shit._

_An attempt to develop an indigenous rifle by the Militia with the same 'soldier focused' approach that yielded the legendary AK-47 in the mid-20__th__ century somehow led to this veritable clusterfuck of a rifle. Probably because the designers forgot what made the AK such an excellent weapon: Simplicity. Just because they preserved the 7.62x39mm round and the curved magazines that came with it doesn't mean they preserved any simplicity found in the rest of the damn gun by bolting on a recoil mitigation system that only half works because the horizontal recoil is amplified as a result. Making it a bullpup, while it is shorter than the R-101, means the ergonomics fucking suck especially since they didn't think things through. Case in point, the mag release is ambidextrous, but was left unprotected. So, when you carry the gun in its extended position but down against your chest it is __**very **__easy to accidently drop the mag. Meaning this would inevitably happen just before a firefight and you would raise the gun to find you only had one bullet on tap. If you were lucky this resulted in some cursing and a reload, if you weren't then you got your head blown off. _

_Some moronic jackass from the committee that designed the damned thing of course replied 'well that's why you're supposed to carry it in the collapsed position' to which every soldier laughed because what's the point of carrying a gun if you can't have it ready to shoot back at the enemy?_

_That's why anyone worth their salt still carries a Carbine, SOAR, Hemlock, G2, or even a slingshot instead of this flaming dog turd of a weapon. That wasn't even the end of it, the weapon tried to cut down on weight by using a variation of the venerable long stroke gas piston with modern materials. Except those materials proved unreliable and you had to change out the piston after about 1200 rounds or it would snap, and the rifle would fail to function. This was on top of flimsy magazines often sweetened with faulty springs, poor build quality so dust and mud had a tendency to foul up the gun easily, and that…awesome…recoil system would often siphon off too much gas from the piston so you got constant failure to feed jams. _

_Eventually, the Militia did what they always should have done and gave the gun to a proper weapons maker to design and build it. Wonyeon Defense were the lucky winners of this shit sundae and promptly went to work. By the time they were done they had either replaced or redesigned the bolt, gas piston, gas block, the front trunnion, the hammer, every single spring, all of the pins, the magazine release, and the furniture, and the charging handle, and probably some other stuff that I'm forgetting. _

_The end result of them keeping the receivers as an empty shell and replacing just about everything inside was the gun actually working (except for that godawful recoil pattern) and it continues to serve on the Frontier. Still, to many, including myself, the gun has a reputation that it will never overcome. Such an utter failure on so many fronts means that it will remain a punchline to many a joke. _

_Of course, that recoil pattern is a whole other kind of joke. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: That'll do it, for those of you that don't like MJ or her relationship with Peter I want to know if this little original bit is better, that, and hopefully I didn't have Peter go too far off the handle because that was something I felt might have taken a hair too far. Though I do know this is definitely a case of the 'you won't kill, but you're okay with traumatic brain injuries' scenario. **

**Also curious as to how much of the Punisher you guys want to see, he does play a part in the upcoming arc but beyond that is a bit of a toss up. Feedback here will play a large role in how much we see him in the last part of the game, either playing a major role or just doing his own thing in the background as is implied here. **

**And for any people who are familiar with the British army and their small arms, the story of the Flatline should sound familiar, that is all me making stuff up so I have something to point to when I get asked why he never uses the Flatline. I just made him hate it as much as I do. But the story takes heavy inspiration from the L85A1 which was, and I'm not exaggerating, the worst military rifle of the last half century. The A2 has shown itself to be a decent rifle, but the A1 will always be, in the words of Gun Jesus, "A huge scandal of plastic and metal."**

**But next week, I see earthquakes and lightning, I see bad times today, and I see a Bad Moon Rising. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	43. Chapter 43: Bad Moon Rising

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

So this is when things get interesting, from now until chapter 54 is over we're taking a detour into an original story arc that I want to do for a couple reasons, develop some characters and character relations, a few set pieces that I couldn't make happen otherwise, and to satisfy several reviews I've gotten. There have been a few people wanting more 'Titanfall' elements, ranging from hostile Pilots and Titans to the famous "Standby for Titanfall" line to Cooper having to confront his experience on Typhon. Then there are other who want things from more pieces of the larger world playing a role to a more likeable and fleshed out Silver Sable to trying to make Mary Jane suck less. Yes, Guest reviewer who really seems to have it in for the redhead, I'm looking at you. I'm going to have a go at doing all of that in this story arc without completely derailing the events of the rest of the game that will come afterwards. Since this was inspired and motivated by y'alls reviews and feedback I would really appreciate it if you left a review to let me know if I got stuff right or wrong. I am equally excited and anxious about how this will go and so good or bad, let me know what you think so I can incorporate it into the next original story arc, even if that won't be until after the City That Never Sleeps DLC content.

Thanks goes out to both ravens18 and CarlosInferno for their help with getting this thing put together and not trying to send me to the looney bin when I pitched this idea to them, even is ravens really wanted to.

The overall arc is in my planning as '1648' which is indeed a Sabaton song if anyone was curious about that hint a few chapters back. If anyone actually listens to the chapter titles (or is like me and has them all in a playlist), then you will be hearing a lot of war themed Swedish Power Metal in the next couple months. '1648' is a song off of the album _Carolus Re_x about the defense of Prague at the end of the 30 Years War in the year 1648, I only mention that here because it is not a chapter title.

**Darksblade: Your words are still appreciated. I will be the first to admit that the premise of the story is a bit off the walls, pun intended. As for the romance, it wasn't the original idea. The plan when I started was for Cooper to get around a bit but they work quite well together and I know some people really like it. There are no plans to break them up or anything though, so if you like then don't worry, it isn't going anywhere. **

**Blaze1992: While that is a bit of a contrivance, my answer is...Yes, it means they have to do less paperwork. **

**A fan: To each their own, the view counts of each chapters show that many people do like them, but I understand. As for the Black Tusk stuff, I'm sorry if I gave the wrong idea about how many 'Division' elements there'll be, but that won't happen. There are no plans for the Black Tusk to appear at any point. All I have planned is for a few more cameo appearances and to have a certain faction from the Spider-Man game appear and behave more like a faction from the Division with the exact same backstory. As for who Taskmaster was working for? You'll find out during this next arc, even if that plot thread won't be resolved for a long time. **

For this chapter though, I've gone back to CCR. Not that I originally planned to have them feature twice in three chapters (which hasn't happened since the early, dark times when I used _way _too much AC/DC), but this chapter went unnamed until right before I posted last week's update and needed to find a title, and I just went with the most obvious. Off of their 1969 album _Green River_, this is a song about the oncoming apocalypse, and no, I don't mean the X-Men villain. You'll have a good idea of what exactly that 'nasty weather' entails by the end of this chapter.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 43: Bad Moon Rising**

_I hope you got your things together_

_I hope you are quite prepared to die_

_Look's like we're in for nasty weather_

_One eye is taken for an eye_

_Oh don't go 'round tonight_

_It's bound to take your life_

_There's a bad moon on the rise_

* * *

"For once, I think things are starting to look up" mused Peter as he literally pulled himself up through the chilly night air. Martin Li was in the raft, the insanity of the previous day had ended, he had managed to get through an entire meal with Mary Jane without having to be dragged away by a supervillain attack or Inner Demon plot. "And the city has been quiet all day too, maybe I should call it a night?"

But that wasn't really an option, even if Cooper had taken care of all of the Demon warehouses and Fisk construction sites, there was still a lot of smaller 'active' crimes going on throughout the city. Still, they hadn't been anything he couldn't easily handle, and he decided he would finish his usual patrol route and head back to the safehouse he was shacking up in. As he neared the end of the route, with nothing requiring the attention of Spider-Man as New York seemed to be chugging along. The massive metropolis shrugging off the events of the last few weeks and quickly returning to normal.

All of those thoughts were pushed aside as he caught sight of a woman on a rooftop waving at him and immediately changed course, swinging towards the setup and noting the lights set up and the giant QR code painted on the wall behind her. As he disconnected the webline and backflipped before coming down on the rooftop, he saw the odd S logo on the woman's shirt, and was certain he had seen it somewhere, but couldn't place it. "So, you're going to do it?" she asked excitedly as she pointed at the logo behind her, "the Screwball Challenge?"

Peter's eyes narrowed behind his Advanced Mask, the white lenses on the outside following suit as he scrutinized the woman, "I…don't know what that is" he admitted truthfully. But the name 'Screwball' sounded even more familiar, was it some internet thing? He felt like he had seen someone tag him on Twitter about it.

The enthusiastic young woman was entirely undeterred by his response however, her outlook undimmed in the slightest. "No one does!" she exclaimed, "that's the best part. Take a picture of the code on the wall and it starts" explained the woman before adding, almost as an afterthought, "Easy Peazy! It's to help the needy."

"Oh" replied Peter blankly, "well, in that case…" he supposed as he pulled out his phone from a pocket on the inside of the pants of his suit and opened up the camera. Snapping a picture of the code and posting it on his feed.

It didn't take very long for the post to yield results. A ring in his ear indicated he had a call incoming through Twitter, and he accepted only to be greeted by the most grating and annoying voice he had ever heard in his entire life. _"Ess Em!"_ shrieked the woman happily_. "You accepted the challenge! Welcome to my stream!" _The webslinger couldn't help but roll his eyes, he couldn't imagine how JJJ could twist his appearance on a livestream, but he was sure the result would be entertaining. _"B-T-Dubs, now that you're on board, the views are racking up like cuh-razy!" _

_Wonderful_ mused the Wallcrawler as he tried to think of a way to adequately describe the way Screwballs voice made him grind his teeth into dust. _"Here's how it works" _she explained, _"The matrix barcode you scanned is sending you the GPS coordinates of another matrix barcode in the area."_

"Um, this is starting to sound time consuming. Sorry, but people need my help" he answered, trying his best to sound apologetic, but he really just wanted to finish his patrol and head for bed. He had been putting in overtime the last few weeks, he deserved just one easy day, didn't he?

Sadly, the Parker luck said that he did not. _"Ooooh, funny you should say that" _squealed Screwball in a way that made Spidey wince not only because of the pain spiking in his ears, but also because of what that could mean. _"'Cause this is to help the needy…one in particular" _she said ominously. Now the Wallcrawler had his teeth on edge for an entirely different reason, _"the final matrix barcode will give you the location of a – wait for it –" _she teased before pausing dramatically and a darkened image was DMed to him and popped up on his HUD. _"A kidnapping victim" _revealed Screwball with dramatic exasperation as Peter squinted at the photo, almost making out what looked like someone tied to a chair in the middle of a darkened room.

"WHAT?!" exclaimed Spider-Man as he immediately loaded the GPS coordinates into his suit's system and sprinted in that direction, leaping from the rooftop and swinging through the night like a bat out of hell.

'Screwball' was turning out to more than live up to her moniker as her excruciatingly grating voice filled his ears with pain once again. _"I know! Talk about raising the stakes!" _she cooed back maniacally, he wondered if her voice was also the result of an Oscorp experience gone wrong, it was certainly a reasonable explanation. _"Isn't she telegenic? Trapped…Helpless…will she starve? Suffocate? No time to lose. The internet is watching! Tata!" _

With that, the line mercifully went dead, leaving Peter's thoughts as the only things he could hear. "This got dark fast. She's nuts…but I have to play along." There really was not other option, if he ignored the threat then this homicidal streamer could very well carry out her threats. Thankfully, he didn't have to go very far until he saw another black and white pattern plastered around the corner of a building. "There's the next matrix barcode" he said with relief, "but this one isn't going to be so simple" he realized as he latched onto an apartment building across the street and held out his phone with one hand, crawling around with his other three limbs until he finally stopped of the rooftop and lined up the shot perfectly. "Got it."

Unfortunately, that caused the origins of his suffering to call him again. _"Oh SNAP! Shout out to my fans – some of who just joined my stream…and joined Spidey IRL!" _said the psychopath just as he felt a hum at the base of his skull and turned around to see four men in hoodies on the rooftop with him.

"Has everyone lost their minds?" he muttered as he saw a pallet and snatched it up with a webline before swinging it over his head and hurling it at the closest thug, the wooden packing implement breaking on the guys head as he dropped to the roof like a sack of potatoes. The second and much larger goon charged, only to get a squirt of synthetic silk in the eyes as Spidey slid past and fired two lines to pull him to the one farthest back.

While the webslinger ripped the gun from the thugs hand, he heard that grating voice in his ear again, his teeth back on edge. _"While we enjoy the action scene, let me read some messages from my squad" _announced Screwball as Spidey took out his irritation on one member of her 'squad' by slamming his fist into his gut and backflipping, landing a bicycle kick on the mans chin that sent him sprawling backwards. _"Thug4eva says 'Love you Screwball. Your stream kept me going while I was in jail.' Aw!" _Spidey tried to block it out by diving out of the way of the big bullrusher again, leaping forwards into the third goon attaching a webline to his leg on the way past, ripping the limb out from under him as he slammed down, his rifle clattering along the concrete. _"FanCDan says 'I ROFLED when you pranked J. Jonah Jameson with the pie.' So did I FanCDan, so did I."_

Peter quirked an eyebrow at that, both at the name and comment as he finally turned his attention to the last man standing, the massive fridge of a man snarling at him with malicious intent. "May have to find the VOD of that one" he whispered to himself as he deftly adjusting the settings on his web shooters and charged forwards, one blob of impact webbing slammed into his chest, the synthetic silk staggering him and pinning his arms to the mans sides.

With the incredible agility he possessed, the red and blue clad vigilante leapt up and did a hand spring off of the guys frankly massive shoulders and launched himself into the air, twisting around and coming back down as he swung his right leg. The top of his foot slammed into the side of the man's head and sent him stumbling into a wall, knocking the wind out of him as a second shot of Impact Webbing pinned him to that spot, despite his struggles._"SlimGatz is an old friend of the show who Spidey sent to Ryker's. He says 'can't wait to see you humiliate Spider-Freak.' The feeling is mutual, SlimGatz!" _

With one last look at the dispatched thugs, Spider-Man sighed and spit out one last quip, for the road. "Too bad, guys, you'll have to go back to the cinnamon challenge" he suggested before leaping off the rooftop.

"_Sorry about that Spidey" _apologized Screwball, _"I can't help it if my fans get personally invested. They're passionate. Hashtag: Blessed." _

Peter reflexively let out a snort at the comment and couldn't help but ask "did you just say the word 'Hashtag' out loud?" incredulously. "That's honestly almost as bad as the kidnapping."

There was a tense moment of silence as Peter failed to contain a small smirk of satisfaction and managing to get a moment of reprieve from the auditory assault. _"Snapping that code should have sent you the GPS to the next location" _returned Screwball icily, _"you'd better hurry" _she snapped. _"Our friend is all alone and oh, so sad."_

The next code was split between two buildings, meaning it took him a bit longer to line it up just so, but he managed to get it all in frame just the same. "Never thought I'd be happy I spent so long taking pictures for the Bugle" he quipped to himself before the next call inevitably arrived.

It didn't take long. _"Now this is totally unofficial…but I'm hearing some of my fans decided to bring you a little care package. I think they're saying 'You're the bomb.' Might want to grab those, fast. People could get hurt!" _suggested Screwball 'helpfully.'

Activating the pulse feature in his suit, the distortions created by the bomb's circuits registered on his HUD as he leapt to the first one, heaving it into the air and blasting it with webs until the impacts knocked something loose, shorting out the detonator and causing the explosive to go off in mid air harmlessly. Making haste, Spider-Man repeated the process two more times, ignoring the commentary in his ear.

"_Wooh!" _whooped the streamer, _"and my mentions are blowing up too!" _she said somewhat tastelessly. _"Nice job taking a simple photo, guy. Snapping that one should get you the GPS to our victim. You better save her before our fans get bored…'cause in entertainment, boredom is death" _she informed seriously.

"Address isn't far from here" realized the Wallcralwer as he shot out a webline and began swinging as fast as his little webs could carry him, "better hurry." The seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness as he tried to squeeze every bit of speed he could out of his run knowing a life hung in the balance. Dropping down into an alley, he turned to be met with a door that looked exactly like the one in the picture he had been sent and what looked like someone sitting in a chair inside. "Camera's everywhere" he murmured, "this is it. Can you hear me? I'm going to rip the door down!"

With that, he fired a pair of weblines and shattered the glass to open the way to the workshop on the other side. The figure in the chair stood and a familiar voice pierced the darkness, "Oh my god, Spider-Man! I can't thank you enough…" called out the woman as she stepped forward into the light to reveal herself to be wearing a white jumpsuit with a magenta stripe on the visored helmet and down the sleeves, "…for the MILLIONS of clicks I just got!" she hollered excitedly as Spidey focused on the s shaped logo on her forehead as she pulled out her phone and began filming.

"Screwball?!" sputtered the Wallcrawler.

"I know, right! You should see the look on your…creepy moving eye hole thingies!" crowed the streamer excitedly as she continued to film him. A familiar and uncomfortable buzz began to manifest itself in the back of Peter's head when the 'hostage' kindly informed him of the source. "Oh look…more of my followers."

_One attempt at the apocalypse and everyone thinks they're Mad Max _groused Spider-Man as he turned to the gaggle of men behind him, some armed, some not, and all with ill intent. That said, their first words weren't what the Webhead had come to expect. "Screwball! Put us on your feed!" called out one, making Spider-Man question where that thug's priorities lay.

Pulling a trip mine from each of the pockets on top of his wrists, Peter surged forwards, dropping one disc on the ground as he charged straight at the biggest one, waiting for one of the man's arms, which were as big around as his legs, to start swinging before he slid between the thug's legs and sprung up behind him, planting both feet in the small of his back and sending him stumbling forwards. While he tried to regain his balance, he tripped the laser and activated the mine, which ensnared him in a thick blast of webs and yanked him to the ground. Pushing off of the man's back, Spider-Man threw his whole weight into the pistol wielding goon and knocked him back.

Before he could follow up that strike, his Spider Sense buzzed menacingly, causing the Hero to leap up and backflip over the top as he fired a blast of webbing into the knife wielding man's face as he came back to ground and fired two more lines, trapping one hand in each as he turned his foe around and launched himself forwards, slamming a blue covered knee into his face. "I don't officially condone this" chimed in Screwball from her position as Spidey extended a wrist to web her mouth shut, for his own sanity, but the fourth thug caught it with his face, Peter's shoulders sagging at his misfortune as he emptied the rest of the cartridges on the goon before launching him up into the air only to fire a webline and yank him back down to earth.

"Then tell them to stop!" he shouted back in exasperation as he gracefully dodged out of the way of the fifth and attached the second trip mine to his back before kicking him towards his buddy with the gun, smirking as the mine activated and trapped the two in one giant ball of white webbing. But more arrived, "can't I just have one easy night?" he pleaded to whatever deities might have been listening.

Priming a web grenade, he chunked the sphere and stuck it to the central figure, "get it off!" he cried as he flailed about uselessly until the device detonated and ensnared the entire group, making them easy pickings.

"Is that all?" he asked, "can I go home now?" Pausing, Peter let out an audible sigh of relief when only silence answered him, meaning his night had come to its merciful end. Jumping up and away, he saw a pair of police cruisers surge down the boulevard and come to a screeching halt outside the alley where Screwball and her 'fans' were waiting.

Getting out of the way to let the boys in blue do their jobs, Spider-Man watched as Screwball was cuffed and escorted to one of the cruisers. "LOL!" taunted the steamer, "what are you going to charge me with? _I_ didn't actually doanything – it was all my fans."

"She has a point" conceded the cop as he guided her into the backseat, causing the Webhead to sigh in disbelief, "gonna be heard to make anything stick."

The Webslinger let out a sigh as his shoulders drooped. "For a Spider based hero, I'm really starting to hate the web."

* * *

Felicia Hardy was feeling better than she had in a long time, back in her element as she bagged a collection of antique European daggers and jewelry. The ornately decorated items belonged to a corrupt judge and the Black Cat was more than happy to remove them from his possession, even if it was only temporary. Slinging the set of saddlebags over her shoulder, the Thief strutted back towards the patio to make her clean getaway. But there was one more element to her good mood as she pressed a gloved finger to her earpiece, "how am I looking cowboy?" she asked, knowing that her lover was posted up on a rooftop acting as her spotter and lookout and it felt good to do what she loved together.

"_Sexy as fuck, sweetheart. That suit somehow makes your ass look even better" _he reported with only the smallest hint of mirth as Hardy exited the penthouse into the chill of the night air. Removing the scrambler she had used to disable the security system, she left a small cat for Spider to collect before her earpiece crackled back to life, _"that doesn't mean I can't wait to get you out of it."_

The insinuation instantly brought a smile to the Black Cat's uncovered mouth as she fired her grappling hook and flew through the moonlit night. 'Stud' had been an apt nickname for the Marauder, the man had a sexual appetite to rival her own and wasn't afraid to be a flirt when they were in action. And it wasn't as if Hardy had ever tried to dissuade the man from it either, it was nice to work with a man who didn't turn into a stuttering mess every time she bent over. "Good to see you've got your eyes on the prize Cowboy" she purred in response, "check my six, do I have a tail?" she asked before quickly adding, "any more tail than I should?"

There was a wry chuckle on the other end of the line, _"lemme see…nah darlin', looks like you're clear" _he drawled casually. _"No sign of alarms and police patrols are normal. Negative on enhanced opposition as well" _he reported more seriously, the last part of the transmission meaning no Sable response and no sight of a certain Webslinger. _"Alright then, I'm going to pack up and meet you at the RV, be ready for me when I get there. Marauder out" _he said.

Felicia bit her lip in anticipation, whenever Matthew was commanding like that it was always a fun night for her. Of course, she would have fun getting there too as she arrived at her transport. She gave the black Ducati a gentle caress before attaching the custom-made saddle bag and firing up the sports bike. Giving the throttle a rev, Felicia's smirk became a full-on grin, the burglar safe in the knowledge that this would only be the first powerful machine she had between her legs that night.

* * *

"_Impressive Pilot, you made it all this way alive. Unfortunately for you, there is only one way out" announced a robotic voice over the PA system of the facility Matt found himself in. It was his second day on Typhon, and he had spent most of the last 24 hours scared out of his mind, even if he had BT backing him up. He had been doing his best to conceal his fright from the machine, but when they had been forcibly separated, he hadn't bothered nearly as much. "Step onto a moving platform" ordered the Apex Predator running this godforsaken factory. _

_Looking up, Cooper saw the ceiling drop out as panels reveled themselves to be the prefabricated tiles this factory was building, just what the hell was the IMC up to? From his right, he saw the assembly he had just parkoured up begin to move to replace the ones in the ceiling. "Why me for fucks sake?" he muttered as he watched the first one pass and got a feel for the timing as he bounced on the balls of his feet in anticipation. His jump kit flared in preparation as the next one approached, "no guts, no glory" mused the Texan as he leapt from the catwalk, arms flailing wildly as he came down, rolling to a stop and unslinging the G2 rifle. _

"_Well done Pilot, I will take it from here" intoned the PA system. Indeed, she did, in a moment Cooper found himself in a fully assembled area, grass and trees mixed with prefabricated structures in what almost reminded him of his home back in suburbia. _

_But those feelings were quickly pushed aside as a new, lifeless, voice sounded over the PA system. "Loading scenario one-two-seven in Dynamic Simulation Dome three-one-four" it announced as the Militia Pilot checked his ammo, three mags for the G2, and two for the Devotion on his back as well as four firestars. Hopefully it would be enough for 'scenario one-two-seven'. _

_Then he was plunged into total blackness as the simulation dome rebooted. "Now – we shall see how impressive you truly are" said the Apex Predator simulacrum coldly, a chill working its way down the former rifleman's spine. Once the dome had cycled, several features rose from the ground, platforms, staircases, hills, and undulations._

_Cooper was suppressing his fear and already scanning the area with a Pilot's eye, looking for wallrunning and parkour routes he could use as well as chokepoints to avoid. But the CPU AI interrupted his thoughts, "delivering Militia test subjects" it announced. Matthew's eyes widened, wasn't __**he **__the subject? What other poor bastards were being subjected to this shit?_

_Hearing the sound of doors opening and footsteps on the platform behind him, the Pilot turned that way. "It's another test! Arm up!" barked a coarse and authoritative voice that screamed NCO to the rookie. _

"_We barely survived the last one!" shot back another as Cooper jumped up and tried to pull himself up onto the platform, only to find himself staring down the barrels of four guns with scared and weary looking faces behind them. "A pilot!?" shouted one as he extended a hand and helped pull the Texan up, "now the odds are in our favor!" Cooper didn't have the heart to tell him he was still new at this; he was far too busy being scared himself. _

_The NCO paid the Pilot's plight no heed, "nothing about this is in our favor. Aim sharp!" he ordered sternly as the four infantrymen took everything they could carry before the gruff looking Sergeant turned back to Matthew, who instinctively straightened. "You got a plan Pilot?" _

"_Figure I'd stretch my legs, move fast and harass them from the flanks. Keep them off balance and draw fire from you guys" suggested Cooper, trying to sound confident. "But I'm open to suggestions" he added dryly, survival was more important than his pride, "if you've got a better one."_

_The NCO shook his head, "nah, not really. You stay out of our way and we'll stay out of yours, can't really keep up with you anyhow" replied the soldier. "Jenkins! Ramirez! I want fields of fire on those buildings. Sweetwater! You got the field in between. Pilot, I suggest you stay out of those areas, don't want you getting shot" finished the Sergeant dryly. _

"_Can do" assured the Texan, "good luck" he called as he ran and jumped from the platform. _

"_Scenario one-two-seven load complete" announced the AI as Matthew landed against the wall of the dome and began running along what looked at first like thin air. _

"_Let us begin: Deploy Specters" ordered Ash, the Apex Predator seemingly keen on finding out what would happen. Right on cue, drop pods descended and the six-foot-tall robotic soldiers emerged, guns blazing. The Militia soldiers returned fire as Cooper posted up on a rooftop and picked a few off with the semi auto before the Specters prioritized him and he dropped down and changed positions. _

"_Pilot" intoned BT suddenly, Cooper slide hopping through a hail of bullets, "your heartrate has increased. Are you in destress?" _

_Ducking and rolling behind a structure, he popped out to fire a few shots, blasting the heads off two robots before the weapon clicked, empty. "Kinda busy right now BT" he remarked hurriedly as he fumbled around with the next magazine before finally seating it in the rifle. _

"_If in combat, utilize your cloak. It will temporarily make you invisible" reminded BT. Matthew just stared dumbly at the button on his glove, he had completely forgotten about that in his small panic attack. Smashing his thumb down on it to activate it, he jumped up as a group of machines rounded the corner, unaware they were being watched from above. Cooper dropped down on the trail machine, crushing it under his weight as he swiftly executed the remaining ones. _

"_Well" he mused as he took a brief moment to scan for anything useful, "that was easy."_

_Then things got a whole lot harder as the chatter of guns fell silent, the IMC robots having been wiped out by the Militia forces. "Initiating IMC Reaper test program" announced the CPU AI, the name 'Reaper' not inspiring warm and fuzzy feelings in the Pilot. _

_A mechanical noise caught Matt's attention as he jumped up to the top of the building, clambering onto a rooftop, he heard a fearsome mechanical roar, the warbling sound seemed to shake him to his core. "The fuck is that?" he said in shock as he laid eyes on the source. Standing ten feet tall in armored in white IMC plate was a massive bi-pedal machine. Its oversized torso had a huge arm with a three fingered hand coming out either side. _

_The Militia grunts opened fire, rounds bouncing harmlessly off the 'Reaper' as he crouched down and leapt into the air, jump jets carrying it with ease to the platform where the grunts were. With frightening efficiency, it engaged the infantry, picking up the first man with both hands and tearing him in half. The other three kept firing as Cooper watched in muted horror, the Reaper dashing to its right with the thrusters and grabbing the next grunt by his legs and slamming him into the floor like a rag doll. Another tried to rush the machine and get close but found himself thrown back as the Reaper hurled the dead rifleman into his comrade. The fourth threw a grenade that exploded between the machine's legs, but had no effect as it charged the NCO, picking him up and turning him to paste with an energy blast from the hand holding him. With cold calculation, it raised its now blue glowing hand and unleashed a salvo of blue plasma at the sole remining living grunt, turning him into a fine red mist as well._

_And Cooper had just fucking watched. _

_The Machine then turned to him as he stared dumbly from the rooftop as the Pilot back peddled, but it was too late. Igniting its thrusters, the Reaper soared through the air and came down with a crash on the roof, mere feet from Cooper. Lashing out with one of its three fingered hands, Matthew jumped back instinctively and pulled out a firestar, sidearmming it into the singular red eye staring him down. _

_Getting a warbling snarl, Matthew turned and ran, jumping to the wall of the dome and running for dear life, not daring to look back. __**Shit! Shit! Shit! **__he screamed internally as he jumped to another rooftop and tried to come up with a plan, but the Reaper didn't give him time as it jumped up from the ground and smacked Cooper with a backhanded strike that sent him flailing halfway across the arena. His G2 flew from his hands as he lay flat on his back and saw the Reaper land in front of him and walk towards him as he unslung the Devotion and took aim._

_Squeezing the trigger, the gun began to spool up with painful slowness while the Pilot walked the blue tracers onto the only unarmored part he could see, the midsection joint right as the gun began to hit its stride. Letting out a roar of his own, Matthew unloaded everything he had into the Reaper as it bore down on him, hands glowing with blue plasma and letting out that terrifying warbling roar. _

* * *

Hearing that roar in his mind caused Matthew to sit bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily as he took in the darkened surroundings. "It was just a nightmare, I'm not on Typhon" he muttered to himself as he recognized Hardy's penthouse, specifically her bedroom, and that the heiress was sleeping soundly. "Haven't had one about that fucking rock in a while" he groaned as he settled back down and pulled the blanket up to cover both of them once more.

But sleep was a long time coming for the Marauder, despite the full day of helping Yuri, and Felicia's heist, and everything that happened in between, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease that permeated him. Come to think of it, the last time he had felt something like this was right before he and Spidey took down Fisk and he couldn't help remembering how that had gone. For a second he debated getting out of bed and trying to find something to calm his nerves, maybe a glass of whiskey, or a call to BT to confirm everything was quiet.

Those plans were dashed when he felt a soft form press into him and had a pale arm work its way over his chest. Turning his head, he saw Felecia had moved right up next to him, her elegant face inches away and still clearly asleep. Smirking, Cooper wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer, her head seating itself into the crook of his neck as he rested his head one hers and felt himself unwind, calming until he slowly began to drift back to sleep, content.

* * *

"And you are sure of this?" asked Silver Sablinova flatly, doing her best to keep her emotions in check and her mind rational. She hadn't judged the woman across from her to be one to mislead others, and nothing in her body language indicated that the Captain was lying as she nodded grimly. If what she was saying was true, then the Symkarian was going to have to have words with her employer. "Why would he do such a thing?" she asked seriously.

"Truth be told" replied Watanabe tiredly, "I have no idea" she admitted to the Soldier of Fortune. Sable rolled her eyes, but Yuri continued on undeterred. "But despite this deal, Osborn has never liked the Marauder. Why he decided now was the time to try and do something I don't know. But I do think it is him" she said as she beckoned Silver to follow her into the garage at the safehouse she was staying at.

Sablinova found a laptop shoved into her hands as she read through what was on it. The information was shocking, it was seemingly internal Oscorp memos about the development of 'GR-27' and what originated it. _Subject M _and the dates lining up with when the deal with the Marauder was made. "The Marauder told me he gave medical supplies to Osborn as part of their deal, but nothing ever came of it…or so we thought" explained Watanabe. "And no, I don't think he knows, he doesn't have those documents" she revealed. Sable nodded, knowing that if he did then Osborn would likely have been killed.

"So Osborn considers the Marauder a loose end" supposed Silver, "and he's been trying to take him out to keep the origins of Devil's Breath quiet and make sure he doesn't have to answer for its creation." It fit with how she viewed the man, to be sure, and the fact that she worked for him sent a spike of anger up her side, stopping right at her holstered energy pistol. "And now that you know he tried to do the same to you."

Yuri nodded, not needing to validate what Sable believed was true. "But if that wasn't enough, then there's this" she said as she pulled a blanket off the object sitting in the middle of the garage, revealing a silver flying wing. "Look there" she said, pointing to a circle on the wing as the mercenary crouched down and read the Oscorp logo. "I went through the records, Oscorp reported a theft just before you arrived. We didn't pay much attention, but I have the case file here" she said as she held up a file folder, "and it reeks of an inside job."

Sable wasn't going to argue that, she wasn't an expert in that field, but the Policewoman was, and if she said it was an inside job then the Symkarian was inclined to believe her. With all of that in mind it pointed towards a very disturbing picture, Norman Osborn was trying to kill anyone who knew about Devil's Breath that he felt he couldn't control. He had gone behind her back to use her people to do it, and now she too knew the secret. That left only one question in her mind as she kept up a straight face, "what do we do?" she asked simply.

Yuri shrugged, "not much we can do" she admitted. "All the evidence we have is circumstantial and Osborn is a slimy sonofabitch. We just need to be on the lookout and…" she was saying when her phone rang, and the Captain looked down at it with a frown. "Watanabe" she answered curtly, her face tightening as the call went on. "When did this happen?" she asked, pursing her lips at the answer she got. "I'll be right there, hang on" she said before hanging up. "We're leaving" she said in a way that even Sable felt it would be unwise to argue. "You have a car outside?"

"What's going on?" asked Sablinova as Yuri holstered her revolver and pulled her jacket on before storming out the front door to Sable's pursuit vehicle.

"That was DeWolff. Two hours ago, there was report of unusual activity at a sanitarium. We just found the bodies of the two officers who investigated…or what was left of them." Sable waited for her to finish as they locked the safehouse and settled down in the car, "we might need to call in the big guns."

* * *

Yuri Watanabe bull rushed her way into One Police Plaza, past the Sable Troopers posted outside and the hallways full of officers and detectives on her way to the office of acting commissioner Jean DeWolff. In tow was Silver Sablinova, the mercenary projecting her usual air of 'fuck off' to everyone else as the two women ascended the building. When they exited the elevator onto the floor where the 'situation room' as many had dubbed the revamped space that was used to monitor and track high priority events around the city and ensure an effective response. It was a lesson the NYPD had learned the hard way after the Cinderblock debacle. "What the hell's happening Jean?" asked Yuri bluntly as she came to a stop beside the blonde.

"Yuri?" asked a startled DeWolff as she turned around and gave the Captain a shocked look before her eyes widened at the presence of the Symkarian. "Whatever; follow me. You too, chances are I'm going to need to get your people to help with this" admitted the blonde begrudgingly as she pointed at the silver haired woman and the three moved off of the bustling floor and into the Commissioner's office. "We're keeping this quiet as we can, but there's more to this."

The oriental woman narrowed her eyes, she had seen little that concerned DeWolff like this and seeing the Blonde perturbed had her worried as well. "How much more?" she asked sternly, only to get the acting Commissioner to avert her eyes, only causing worry to spike further. "Jean, what the fuck is going on?" snapped Watanabe as she leaned over the desk to look at the sitting blonde.

"The two cops…we only found bits and pieces, neither are getting open casket funerals. They were _mutilated_" revealed DeWolff weakly, "I've never seen anything like it." She then sighed and tapped something out on her computer before spinning the monitor around, "and we found this, one of the bodycams survived somehow. And…it's best if I just show you." The Acting Commissioner's tone caused both women to take interest in the darkened screen. Yuri could make out an extensive underground facility that was strikingly clean, but very dark. In frame was the officer holding out their flashlight.

The frame shook suddenly as the wearer stopped and spun around, as if looking for the source of the shake until it seemed to pass and the pair continued forwards. However, the peace didn't last long as there was a faint red glow that caught the cops' attention and they both moved towards it. Once they got closer one of them called out, _"NYPD! Is anyone there?" _and the response was one of the most terrifying sounds the Captain had ever heard. A deep warbling mechanical sound that sounded feral and technological simultaneously. One of the concrete pillars seemed to explode and knocked the wearer over before he was seemingly picked up and slammed back down repeatedly before he was thrown into a post.

Though the angle no longer moved it showed the man's partner frantically trying to pull her gun and managing to get a few shots off before turning to flee. But a blight series of blue flashes lit up the recording as blue balls streaked in and melted chunks off the cop as she too dropped dead, body smoking from the attack. With that chilling image, Jean turned the monitor back around and closed the video with a grimace. "Can either of you tell me just what the _hell _did that?" she asked simply.

Yuri shook her head, "no idea Jean. Definitely wasn't Demons, they do black and white" she reasoned. Never had she heard of or seen anything like the blue energy attack that killed the second policeman from the masked criminals. But for some reason she couldn't shake the feeling she had seen something like it _somewhere_.

"I've received no reports of such attacks from my troopers Commissioner" reported Sable calmly. "This is something that I've never seen before, but it is clearly a threat. Leave this to me, I'll take a team of my best people in and handle it" said the Symkarian with all the weight of an order.

Jean raised an eyebrow, "even though you have no idea what's waiting for you?" asked DeWolff skeptically. Sable continued to look placid and undaunted by the prospect, the veteran Dog of War had probably gone into similar situations before. Watanabe bit her lip as the blonde turned towards her, "Yuri, what are your thoughts?"

"We might not know what that is, but I think I know someone who does."

* * *

When the Symkarian had realized who it was Watanabe had called in she had almost dismissed the exercise as a waste of time and stormed out to begin assembling her men for the task of finding whatever had killed the officers. It was only now, that the Marauder was standing in the office and had just finished watching the footage Sable herself had seen, that Sable was glad she hadn't left. Even in full gear, she found the Renegade Pilot's body language easy to read partially due to her own experience with her troopers.

The Marauder wasn't just nervous, he was scarred out of his mind.

No, he didn't react by fidgeting, like most would, but by tensing, bending his knees, and clenching his fists. To Sable he was ready to fight for his life, he didn't seem like the cocky Commando she had encountered before who casually dispatched everything he had encountered with seeming ease. "Where was this?" he asked simply, his voice void of his usual drawl and hard as steel.

"Why?" asked DeWolff, "do you know what is?"

He nodded in reply, "I do and as for why…I'm going to take BT there and obliterate everything that moves" he explained with deadly calm. Sable raised an eyebrow at the answer, she hadn't expected it to say the least, and was now fully invested in finding out just what could invoke such a strong response.

"That's uh…a little extreme, don't you think?" asked Yuri as the glowing visor turned to face her.

"No Captain" responded the Marauder with a shake of his helmet before he pointed at the screen. "If that's what I think it is…then it's really not."

The weight in the man's filtered words filled the room, it was telling to hear the man speak with such conviction. Soon the attention shifted back toward the Acting Commissioner, ultimately it was her word that carried the most weight, even if it didn't feel like it. After a few seconds, the blonde finally made her decision. "I can't agree to that, too high profile…" she began only to be cut off as the Marauder slammed his fist down on her desk.

"Let me make this real simple" he said lowly, "if you do _anything _else, then every man you send in there _will _die." The man seemed so convinced in his belief that nobody challenged him for some time. "That's…that was a Reaper, it's an IMC heavy mechanical assault unit" he revealed, "and it was made to go up against infantry and _slaughter _them. I've seen them do it" he added distantly.

"IMC?" said Sable, causing the others to turn to the Symkarian, "from your 'home dimension'?" she asked skeptically, getting a nod in reply. "Then how is it here? What is it you aren't telling us?" she demanded, "you kept your 'Titan' hidden from us for all this time. Who says you weren't hiding this 'Reaper' too?"

"Because only the IMC used Reapers" he shot back testily. "I don't know how the hell it got here but that doesn't matter. We need to kill that thing _right now_. Best way to do that is me and BT, we'll get it done and nobody else has to die" he argued, turning back to DeWolff who frowned.

"Damnit" she cursed as she ran her hand through her hair before looking the Titan Jockey right in the visor. "Straight up, it is possible to kill one of these things on foot, at all?" she asked.

"Yes" admitted the Marauder, "I've done it."

That seemed to seal it in the mind of the Acting Commissioner. "Then Sable, I want your people to go in if you're still willing to send them" said DeWolff as a faint smile came to the Symkarian's lips.

"I'm not just willing to send them" revealed the Mercenary, "I'm willing to lead them."

Internally, Silver took great satisfaction in the looks the two policewomen were giving her while the Marauder's expression was hidden behind his helmet. But DeWolff wasn't done yet as she turned to the armored Pilot, "Marauder, I want you to go with them. Help them if you can but leave your Titan out of it. I do not want any more collateral damage" she ordered sternly. "Am I clear?" The Marauder turned his helmet but didn't respond until after a long moment he nodded silently.

"I'll go with them too" interrupted Captain Watanabe suddenly, getting a nod of approval from DeWolff, much to the ire of Silver, who didn't want another loose cannon on what was shaping up to be a dangerous mission.

"Then I'll need you to come with me Captain" instructed the SRS Commando, "you're going to need to be properly outfitted. That six gun won't cut it on this trip" he said in a tone that brokered no argument.

Yuri nodded and the pair moved to leave when Sablinova called out, "I'll send you the rendezvous Marauder. 2 Hours; don't be late" she ordered sternly.

Confidence slowly returned to the Titan Jockey as he chuckled and turned back, "don't worry Sable" he assured, "I ain't missing this party."

* * *

Yuri would never admit it to anybody, but she enjoyed riding in _Widowmaker_, and it was a sad reminder of her father, or specifically the Plymouth 'Cuda that was sitting in a storage container he had bought. She had always been told that it would be hers, but just like the money he left to her when he died, it hadn't been touched, with Yuri content to simply let it rot. But as she was pressed into the seat and the howl of the V8 echoed through the streets as the Hypercar scythed through the dimming city, she reconsidered letting that old muscle car turn to rust.

She didn't have the opportunity to dwell on it for long, the Marauder guided the car into a warehouse and underground as it soon arrived at the Pilot's main hideout. The massive armory had enough firepower to outfit a full platoon and then some as the engine fell silent and the Titan Jockey threw his door open and climbed out. "Guns are over there" he said, pointing towards a selection of racks, "take whatever you want" he ordered flatly. "I'm going to go see about the rest of your kit" he said calmly before spinning on his heel and heading over towards the Titan.

Quirking an eyebrow at what he meant, Yuri set to work going through the dizzying array of armaments. Rifles, pistols, shotguns, and weapons she couldn't even describe were lined up as she perused them, overwhelmed at the sheer number and variety. "Get a grip Yuri" she chided as she forced herself to calm down and focus on finding a gun. She ignored the big machine guns as to heavy and bulky to carry for too long and did the same with the grenadier weapons. Next, she pulled a shotgun from the rack and looked it over before putting it back, she wanted something with a bit more precision. One medium length scoped rifle caught her eye as she picked it up and pulled it to her shoulder, it was old fashioned, long, and solidly build, but the scope on top gave it away as an accurate weapon. Turning it 45 degrees, she looked down the small red dot mounted at an angle to serve as a backup before deciding that she would be taking this one and looked for a sidearm.

The pistols were kept on a separate section of the wall rack and it didn't take long for the Captain to make her selection. Picking up the massive revolver and getting a feel for its weight, the wheelgun felt like it belonged in her hands as she raised it and looked down the small optic on top of the black finished weapon. Satisfied she was about to turn around when she heard a cocky voice behind her, "I knew you had good tastes Captain" said the Marauder. Yuri turned to see the Pilot holding a selection of gear that caused her to raise an eyebrow as he continued, "I'll grab the ammo for those" he said pointing to the guns, "and you go put these on" he finished, holding out what he was carrying.

She was about to argue, but his tone made it clear this wasn't up for discussion as she relinquished her newly acquired arms and took possession of the gear. She noted the grey top and pants with purple and yellow accents, relatively form fitting and flexible despite the sections that clearly had additional armor on them. But there were two items that stood out, the first was a ski mask type article, with a rigid component at the top of the head that mounted a suite of advanced goggles with no fewer than six lenses. The second was a pack with two canted nozzles that was about 12 inches by 6 inches by 4 inches and fitted the straps to wrap around the wearer's waist and legs. "Is this…" she began before trailing off.

The striped helmet nodded, "that's pilot gear" he confirmed. "I know its sudden, but if we're walking into what I think we are…you're going to need it." Yuri nodded slowly as she scrutinized the Marauder and came to realize something.

"You're scared" she realized as the man did nothing to deny the assertion. "And I'm not putting this on until you tell me why" stated the Captain firmly as she stepped back and held her ground. For a few seconds, there was a tense stand off between the pair as neither was willing to budge.

Finally, the Commando let out a deep sigh and muttered a curse. "Because I _know _that was a Reaper on that recording…you never forget that sound that they make" he admitted lowly. "And because I don't think it's just one reaper down there. They may have top end combat AI, but if one did somehow follow me when the Fold Weapon went critical there isn't a snowballs chance in hell it kept a low profile for over a year, they aren't that smart" he explained. "I think it just got here, and it couldn't have gotten here on its own…" he said before trailing off, the insinuation clear.

"Shit" cursed Watanabe eloquently as the Marauder merely nodded. "You think the IMC somehow managed to replicate what happened to you? And now they're here?" she asked, "what they hell could they want?"

The Militia Renegade shrugged haplessly, "I couldn't tell you" he admitted. "What I can say, is that if the IMC is here…then it's going to take a miracle to stop them."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Grenadier: Magnetic Grenade Launcher (MGL)_

_The Magnetic Grenade Launcher is an interesting weapon with a checkered past. It is an old weapon, dating back decades to the old Titan Wars and the urban warfare that came to epitomize that conflict. Using low velocity 40mm grenades from their heavy belt fed mounted grenade launchers in a handheld weapon to make them more portable, those early weapons still bear similarities to the current Mk XIVs. The short barrel and collapsible stock make it ideal as a backup weapon and that has always been a constant in the many variants. The new Mk XIVs use smaller 30x29mm grenades, but have more of them in the much welcomed box magazine to contain the belt so it doesn't get caught up or snagged on the many corners you'd find in the weapons preferred urban playgrounds. _

_The key attribute of these grenades is the magnetic coating applied to them that gives the weapon its name, while this was originally an improvised and 'in the field' modification, it has since become a built in feature, with specialized rounds meant expressly for these weapons. The big change is that the grenades are spherical to make them 'bounce' and allow the magnetic nature of them to work in all aspects, making them more adept at shooting around corners and over ledges. _

_Those qualities make it afeared by all Titan Pilots in cities, squads or platoons of troops with these things can quickly bring down even the hardiest of Titan with concentrated fire while being very hard to spot and hit. Even with the modern lighter rounds, the weight of fire the weapon can put down has increased with the two round burst. While this has contributed towards the Mag Launchers reputation as a Titan's bane, it also has seen expanded use with the rising number of Specters, Stalkers, and Reapers on the battlefield. While it lacks the precision of a Charge Rifle or the raw power of the Archer, and you would never want to take this thing into any sort of open terrain, but when the fight is in it's wheelhouse, the MGL can launch it out of the park. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: And there we go, this really is just the beginning, a tease in all honesty. There is a lot more coming but I still want your thoughts now if anyone would be so kind as to share them. What'd you think of the Screwball sidequest showing up? Please tell me you never want to see her again so I don't have to subject myself to her appearances in the DLCs. And yes, I'm well aware that the whole 'I should have some friendly pilots' plot thread escalated _very _quickly, but when I wrote that I still didn't know exactly _when _the IMC was going to show up, and that's the way it goes sometimes. Curious as to what you folks make of having Yuri being the one, and yes, she is the only one, who is getting the Pilot's kit. I shouldn't sound so final, it could change, but I'm not planning on it. As for reasoning, she was simply the one in the most need of a power increase and I felt it would still fit with some story events from the DLC down the line. If you want a more visual idea of what her set looks like, it's the Militia Female Sniper variant from Titanfall 1 with a recoloration to make it more fitting for Yuri considering where her arc goes. **

**Now, for all of that, I am curious if there are any amongst you who do not like this idea. Ravens18 was very adamantly against it and I would understand if I get some angry comments about this not being something they want. Ultimately, I made the decision that this arc is of a high enough quality to include and pushes the story forwards in ways I like while still allowing me to transition back into the main game's story. I just ask that, if you stuck around this long, you have a little bit of faith and give me a chance to make this work and not crash and burn. **

**But to crash and burn you have to take off first, and that will happen next week as some get baptized by fire, 40:1.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	44. Chapter 44: 40:1

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Well, here we go, I'm going to be relatively brief because this is a long chapter, just shy of 15,000 words with the logbook entry, notes, and review responses.

**Blaze1992: If I said I would _never_ add Marvel elements then I can't remember it. I said I would be careful about it though, after all we do have the Punisher still around, and Fury and a few Avengers showed up a while back. Ultimately, I'm going to be cryptic here and make you wait until, oh I don't know, next week. You should have a more satisfactory answer then, please be patient. Though I am curious, if I did bring in more Titanfall characters, who would you want to see?**

**A fan: I'm glad you recognize that this isn't really a democracy, it's a dictatorship. And as far as the guessing, I don't have all the answers, no seriously, I haven't fleshed everything out that far down the line yet. **

As for the song, it is the first of many Sabaton tracks that will appear in the coming story arc. This one in particular is off the excellent _The __Art of War _album, which is one of their better ones, top 3 for me I think. What makes it special is that each of the thirteen tracks corresponds to a chapter in Sun Tzu's text 'The Art of War' and with this being the fourth song it relates to the chapter titled 'Forms to Perceive' about the importance of defending positions to create an opening and not giving the enemy any openings at the same time. The exact historical event this song is based on is the Battle of Wizna, sometimes called 'The Polish Thermopylae,' it was one of many heroic efforts by the Polish in the face of Nazi aggression at the start of World War 2. It was this setting that caused me to pick it here, it's the beginning of something much larger, a small stand that would eventually be overshadowed by the greater conflict that followed, first contact. Add onto that how the song is epic and heroic, with a blistering pace and frenetic energy, and it fits the events of this chapter well. It's also no surprise that the song is popular in Poland (according to Wikipedia, any Polish readers feel free to correct me), and their live performances of the song in Poland show one hell of a crowd.

But I can't resist introducing the song, and this chapter, the same way it is in concert. For those who don't know the story about this brave group of men, they were led by Captain Wladyslaw Riginis, they were less than a thousand Polish soldiers and there were over forty thousand German soldiers. They held them for three days! And they were outnumbered forty to one!

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 44: 40:1**

_The captain has pledged his life, I'll face my fate here!_

_The sound of artillery strike_

_So fierce, The thunder of guns_

_So come, bring on all that you've got_

_Come hell, come high water, never stop_

_Unless you are forty to one_

_Your lives will soon be undone_

_Baptized in fire 40 to 1_

* * *

Looking down at her watch, the Symkarian scowled before strapping up her combat boots. No longer wearing her standard grey uniform and coat and had changed into a set of gear she had for heavy combat. Custom made to resemble a 19th century Symkarian Army Officer's uniform while retaining modern amenities, it featured a grey tunic woven with an advanced layer of materials: Carbide discs, ceramic matrices, accompanied laminate, cutting edge body armor to provide as much protection as her troopers at a fraction of the weight and bulk. The downside of this was the cost, this singular suit cost over $100,000, making them prohibitively expensive.

The shoulders were adorned with epaulettes signifying her as a Field Marshall and her status as Princess of Symkaria, colored red and gold and featuring the Sablinova Family Coat of Arms.

Her belt featured the same coat of arms on the golden buckle and pouches for ammunition for her weapons, some grenades, and her preferred knife, an NRS-2 survival knife famously used by the Russian Spetsnaz. In addition to the single shot 7.62x42mm in the knife she carried her twin energy pistols on her hips and a 'Peacekeeper' lever action energy shotgun. On her head was a simple looking but highly advanced headset and a pair of tactical shooter's glasses with integrated HUD topped off by a striking red beret also featuring her family Coat of Arms.

But her main concern was that she was ready, her selected men of the Sable International 1st platoon, B company, 345th Independent Guards Regiment were ready, and Acting Commissioner DeWolff was ready to give the all clear, but the Marauder and Captain Watanabe had yet to arrive. Seeing that H-Hour for the operation was in three minutes, Sable placed a GM-94 pump action grenade launcher in the small of her back before moving away from her men to confront DeWolff. "Commissioner" she addressed firmly, causing the blonde to look up at her. The look in the cop's eyes said she knew what Sable was about to ask, "permission to begin the operation?" requested Sablinova stoically.

DeWolff shook her head, "you said two hours, they get two hours" she replied dismissively, Sable unable to fully suppress the scowl that appeared on her features. "I don't like the idea of sending you down there, and I like the idea of sending you down there without him backing you up even less" admitted DeWolff grimly. "As far as him being here…don't worry, Watanabe'll keep him in line" she assured before something caught her attention and her eyes wandered up into the night sky. Sable turned to follow and saw the distinct blue exhaust of the Marauder approaching, except about 50 yards behind it was another of the telltale visual signatures. "What in the…" began DeWolff only to be cut off as the lead figure landed in front, stumbling for a few steps before getting their footing. Standing to her full height, and it was a she, the woman wearing a form fitting set of kit resembling the Marauder, only her face was covered by goggles with no glowing visor in sight. "Yuri?" asked an astonished DeWolff.

The woman reached back, pulled her hood down, and raised her goggles to reveal the oriental woman's brown eyes as her face mask was pulled down to be replaced by the face of the Captain. A grin was plastered on her features as she caught her breath, "sorry we're late, Marauder was giving me a crash course in how to use this stuff. Surprisingly intuitive" admitted the policewoman, "and fun as hell…what a rush" she added breathlessly. Right on cue, the Marauder himself landed next to Watanabe, but instead he stuck the landing.

"Nice work Captain, you're a natural" he complimented as he hefted a large machine gun, the label 'X-55' on the receiver of the gun. His equipment was far heavier and more intricate than the Captains, and he was more heavily armed with a grenade launcher on his back and pistol on his chest rig whereas Yuri had a scoped rifle in hand and large revolver on her hip. Despite that, his experience meant he moved with more fluidity and grace, though not by much.

Still, seeing the discrepancies ignited Silver's curiosity, the Marauder's advanced equipment had always piqued her interest and seeing a different version of it had doubled that. "So, you gave the Captain a variant of your equipment?" asked Sable. There were still some similarities, mainly the 'jump kit' strapped to Watanabe's lower back and the 'exoskeleton' like construction that ran along the extremities and up their backs.

The Marauder shook his head, "not exactly. Mine is a customized and modified version of the experimental Vanguard Pilot's Kit called 'Renegade'. What the Captain has is the baseline kit preferred by Militia Scout Snipers, colloquially known as the 'Wraith' kit" he explained in a casual drawl. "Still has most of the same features and a few upgrades, but that's pretty much how it comes out of the box."

"You call this…" began Yuri as she slid her mask, goggles, and hood, back into place before turning invisible, only a faint shimmer giving her away as she moved behind DeWolff before decloaking and surprising the Commissioner, " the 'baseline kit'?" she asked. "And 'only a few features'? You are _spoiled_." The Marauder merely shrugged, not denying it as Yuri shook her head and the mood shifted noticeably, the banter ended, and Watanabe turned to DeWolff. "Alright, let's get down to business. Any changes?"

"None" responded the interim commissioner coolly, "we've got the area sealed off, but the tunnels down there are a maze. There are dozens of potential exit points, we sent some drones down to reconnoiter, but they could only go so far before all the concrete disrupts the signal. Still, they didn't see anything either" she rattled off as she gestured towards the maps of the mess of the underground. "Honestly, you could be searching down there for hours and never find this thing…how big is it anyway?" she asked.

The Pilot straightened as the women turned towards him. "It's 'bout ten-foot-tall, maybe three, four ton…you ain't exactly going to trip over it" he explained, causing Sable's eyes to widen and DeWolff to pale slightly as she gulped in shock. "It's got two weakpoints, the optics, which look like a red eye at the top on the front side, and the midsection. The midsection is a joint that has vital components and is unarmored. It's the only place that anything that isn't AT will do any appreciable damage. Make sure, whatever you do, you don't bunch up when dealing with this thing. We need to spread its firepower if we want to survive" he advised. Sable nodded confidently, recognizing the tactics as those used to deal with armored vehicles and was confident in their chances. "But this thing is _quick_, the only ones able to outmaneuver it will be Yuri and me. You and yours will be at a significant disadvantage."

"Is that _all_?" asked Yuri dryly.

"Pretty much" deadpanned the Marauder.

DeWolff let out a deep breath, "alright then. You all think you can pull this off?" she asked, looking to each of the heavily armed individuals in turn, and getting a nod in return each time. "Then you have execute authority, you are cleared to engage. Good luck and Godspeed" she said as Sable spun on her heel and strode towards her men.

"Fall in!" she barked as the Troopers dropped what they were doing and got to their feet before getting into formation, the 16 Mercenaries were some of the best in her organization, and they had the best gear including the additional black armor plates. Grenades, energy cells, and equipment filled every space as each man wanted it as rifles were pulled tight across their chests. And the men inside the gear were even more formidable, among them were handpicked former members of the British SAS, Polish GROM, Finnish Utti Jaeger Regiment, Russian Spetsnaz, and American 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta.

"Our mission" began the Symkarian as she inspected the platoon, "is to find and neutralize an extremely dangerous enemy located in the Manhattan Underground. This threat is on par with a heavy armored vehicle and far more mobile. We will be engaging it in a close quarters environment" she explained as she looked for any visible reaction from the hardened operators and was satisfied that there was none. "When the target is located, we will engage separately but simultaneously. Fire and maneuver while focusing all available fire on its midsection" she instructed, "am I understood?"

"**Rah!" **shouted back the troopers in unison as Sable merely nodded.

"Are there any questions?" she asked as she finished her path around the four by four square of men and came to a stop at the front where she started. Taking a few moments to pause, it seemed there were no questions, "very good" she praised as she placed an energy cell into the Peacekeeper shotgun and snapped it shut. "Then we are weapons free, Alpha squad has the point…let's move it out! Net zadach nevypolnimykh!"

"There are no impossible tasks!" returned the soldiers as 19 of the most dangerous men and women in Manhattan descended into the underground.

* * *

Cooper was fucking nervous as the augmented Sable Platoon moved cautiously through the underground, the sweep having just passed the one hour mark with no sign of opposition. Nerves were beginning to fray amongst the group as they remained in near darkness, only weapon and helmet lights illuminating their surroundings. Even better, half an hour ago they had lost radio contact with the surface, limiting them to short range comms. Sable had dismissed this as them being beneath so much concrete, but Cooper knew this wasn't the case since even his link with BT had been severed, and judging by the look on Sable's uncovered face, she thought so too.

Adjusting his grip on the X-55, Cooper kept moving with the rest of the group, though he was far more relaxed than the Sable Troopers as he held the gun at his hip. Despite the fact that they hadn't even had so much as a rat sneeze at them, the Pilot was sure that they were being watched. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Yuri edge over towards him and tapped the side of her head and Matt nodded before flipping over his comm channel. _"Do you know what's going on? Is this what you expected?" _she asked quietly.

"No" he responded simply, "the IMC doesn't usually do subtle. Whatever this is it's not their usual MO" he answered. Though as the group continued on, Cooper couldn't help but ask "am I the only one who feels like we're being watched?" back to the Captain.

There was a telling silence on the line for a moment as the group came to a halt and scanned the area. Seeing as they could spot nothing, the group resumed moving, the two non-Sable members stayed towards the rear and out of the way. _"No, you're not. Usually when people say this, I think they're full of crap but…it's __**too **__quiet."_

Cautiously, the augmented platoon moved until they reached the center of a four-way junction for the underground, the smooth, nearly uniform concrete corridors identical as Sable held up a fist and everyone dropped to a crouch. One squad covered each doorway, weapons scanning steadily and calmly, the discipline of the mercenaries showing through. "Chto-to ne tak" muttered Sablinova in Russian as everyone peered into the darkness.

Finally, the Pilot had decided that enough was enough and spun until he settled on one hallway at random and strode out confidently past the other troopers. _"Marauder fall back" _hissed Sable over the comms, but she was ignored as he reached into his belt and drew a pulse blade. Flinging the blade out down the hallway, it arced gracefully through the air before coming back to earth and releasing its orange wave as the Marauder shouldered his weapon.

Soon the wave deformed, passing over a floating shape as the gun came to life, firing a burst of blue tracers that turned the drone to scrap and sending it down to the floor. Without hesitation, Matthew scooped up the wreck of the cloak drone and sprinted back to the central area before unceremoniously dumping the craft down. "They knew we were here…and now they know we know" he stated simply as Sablinova looked down at the words 'Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation' emblazoned proudly on the ring like structure that had kept the drone aloft.

The Symkarian wasted no time barking out orders to her men who responded instantly, leaving Cooper and Watanabe to ponder the ramifications. _"So you were right after all" _murmured Yuri quietly as he finger tapped quickly on the body of her rifle and the Renegade SRS Gunfighter nodded. The Cop took a deep breath to try and steady herself, _"what's going to happen now?"_

"Now?" asked Cooper as he took a deep breath of his own and shouldered the Devotion, the familiar sensation of the cold surge of adrenaline seeping into his veins. "Now you won't able to make that complaint about it being too quiet for very much longer" he said calmly before turning to the steely eyed Symkarian. "Sable, where do you want us?" he asked.

The silver haired mercenary spun to him, face tight as she analyzed and processed how best to use the pair of Pilots. "Marauder on that side. Support Bravo and Charlie and be able to provide suppressing fire on those two corridors" she ordered firmly. Without any reaction, the Marauder Corps Commando moved to the designated side, LMG up and at the ready. "Captain, on me, we're on the other two sides with Alpha and Delta. You know how to use that rifle?" she asked, tow which Yuri nodded quickly. "Good, that hallway has the longer sight line, you see anything come down it you take its head off. I got this side" she commanded calmly as the Captain did as instructed.

No sooner was everyone in position then they could hear footsteps, but they weren't normal footsteps, they were mixed with mechanical noise and the rattle of gear strapped to bodies.

_Specters _realized Cooper; the automated infantry were going to swarm them. _"1__st__ platoon, sound off!"_ ordered Sablinova. The squad leaders came back in turn, all of them reporting negative contacts as the sound of the footsteps got closer but nothing appeared through the darkness. _"Marauder…where are they?" _asked the Mercenary.

Cooper strained, but the footsteps seemed to be coming from everywhere when the truth dawned on the Pilot. "Contacts all sides. They're machines!" he called back.

"_Grenadiers! Illumination!" _barked Sable as one trooper from each squad produced an illumination grenade and pulled the pins before tossing them down the hallway. After the four second fuses burned down, the magnesium contained inside burned a brilliant bright white. But most shocking of all was how that light reflected off of the slate grey armor of the 6 foot tall robotic infantry.

For a brief moment, time seemed to come to a standstill for those who now found themselves surrounded. They were staring down machines that only existed in science fiction and were built in another dimension, the magnitude of the events that had led to this point were monumental in scope and implications. Each individual was a part of history as the first to engage the IMC in New York and try to turn back the extra dimensional threat. But none of that mattered in that moment in time, all that mattered was that it was be or be killed, you had your allies at your back and the enemy down range. And as soon as Sable shouted the next command, the moment came to an end as time resumed and the Battle of Manhattan truly began. "Open fire!" she shouted, her accented voice echoing off the concrete of the corridors.

But the echoes were soon drowned out by the fusillade of gunfire that followed them up. On all four sides, the lead Specters were met with a wall of shots, a strikingly pretty and even more lethal mix of red Sable energy fire, blue tracers from the Devotion and Peacekeeper, and old-fashioned led slugs from Yuri's G2. The machines leading the charge were reduced to scrap in less than a second as the fire kept up. Cooper's X-55 shrieked in eight round bursts, alternating between the two hallways he covered while the energy assault rifles chirped to fire and hissed to vent head. Sounding over it all were the rhythmic staccato cracks of the Captains long gun while Silver contrasted it with the thunderous barks of the energy shotgun.

As the Specters waded through the remains of their mechanical brothers, they returned fire with their Volts as blue tracers came flying back at the humans. But there was no where to run or hide, so the Sable Troopers and their backup simply kept pouring rounds downrange to slow the unending machine onslaught. "We can't stay here!" shouted Matthew as he tossed down an A-wall to cover himself as he reloaded the Devotion, "we gotta move now! Before they overwhelm us!" he barked as he resumed firing the energy actuated machine gun.

"_Der'mo" _cursed Sablinova angrily as she spun around to take stock of their situation and quickly agreed with the Pilot's assessment. _"We're moving! Alpha will push, other squads fall back in sequence!" _she ordered. The squad leaders all acknowledged with simple clicks in the comm channel when the situation went from bad to much, much worse.

The entire room shook, and dust fell from the ceiling as Cooper looked up to see the concrete spiderweb with cracks. "What the fu…" began Cooper only to be cutoff when the source slammed back into the ceiling and punched through, showcasing an instantly recognizable three fingered mechanical claw for a hand. "REAPER!" The machine let out that warbling mechanical roar as some shifted their fire to the claw, forcing it to retreat back up as the whole began to expand, the Reaper was trying to dig down to them. "NOW! Go! Go! Go!" he ordered as Sable troopers tossed out smoke grenades and began to fall back in an orderly fashion despite the bullets whizzing around them.

But as soon as they started moving, entire chunks of the ceiling came down around them and chaos was sown amongst the human combatants. The Reaper began adding it's own fire as the soldiers turned and ran down the selected corridor at full speed, Cooper dropping an A-Wall to cover their retreat. Up front, Sable led the squad, pistol in each hand as she dispatched Specters with ruthless efficiency until they succeeded in breaking through the wall of metal. Finally, the group began to slow, it seemed they had managed to break through the worst as the area around them was quiet. "2 minutes. Regroup, sound off, and check ammo" ordered Sablinova as the men relaxed.

Cooper did the same, reloading his X-55 and taking stock of his remaining ammo and grenades. Satisfied he was okay for now, and that he could always make use of an enemy weapon if he had to, he began to look at the others who had made it. By his count there were 14 left, but there was one missing that had him concerned. "Where the hell's Yuri?"

* * *

Yuri was lost, badly. When the ceiling started coming down at them, she had jumped out of the way, fearing she wasn't going to make it until the jump kit she forgot she had threw her clear and into one of the hallways. Once there, she was trapped and forced to go further from the group, using the cloak and her newfound wallrunning ability to pass by the remaining robots without giving herself away. Once she was sure she had escaped she found a place to hunker down and yanked her mask up, breathing hard as she tried to get a grip on herself now that the adrenaline was starting to work its way out of her system and panic was beginning to take its place. "Marauder, this is Watanabe. Do you copy?" she asked into her radio. "Answer me damnit" she growled, but only got static back in reply.

Cursing under her breath, Yuri reloaded her rifle and forced herself to come up with a plan. She could either sit down here, surrounded by hostiles and hope somebody found her, or she could try and find a way out. Never one to sit back and let someone else do the job if she could help it, Watanabe got to her feet, shouldered the G2, and got moving. Turning off her weapon light and engaging her Wraith kit's built in night vision, Yuri moved with speed and stealth, sweeping through the nearly dark corridors. She didn't know where she was or where she was going, but the sound of voices brought her progress to a halt.

Unable to make out exactly what was being said, the Cop stayed low and took measured steps to ensure a silent approach as she slung the rifle over her shoulder. Knowing she would be in very close quarters combat; she drew the Wingman revolver and extended the dual 'Ripper' blades from the bracer on her left forearm. "I still don't get what the big deal is. We've had intruders come through the perimeter before, Reapers and Specters will take care of them like always. I don't get why they need to go into a panic about this" said one as she could hear the flicking of a lighter.

"Nah man, you don't get it" replied a second voice as Yuri disabled the NVGs to see two silhouettes on the far wall. "See, the way I heard it, this was a serious bunch, military types" explained the second.

The other man coughed in surprise, "You sure? Think they realize what we're up to?" Yuri moved up to the corner and held her ground, listening intently to the conversation.

"Pretty sure" answered the second. "We don't know who the hell they are or how they got here. But it seems Blisk isn't taking any chances. _That's _why everyone is pulling up sticks and getting ready to pull out. That fucker isn't going to care who or what dies as long as he gets paid. And he gets paid to fulfill his contract" reminded the second man.

"Shit" replied the other simply. Yuri finally took a deep breath and activated the Cloak, becoming a shimmer she moved behind one and was poised to strike when she looked up to see a pair of glowing green eyes peer out from the darkness. Before she could wonder what that was, her cloak ran out, causing one of the armed and armored soldiers to look at her in shock as she simply pulled her left arm back and rammed the twin blades forward, impaling his throat as he pawed at them uselessly. Raising her pistol as the last vestiges of life left the first, she never got a chance to fire it as a black clad figure came down, kicking the man in the back of the head and sending him to the ground. When he got back up to his feet the woman charged, planting a hand on each shoulder and pulling herself up to ram her knee into his chin, knocking him out cold.

Yuri's jaw dropped as the woman stood to her full height and turned to face her with a smirk on her lips. "Black Cat?" she asked dumbly as she pulled her arm back and the other IMC grunt dropped down dead while the Thief dragged the other to the wall and propped him up before binding his hands and ankles in flex cuffs. "What are you doing here?"

"Had a feeling my boyfriend might be in trouble. Came to see how much" she replied coyly, but the Captain could discern some genuine concern in the woman's tone. The Black Cat then turned and gave Yuri a once over, "I can see why my Cowboy wanted me to have one of those…looks good" she purred, drawing a scowl from the Captain behind her facemask.

"We need to regroup with the others" interjected Yuri sternly. "We won't last long on our own and we need to get out and warn the city about what's down here."

The Thief shook her head. "The Marauder can take care of himself. We need to find out what they're planning if we want to have a chance of stopping it. Come on, I've been getting closer to wherever they set up their main command center" she explained as she unslung a suppressed P90 PDW and glided towards the passageway the two had been guarding. When Yuri hesitated, the Black Clad Prowler came to a stop and turned around. "Captain, I understand your distrust, but this time we're on the same side…and I need your help" she admitted honestly.

Yuri bit her lip before coming to her decision, "damnit" she cursed as she put away her pistol, retracted the Ripper, and unslung the G2. "Lead the way, I got your back."

* * *

Silver Sablinova had removed the beret from her head and was attempting to wipe away some of the grime on her face with her sleeve, but those were minor issues, the most pressing one was the armored man literally pressing her at the moment. "She isn't one of your faceless Mercs! We are not leaving her behind god damnit!" growled the Marauder. It was clear that the SRS Pilot was not happy with Sable's outright refusal of his request to go back and search for the police captain. "Even if you won't I will. Outta my way" he snarled as he hefted his LMG.

But the Symkarian was not intimidated, holding her ground with no intent of letting the man go and get himself killed or leave her and her men to die. "Marauder" she addressed calmly, willing her voice to be steady despite the firefight and escape they had just endured, "if Captain Watanabe is still at that intersection, then she is already dead. If she escaped but is not here, then you will not be able to find her." Yes, her words were blunt, but the situation demanded it, despite her issues with the Renegade Commando, she knew he could focus on the mission, but right now he was being controlled by his emotions.

"God fucking DAMNIT!" roared the Pilot angrily as he paced for a moment before taking a few deep breaths and looking like he was going to confront her again before stopping short and nodding, "fucking damnit" he cursed again before the glowing blue visor met Sablinova's eyes. "Alright then Sable, you got a plan?" he asked.

Nodding that the situation was resolved, the mercenary gave a curt nod, "I do" she confirmed, "Lieutenant, your datapad." One of the white armored troopers handed the woman a tablet as she pulled up the maps of the underground. There was a half dozen interconnected layers of overlapping tunnels, sewers, electrical infrastructure, and subway lines that meant there was no clear route to get anywhere, but every point had multiple avenues of approach. "We are here" she explained as she showed where the lost platoon was, about halfwaly down, "only the direct route back to the surface is back the way we came, through heavy enemy resistance. Our best option then, is to push deeper into the underground and attempt to circumvent the enemy positions with these passages."

The Marauder looked at the map she had selected, preferring the larger spaces where possible so they wouldn't find themselves in a chokepoint with no room to maneuver again. She had already sent squads to scout the rear to confirm it wasn't a viable route, when the squad she had sent to scout ahead returned she would make her final decision. However, since they were ordered to return at first contact and had been gone far longer than the first, she was hopeful. "If you're going through hell, keep on going, don't slow down. If you're scared, don't show it, and you might get out before the devil even knows you're there" replied the SRS Titan Jockey, though he was clearly grimacing behind his helmet.

Silver cocked her head as she pondered the words, "fitting, and wise" she commented as she looked up at the Marauder. "Who said that?"

The green armored gunfighter chuckled wryly, "Rodney Atkins" he deadpanned as the last of the scout fire teams returned. "But if we get out of this alive then I'm expecting a medal or something" he drawled casually.

Sablinova had no idea how to respond, but if his dry sense of humor was returning then he was ready to go. "Report" she ordered curtly to the Corporal of the team of four.

"Nothing ma'am" replied the trooper crisply. "No sign of any machines. In fact, it seems that the IMC hasn't touched the lower levels, they were far filthier than anything we've seen so far" he added, further confirming what she had suspected. Taking the tablet from her, "we made it all the way down to here, and checked the adjacent tunnels running parallel" he reported, and Sablinova had made her mind up.

"Very good Corporal" she complimented before he snapped off a quick salute and returned to the others. "Listen up!" she called out as she stepped into the middle of the group of soldiers, "the mission has changed. Now, our objective is simple: Survive" she stated firmly. Instead of sugar coating it, the Symkarian gave it to them straight, "we are vastly outnumbered and outmatched. Now, we must punch through the enemy lines and escape despite overwhelming odds. But we will not shrink from this mission. Why?"

"**There are no impossible tasks!" **chanted back the soldiers in unison, despite having lost a quarter of their number already, they were still a formidable force. The next time they encountered the IMC, they would know what to expect.

Silver gave an approving nod as she watched the soldiers get back on their feet and ready their weapons. "Chertovski" she snarled, she too was ready to show this IMC what Sable International was truly made of, "I have the point, everybody ON ME!"

* * *

Creeping through a heavily defended underground base, dodging killer robots, and doing so with just her wits and her skills with next to no backup provided Felicia Hardy with a unique kind of thrill. When BT had alerted her that he had lost contact with Matthew, it hadn't taken very long for her to go towards where last contact had been and ready for a fight. Not only had she taken her usual infiltration gear, but a full load of weapons as well. Her normal claws and suppressed Five seveN had been supplemented by a P90 PDW, also suppressed, and firing the same ammunition. She had taken extra flashbangs and EMPs, but she hadn't had to use any yet, taking care to avoid engaging until she had spotted a familiar shimmer.

Her heart had jumped up at that, thinking she had found her Cowboy, but instead it turned out that Cooper had given a set of gear to Yuri Watanabe. The Thief wasn't sure how to take this revelation, nor was she sure how to take the Captain's clear distrust of her as the jump kit equipped woman stayed behind her. Even after she had dropped in to get her help with the Osborn conundrum, though chances were the fact that doing so had caused a death squad to descend on her had soured their relationship. Still, the cop was following her as she used her lenses to track the atypical power flow towards what she hoped would be the center of this IMC setup. _"Why are we heading for the middle of the hornet's nest again?" _asked the woman in trail.

"Because" replied Hardy, somewhat perturbed at the sudden interruption, "if I know the Marauder, and I like to think I do, then he'll be right in the thick of it. Hence, the middle of the hornet's nest" she replied. Felicia had expected more questions to follow, but none came as the pair came to a stop when they could hear more voices. Holding her hand out, to keep the Captain low and behind her, the Thief waited for an opportunity. "I'll take the first one" she said silently, her throat mic picking up her words without them having to leave her lips as she drew her preferred blade.

Unfolding the Karambit knife, the wicked looking curved blade was held traditionally as the Black Cat stalked her prey, a lone soldier who had turned his back to the world to relive himself. As soon as he finished and was about to resume his duties, one gloved hand covered his mouth as the tip of the blade was place at the base of his skull as Hardy drove it in, the curve of the blade driving the point up and severing his spinal cord as the body went limp and was dragged off to be thrown into a corridor to be forgotten. Watanabe watched her wearily, _"you're okay with doing that? I thought you were just a Thief?" _

"Not today" she replied coldly as they pressed on, "these aren't the usual crooked lawyers or slimy businessmen" defended the Black Cat. "They want to take something that matters to me" she added, not sure why she had admitted that to Yuri. The Captain would surely have no issues discerning her meaning, "I don't intend to give them a chance."

Indeed, her slip up hadn't gone unnoticed, _"you mean Cooper?" _asked Watanabe. Even if Felicia merely grimaced and offered no further response, it was telling enough. _"Far be it from me to offer relationship advice, but while he is a good one and you should keep him, I don't think he'd want you to run on that anger" _advised Yuri cautiously. _"I'm not sure if you saw what he was like after the Market, but losing you nearly broke him. If you lost yourself this way he would be hit just as hard and you don't want that."_

Felicia had no answer, instead pressing on in silence as she forced herself to focus on the next crossing, slipping by the next patrol, dispatching the next sentry until after twenty nerve-wracking minutes the pair finally reached something that seemed to be more heavily defended and fortified. The larger space had a structure that screamed 'command center' but the most distinguishing thing was a bizarre looking spherical device mounted in a cradle and hooked up to a generator, or at least that's what it resembled. "That must be how they're jamming our comms" realized Hardy.

"_Then it needs to be our priority" _interjected Yuri instantly, the pair had stepped out onto a catwalk overlooking the area. _"But it looks like they're packing up shop" _noted the Cop as they could see dozens of yellow colored robots carrying and stacking boxes next to a trio of vehicles, the large APCs were poised to exit a large tunnel that led to parts unknown. Besides that, it seemed the defensive position that had been built were largely unmanned as only a small handful of the steel colored robots, armed with the same kinds of guns Cooper had, remained to guard the area.

"I'll go in and disable the jammer before securing that command post" explained Felecia as she began eyeing a route through the area, "you stay up here and cover me" instructed the thief as she readied her grapple gun. "Time to find out if you're as good a shot as the Marauder says you are."

After she had rappelled down to the floor, Hardy began by silently approaching a small wall and guard post, PDW ready. Felicia slipped back into her element as she swiftly and silently advanced, unencumbered with any tag alongs. Stalking between the crates and racks, always making sure her angles were covered as she began to move towards the center of the stronghold. However, she soon found her progress blocked by an open area with a squad of the grey 'Specters' among other robots, who would surely notice her if she tried to cross it. Matthew had told her about the yellow ones, 'MRVNs' were simple minded worker drones and wouldn't even raise the alarm if they spotted her. Seeing one pick up a box, the Black Cat sprinted up to it and moved alongside, using it as cover to cross an open area before peeling away to slide into cover behind the generator. Extending the claws on her fingers, she quickly cut through the sheet metal to expose the circuitry inside. Working quickly, her deft fingers made quick work of the wires that would cause the safeties to engage and shut it down.

With that done, the Black Cat got moving towards the command post under the watchful eye of the Captain above, her rifle's muzzle sweeping from group to group, ready to engage at the first sign of trouble. PDW up and at the ready, Felicia primed an EMP as she approached the sliding door, as soon as the door opened the glowing sphere was tossed inside. As soon as her HUD flickered with the device's detonation, Hardy swept in gun up as she sighted up the nearest humanoid robot and dispatched it with a burst to its chest as it went down in a shower of sparks.

One arm wrapped tight around the P90, the other held out the grapple gun and used it to pull herself across the room, seeing two other machines and two human soldiers swinging around to gun her down. Crouching down behind a console, she turned the corner while still low and ripped out one of the machine's legs before putting a pair of armor piercing 5.7mm rounds through its head before it lay still. Hearing the clanking of the machine and the softer footsteps of one of the human soldiers coming up either side of her, she had to act before she was boxed in. Pulling out another EMP, she rolled it towards the clanking and drew her Karambit.

When the grenade went off, she vaulted over the console and pounced on the IMC grunt, her momentum driving him to the ground as she pinned him with a leg across his neck as she raised the PDW and poured lead into the stunned machine. When that threat was eliminated, the knife tore through his throat before the snap of narrowly missed shots forced the Thief to roll away and into solid cover as the last enemy approached. Rising up, she shouldered the FN P90 and unloaded the rest of the 50 round magazine, only for the shots to strike a blue wall of light emanating from the man's equipment.

Realizing that it must have been like Cooper's A-Wall, Felicia ducked back down as the IMC solider returned fire, rounds tore through the equipment as the Black Cat scampered away, trying to outflank that shield to no avail. Every time she popped her head out with her pistol ready, she was met with a burst and the unbreakable shield blocking her return fire. Looking up, she saw the roof was rather high and she had a plan began to form as she remembered watching Cooper fight on Typhon. Pulling her grapple gun back out, the Thief was yanked through the air with all the grace of her namesake. With a satisfied smirk on her face, the heiress looked down on the soldier, pistol up and red laser light coming to the shocked IMC man's face as she pulled the trigger. The red light was replaced by a red hole as blood and brains shot out and he fell to the floor, dead.

Outside, the echoing shots of Yuri's G2 signaled the Captain wasn't idle. Adding to that, the headless Spectres that littered the area acted as a testament to her effectiveness. After 25 rounds had been fired, Watanabe was done, dropping the mostly spent mag as smoke wisped from the rifle's muzzle. Her assault had been so swift and accurate that the IMC machines hadn't managed to pinpoint the source of the markswoman's rifle fire.

The place fell deathly quiet as Hardy reloaded her weapons and strutted towards the consoles showing the important information as she triggered her comm and was relieved when a warbling mechanical monotone cut through the static. _"Ms. Hardy, what is your status? Have you successfully located Pilot Cooper?" _asked the Titan, and it sounded to the Thief like BT was genuinely worried.

"Not yet BT" she replied softly, herself still trying to keep hope that the man she had come to care for so much in the last year was alive somewhere. "But I've found a terminal, can you download everything from it? I'm giving you an uplink now" she explained as she slipped a modified USB into place, thankful that the drive seemed to take and began to do its work. "The IMC are here BT, I need you to tell me why and what they are doing. They were the ones jamming comms, so try reaching Matthew again."

There was a pause on the other end of the line as the screens moved faster than any human could ever hope to navigate them, indicating BT had established the uplink and was going through the system with an AI's speed and efficiency. Suddenly, one of the screens stopped, showing several markers on a 3D map of the underground. _"Ms. Hardy, this may be of relevance, it is showing IMC troops in real time. Triangulating Pilot Cooper's position. Recommend you assist in navigation and control" _ordered the Titan as the Black Cat examined the screen when a new marker appeared, the SRS eyepatch wearing skull emblem, right next to an IMC unit with others closing in. _"Update: Have established Comms link with Pilot Cooper, patching you in."_

The first thing she heard was the shriek of the Devotion as a firefight raged with full fury. "Cooper?" she tried once, only to get ignored as the gun came back to life and the muffled explosion of a grenade could be heard. "Listen Cowboy" she snapped, "you got trouble coming your way, if you don't get moving now then this will be your last rodeo…"

* * *

Cooper couldn't believe his ears as he ducked down, the air above him filled with lead and lasers, Sablinova firing her pump action grenade launcher into the group of mechanical infantry firing at them. "Cat?" he said in shock as he pressed his hand to his helmet. "How the hell are you talking to me?" he shouted just as a Sable Mercenary was caught in a grenade blast and went flying before rolling to a stop next to him, chest blown apart in a gruesome image.

"_Oh, thank god" _answered a relieved Hardy, _"listen to me, the IMC are pulling back, but they don't want you to follow. Every remaining machine they have is collapsing on your position, you have minutes" _she informed, borderline frantic as the Marauder looked over his cover. Sure enough, the Specters impeding their progress had simply dug in and seemed content to wait them out, which the Sable troopers and the Marauder couldn't afford to happen. _"BT is giving you a waypoint. Get out of there."_

"Okay but, where are you, how do you know all that?" he asked as he went looking for Sable, stepping over the dead Troopers as he made his way down the line. This was the third firefight they had found themselves in and it was clear the IMC robots were adapting to their tactics. Only nine of the original nineteen were still fighting and two of those were wounded.

Gritting his teeth before activating his cloak and sprinting across the gap, he slid into cover behind Sable, only for the symkarian to turn towards him with both pistols drawn before she scowled and resumed shooting at the IMC machines. _"I'm at the IMC command post, we caught the last of the stragglers as they were evacuating. It's secure now. I have BT running a tap on their system."_

Cooper's brow furrowed as he stood to add his Devotion to the cacophony of fire while Sablinova let her pistols vent heat. "What do you mean 'we'?" he asked between bursts before the 55 round magazine ran dry and he ducked into cover to reload the gun.

"_You'll never believe this, but I found a lost police captain wandering around down here" _revealed the Thief casually as the Marauder heaved out a sigh of relief. Hearing that Yuri was not only alive, but they knew where the Captain was, took a weight off the SRS Pilot's shoulders. _"I can also see why you wanted to put me into one of those Pilot suits. For tactical combat wear it is quite…flattering."_

The Commando couldn't help but roll his eyes inside his helmet and chambered the first round in the gun. "Keeping your eyes on the prize as always" he drawled sarcastically as the line clicked off and he looked at the Specters while formulating a plan. "Sable!" he called out as he grabbed the shoulder of the Mercenary, "we got IMC reinforcements inbound. Permission to…why the fuck am I asking permission? I'm going to go kick some ass" he snarled as he shouldered the X-55 and activated his phase shift before leaping out from cover and up onto a wall.

When he was pulled back to reality he held the LMG in one hand and sprayed rounds down on the machines before leaping off the wall and sliding across the floor, not letting off the trigger until his momentum ran out and he shot up to his feet and swung the gun like a bat to knock the next machine back. The next Specter knocked the empty X-55 away as the SRS Commando grabbed the machine by its shoulders and shoved it backwards before lifting it and ramming it onto a bit of exposed rebar before taking out his Smart Pistol and planting a shot in its head. Spinning, he brought the sidearm up to finish off the remaining automated infantry, but found that the other Sable Troopers had responded smartly, advancing and adding their own precision rifle fire to his assault.

A very displeased look Sablinova marched up to him, that ever-present scowl having only etched itself deeper onto her otherwise delicate features. "That was stupid and reckless Marauder" she scolded coldly as she scooped up his X-55 and got right up into his face, "you compromised unit cohesion to play cowboy. If you every do something like that again, and survive, then I'll shoot you myself" she threatened. Matthew offered no response as the scowl gradually faded and the beginnings of a smile took its place as she offered the Devotion back to him. "Good work" she complimented as he nodded once and took the gun, even if she couldn't see it, the Gunfighter was grinning cockily behind his x shaped visor.

The moment was ruined by the sound of more machines approaching from the hallway where the waypoint on Cooper's HUD was and the combatants all sprinted for cover as Matt looked to see what was coming. It wasn't the grey of Specters, but the bigger bulk and red chassis of Stalkers as he pulled out the MGL and looked at Silver who had taken cover next to him. The Symkarian had also pulled out her explosive option and both opened fire at the same time, filling the corridor with explosive ordinance. The concussions and shrapnel tore through the machines, but these were made of tougher stuff than the ones that the group had encountered up to this point and both weapons fell silent, smoke emanating from empty chambers.

Both Sable and Cooper were of the same mind, they were shock and awe, and neither took cover to reload. Instead the pair simultaneously drew their respective handguns and closed with the battered IMC machines. The Pilot arrived first, leaping up and raising his tomahawk as he came down, burying the blade in the forehead of the lead robot and took it to the ground as Silver planted a few pistol shots in it for good measure before jumping up, bouncing off the wall, and delivering a kick to the next Stalker in line. Cooper had dashed ahead and ducked a massive metal arm before burying the pick in the robot's leg and ramming into it with his shoulder and knocking it back into the other machines.

Raising the MK6, it locked on and fired a salvo, putting the two stunned machines down as a cold steel hand wrapped around his leg and pulled it out from under him. The wind was knocked out of the Texan as he fell to the floor and kicked at the appendage with his free leg and eventually wrenched himself free and scrambled to his feet. Noticing the power packs on the legless machine's back flickering as thought damaged and unstable, he looked and saw Sable in a bit of trouble with the sheer weight of numbers and literal weight of the machines. Firing his grapple, he yanked and heaved the bot towards the Mercenary, "Sable! Shoot the batteries!" he called as he released the damaged Stalker.

The silver haired woman's eye snapped up and locked onto the Stalker before crisply sidestepping as it shot past and into the other machines before calmly raising a pistol and firing a single shot into the unstable power cells. Already on their last legs, the cells reacted instantly, exploding to set off a chain reaction as the veteran Mercenary merely raised an arm to shield her face against the salvo of fireballs that consumed the machines, quickly melting them into slag. Casually and professionally, Silver holstered her weapons, dusted off her tunic, and turned to face the Marauder.

Cooper couldn't help but be impressed, time and again the Symkarian had proven that she was no pushover. "I revise my earlier statement" he began dryly, a smirk on his face, "if we do ever have to tangle, I hope you _only _use the accent on me."

* * *

Finally, after thirty minutes, Yuri's patience had run out. After a brief moment of hesitation, Watanabe had to reassure herself that the Jump Kit on her back would enable her to take the fall before she dropped down, panic turning to relief as she felt herself slow before her boots gently kissed the concrete. Going through the robotic graveyard she had created, the Captain forced herself to keep a clear mind despite the fatigue and shock of the scene. She had pulled her hood back, raised her goggles, and tugged her mask down, "how does the Marauder spend so long bottled up like that?" she muttered, much preferring the unencumbered feeling of having her face out and in the elements, even if she did enjoy the toys built into the gear.

Proceeding inside the cleared command post, Yuri stepped over the remnants of the IMC defenders towards the black clad prowler who was focused solely on the computer equipment against the far wall. Watanabe walked up behind the Black Cat almost unnoticed and looked over the thief's shoulder at the display. "Enjoy the view Captain?" purred the woman as she wiggled her hips for added affect, causing Yuri to roll her eyes. It seemed that the Marauder hadn't been exaggerating when it came to his description the woman's forwardness. Indeed, Watanabe could feel the Black Cat's eyes fixed on her in a predatory way as she remained stoic, projecting no notification the attention was having any affect on her until her admirer seemed to get the message and turned back to the screens. "It's alright, I don't mind you staring" she added nonchalantly.

Instead of telling the woman off for her brashness, the NYPD Captain took a calming breath and refocused on the matters at hand. "What have you found out about our interdimensional visitors so far? Anything relevant? Like why they're here?" she asked sternly, the look on her face indicating she wouldn't hear talk of anything else from the adventurous woman.

Much to Yuri's relief, it seemed that the Black Cat had picked up on the unspoken request as she straightened. "Not much" she admitted, "but BT is only through decrypting half the information, and a lot was already erased before we arrived" revealed the Thief. Watanabe frowned at that, she was hoping to learn more about the IMCs intentions, there was nothing in New York they could possibly want. "But I can tell you the first scout teams arrived two weeks ago, but a massive buildup began four days ago. It doesn't say to what extent, but there is a log of times delivers arrived at the main IMC base and it's very long, but I can't say what was in those deliveries."

The frown turned to a scowl as she considered what that could mean, if they were abandoning their forward observation post and bringing in more…stuff, supplies presumably, then they weren't leaving anytime soon. It sounded like they were gearing up for something big, something they were wholly unprepared to face. But the Captain was knocked from that train of thought as she turned to another screen that was flashing angrily and quickly discerened what the warning was. "Shit, Cat we need to move" called Yuri as she saw markers indicating IMC machines closing in on their position. "We got incoming…a lot of incoming."

Turning back to the displays, Black Cat hissed, "not before the data's finished decrypting. This is our best chance to get a leg up on these bastards!" she argued. Watanabe cursed under her breath as she began to pace, trying to decide on what the two women would do. "We have to hold here. How badly are we going to be outnumbered?"

The Captain turned back to the screen and the list of incoming units before quickly tallying them up and having her mouth hang open dumbly at the final tally. "There's about 80 of them coming…so 40 to 1."

* * *

Silver Sablinova was tired, running low on ammunition, and thoroughly pissed off. She had lost all but two of her men to the IMC, she had made a stupid mistake and because of her arrogance good men were dead. While she didn't know those who worked for her on a personal level, she was immensely proud of the force she had assembled and seeing them fall always was a tough pill to swallow.

But the Symkarian pushed those thoughts aside as she turned her mind towards the man in front of the group, leading the way, the tally on his back a testament to his experience and ability. After seeing him in action firsthand she no longer doubted his prowess and was certain that it was that prowess that meant that the others were still alive. Not only had his experience facing the IMC been invaluable, but his ability to move and fight was on an entirely new level compared to the Sable personnel. Truth be told, she was slightly envious of his Jump Kit, and already she had made a mental note to direct Sable R&D to develop one of their own.

Yet the Symkarian mercenary had to remind herself that he was more than his gear, the man had come out today. Not the cocky, drawling Titan Jockey, but the formidable soldier at the core of the Marauder. The soldier that never gave up, that never surrendered, who was practical and direct. Bold and brash but never stupid. As much as Sablinova hated to admit it, she had misjudged him.

The Marauder had set a quick pace, and it was clear he wasn't suffering nearly as much as the rest of them, but he was always checking over his shoulder to see how the rest were doing and had slowed without complaint. Suddenly however, he came to a halt, cocking his head. "How long?" he asked in his filtered voice. "Shit, we're on our way" he responded before turning to Sable. "That was Watanabe, she and Black Cat are in the process of downloading intel from the IMC FOB, but they've got incoming. They're gonna need our help" he informed.

Silver grimaced as she turned to look at the other two troopers who didn't seem the least bit concerned about charging headlong into another firefight. "We still got some fight left in us ma'am" assured one, "let's go rip these tin cans a new one." The corners of her lips flicked up; despite everything the troopers were proving to be exactly what Sable wanted from all of her men. Even though they were the last of their unit and had seen many friends die, even though they had been fighting or moving for the last four hours, the Troopers were still ready to answer the call.

"Very well" responded the mercenary as she nodded to the Pilot, "you have the point Marauder. Double time" she ordered as they began to move out at a brisk jog. Weapons were lowered as security was traded for swiftness as the four rushed through the underground after the Renegade as he led them to their objective.

Their haste had been another mistake.

Running through a large space filled with concrete columns, a warbling mechanical roar vibrated the Symkarian all the way to her bones as she looked up to see a colossal figure looking down on them from an upper level. "SCATTER!" she ordered as the Reaper opened fire, raising both hands and unleashing a barrage of plasma blasts at the four as they ran in different directions. Bobbing and weaving through the pillars as balls of scorching hot blue plasma rained down on them.

Poking her head out, she saw the single rectangular red eye shift to her when a series of blasts erupted next to the IMC Mechanical Unit and it shifted its focus to the Marauder. Seeing the opening, Sable drew her pistols and opened fire as the Troopers did the same, a hail of red laser fire leapt up at the Reaper, charring is white armor plate and tearing into the exposed internals around the midsection. It seemed the Reaper decided it couldn't win this game of…what did the Americans call it? …Whack a mole, that was it.

Two streams of flame erupted from the machines back as it lifted its bulk up and leapt forwards towards the source of the fire. "Cover!" barked Sable as she dove and rolled out of the way, pressing her back to a pillar until she could feel the ground shake with the impact of the metal feet. Poking her head out, she could see the Reaper turn towards the other troopers and she acted instantly, leaning her upper body out of cover and triggering both pistols. The red laser bolts pelted the white plate and scorched the exposed machinery to seemingly no effect as the Reaper turned back to face her, letting out that mechanical cry as it raised its hands.

Eyes widening at the sight of the ominous blue glow, Sable took off in a dead sprint, ducking as orbs of plasma streaked over head and slammed into the ground next to her, sizzling as they partially melted the concrete. While it was fixated on her, the Reaper ignored her troopers as they opened fire along with the Marauder. The Renegade Gunfighter was bouncing between columns before leaping overhead, disregarding the deadly projectiles missing him by inches as he triggered the MGL, the grenades attaching to the thick armor and detonating, blowing chunks off the Reaper.

A lower, more guttural noise emanated from the damaged machine as it tried, and failed, to hit the Marauder before retreating and reorienting itself on who it decided was the easiest target: the Troopers. An echoing 'thunk thunk thunk' indicated the Reaper was doing something new as large discs shot up before landing on the ground in front of the IMC machine. _"Ticks!"_ barked the Gunfighter, _"walking anti-personnel mines! Shoot them and keep your distance!" _he explained, clearly worried. Sable wondered what he meant by walking when a red cylinder emerged from the top of the discs while six legs sprouted from the sides and lifted them before skittering across the floor towards the troopers.

The Sable Soldiers reacted smartly, shifting their point of aim to the six Ticks making their way across the floor, slowly picking them off one by one. However, while they were doing that, they were unable to react when the Reaper charged forward and was on them while they were distracted. A powerful sideswipe knocked one armored trooper back against a column as Sable could only watch, the remaining Ticks having moved on her. The Marauder had switched back to his machine gun and was hammering the damaged Reaper to no effect as the machine trampled the other trooper, crushing him underfoot.

As the Symkarian destroyed the last of the mines, she looked up to see the Reaper turn toward the down soldier as the Marauder streaked in to try and pull the man out of harms way only for the Reaper to unleash another salvo of plasma. While none of the shots landed, one did hit close enough to send him flailing through the air before skidding across the floor and coming to a stop next to Sable in time to watch what happened next. The wounded man was picked up, a three fingered hand wrapped around his head as he flailed ineffectually before he was slammed into the concrete pillar with such force the pillar cracked. If he wasn't dead already, then he was certainly killed when the other arm came up, grabbed his legs, and tore his body in two.

But, as she had heard many times, when it rains, it pours. "Shit, I'm outta ammo" admitted the Marauder as he looked at the empty chamber of his LMG. While Sable did have some ammo, she didn't have anything that could kill the Reaper. Suddenly, the Pilot pulled a satchel and clacker from his belt, "I have an idea, get his attention" he ordered as he cloaked and Sable raised her pistols.

She shuffled to her right as she blazed away, firing one pistol and then the other as she saw the Marauder come back into view and drop the satchel on the top of the machine only for it to lash out and slam a fist into him. There was a pained yell as the Marauder hit a pillar and fell to the floor before scampering behind cover. _"Sable" _called the Commando over the calms, pain straining the words, _"the detonator, I lost it" _he said.

Sablinova poked her head out from behind her cover and saw the device sitting on the floor not ten feet from the Reaper. "I see it, but I can't reach it. Not unless you distract that thing" she called back as she holstered a pistol and steeled herself to make the suicide dash.

"_On three…one…two…three!" _called the Marauder as Silver shot out at a dead sprint, exhausted legs pumping like pistons to cover these last few decisive yards to victory or death. The Reaper turned to the Mercenary only for a plume of smoke to erupt around it, lightning crackling through it and shocking the Machine. To add to it, in the corner of her eye, Sable could see a small but intense light appear, dancing like an intense flame as the fire scorched the metal. But despite the display, Silver was solely focused on the clacker as she scooped it up and immediately squeezed the oversized trigger over and over, even after she heard the explosion that it caused.

As the smoke cleared, Sablinova turned to see the Reaper, armor holed and charred, fall to its knees and then flat on its face, a massive hole torn in the top of its head. Without hesitation, she discarded the clacker and drew her shotgun, ramming the barrel through the hole and firing all four shots in the magazine into the innards to make sure the thing was dead. "I…I think we got 'im Sable" remarked the Marauder dryly, but weariness was there too as he drew his pistol and racked the slide. "Now come on princess, we got some damsels in distress to rescue."

* * *

In the technical sense of phrase, Felicia and Yuriko, both being young unmarried women, were damsels. And as Yuri flinched from more shots that snapped past her as she lay prone on a catwalk, they were clearly in distress. But despite the phrase 'damsels in distress' being technically accurate, the implied helplessness wasn't true in the slightest because the two women were dishing it out. The Captain dropped the bolt on her scoped rifle and chambered a round before bringing it to bear on the robots firing up at her. Pulling the trigger resulted in another 6.19 mm high velocity round tearing through the head of one of the new, larger machines to no effect as it kept firing. Snarling behind her mask, Yuri fired again, putting three rounds into the bot's chest rapid fire.

But she was not alone, and while they were focused on her the Black Cat had snuck around the flank and leveled her PDW before unleashing a spray of 5.7mm rounds into the back of the red IMC automated infantry to devastating effect. Their battery packs on their backs crackled like popcorn before a larger series of explosions tore through them and sent arms, legs, and guns flying in different directions.

That was the third group the duo had dispatched, the thief had taken the first, Yuri the second, and they had worked together on the third. Despite their success, the two women still had a lot of machines left to destroy if they were going to make it out alive. As a reminder of that, the Burglar was forced to roll into cover as the next group arrived, only there were two squads this time coming at them together. "And I thought the Demons were persistent" muttered Watanabe as she set her sights on one of the grey machines and pulled the trigger, putting a neat hole in its head as it collapsed to the floor.

That caused the others to scatter and move to cover, with Yuri tracking one and able to put a pair of shots into it and take it down before it could get out of the line of fire. Soon however, the machines began to respond smartly, each communicating with either other to pop up and fire at her to force her to keep her head down. No two popped up at the same time and the order was random because of their instant communication. "I need to relocate, cover me" she ordered tersely as she grit her teeth at the lethal projectiles passing overhead.

"_So demanding" _teased Black Cat, _"I bet you're fun in bed" _she purred, though she was still gritting her teeth as she moved into position while Yuri promptly ignored her comments. _"Smoke's going down" _called the thief a moment later as a massive cloud of white obscurant manifested in front of the IMC bots while the black clad prowler threw bursts of fire down towards the machines to keep them low.

Activating her cloak for good measure, the NYPD Captain sprinted down the catwalk before sliding to a stop and going back prone just as the cloak faded away and she got back to work. Activating the IR filter on her goggles, she saw the world in varying shades of bright saturated colors, the grouped of silhouettes orange and red being the heat signatures of her targets. With a staccato _Crack_ as she pulled the trigger, she rejoined the fight as the Specters responded instantly and the Black Cat disengaged.

With rhythmic consistency, Yuri fired the rifle once every two seconds, every round well aimed as she timed short breaths every third round to keep her sights steady. Even if some rounds didn't hit, every bullet was close enough to keep the machines where they were while the Black Cat moved stealthily into a flanking position. But while they were focused and fixated on this group, they failed to notice the third Specter squad enter from a different passageway. With surprising agility, the machines jumped atop some of the equipment before leaping across to a lower catwalk and working the stairs to reach the level Yuri where was perched.

The corner of the Captain's HUD flashed in warning as she tried to remember what that meant before she noticed the shadow looming over her and rolled onto her side as she tried to bring her rifle to bear only for a metal foot to slam down on it and pin it to the floor. Not even trying to wrench it away, Watanabe merely cocked her left fist back and extended the ripper blades from her gauntlet before slamming them into the machines knee and severing its leg. When it lost its balance and dropped down, she snarled and buried the blades into its head before using its body as a shield while its comrades opened fire. Reaching down with her right hand, she pulled out the Wingman pistol and took aim. Pulling the trigger, the powerful report and recoil of the magnum revolver was a comfortingly familiar sensation as she put two rounds in the torso of each of the three remaining bots.

But the IMC weren't letting up as another group of machines arrived, this time the more formidable Stalkers with their tougher construction and heavier weapons. _"Incoming!" _yelled the Black Cat in warning over the comms as Yuri looked to see a volley of blue streaks heading her way. The EPG rounds slammed into the catwalk, covering Watanabe in a wave of heat before they did their real damage. With a groan and a vibration, the catwalk began to fail and collapse, Yuri's eyes widening in realization before the metal sheared with an earsplitting noise and the Captain found herself tumbling in freefall.

"Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" screamed Yuri frantically as she felt her Jump Kit activate, getting her legs underneath her and slowing her descent. It saved her life, but that didn't mean it was painless as she rolled before coming to a stop on her back, shaking her head to fight off the fog from a concussion. It didn't take long, the snap of a bullet passing overhead and seeing another kick up dirt a few inches from her face spurring the woman to action.

Spotting her rifle, she scooped it up and slid into cover as she shakily swapped magazines for it and her empty Wingman. Quickly running her hand over her ammo belt, Yuri's situation went from bad to worse, "Damn, last mag!" she announced over the comms, knowing she had to make these remaining 14 shots count. Thankfully, the Stalkers were big targets, and after leveling the playing field quite literally, they marched across the open directly at Watanabe. Leaning out to her right, she triggered the rifle, four rounds hitting their mark and taking out the lead machine before she realized she couldn't afford to use any more ammo then absolutely necessary.

Taking a deep breath, she steadied her aim and put the next round in the following Stalker's kneecap, causing it to stumble enough to expose the battery on its back as Yuri fired again, managing to find her mark. As the chain reaction began to tear through the cells, the Captain found her next target, swinging the gun around to take aim at a third Stalker. Her first shot missed as return fire caused her to flinch and she ducked down behind cover and cursed under her breath.

Activating her cloak, she rounded the corner to move to a new position only to be surprised when she found herself face to face with a Specter pair, the smaller IMC mechanical units unable to detect her as Yuri snapped the gun up and fired two rounds into each machine's head. Her cloak faltering as she sprinted, ignoring the hot lead coming her way as she jumped up and landed on the other side of a low wall and collected herself as she heard watched her proximity alert. Only now had she remembered what that warning was as she waited for the Stalkers to close the distance so she couldn't miss.

When it blinked, the Captain stood up and executed a Mozambique drill on the lead machine, putting two in the chest and one in the head. Swinging the muzzle of the gun to the second, she squeezed the trigger frantically, only, to her horror, nothing happened. The empty chamber remained open and there were no more bullets to put in it, with no other option, Yuri grabbed the rifle by the fore end and leapt up. Raising the gun like an executioner's axe, the boosted jump launched her above the taller Stalker before she fell back to earth and brought the stock of the weapon down on the machine. With a satisfying _Crunch _she could feel through the body of the gun, the force crushed the 'spinal cord' of the bot and severed the vital components inside as it fell over, motionless and useless. But there wasn't any rest for the wicked, _"On your left captain!" _called out the Thief in warning.

Quickly discarding the empty rifle, Yuri took aim with the pistol using both hands and strafed to her left to close off an angle as she returned fire, throwing six big .454 slugs down range and hitting four before she pressed herself into a generator and inserted another cylinder into the revolver. Still baffled by how the gun seemed to condense around the cylinder, the Captain extended the Ripper blades again as she prepared to take the machines on in CQB. She saw a pair of robotic arms holding a SMG come around the corner as she slashed down, cutting through one arm and the gun before she stuffed the muzzle of the Wingman in the Specter's chest and blew a half inch hole in it.

Leaping up and forwards, Yuri thrust the Ripper forwards as she used her momentum to drive the skewered robot to the ground before she nearly tore it in half dragging her blades out before rolling into a crouch and dispatching the remaining two with the B3. Checking her six, Yuri's eyes widened at the sight of two Stalkers standing over her as she fired two shots into the chest of the first, staggering it before the revolver clicked, empty. Gritting her teeth, Watanabe dove forwards as the first Stalker swung at her while she slashed at its legs.

But the second one had moved in, wrapping one mechanical hand around her left arm in an iron grip, neutralizing her last weapon as she began to panic, ramming her fist into the metal plate to her own detriment. But the machine only responded with calculated efficiency, twisting her arm as she screamed in pain and kicked with all her might, but was unable to stop the juggernaut. The first machine crawled across the floor, half of one leg cut clean off as it reached out to rip her legs out from under her and she was driven to the ground and felt a steel foot press into her back.

Yuri could feel the life being squeezed out of her when a steam of bullets peppered the downed Stalker as a Black clad figure wrapped her legs around the head of the machine that had the Captain pinned as it released Yuri and began to shake off the Thief. Gasping as Yuri got to her feet and rushed the thrashing Stalker as it slammed the Black Cat into a container, drawing a pained scream from the woman. Her charge didn't go unnoticed however as the machine, arms reaching up to grab the Cat, readied to raise a leg to kick at Yuri as the Captain leapt skyward, aided by the jump kit on her lower back as she snarled and drove the Ripper blades down. They entered the top of the bot's chest and went down towards its center as she tore through the machine until it eventually seized up and fell over.

"Thanks…for…the save" managed Yuri through heavy breaths as she tried to calm down and reload her revolver. But the momentary peace was just that, momentary. The sounds of more approaching automated infantry and their weapons opening fire on the two women caused them to dash to the nearest piece of cover and ready their weapons. Looking at her comrade, Yuri noted that the thief had been reduced to just her sidearm as well as she held the FN semi auto in a two-handed grip. "How much ammo do you have?" asked Yuri, though the grimace on the woman's lips told her all she needed to know. "Let's make them count."

The woman's exposed lips smirked in response as she stood and brought her pistol to bear on their attackers while Yuri did the same. But of all the things the two were expecting, they didn't expect the machines to not be focused on them, instead they all seemed to be turned towards one tunnel and firing down it. "Well he sure took his sweet time" said the woman next to Yuri as the meaning of her words dawned on her just as a group of the machines were caught in the blast of a grenade.

A flurry of red and blue leapt out of the tunnel in response, the rounds cutting into the remaining machines as the sound of gunfire echoed and two figures burst through the tunnel. Flying high and in green was the Marauder, an acquired Volt SMG spraying from one hand and Smart Pistol bucking in the other as he rained death down on the IMC machines below. However, the other figure was laying on the pain as the pistol in each hand spat angry red energy at the disorganized infantry. When both came to a stop they were standing in the middle of the scrapheap they had created and Yuri could see that both the Marauder and Sable looked like they had been through hell as she vaulted out of cover and came up to them, pulling up her goggles and exposing her face.

"Yuri!" called out the Marauder happily as he turned to face the Captain, "good to see you made it. How'd you like being a Pilot? It's quite an experience ain't it?" he drawled, though it was clear he was relieved to be reunited with the NYPD Captain. Yuri was about to warn him that his girlfriend was just behind her. But he quickly turned to something behind Yuri as the Black Cat sprinted forwards and leapt up to embrace the Marauder, clearly relieved to see him alive. "Good to see you Cat. Thanks for coming to help" he told her sincerely as they separated, "we needed it."

"I needed it" admitted Yuri, "even with all the toys I wouldn't have survived down here if she hadn't stumbled across me." The four fighters congregated as the Captain began to lead the group to the HQ terminals and continued. "Where the others?" she asked.

"They did not make it" replied Sablinova bluntly, but it was clear the usually stoic woman had cracks showing in her composure at the loss of the whole platoon. "And this is just the beginning, hopefully what you have learned here will give us a fighting chance in the future" she said sternly, obvious that she was trying to find meaning in her men's deaths and salvage something from this disaster.

"I've already sent all the data I could get to BT" explained the Black Cat as they walked inside, "but they managed to scrub a lot before we got here" admitted the thief as the Pilot stopped, crouching down near one of the bodies and examining the bloody uniform.

"ARES Division…" he murmured as he stood back to his full height. Yuri gave him a questioning look, as did Sable, and the Marauder elaborated. "The IMCs Archaeological Research Division were the ones who found the Ark and created the Fold Weapon. If anyone could figure out a way to replicate what happened to me, it's them." Both women nodded as the Pilot went over to the terminals, "fuck" he cursed loudly. "And this isn't the last of them" he said as he pointed to something, a string of characters that read '3 IBCT 74 ID' even if Yuri didn't understand it. "That's a unit designation, this is the IMCs 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 74th Infantry Division" he revealed as he took a deep breath.

"Meaning?" asked Yuri cautiously.

"Meaning..." began the Pilot as he exhaled through clenched teeth, "that somewhere out there are 4000 IMC personnel, about 2500 automated Infantry, and a half dozen Titans. We're not dealing with an infiltration; they brought a fucking army."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – IMC ARES Division _

_A fully combat capable branch of the IMC, the Archaeological RESearch Division is tasked with exploratory expeditions to research, locate, uncover, and exploit indigenous technologies. An organization dating back to before the start of the Frontier War, it is the brainchild of IMC General Marder who leads the organization to this day. Marder is a formidable out of the box strategist and demanding officer who oversees both military and scientific operations for ARES. Everything from weaponizing animal and plant life to excavating and activating potential alien artifacts, ARES isn't known to lack creativity or audacity. _

_It was one such alien artifact that was responsible for, well, me. The Ark was found by the IMC on the planet Typhon and Marder recognized the potential power of this discovery that lead to ARES setting up a substantial operation on Typhon as the Ark was researched and, eventually, weaponized as the Fold Weapon was developed to take advantage of the Arks unique properties. It was this weapon that attracted the attention of the Militia and eventually sent me to Manhattan more than a year ago. _

_It seems that Operation Broadsword wasn't the end of them, which shouldn't be a shock. ARES has multiple combat divisions at its disposal and an entire fleet, and that's ignoring hundreds of the IMCs top scientific minds. While not enough to stand up to the whole of the Militia in a straight up fight, their unorthodox methods make them unpredictable. I could never say with any sort of certainty why the IMC is here, but knowing Marder, it can't be good. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: Obviously a lot going on here, but the overall feel of the chapter was based on the 'Underground' DLC for the Division. The spaces and claustrophobic feel I was going for were inspired by that DLC, with the Reaper serving as the 'Hunter' in this little scenario. Another key point was mixing up the usual pairings, Cooper with Sable and Felicia with Yuri and I had some fun doing those interactions, nevermind the action sequences. Other things? We have the continued influence of Sam Fisher on Felicia with the P90 and Karambit, both being staple Splinter Cell weapons (I think, my memory on the P90 is fuzzy). As far as Yuri's 'Ripper', that was inspired by the 'Doom Blade' from Doom Eternal, but the final design and name was lifted from 'Spectre' from Black Ops III, which is the last time that game will be referenced because it was awful. Even if I do not like Apex Legends, the Peacekeeper shotgun is pretty slick and so it makes an appearance here as a part of Silver's personal arsenal. ****Speaking of Sable, the general vibe with her and her forces is a heavily Russian flavor. Even the motto of the Sable unit, "There are no impossible tasks!" is the motto of the Russian 106th Guards Airborne Division, a unit who's history dates back to World War 2. **

**Any thoughts about this opener are appreciated as always, I haven't had to do an action heavy chapter like this in a long flipping time so hopefully the pacing isn't too awful and the dialogue doesn't feel completely stilted. Next up is a chapter that is much slower as, if I were using more direct historical events as titles, it would be titled 'The Phoney War.' **

**But it isn't, so it's about those pulled in to face an enemy as unstoppable, as merciless as tidal waves, like the Wehrmacht. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	45. Chapter 45: Wehrmacht

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Let the record show that this is about the time (April 29, 2020) that my sanity is starting to fray from this lockdown. Christ I don't even get out that much and I'm losing my mind a bit, probably not helped by the fact I saw Terminator: Dark Fate out of morbid curiosity, my god that movie was shit. How is it possible that in the 25+ years since T2 the best Terminator film is Salvation?

**Blaze1992: Good to see I got my point across, and I'm curious to see if you still hold that view by the end of this chapter.**

**A fan: That line "this isn't a democracy, it's a dictatorship" is a Jeremy Clarkson quote from the old days of Top Gear, specifically the Cool Wall segments (as an aside, I want a DB9 fridge). To explain the joke, he would ask the audience where on the wall a car should go (how cool it was) and then ignore them and put it where he thought it went, saying "this isn't a democracy, it's a dictatorship" so that's where that came from. As an odd contrast, Clarkson is like 6 foot 6 or thereabouts. All I meant by the Underground DLC was the atmosphere and claustrophobic feeling, not exactly the structure of the activity, hence why there was no subway train. Say what you will about the Division, but it had one of the best atmospheres of any game.**

As always, feel free to review if you have something to say, good or ill. Especially with this significant deviation from the main story I want to know what y'all think.

The title, Wehrmact, was chosen as much for its sound as its subject matter. If I didn't need songs to have lyrics then I would have put 'The March to War,' the Star Wars 'Imperial March,' or 'Brothers In Arms' from the Halo: CE soundtrack. A good military march, take your pick, was the sound I wanted, and this track off of Sabaton's 2010 album _Coat of Arms _fits the bill. The subject matter is delicate, to put it lightly and so I recommend that if you're interested, go to the 'Sabaton History' youtube channel and watch their video on this subject. As for the basics, the Wehrmact was the combined German military command during WW2, overseeing the Heer (army), Luftwaffe (air force), and Kriegsmarine (navy). That leads me to the second reason this is the title, the Wehrmacht showed the world what mobility warfare and combined arms operations looked like in the mechanized age. Early in the war, the didn't have the monsturous Tiger and Panther tanks they would become famous for, in fact the greatest advantage of the earlier Panzers was that each one had a radio. The British and French tanks did not.

I want to make it clear that I do not overlook or ignore the war crimes the Wehrmacht committed during the war. I am of the opinion that one set of actions should not cancel out the other and that goes both ways. Still, no matter your view, and discounting the madmen at the top who issued the orders, the men who carried them out, for whatever reasons each may have had, fought hard and fought well, and for that they should be respected.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 45: Wehrmacht**

_Time and again the battle rages on beyond the gates of misery_

_As casualties rise and millions die around them, Did they see it all?_

_Crazy madmen on a leash, Or young men who lost their way?_

_Grand illusions of the Reich, May seem real at times_

_Panzers on a line_

_Form the Wehrmacht's spine_

_Lethal grand design_

_What about the men executing orders?_

* * *

Even after 8 years as the one and only Webslinger, Peter Parker found that he would always have new experiences. His current situation was simply another bizarre one to add to that ever-growing list of incredible things that happened to him in costume. "Follow me Spider-Man" ordered the Sable International trooper curtly, but still polite, before he turned and led the wallcrawler into the Sable International Camp in Central Park.

Only, unlike the last time he had been here, the place was a beehive of activity. Vehicles flowed in and out in concert while foot soldiers in their units moved with purpose and intent as the colorfully dressed hero was guided through the controlled chaos to his destination. Late last night he had gotten a text from Yuri ordering him to arrive at the Sable Camp at 9:00 am. Try as he might, he couldn't get anything more out of her, but it was clear something was up. "So what's the deal? Going to give me a medal for doing your job and taking down Li?" he asked brightly.

"No sir" responded the Trooper curtly. _So, I'm a 'sir' now? Wow, this is serious_ mused Spidey. "You'll be briefed by Sablinova shortly" he informed, causing a chill to go down his spine as he remembered their last meeting. But that shock was quickly replaced at the shock of seeing who else had been granted entrance to this briefing as Peter saw the vehicles parked neatly in the middle of the compound. An NYPD squad car and Interceptor, _Widowmaker_, and Norman Osborn's chauffeured Rolls Royce. It was clear that whatever was happening was serious enough to warrant the Mayor's presence, and not even Li had managed to force a meeting like this."Here we are sir. The briefing will begin at 0915 hours" said the Sable Trooper before he gave Spider-Man a crisp salute and returned to his post, leaving a shocked webhead in his wake.

"Just what is going on?" he wondered as he walked inside the high-tech room and took stock of the small but important group of people gathered as he quickly singled out his best friend. "Marauder, what's going on?" he asked as the Pilot was reading through something on a tablet and looked up.

"Officially, I can't tell you" answered Cooper, "but unofficially I can say that shit's about to go down. We got more bad guys coming and these are desperate times. Which means we are the desperate measures" explained the Texan grimly. "We're going to have a thirty-minute briefing, Osborn will stage a press conference at ten o clock, and then after that we have maybe twenty four hours to prepare."

The white eye lenses widened at the words before narrowing, "Prepare for what?" he asked.

"For war" replied the Marauder simply before excusing himself with a nod and making his way to speak with Mayor Osborn. _For war? _Thought Parker as he just stared blankly at the back of his friend. The SRS Commando did not exaggerate when it came to that word. It wasn't something he used lightly after his experience, and the fact that he was using it now did not bode well.

But now the webslinger had more questions than when he started as he looked for another familiar face and soon saw two women speaking to each other, one was a blond, suit blazer over a bullet proof vest while the other was equipped like a pilot, though while her gear was new, the face was familiar. "Yuri?" asked Spider-Man as he walked up, "You rob the Marauder or something?" he asked, trying to make light, though judging by the grim looks both women had, he had failed miserably.

"Good to see you actually showed up on time for once" replied the blonde sarcastically, thought there was a hint of mirth in her voice, a stark contrast to the gloom and doom that permeated the room. "Damn fine work taking down Li, and I'm sorry to have to ask you to help us again Spider-Man, but chances are we'll need all the help we can get" admitted the woman, her badge read 'DeWolff' as Parker recognized her as the acting commissioner.

"Happy to help, if whatever the problem is managed to get all of us together, then it must be serious" he responded.

"And this isn't even everyone" interjected Yuri. "I just hope it will be enough" she murmured as her eyes narrowed on the doorway and Peter turned to see who had arrived. His jaw dropped behind his mask at the man who walked in wearing combat trousers and boots, his chest covered by a skull painted ballistic vest and a pistol in the holster on his hip. _They were reaching out to the Punisher of all people!? _He thought with a mix of shock and horror.

It was clear the two lawwomen weren't happy either, but it was the person behind the Marine that caused Peter to dart across the room. "What are you doing here?" he whispered lowly as he pulled the redheaded reporter off to the side.

Mary Jane Watson shook her head, "I honestly don't know" she admitted lowly as she was busy looking past him, clearly taking stock of everyone else in the room. "I just got a call half an hour ago from Commissioner DeWolff that told me to get here, a cab ride later and here I am. All I know is that they want me to cover it for the Bugle, the Mayor gave me the green light to publish whatever happens" she explained. So this wasn't something Osborn was trying to hide? Meaning Devil's Breath probably wasn't it. Did Osborn just want Watson to be his mouthpiece to paint him in a good light or was there something else going on?

"Okay, but I still don't know what's happening, only whatever it is has everyone seriously spooked" he revealed before Silver Sablinova marched into the room and everyone began to automatically make their way to the simple folding chairs arrayed before the screens showing maps of the city and Sable International Troop locations. Peter noticed that they seemed to have shifted completely, now forming a defensive line from east to west instead of being dispersed throughout Manhattan.

"I'm sure many of you are aware why you are here, but I will summarize the events of the last twelve hours" began the Symkarian as the room fell silent, everyone paying rapt attention to the mercenary. "After two NYPD officers went missing, a platoon of Sable International Operators, led by myself and accompanied by the Marauder and Captain Watanabe, investigated their last known location in the Manhattan underground to determine the cause of their disappearance" she explained before the screens changed to show several different humanoid robots and one much larger one, all standing on two legs. "We encountered forces belonging to the 74th Infantry Division of the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, they were operating under the direction of that factions Archaeological Research Division. Intelligence obtained from the enemy's forward position suggests they have a force numbering some 4000 men and are preparing to move on Manhattan in as little as twenty-four hours to complete unknown objectives."

Peters head was spinning, and while he spared a glance at MJ, he found she was furiously scribbling down notes about what was happening, though she spared him a shocked expression to let him know he wasn't alone. The IMC was here, in New York, the same IMC that tried to blow up a planet was poised to invade his home. "Sable International forces are preparing to meet this new threat and the advanced capabilities they possess. The Marauder is more familiar with the opposition and has been cooperative in giving us an assessment of the enemy…" she began before explaining in detail what they would be going up against.

Their infantry, standard foot soldiers, would still be better than anything Peter had dealt with that was in the same weight class. Well trained and equipped, the grunts would put up a real were backed by two types of 'automated mechanical infantry' dubbed 'Specters' and 'Stalkers' with the latter being bigger and stronger while the former had better combat AI. Both were tougher than standard infantry. Lastly were the heavy hitters, the Reapers and footage of a Reaper in action gave Parker cause for concern, they were strong, adaptable, and had a lot of weapons at their disposal. But even they paled in comparison to a Titan, the 40-ton war machines would be a serious threat and were something Spider-Man was wholly unprepared to deal with.

The sole good news was differing IMC doctrine, their Pilots would rarely, if ever, operate outside of their Titans. So the defenders wouldn't have to worry about the most Elite IMC soldiers harassing them outside of their mechs. But that was the sole good news.

"We are outnumbered, Sable International has 1500 combat personnel ready, while the NYPD has mustered just over 500 to assist. As a result, we will be enacting a defense in depth. Civilians will be evacuated northwards while combat personnel defend from prepared positions, falling back when required" explained Sablinova calmly. This was a numbers game, and the numbers didn't favor the good guys. "Our aim is to deplete their forces and force them to call off the attack before they achieve their objectives. The United States Armed Forces are aware of the situation and are preparing a response, but the soonest we can expect reinforcements is in 48 hours. Until then, the best we will have is limited air support, the usefulness of which is lessened by the potential for collateral damage" she explained before pausing to look at every single person seated in the room, Peter instinctively straightening as he felt her gaze fall on him before moving on. "Everyone is here because you have a role to play, prepare in whatever way you must. You will receive your assignments and it is expected you will do your best. Report to your assigned defensive positions at 0430 hours tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

Immediately, it seemed as if the tension that had been building up throughout the briefing finally snapped as everyone sprang into action, everyone moving a different way as if they seemingly knew exactly what they had to do in order to contribute to success. Everyone, that was, except Spider-Man, who was still overwhelmed by the task before them. But he wasn't left idle for long, as he was grabbed and guided to a corner of the room by his best friend. "What do you think?" asked the Renegade Gunfighter calmly, his tone said that the Pilot was as worried as he was since it lacked a cocky drawl.

"It doesn't look good" admitted Peter with a sigh. "This is a lot worse than anything else, and after the whole saga with the Demons? We're not in a good position." Cooper didn't respond, but it was clear to tell he didn't have a different point of view. "We're still in with a chance though, right? You've beat the IMC before, they're tough but they aren't invincible" reminded Peter, trying to get the Pilot to keep his head up.

"I suppose" conceded the SRS Commando as he looked over his shoulder before whispering lowly. "Listen, I was the one who called Frank, I got some more calls to make. We're going to need all hands on-deck if we want to make it through this" he began before trailing off before finally meeting Peter's gaze. "You need to call her, have her and her people get down here. I'll clear it with Sable" he said suddenly.

Cocking his head, the webslinger took a second to figure out who the Marauder was referring to before the eye lenses widened. "What? No way. I mean we got everyone here already, who else is there to call?" asked Peter, though as soon as the words were out of his mouth, he realized he was tempting fate. Indeed, all the Pilot had to do was point behind the webhead, after taking one look at the new arrival, only one word came to mind, "Seriously?"

Three men wearing purple shirts and ballistic vests, the name 'Fisk' proudly emblazoned on them, met with a Sable International officer who was giving them assignments. "Seriously" replied Cooper, "I talked to Fisk this morning, he's directing all of his shooters to take their heavy weapons and help us. They'll be providing the bulk of the manpower on the east side of our defense. NYPD will be in west, and Sable Troopers will plug the gap in between. Fisk's men bring our total manpower up to just under 2500, and we need every gun we can get." The Pilot took his friends silence as Peter meaning he didn't like it, which was true. But there was little to argue, these were desperate times indeed. "There's one more friend I'm trying to get ahold of, but I'm not feeling to optimistic, it was always a long shot but…wait" he said as he pressed a hand to the side of his helmet and turned towards the displays. "Damn fine work BT! Patch her in!" he shouted happily as he pumped his fist in excitement.

The sudden outburst caught the attention of everyone else in the room as they turned to the large screen as the static slowly receded to reveal a woman's tanned face, a short unkempt head of dark hair held back by a red bandanna, and a stern expression. _"Renegade 9? Is that you?" _she asked, squinting at her end of the feed. _"You had better have a good reason for coming back from the dead."_

"You expected someone else to pull off the impossible Commander?" answered the Marauder before turning to the rest of the room. "Everyone! Allow me to introduce Commander Sarah Briggs of the Special Recon Squadron, my CO" announced the Texan as everyone focused on the woman's image and she did the same.

"_Pilot" _she began as her gaze settled back down on her subordinate. _"You had better explain what the hell's going on because I don't have a goddamn idea."_

The Marauder chuckled wryly, "Well…" he began, "we don't have time for the whole story, but the short version? When the Fold Weapon went up, I didn't die. Instead I wound up on Earth, an alternate dimension Earth in the year 2017. Been here a little over a year doing…well let's just say I've been busy" he answered cryptically.

Yuri, Peter, and MJ all sputtered at trying to contain their laughter, causing the Commander to glare at them. "I thought I had left the Frontier behind, but that's changed. The IMC is here, I managed to get BT into their systems and he's piggybacking to make this connection. I need you to trace the source and hit them hard. If you can take the pressure off of us over here, then we might have a chance."

The room was silent as Briggs contemplated the request, knowing that she would be putting the lives of her men at risk for complete strangers that weren't who it was her duty to protect, who weren't from her dimension even. _"I take it you all there are going to fight the IMC? Some of you are probably fighting to protect your homes…" _she mused as the native New Yorkers all nodded. _"We know what that's like, any enemy of the IMC is a friend of ours, and we take care of our friends. I'll mobilize the Marauder and Ranger Corps immediately, Bish! Do we have a location for this broadcast? We do? Then get some recon drones headed that way, we're on the clock!" _she barked, her authoritative air remarkably similar to Yuri or Sable as she took control of the situation. _"We'll be there, give the IMC hell, all of you" _she said, something telling the wallcrawler that was the warrior's way of wishing them luck before she added, _"one more thing for you Pilot. After Typhon you were granted posthumous promotions, but they still stand. Congratulations Major" _she finished before the line was cut and the screen reverted to the Sable International logo.

After the shock wore off, Peter turned to his friend, who still stood as still as a statue as he digested the news. In response, the webslinger did his best to snap to attention and salute the newly promoted Gunfighter. "What are your orders sir?" he asked half seriously.

That seemed to get to Cooper as he shook his head and gave a half salute back, "They stand Private Smart Ass: Call her" he stated before striding off.

Sighing in defeat, Peter scrolled through his contacts until he finds the one, and heads outside for some privacy until he hears the call get accepted. "Hey Kitty it's me. Listen, I need some help, could you put the Professor on?"

* * *

"_That is none of my concern mercenary. I am paying you to deliver the individuals I have specified. How you go about delivering them to me is for you to decide" _answered the hologram coolly, clearly unconcerned about his questions. Growling in frustration, the Apex Predator ran his thumb along the reverse edge of his knife before looking back up at the hologram. _"You have 72 hours; I suggest you don't waste any more time with trivial inquiries. Good day" _finished the head of ARES, General Marder, before summarily cutting the connection as the hologram of the good General fizzled into nothing.

Growling in frustration, Kuben Blisk sheathed his knife and turned to his subordinates, three of the finest and most ruthless Pilots he could find. "Oi" he barked, causing all of them to turn to the grizzled head of the Apex Predators, "you all heard the General, we have our deadline. I want all of you to begin preparations to join the main attack tomorrow morning" he ordered in his Afrikaans accent as he looked over the trio.

Psycho was the most physically imposing, and more than once had Blisk wondered if the man was actually stable. Despite these concerns, the man did his job and did it well even if he rarely spoke, and calling his various grunts and grumbles speaking was being generous. There was little subtle about him, he dished out pain without remorse, using a Softball on those rare occasions he was found outside his Scorch Titan.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was Ice, a small woman of slight build but incredible speed. Her skill with a sniper's rifle was only matched by her unflappable demeanor on the battlefield. That skill extended to her Titan operation, using a custom tuned North star class Titan with a heavily modified Plasma Railgun that supercooled the projectiles as they left the barrel, freezing their targets instead of melting through.

Finally, was Crimson, the youngest of the group, the kid was a golden arm. He was self-taught, having never received any formal training, and while usually Blisk would look down on such people, Crimson had done what few could claim: he had gone toe to toe with Blisk and survived. He had rebuilt an old Atlas class mech by himself and kept it maintained, he was a true mechanical prodigy. But that didn't prevent him from being efficient and mechanical when the bullets started flying. Rounding out the antique equipment was an Arc Cannon and Slave Warhead launchers for that old Atlas chassis, though as Crimson proved, they were no less deadly.

Backing them up was an entire IMC assault battalion, which should have been enough to steamroll the unfortunate inhabitants of this backwater planet. Marder had gone out about the new technology derived from another ark like discovery for the best part of an hour. Blisk didn't care, none of the technical babble pertained to what he was being paid for. Still, the result was a foe that wasn't even worth his time, he would be using the IMC troops to do this mission while he and his Apex Predators sat back and collected their paycheck. Only if the regular forces got bogged down would Blisk risk the lives of his men, but if he did use them, he wanted to remind them what was expected of them.

"Your objective is to get to this 'RAFT' and secure the 'enhanced individuals' inside for the boffins to play with" reminded the head of the outfit sternly. "I don't want anyone playing around out there, this should be a simple mission, get in, get the objective, and get out. But the primitive locals do know we're coming, so kill anyone who gets in the way." Taking one last look, Kuben added one final thing, "they kill you, and they're better. You kill them, that means you're better. You are Apex Predators! You are the best!"

* * *

Just outside the Sable International camp, one combatant had extradited himself from the frenzied preparations himself atop an office building, he had his head uncovered as he looked off into the clear skies and towards the horizon to try and savor a few moments of peace in the face of the oncoming storm. Knowing they were the last ones he would get before all hell broke loose, the newly minted Major Cooper was of two minds. Neither of them were asking questions about how the IMC got here or what their intentions were, he was a Pilot first and foremost, he was worried about surviving tomorrow, and then maybe he would worry about surviving the day after. Even while removed from the hectic preparation for battle, Cooper wanted to get back down into it, the rumble of the engines and the trundle of the wheels was music to his ears. There was a grim familiarity to the symphony of war tuning up their instruments that cleared Matthew's mind in preparation for the concert to follow. It had a way of trivializing all other human endeavors, drowning them out with deadly song.

Despite the overall clarity in his mind, there was one issue he had to grapple with, and it sat down next to him. Like him, Felicia Hardy was dressed for a fight, but her head was uncovered as the afternoon sunlight lit up her elegant features and reflected off her mane of platinum hair. In profile, she was exquisite, and seeing her only caused that flaring issue to spring to the forefront of his mind.

He was staring, and she knew that he was staring, and he knew that she knew, but that didn't change the silence between them until Cooper swallowed and took a deep breath. "It's scary" he began quietly, though the Black Cats ears perked up at the words, "I thought that chapter of my life was over. It was left behind a year ago" he mused before chuckling humorlessly, "but now that it's back it feels like I never even left."

The Thief shrugged, "Maybe because it's your calling" she suggested softly. The Marauder bristled slightly, though he tried not to show it, the thought that going off to war was what he was meant to do was not one he wanted to be true. Felicia took notice of his plight and smirked knowingly, "Don't be afraid of who you are Cowboy. Embrace it" she advised. "When the time comes, and you're doing what you do oh so well, all of this will be the farthest thing from your mind. All the worrying will have been for nothing." The SRS Pilot nodded but continued to look at her as he pondered her words, even if they only alleviated some of his worries.

"Sorry" he apologized sheepishly as she finally turned to look at him, "just enjoying a bit of beauty while I can. Won't be seeing much of it for the next few days" he explained, the half truth still dancing around what he was thinking. Still, his words affected her, drawing out a devilish grin from the woman.

"Be careful with that silver tongue of yours stud" she threatened with a gleam in her eye, "or I might just make you use it." With that she gave him an intoxicating kiss that sent Coopers heart and mind into overdrive as he savored her flavor and battled for dominance. But the action was a tipping point in his mind as he slowly pulled away and got to his feet, taking her by her hand and pulling her up.

Leading her across the rooftop, he soon scooped her up as she instinctively wrapped her legs around him while hooking her arms around his neck as he used his grapple to rappel them both down to the loading dock below. Waiting for them was BT-7274, who turned to face the couple. "Status BT?" asked Matthew as he looked up at the Titan.

"BT-7274 status: fully operational. All system checks complete, energy reserves at 93%, ammunition load at maximum" reported the Vanguard Class curtly. "I am ready for battle Pilot" he finished as the Titan Jockey nodded.

"Good" he said before biting his lip, "but there's one last thing, update the succession protocols" ordered Matthew finally.

Felicia gave him a questioning look before it turned to shock. "Matt, what are you…" she began before the Renegade cut her off.

"Just in case" he said with the most charming smile he could manage before turning back to the machine. "If I am rendered unable to perform my duties as your Pilot you are directed to transfer control to Felicia Hardy as soon as reasonably possible" spoke the Gunfighter calmly. He had made sure to retrofit the neural interface hardware into her hood that morning in preparation for this command. "Authori…authorization code" he said as he choked up a bit, his emotions finally getting the better of him, "bravo tango seven two seven four."

"Succession protocols successfully updated Major Cooper" replied the Titan, light still blinking in time with its speech. "Though I have no intention of losing another Pilot" he reminded as Cooper nodded, smiling weakly.

A pair of hands spun him around as Felicia bored into him with her sharp green eyes, blazing with determination. "I'm not going to lose you either Matthew." she stated as if it were fact, "You will not die. Don't you dare think otherwise."

"Listen" he interjected; a bit louder then he intended before he paused to reign in his emotions before continuing. "BT is the one thing we have than can stand up to the IMC. No matter what happens he has to be in the thick of it. I need someone I trust at the controls and I sure as shit ain't giving him to Sable or her people." There was then a pregnant pause as he lowered his gaze and added lowly, "and I need to know you'll make it out alive."

Following that admission was a tense silence before BT interjected, "Protocol 3 will be upheld Major" assured the Vanguard.

Quirking an eyebrow, the Thief's expression all but demanded an explanation from Cooper. "Protocol 3 is to protect the pilot" explained the Pilot, "meaning that BT will put his pilot's safety above his own." Only now did he meet Hardy's eyes, "I'm not letting you die because of me" he vowed.

Felicia stood up on her toes and gave him a quick kiss, "I know you won't" she answered quietly as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close. Placing his other gloved hand on the back of her head and embraced her as she reciprocated, her chin on his shoulder and arms wrapped tightly around his torso.

The moment struck Matthew as one that had occurred millions of times, loved ones sharing one last romantic moment before one went off to war. Only here, for him, it wasn't just him who would be heading to the fight, the woman he cared about would be coming to. While that caused new worries to arise, one last internal reminder of the woman in question brought with it a spur of confidence because of her exceptional abilities. While this moment brought concerns, he also admiration and respect for Felicia in it.

But it wasn't destined to last, disturbed thoroughly by the sound of someone clearing their throat as the two quickly separated and turned to see the Webslinger clinging to a wall upside down and looking at them. "I'm sorry to interrupt…but Sable wants you two to head back to the Central Park. There about to hand out our assignments" informed Peter. Exchanging one last look, both lovers placed their respective headgear back atop their heads when Spider-Man spoke up, "Oh, and I called Kitty, they'll be here soon to help" he added before swinging off.

* * *

The hulking form of the Marauders Titan strode into the staging area in central park as Sablinova watched the machine come to a stop and crouch down. With an acrobatic flair, the Black Cat dismounted from her position on the machine's back while the hatch at the front opened and the Marauder exited the Titan. After her last encounter with the Vanguard, the Symkarian would have never imagined she would be so happy to see it, but knowing it was on your side was a comforting thought.

Less comforting was the estimation that the IMC would have six of them, but Sable International had been given a crash course in Anti-Titan warfare that morning by the SRS Major. The mercenary leader was confident in her troops ability to fight, even when faced with the superior numbers the enemy possessed. This confidence wasn't unfounded either, her men were well trained, well entrenched, and knew what was coming. They knew their enemy and exactly what he could do and, even more importantly, what he couldn't. But perhaps the greatest comfort came from their location. New York City, a massive metropolitan area, given the fact they were facing an army, Sable couldn't have hoped for a better location.

Because cities were where armies went to die.

This mantra was only aided by the fact that the defenders possessed the IMCs plan of attack. While they didn't have the main camp, they did know the main thrust would be through the Lincoln Tunnel and make straight for Park Avenue before turning north. Their objective was on the north side of the Harlem River. Using that, Sable had her forces stretched across a defensive line spreading east to west across the thin island. The rivers protected her flanks, and the underground would enable forward operating bases and secure supply lines.

Even if the NYPD and Fisk enforcers weren't nearly as capable as the Sable International troopers, both possessed knowledge of the terrain that exceeded even hers. Fisk had even gone so far as to hand over caches of heavy weapons to the NYPD. Even further had been the civilian response, since the Mayor had announced what was happening many had volunteered to aid in the battle to come. Doctors and Paramedics had prepared triage centers closer to the front lines while staying behind to treat the wounded in select hospitals. Subway operators had almost unanimously agreed to keep the trains running, ensuring reinforcements and supplies could be brought up while wounded could be taken to the rear.

All other civilians had been evacuated to the north and east into the Bronx and Queens. That operation was being supervised by the NYPD mostly, but with the bulk of their efforts focused on preparing their defense it was slow going. Everything within Sable's control that could be done either had been done or was a work in progress. That only left the things beyond her control, which had caused her the most concern to begin with.

One by one, the individuals gathered in Central Park looked to the sky to see a contrail snake towards them before a black dot at the front began to take shape. A long slender body with two sleek engine nacelles, one on either side flushed cleanly into the gently swooping curves of the delta wings, painted nightmare black. The jet slowed, the blue exhausts turned down until the Blackbird began to hover and landing gear extended. On the tail fins, a reflective silver 'X' logo shone in the sun as the jet turbines spun down and the craft came still on the ground.

The corner of Sable's mouth downturned as she strode towards the jet and the ramp at the back dropped down and the occupants began to exit. Leading the way was a poised man with short hair, a red tinted visor covering his eyes, a black uniform providing full body protection and padding and shaped to have a 'X' across the chest. Behind him was a mocha skinned woman with a long head of flowing white hair and a slimmer more skintight outfit with a cape of all things. Third was a man in a wheelchair and three-piece suit, a bald head contained blue eyes that scanned the area and were seemingly all knowing before finally resting on Sable as he gave her a small smile that only unnerved her.

Spider-Man, the Marauder, Black Cat, and the reporter, who's name Silver couldn't be bothered to remember, all approached as the last two occupants emerged. One was a short young woman, shoulder length brown hair in a pony tail and wearing a similar black uniform but with yellow embellishments. Lastly was the most imposing, a broad shouldered and muscular looking man, mutton chops on his face and mangy dark hair, his face set in a permanent scowl. His gear was much more rudimentary, a leather jacket over slim Kevlar vest and black combat pants and boots. Clearly, this one valued function over form.

As the mercenary got closer, she could make out the conversation. "Thank you again for coming Professor" said Spider-Man candidly as the bald man smiled in response. Quickly, Sable noted some interesting dynamics as the reporter edged closer to the spider themed hero while the younger looking brunette seemed to be glaring daggers at the redhead.

The others either didn't notice or didn't care, and when the oldest replied, Sable focused on him. "Of course Spider-Man, you know we would never hesitate to aid you. I am only sorry that we couldn't bring more help. The situation you presented us with seemed dire" he admitted with a hint of skepticism.

"You're wrong Professor, 'dire' doesn't come close to describing what's happening" answered the Marauder with collected tones. But his words only caused the entire group of new arrivals to bristle as they looked at him wearily and it didn't escape Sable's notice that every magazine on his person was wrapped in red tape, and she knew what that meant.

The man with the visor clenched his fists as he squared up to the SRS Pilot. "And what's that supposed to mean? Are you just going to solve this problem with your gun? Kill your way out of trouble?" he hissed venomously. Sable found herself moving closer to the Gunfighter as a sign of support.

"Yes" deadpanned the Marauder as he stepped up and went almost toe to toe with the visor wearing man, "because tomorrow morning we will be fighting an army that will give no quarter and show no mercy. We will be at war" stated the Pilot before looking past him and at the others in the group. "And there is only one rule in war: survive."

The tension held thick until Sable cleared her throat and the Marauder stepped back out of respect as she addressed the new arrivals, the Pilot's move not going unnoticed. "I will see to it you are adequately briefed on the enemy's capabilities…"

"You can call us the X-Men Ms. Sablinova" supplied the oldest man with a kind hearted smile. "I am Professor Charles Xavier, Headmaster of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters" he introduced. "We are a group comprised of mutated individuals who seek to use their gifts for the betterment of both mutantkind and humankind, so that we my coexist without discrimination" he explained as Sable dug through her numerous briefings and soon placed the others in the group. Cyclops, Storm, and the Wolverine, the only one she paused at was the youngest until she recalled her moniker as Shadowcat. Just what she wanted, more so called 'heroes' with silly names.

"I don't think that will be an issue Professor" she assured, "those kinds of things tend to be forgotten on a battlefield." The group collectively frowned, except for the Wolverine, who seemed to nod in agreement, his eyes distant as he seemingly remembered events from times past. "I assume you all have experience working together and would prefer to operate as a unit?" she asked, getting a nod in reply from both Cyclops and the Professor. "Then I will assign you to work with Spider-Man, since you seem to know each other. I want you to support the east flank" she ordered. "You'll receive your assignments within the hour, be in position no later than zero four-thirty hours tomorrow morning…" she began before she was cut off by the thunderous footsteps of the Titan.

"Attention" intoned the machine in its warbling voice, "I have received a communique from Commander Briggs. Militia reinforcements have successfully bypassed the IMC defenses and navigated the interdimensional device, they are en route" he announced to the visual elation of the Marauder as he pumped his fist. "Their arrival is imminent."

"BT" began the reporter, "how soon is imminent?" she asked only for her question to be immediately invalidated as winds began to pick up and heat filled the air. Sable narrowed her eyes as she looked for a source as the air rippled until the blue sky turned to grey steel that took the shape of a ship. The stocky looking craft was built around a bank of four engines at the back, had a large cargo bay in the center, and narrowed at the front towards a gracefully curved nose and visible cockpit. On either side, forward swept wings extended from the rear of the craft while dark green paintwork broke up the shape, and the name on the nose read _MCS MATTHEW COOPER. _

From the bay at the center of the 140 meter long craft, a smaller ship dropped down and approached the ground, coming to a hover before landing alongside the X-Men's Blackbird. Sable was genuinely interested, wondering who the organization that created the Marauder would be like. Would there be more Pilots? Were they all mavericks or would they be more like the stoic Commander Briggs? Whatever they were like, Sablinova was confident they would be formidable and intimidating, a boon in the battle to come.

The door on the side slid up to reveal a man with thinning grey hair and wearing a filthy and ill-fitting jumpsuit. "Heya kid!" he called out jovially as he took a swig from a large flask, "you look good for woah!" he shouted as he tried to step down and fell flat on his face. He then pushed himself back up and held up his still filled flask triumphantly and took another swig, "Look good for dead!"

"And you still look like shit Barker!" returned the Marauder happily as the took shook hands, "I hope you got more than that one flask. You're going to need it" he advised as the older man grinned and opened the satchel to reveal several more flasks packed inside. "Who all agreed to this crazy trip?"

"Well why don't you meet them" he said before he turned to the craft. "Though you already know one of them. Alright fellas! It's go time!" he called out as five more figures emerged from the craft and Sable actually sighed in relief. The five figures that emerged all were armed to the teeth, the distinct packs on their lower backs signifying them as Pilots. "This is my crew now, meet the Angel City Elites!" he announced proudly before one of the female Pilots stepped forward and cleared her throat, "oh, and Gates is helpin' us out, from the 6-4."

The woman, Gates, slugged Barker, "thanks for remembering, ya wanker" she drawled casually, a noticeable English accent making its presence known. "And you managed to not die Rookie, hopefully you still have the moves you showed on the _Malta_. I'm lookin' forward to riding with you again."

"I'm afraid that isn't going to happen" interjected Sable bluntly. "I'm going to need you to bolster the flanks. Barker, take your men west. I want you to meet Captain Watanabe, you'll be under her command" she ordered before narrowing her eyes at the man as he was about to take another drink before he noticed her gaze and slowly lowered the flask.

"Yeah" he said absentmindedly as he turned to face the Symkarian. "Whatever the pretty lady says, Barker does." Sable rolled her eyes only to find that he was grinning stupidly as she sneered his way and he threw up his hands in defeat, "Alright boys! Go find this Watanbe while I get briefed by her" he said as he stepped up. Only for Sable to react instantly, stepping forward and throwing a punch in his gut to stagger him before her other fist threw a quick uppercut and sent him up as she jumped and spun, planting a kick square in his jaw as he slumped to the ground.

The other pilots, the Marauder, Black Cat, Spider-Man, and the reporter, all burst out laughing before Gates finally spoke up. "Whoever you are, I like you, put that tosser in his place" she said as she got herself back under control. Sable slowly stood down as the Marauder helped Barker to his feet as he slinked off to take a drink and nurse his wounded pride. "Though, if I could go somewhere else, I'd rather not put up with him anymore than I have to. The trip here was long enough."

There was a moment of silence, "I think she would be useful in aiding my X-Men" said Professor Xavier sagely. "She knows the enemy, and there is no greater edge in battle" he explained to the mutant super hero team who were shocked at the suggestion from Xavier.

"Very well" agreed Sable as she nodded her approval before sneering towards Barker. "If you were one of my men I would have you shot" she said flatly as she stared the ex-Pilot down with icy eyes.

Barker, for his part, seemed unfazed as he simply took another swig and replied without missing a beat. "And if I were one of your men then I would shoot myself!" he declared proudly despite the slur in his speech as he staggered drunkenly.

The Symkarian shook her head in exasperation. "Though there is one more thing I wish to know" she said before pointing up at the ship above them. "Did you bring any more Titans?"

Before Gates could answer, Barker called out from the back, "We're Pilots! What did you think! That we flew transports for rubber dog shit? Of course we have Titans!"

* * *

For Master Sergeant Francis 'Frank' Castle, USMC (Ret.), war was something he had grown accustomed to, that he had embraced as a way of life. Afghanistan may have been his first taste, but the 'war on crime' in New York had been the one he had been fighting in for almost half a decade. But now, his home was faced with a war unlike any even he had fought in. This would not be a counter insurgency fight, nor a guerilla campaign, not even a peacekeeping mission. The IMC would incite a pitched battle on a scale not seen since Desert Storm in the streets of his hometown.

Perhaps the worst of all, he would not be fighting the battle alongside Marines, but cops. Many of the same cops who had wanted him taken dead or alive. They were good cops, Castle would never say otherwise, but they weren't soldiers, and they definitely weren't Marines. Still, that didn't mean he hadn't asked to be placed where he thought that he would be needed. Sable didn't want him, and he figured the capes could handle themselves, but these normal people, his people, they needed all the help they could get.

That didn't mean that the NYPD liked him.

"Let me make myself perfectly clear" began Captain Watanabe sternly, "I am in charge out there, so you don't get to pull your usual stunts and you _will _follow orders. Nobody gives a shit that the fucking Marauder practically begged to let you in this fight because all they see is that big damn skull." Frank nodded, he could follow orders, so long as they weren't stupid, and he hadn't been expecting hospitality. Watanabe was one cop he would respect; he had dug into her and found that the only things she had been reprimanded for were a few instances of 'excessive force.' Meaning she had actually used her gun and hit something with it, stopping would be rapists and robbers, this only scored her more points in Castle's book. "Do you understand me Castle?"

"Yes ma'am" he responded crisply, even going so far as to stand at attention, it seemed old habits died hard. "And I know, this doesn't mean we're friends" he added dryly as he lowered her chin to look at the shorter woman. "Don't worry about me Captain, I know the score out there" he assured as he opened the back door of the van. "And I was talking to the kid, said he wanted to get you a new gun since he wouldn't be able up to givin' you ammo for the one you had" he explained gruffly as he got in and retrieved a rifle and the box of loaded magazines that went with it from the rack inside, "so here you are."

The Captain took possession of the Sig Sauer MCX-MR and inspected the Swiss designed rifle that Frank had outfitted for the marksman role. A S&B 3-12 power optic sat atop the rifle and the stock had an added cheek rest fitted, a red dot was mounted at 45 degrees as a backup on the right, while a combo of red light and IR laser emitter was on the left rail. On the bottom was a bipod towards the muzzle with a potato style grip set further back. Overall, it was a lightweight, accurate, and deadly package. Satisfied, Watanabe slung the rifle over her shoulder and grabbed the box of ammo, "Well when you see him, tell him I said thanks."

* * *

Darkness had fallen over Manhattan, the last night of peace as the preparations continued, though most of the combat troops were rotated out to allow them a full night's rest. Engineers were still busy preparing the defenses, erecting roadblocks, laying minefields, placing surveillance gear, anything that they could do to bottleneck and slow the IMC advance. NYPD who hadn't volunteered to be on the frontlines were busy evacuating civilians and scouting out strongpoints with good lines of sight. Weapons, ammunition, medical supplies, food, water, and equipment was stockpiled in subway stations so that trains could ferry them to where they were needed in relative safety.

Central Park, in stark contrast, was lit up by the unrelenting lights as the last of the equipment was moved to Roosevelt Island where Commissioner DeWolff and Professor Xavier would be in charge of command and control. That left those who would be leading the charge on the frontlines as the only ones present and in their current situation. Barker, because who else would ask, had managed to convince everyone that he had some very important info to share, so his Pilots, Gates, Sable, Castle, Watanabe, the Marauder, Black Cat, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and Mary Jane were all gathered together. Matthew had not been at all surprised to instantly have a shot glass shoved into his hand as soon as he got out of the _Widowmaker. _

"To the craziest and bravest sons of bitches this side of the Frontier!" called the old pilot jovially as Matthew joined the circle of amused, and in the case of Sable, scowling, faces as the founder of the ACEs raised his glass, followed by those under his command.

"May our powder stay dry and our aim true! May we have willing foes and plenty of bullets!" added Gates, her own helmet removed and face exposed.

Castle raised his glass next, "A toast to our brothers and sisters in arms, those gathered here. Semper Fi" he said in his gravelly tones.

Wolverine was the next to speak, "To the poor sons of bitches who have to go up against us" he added roughly, "my god have pity on them." The rest of the mutant heroes followed suit and raised their shots.

Surprisingly, Spider-Man spoke up next, his voice wavering a bit in the face of the bravado on display as he had his masked tugged up to expose his mouth, "To the people of New York!"

"And to their story" added Mary Jane as she moved next to the webslinger, "To our story!"

The sole lawwoman there added her own words, "To justice! May her will be done!"

"To us heroes, villains, and thieves!" called out Felicia from her position next to Matthew, "May we live long enough to come to regret this!"

At that, Cooper removed his own helmet, showing his face to many there for the first time as he gave them a cocky grin and raised his own glass, "Adversor et Admorsus!" he shouted, "To resist and bite!"

Finally, all eyes fell on Sable who muttered a curse to herself before reluctantly raising her glass, "Ad Victoriam" she called out finally. "To victory!"

"To victory!" chorused back the rest of those gathered as they downed their shots before immediately coming to regret it, with all but Wolverine and Barker choking slightly on the harsh burning sensation of the liquor, "Barker" said Cooper as he finally got air back in his lungs, "If we survive this, I'm giving you a bottle of Tennessee whiskey so I never have to drink that again!" he shouted, getting a round of agreements.

"Now that's my kinda bonus!" he shouted back happily, completely ignorant of the reason for the offer as he tossed a device to one of his subordinates. "Now gather round! I want a picture!" he shouted as he tried to get close to Sable, only to fail and fall on his ass two thirds of the way there while the rest reluctantly agreed.

Cooper stood in the middle, SMG in one hand while his other was around Hardy as she struck a sexy pose, back arched and one leg bent up at the knee. Spider-Man crouched in the middle, hands out and in the iconic web shooting position. Mary Jane was sitting casually next to him, turning to show off her good side. Crouched opposite Spidey was Yuri, on one knee with her rifle resting on her leg. Frank stood at parade rest next to Cooper, arms behind his back and skull on his vest standing out. Gates was next to him, hands on her hips. On the opposite edge was Silver Sablinova, standing at attention in her combat gear, looking as stern as ever. The X-Men were on the end, Shadowcat crouched next to Yuri with Wolverine behind her, while Storm and Cyclops stood on Gates' left.

The ACE Pilot who had been given the camera took aim and snapped the photograph, "That'll look nice in the bar" he commented as he looked at the viewer before tossing it back to Barker, who promptly failed to catch it as it slammed into his head and knocked the alcoholic out cold. "Ya know, assuming it ever gets there" he muttered.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Heavy Automated Infantry: Reaper_

_You could not give these ultra-heavy mechanical infantry units a more fitting name if you tried. A terrifyingly brilliant piece of design that is designed to wreck regular infantry units, the Reaper is one of the most formidable units the IMC has at its disposal. Almost completely invulnerable to small arms fire, these miniature titans are a force to be reckoned with for those without heavy weapons or any sort of well armored vehicle. _

_Doubly so because of the vast array of weapons the IMC managed to cram onto this seemingly top-heavy robot. The hands are actually plasma launchers, based on the EM-4 Cold War, these powerful weapons are capable of massacring exposed infantry or light vehicles, though they have been dubbed, somewhat inaccurately, 'Reaper Rockets.' If you do manage to find some cover, then the Reaper can give you something else to think about in the form of Ticks. Ticks are spider like autonomous robotic anti-personnel mines. Even if those don't get you, the Reaper itself is highly mobile for its size, quicker than it should be on its feet, able to jump with its thrusters._

_In a bizarre twist, the IMC gave these things a terrifying roar as an intimidation tactic, and with all of the firepower the Reaper has, it works a lot better than I care to admit. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: So that was a lot of setup and hopefully it wasn't too confusing. Obviously the defenders forces got bulked up as everyone comes together to stand against the IMC, this is intended to eventually serve as a contrast with later on when everyone is faced with an internal threat instead of external. But that's then, as for now, what do you all think of who has come to help? I know Blaze said Militia, and I went with mercenary pilots including the group I rep in the ACEs, along with Gates for the 6-4. Both Gates and Barker are here for specific reasons which will become more obvious later on. The X-Men likewise were picked for more than just starpower and firepower, and that was teased a long time ago. Anyone remember back in chapter 27, Peter and Matt talk about Peter dating a 'Katherine' from upstate? That was in fact Katherine 'Kitty' Pryde, or Shadowcat. She's here for a reason, Logan is here because he's cool, Storm is here becuase her powers are useful and fun to write around, and Cyclops is meant to be the field commander. **

**If anyone is wondering about what MJ is doing here, I have plans for her based on Joe Galloway at the Ia Drang Valley, so please bear with me. **

**Review if you have somthing to say, especially if you have feeling towards this story arc with the IMC. Is it something you all are looking forward to? Does it seem like a waste of time and you just want to get back to the game? Now that you have a basic idea of the structure of what's coming does it sound promising or do you wish I had gone in a different direction? I do wonder what everyone expected or imagined when you heard 'Spider-Man vs. the IMC' and if this is what you had in mind. **

**Next time, the Battle of Manhattan gets underway, and few will fight for all until the bullets are gone, they will Resist and Bite.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	46. Chapter 46: Resist and Bite

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Enough of this buildup stuff, this is where we get to why you're all here. But first, reviews, which are always appreciated because nothing exposes mistakes and oversights like having a hundred or so people read something instead of three.

**Blaze1992: I should have been more precise in the IMC's objectives (even if they don't really matter). If it makes you feel better, Marder specifically wants the ones in the RAFT, Rhino, Vulture, Li, Electro, and Scorpion because their powers and tech can be replicated, they are not a gentic mutation like the X-Men. It is also key to note that Cooper and company don't know the IMCs objectives so they don't have a reason to not get all the help they can. **

Now it's time for one of my favorite parts, where I get to talk about a song that nobody else has probably heard of based on an event that even not many more have. Of all the Sabaton songs I have featured (Wolfpack, 40:1, and Wehrmacht) this is by far the best. Wolfpack is awesome but weird, and the others are fine but don't stand out like this _Heroes _track about the Belgian _Chausseurs Ardennais _during the German advance through the woods protected by this vaunted light infantry unit. German airborne units cut communications to a company of them, so they never received the order to fall back. So they obeyed their last received orders, which were to hold the line. Digging in against the Panzer Divisions, they held out for eighteen days, only surrendering when they ran out of ammunition. The thing to take from that, both as for it relating to the story and real life, was that even if the higher ups in the Allied chain of command (and the French in particular) could best be described as various stages of incompetent, the men on the front lines were not, they fought and fought hard.

This song really does suit those who the Desert Fox described as 'Green Wolves' and had the motto 'Resiste et Mords!' Go read up on these Badass Belgians, and give the song a listen.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 46: Resist and Bite**

_No matter our fighting, Their numbers will still count_

_We're outgunned and few in numbers, We're doomed to flag or fail_

_We fought hard, Held our guard_

_But when captured by the Axis, and forced to tell the truth_

_We'll tell it with a smile, We will surprise them with a laugh_

_We are all, We were all_

_We were told to hold the border, And that is what we did_

_Honored were our orders in despite of our foe_

_We!_

_We will resist and bite!_

* * *

There was something oddly disturbing about a deserted city as Mary Jane walked through the empty streets towards a primary stronghold on the East Side. Despite the weight in the air from what she knew was coming, the redhead couldn't help but revel int the surreal experience. At least, until she realized that she was being watched, stopping in her tracks and turning around slowly, she looked up and could make out a red clad figure casually sticking to the building next to her. "Hello, miss, lovely morning for a stroll isn't it?" he asked, trying to sound light and carefree, but there was obvious weight in his voice.

The other weight came from the new suit he was sporting. She had known for some time that he had been trying to incorporate armor that Cooper had into a suit, and from the looks of what he was wearing he had done exactly that. "It is, for now," she returned as he backflipped and stuck the landing, no less graceful despite the extra encumberment. "So you finally got that working, huh?" she asked as she looked him over. Even with the thick red plate over his torso with a black spider logo over it. There was a thick belt around his waist packed with gadgets and gizmos with additional plating on his forearms, shoulders, thighs, and shins with a pair of red colored combat boots to match the red plate. Under it was a form fitting black bodysuit that left little to the reporter's imagination.

"Uh, yeah" he said dumbly as he shifted nervously, "Spider-Armor Mark Three" he announced proudly as he did a spin to show it off in its entirety. _Very flattering _thought the redhead as she was finally reintroduced to the blank red mask save for the two glowing, narrow eye lenses. "There isn't anything I can say to convince you to go somewhere its safe?" he asked, only to get a deadpan look in response, "Sorry, had to try" he said as he held up his hands defensively.

She smiled, he cared, always did, but at least he seemed to be learning, albeit slowly. "You should know by now you can't get rid of me that easily" she teased, "and if it makes you feel better, I promise not to run off alone. I'll stay with somebody else" she assured, she wasn't planning on dying for this story.

That admission caused Spidey to visibly relax, "Thank you MJ. I trust you to stay safe" he replied sincerely before snapping back to his light, bantering self as he offered her a hand. "Now come on, I'll give you a lift up to where we're set up."

* * *

Yuri Watanabe chewed her lip nervously behind her mask, there was a reason she often wound up in the field even with the rank of Captain. Not being able to control what was going to happen next grated her, so waiting in the prepared position wasn't doing her nerves any favors. Finally resigned to the fact that she had to do _something_, she grabbed her rifle and decided to do a walkthrough of the positions in the building. The high rise was a strong point in the first offensive line that ran along 45th street, with her position on the corner with 10th avenue just south of Hell's Kitchen.

She had SWAT and other volunteers from the NYPD in buildings from the _Intrepid _to the west and stopping at 8th avenue. Sable had the sector all the way until Lexington Avenue, where Fisk's men under the command of Cyclops from the X-Men held the line as it stretched to the ring road on the east side of the Island. While she had ordered Barker to spread his Pilots out along the perimeter, she was determined to not let the man get himself into trouble. To make the best of two bad situations, she had saddled him with a babysitter so that she wouldn't have to babysit either him or his babysitter, figuring the two would keep each other occupied.

Making her way downstairs, she could hear slurred speech from the windows looking south. "I always knew the kid was going to be something special! Knew it from the first day I met him!" declared the washed up Pilot, "he's almost as good as I was, back in the day!" Yuri couldn't help but roll her eyes, the Marauder had vouched that this guy was actually a crack Titan Pilot, or at least had been, but the Captain still couldn't see it. She watched as the man slumped against the wall next to his babysitter, who was seemingly ignoring him. "I remember, this one time back with McAllen" he began as he raised his flask to take a drink.

But it never got there, a muscled arm reached out and ripped the flask away before tossing it across to room where it came to a stop at Yuri's feet, the clear liquid dripping onto the floor. "Quit drinking for once in your goddamn worthless life and get your head on straight before I blow it off" snarled the babysitter, the Marine not bothering to look up from his watch. "SITFU and quit skating" added Castle before resting his helmeted head back behind his big belt fed machine gun while a bazooka lay on the ground in arms reach, opposite where Barker was sitting.

Not amused by the Punishers intolerance of his habit, Barker calmly reached his hand down and pulled a fresh flask from his belt and unscrewed the lid before taking a swig, relishing the drink despite the glare Frank was giving him. "Now, as I was saying…" he began as he screwed the lid back on before finally noticing Yuri's presence, "Oh hey, didn't see you there!" he greeted as he sprang to his feet. "Who are you? Don't be scared of ol' Barker now" he encouraged with a grin.

"Watanabe" returned Yuri, almost a hiss, "_Captain _Watanabe" she added, emphasizing her rank so that the guy might realize exactly who he was messing with. Recognition slammed into the ACE's head like a truck as his eyes widened and his mouth hung open dumbly.

Slowly however, he regained his composure, grinning again. "Ya know, I think I understand why the kid likes it here!" he announced as he turned back to the Punisher, still prone behind his bi-podded Mk. 48. "It sure as hell isn't because of assholes like you! Especially when he's working with people like her!" he added after being ignored by Castle. "Hell, if you were my boss I might bother to sober up a little bit!"

Yuri gave a sweet smile behind her face mask that he couldn't see as she placed both hands on his shoulders and pulled him down as she rammed her knee into his gut, leaving him doubled over as she moved past the ex-Pilot towards the Marine. "How's it looking out there, Castle?" she asked flatly as she lowered her goggles and peered into the morning mist. The Marine merely gave a bored grunt, still looking from behind his gun. "Don't fall asleep on me Castle."

"This isn't my first O dark thirty Fire Watch ma'am" responded the Devil Dog dryly. "But it is quiet. Don't think it was ever this quiet in the Sandbox" he mused quietly as he sat up from his gun and turned to look at Yuri. "Can't tell if that's a good or bad thing" he added in his gravelly tones.

Yuri hmmed her agreement as she raised her goggles up and looked down at the Punisher, the white skull emblem partially covered by ALICE gear to carry extra equipment. "Good, while it lasts" stated the Captain firmly as she tried to hide her nervousness from Castle, not wanting to give him any more ammunition to use against her. "Be honest with me, do you think we have a chance?" she finally asked.

The Marine shrugged, "there's always a chance" he replied quickly, "you should know that better than me, you actually went up against these guys before" he reminded. The cop didn't look amused as she looked down at him with a sideways glance. "Fine, fine" he conceded as he worked his jaw and reevaluated his position. "The guys on the other side, they're still human, they're still scared. And if they aren't, we'll teach them that they should be. Bullets still kill 'em and we got something to fight for, and really, what else do you need?"

* * *

Norman Osborn frowned slightly at his situation as he stood placidly in the command center on Roosevelt Island. While he had no desire to be anywhere near the actual fighting, he had no desire to isolate himself on this island where he was forbidden from playing any substantial role in the coming days. The Mayor of New York City would be naught but a spectator as the city he presided over became a battlefield.

Inside the room that had been outfitted by Sable International and manned mostly by their communications specialists were dozens of displays and holo maps giving a real time birds eye view of Manhattan. On it, the markers for various units lit up along the defensive line as well as marked paths of supply lines, showing everything was in place. Even the late arrivals were where they were supposed to be, including the one here.

From his wheelchair, Professor Xavier, or simply Professor X, was overlooking the maps with a faraway look in his pale eyes. The bald mutant seemed to be consumed by something, only that something wasn't what was before his eyes. The CEO narrowed his eyes at the mutant, but there was little he could do, only insist that once this affair was over that he keep his group away from the city.

In contrast, the firebrand blonde woman who was the acting commissioner, Jean DeWolff, was a siren as she shouted out orders and requests for updates. If this was what she was like before they had hostile contact, part of Osborn was curious what she would be like once the IMC revealed themselves. The Marauder had informed them that the IMC possessed cloaking drones that would obscure their base and troops visually. Thankfully, there were other ways to detect troops, especially since they knew where to expect the enemy.

While Osborn thought it would be best have the defenders around the tunnel, Sable had rebuffed him, saying she didn't want the information to be wrong and be outflanked as a result. Hence the east to west defensive line that extended across the whole island, it was also hoped that this would cause the IMC to disseminate their firepower to try and even the odds. Even if Osborn wasn't sure, any attempts to convince her otherwise had gotten him a defiant glare and a stern reminder that this was what Sablinova was being paid for.

Well, it would soon be time for her to earn her considerable pay. "Contacts!" called out one of the men manning a sensor station, "Sensors detecting thermal and electromagnetic distortions at the exit of the Lincoln Tunnel!" In an instant, the room fell quiet as everyone realized that the IMC were no longer a theoretical bogeyman, they were here and in force.

"Alright people, this is it!" barked out DeWolff as she took charge once more. "Call our people up front. Let them know we got incoming!"

* * *

"…_just turned onto Park avenue, ETA is 10 mikes. No disturbances on the other sensors at this time. All units stand to and prepared for imminent hostile contact" _reported DeWolff coolly as Cooper turned to look at the two women next to him to try and gauge their reactions. _"Good luck, and give them hell."_ Sable's face was easier to read with nothing to cover it since she was wearing gear identical to the set she used in the underground, and she was as stoic as always as she picked up her a rifle in place of the shotgun she had used previously. Felicia was determined, but nervous as she unslung her P90 PDW and chambered a round while biting her lip anxiously.

Cooper had that ever-present cocky smirk on his face, adrenaline chilling his blood as he steeled himself for the battle to come, some part of him deep down almost looking forward to it. Taking one last moment to inspect his R-201 Carbine and the underslung electromagnetic launcher, the Marauder felt he was as ready as he would ever be. Looking over to Hardy, the two exchanged silent reassuring nods before jogging off after Sable towards their positions.

In the predawn twilight, a strange grey orange glow covered the streets, aided by streetlamps, while the windows remained dark, even those that had the muzzle of a gun waiting behind them. Sable, Cooper, Hardy, and a fireteam of four Sable troopers were all spread out on the fourth floor of this corner building overlooking the intersection of 45th and Park. The other floors of the building and the one opposite similarly occupied, though machine guns, anti-vehicular teams, and spotters were mixed in for good measure. On top of that, there were a few more aces the defenders had up their sleeve to help even the odds.

There was no doubt in Cooper's mind they would have to play every card they had, and that was reinforced when the defenders got their first warning through their own senses, not their eyes, their legs. They could feel the ground shake and hear the approaching brigade as it got closer and closer, invisible under the cover of cloak drones. Something about fighting an enemy you couldn't see always unnerved the Texan, and he had to take a deep calming breath as he waited for Sable to deal the first hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the woman hold her wrist mounted tactical pad up, finger poised over the button that would fire the opening shot, and chuckled lightly to himself, "Damn I've missed this…now let's get ready to rock" he drawled calmly as he shouldered his rifle and took aim.

"_This is Silver Bird" _began Silver Sable over the radio, _"all units be advised; Blackfall will commence in fifteen seconds" _she alerted as the defenders prepared. Matthew flicked through his own wrist mounted tacpad until he found the correct setting, pressing the button and shutting down every piece of gear he had. The Jumpkit went silent as the exo powered down, his HUD vanished as his visor became transparent automatically while the Pilot manually turned off his holosight optic and electromagnetic launcher as Sablinova's accented voice came back on the radio. _"In five…four…three…"_

The Marauder took a deep breath as the silence was broken by several 'pops' before the air hummed with electricity, as if the molecules were being charged. In effect, that was the case as the EMP generators powered up before that energy was released with a high pitched 'snap' as the pulse disabled the IMC machines. Cloak drones dropped like rocks, their obscuring fields falling away to reveal the confused infantry and temporarily knocked out automated infantry as the Stalkers and Specters rebooted. But that would take time, something the attackers didn't have much of as the defenders hastily powered up their gear, Cooper's HUD coming back online just in time to hear Silver order _"All units: Open fire!"_

Every gun in the buildings overlooking the road erupted in a deafening roar as red laser fire poured down onto the street, cutting down human and mechanical infantry. They were soon joined by the shrill whistle of incoming mortar shells, the airburst rounds leaving deathly black puffs just below rooftop level as they rained shrapnel down to add to the carnage. Men and machine alike fell under the weight of fire, the men dashing for whatever cover they could find, but there was precious little in the killbox. On the contrary, the Specters stood their ground and returned fire, making them far easier targets for the defenders in their elevated firing positions. Within the first hellish seconds, the IMC advance had ground to a halt in the face of determined resistance. But infantry weren't the only things the IMC had to throw at the defenders. _"Contact, hostile armor – titan class – 150 meters out!" _called one of the spotters as Cooper looked up to see the hulking form of a Brute loadout titan in IMC colors marching towards them.

The response from the PMC was instantaneous, _"Oscar 4, I need your AT on that hard target! Fire for effect!" _barked Sablinova as the squad of no less than eight men armed with Carl Gustav recoilless rifles unleashed the HEAT 655 CS rounds loaded for this exact purpose. The first four failed to do damage to the chassis, the shield absorbing the warheads, but the next four had no such obstruction as jets of molten copper bore through the armor, severing vital controls and breaking the frame as the machine fell backwards and didn't get back up. _"Damn fine shooting Oscar 4!" _called out the Symkarian as she slammed a fresh energy cell into her Havoc energy rifle and opened back up on the IMC.

As quickly as the battle began it drew to a close, the once continuous gunfire became staccato cracks and discreet bursts as bodies littered the street around the burning hulk of the Titan. Even this light skirmish had been brutal, and it was only the beginning. "That wasn't so bad" commented Hardy as she swapped out magazines for her PDW, "I thought they would do something a bit more creative then march straight at us."

The Militia Pilot was under no such delusions, "This is the IMC we're talking about. They come at you with brute force. That means two things: Strength in numbers and heavy armor" he explained as he kept his eyes peeled for any sign of the enemy. "I just hope we're ready" he added quietly, he didn't know for sure, all he was sure of was that the defenders would put up one hell of a fight.

Hopefully it would be enough.

* * *

Blisk glared at the map, particularly the blinking red indicator that meant the lead infantry company had been wiped out. "Oi!" he barked out, "Bastards got some backbone after all!" Here he thought Marder had sent him on another pointless boring errand after the debacle at Typhon.

"So you fucks actually want to put up a fight eh?" he chuckled lowly, "Then you'll get a fight" he promised as he began sending out updates to the officers leading different companies. If whoever dared oppose him had set up a strongpoint on his main axis of advance, then he had two options: Punch through with brute force or try to outflank it.

Looking out from his Titan, he saw the vast numbers of troops and vehicles and vehicles moving past in their neat procession through the narrow streets of the empty metropolis. The convoy had to stretch for miles, even if their cloak drones were fried and their vehicles needed a reboot, but the entire combat arm of the brigade was moving into the city to reach their objectives as the construction elements were busy erecting their way back home on the other side of the tunnel Blisk had just emerged from. It would be ready soon, and the Apex Predator had every intention of being back with his objectives before it was completed. Failure was not an option, and considering the vast amount of resources at his disposal, Kuben Blisk came to his decision.

The Apex Predator decided to try both.

* * *

Logan was pissed.

That in of itself wasn't unusual, it was actually closer to the norm, but what was unusual was the origin of the Wolverine's ire as he angrily chewed on his cigar. He was sure the Professor could explain it as some part of his mutation, that his animalistic traits made him territorial or something, but all he knew was that his blood boiled, and he could already feel the tips of his claws slice through his skin. His enhanced hearing could pick out the sounds of a gun battle in the distance, though everyone else was on edge after they had received word that the IMC was in Manhattan.

A flash to his right caught his attention as he spun and coiled, ready to pounce on whoever had taken him by surprise when he saw the redhead Spider-Man had brought up with him standing there, camera in hand and wide eyed. "Sorry" she mumbled as she stepped back slowly, Logan snorting as he watched the woman suddenly find her camera very interesting.

He wasn't sure what she thought she was doing here, but he had more pressing matters, such as the chuckling woman next to her, who seemed strangely relaxed. "What are you laughing at?" he growled lowly as the Pilot chuckled, the woman in the slate grey tactical gear only now turning to look at Wolverine.

"Nothing personal luv" returned Gates, "Just that Coop managed to fall in with an eclectic bunch is all" she explained nonchalantly as she got to her feet. Logan recognized the way she carried herself, the member of the 6-4 radiated experience and projected both bravado and cool confidence. Gates was a battle-hardened fighter who didn't like to back down from a fight, even if she was taking some amusement in her companions.

"He doesn't like to be called that" interjected Spider-Man, suspended upside down from a webline attached to the ceiling, "he usually goes by 'Marauder' when he's suited up. Prefers to keep his identity a secret" reminded the Webslinger. Gates looked up and titled her head inquisitively before chuckling again and nodding in acknowledgement.

The Pilot looked back up at the superhero and replied, "At least it's a better name than Spider-Man" she jabbed lightly. "Though hopefully you're all your cracked up to be, those IMC buggers won't be going easy on us" she said before her glowing blue visor turned towards the redheaded girl, "Any of us. You sure you want to be here? You don't look like much of a fighter" she commented.

The girl with her camera looked up and seemed to bristle at that, "I know I may not look like much, but this isn't my first time doing something crazy…or suicidal" she retorted, casting a sideways glance at the Wallcrawler, who shrunk from her gaze. "And I figure that even if I won't ever be as good a fighter as any of you then at least I can try to understand what it is you do…why you do it, and make sure everyone else knows what you do too" she elaborated.

Gates scrutinized the redhead for a long moment, "Well I'll tell you this for nothing, these people here, may as well be my family. The 6-4 _is _my family, and we'll kick your fookin arse if you get in our way" she threatened flatly, causing the reporters eyes to widen, "Am I understood?" Watson nodded at that as she slinked off, leaving them be.

"You didn't have to be so harsh on her" commented Spider-Man quietly, "I think the IMC are a bigger threat than some nosey reporter" he defended brusquely. The put off look Shadowcat had on her face didn't escape Wolverine's notice as the Webslinger tried to steer the conversation away from the redhead. "Any last minute pep talks?

The woman looked at the superhero, then at the window before shouldering her rifle and firing a shot that went straight through the head of a trooper below, "All for the 6-4!" she shouted before her rifle roared on full auto. Snarling in rage, Wolverine peered out the window while chewing on his cigar as he saw the soldiers on the street below, tracers slicing through the air as both sides traded rifle fire. While Storm, Shadowcat, and Cyclops all ducked under the windowsills, Logan stood tall as he removed the stub from his mouth and squished it beneath his boot.

"X-Men" said Cyclops calmly, "let's make our presence felt. Storm: shock and awe. After that" said Summers as he turned to the two close quarters combatants, "you two close the distance, I'll keep you covered" he instructed as Logan growled in anticipation. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, the air crackled with electricity before lightning snapped down from the heavens straight into the middle of the IMC squads, causing them to scatter or be turned to ash.

"Think you can keep up old man?" challenged Shadowcat with a grin as Wolverine felt his blood boil.

He snorted derisively, "Just watch your own ass kid" he grunted before he squatted down and launched himself out of the window, his claws extending from his hands. The Mutant came down to the street and charged forwards, uncaring of the bullets that tore into his skin as he bore down on the nearest squad and leapt at the first one. Recoiling back, face etched with fear, he screamed out in agony as the adamantium coated claws were plunged into his chest before being pulled out, leaving the man to bleed out on the ground. With a savage swipe, Logan sliced the gun of the next rifleman in two before his other claws were rammed into his side and sliced through his spinal cord.

On the other side of the street, Katherine Pryde phased through a car and right in the middle of an IMC squad, shoving one trooper into his squad mate before dodging a knife swing with grace and ease. Using the attack to gain the upper hand, she got the upper hand by throwing the off-balance soldier to the ground and kicked him in the jaw, knocking him out. Just as the first two soldiers recovered, a pair of white silk lines came down from above and attached to their helmets, slamming them down into the car and knocking both out.

Meanwhile, Logan yanked his claws back out from the last member of the first group he had set upon and tore off toward the last two soldiers. While bullets tore through him to no effect he lashed out with his claws, slicing through the armor of the first as he fell back and away and Wolverine rounded on the other, tearing into him with fury until the solider was a bloody a flash of red in his peripheral caused him to look up, seeing the red eye beam of Cyclops sear the chest of the first soldier as the street fell silent. A blood covered and bullet ridden Logan stood tall and sniffed the air, the scents of blood and cordite heavy after the brief firefight. "Well" began a chipper voice as Logan looked up at the red armored figure hanging from the wall, "that wasn't so bad."

"Don't worry bub," began Wolverine as he reached for a fresh cigar, "It's gonna get worse."

* * *

Waiting wasn't something the Black Cat was unused to, waiting for the right moment to make her move, waiting for a piece to show up, waiting for a patrol to pass by. But this kind of waiting, waiting for the next onslaught, was nerve wracking. After the first contact almost three hours prior it had been eerily quiet in their immediate area, though Felicia could hear echoing gunfire from up the street. Simply put, the thief felt out of place here surrounded by soldiers, and she was feeling restless._ "How you holdin' up darlin?" _drawled a voice in her ear piece, as if the man down the line could sense her misgivings.

It was clear the her lover felt right at home here, she could tell he was…enjoying was the wrong word, but after weeks of chasing shadows around the city and trying to play catch up with Mr. Negative, it was clear he was thriving without having to be collared by rules of were simple, there were bad guys and he had to shoot them, and it was where the Texan was at his best. "Well enough" she replied evenly, but being put into the line, it made her feel small, unimportant, it was not a feeling she liked. Looking down past the Marauder, she could see Silver Sable, the Symkarian had been keeping an eye on either her or Cooper, and the more Felicia watched it seemed as if the mercenary had her attention on the Marauder.

Up close, the woman was intimidating, she projected an air of confidence that rivaled Felicia's own and she was more than able to handle herself in a fight. Considering her skills and her status as a mercenary employed by Norman Osborn, the Black Cat was weary, hoping the business mogul's agenda didn't cause the two to cross paths. Any further thoughts, however, were cut short by a distant whistling sound. "_COVER!" _shouted Sable over the comm as everyone dove to the floor, the building shaking from the salvo of mortar rounds as they impacted the structure and street below. _"Silver Bird to Baseplate, request counterbattery fire on enemy mortars!" _called the mercenary as Felicia covered her head with her arms, just able to peak out and see the woman standing, unperturbed, as lethal explosives rained down on them.

"_Negative Silver Bird" _returned the fire controller flatly, _"we are unable to pinpoint the target at this time. IMC jamming is rendering our radars ineffective, you need to have the mortar position manually designated." _Felicia could hear Sable mutter a curse down the line, and she had a feeling she knew what was coming.

"_Chert" _she cursed as she turned towards the Marauder and Black Cat, _"Marauder, I need you two to locate and designate that mortar team" _ordered Sablinova as Felicia collected herself and began to get to her feet, only to find the Symkarian standing over her with an extended hand. Taking it, the Thief stood to her full height, "Take this, laser designator" explained the woman as she offered a set of peculiar looking binoculars. "Find those mortars, designate them, then get back. No heroics" she said sternly, cold blue eyes looking from Felicia to Matthew before she turned away as more mortar shells impacted.

"Well" began Cooper as he made his way to a window, "Ready to stretch your legs?" drawled the Marauder, though the Black Cat could hear the slight edge in the usually calm voice.

Despite her own anxiety, she managed a Cheshire grin, "And waltz through the raindrops" she returned coyly as she drew her grapple hook and took a deep breath. After a brief hesitation, she pulled the trigger, sending the hook to the building across the street and jumped up just as she was yanked forwards and out of the window. Ignoring the dust, smoke, shrapnel, and heat that surrounded her, the Black Cat flew across the street, muscle memory pulling her up and onto the rooftop.

She could barely make out the distinct hiss of a jump kit and knew that Cooper was hot on her heels as she took off in a dead sprint, parkouring over and around the chimneys, half walls, and air conditioning units that littered the rooftop. Halfway through a jump, a mortar shell landed on the rooftop, the shockwave knocked the wind of out her lungs as she staggered before recovering, pure adrenaline pushing her to get out of the danger zone. "Go! Don't stop! _GO!_" barked Cooper from behind as both hit the edge of the rooftop at the same time and leapt off, bouncing off the opposite wall and working their way down to street level to try and get away from the deadly hail of shells.

"You good?" asked Matthew as they ducked inside a building for a brief reprieve. Felicia gave a nod as she caught her breath, "Then it's your point, we need to go quiet and go quick. Take us there sweetheart" he finished.

"Ride to the sound of the guns?" she asked, "I can do that" she answered as the two got underway. Staying off the main streets to keep a low profile, they pair were forced to use alleys, parkouring their way south, the sounds of the mortar impacts becoming steadily more distant. Soon however, Felicia heard something else as she came to stop. "Do you hear that?" she asked as she strained to try and identify the odd rumbling.

The Marauder came to a stop and looked around, "Yeah" he answered lowly, the Texan quickly elevating his senses to high alert as he bent his knees and shouldered his weapon, ready to spring into combat. "Let's check it out…carefully" he decided, "We get spotted out here and we're fucked" he reminded as the pair moved slowly and deliberately towards the main street, Felicia picking the lock of a door while Matthew covered her until it clicked open and the duo slipped inside. Creeping through the deserted building and up to the second floor and made their way to the windows overlooking the street. Her lover, eloquent as ever, reacted first, "Holy shit."

Below was a massive column of armored vehicles, some were just big trucks with squads of soldiers riding the beds while others were futuristic looking versions of the MRAPs Sable International used. But most intimidating were the fully tracked battle tanks, turrets each containing a pair of massive cannons, trundling down the street. "We need to warn the others" whispered Hardy, there was little the pair could do against the IMC force below them. "Silver Bird, this is Black Cat, do you read?" she spoke calmly, only to get static back in reply through her earpiece.

"They're jamming long range voice comms," surmised Cooper, "we need to take down those mortars so Sable's positions are still intact for when that column arrives. Look" following where he was pointing, Felicia saw telltale smoke puffs that she assumed were from the mortars. "Let's get up to the roof and light 'em up" finished the Maruader as the two slinked back from the windows and made their way up the staircase to the rooftops.

Stepping out onto the rooftop, weapons sweeping to ensure they were alone, the duo moved to the corner of the building as Hardy raised the laser designator. Despite the jamming of comm signals, the shorter burst transmission of gps coordinates made it through without issue. Even if their radios only received static, the high-pitched whistle of incoming shells was the only confirmation they needed that the coordinates had made it through. With the magnified view offered by the binocular like device, Felicia could see the effects of the Sable mortar rounds with gruesome clarity. The rounds they fired were cluster warheads, splitting apart 100 feet off the ground as dozens of golf ball sized spheres rained down on the designated position, on impact, those spheres detonated in blasts of red light.

It was more than just a lightshow, the extreme heat generated was immense, grass burst into flames as dozens of small fires started simultaneously, those men unlucky enough to be caught in the blast had the heat melt their armor to them as their skin was blackened and fell away like slime. Metal fared no better, emplacements and the artillery guns they were targeted warped under the assault and the ammunition cooked off, exploding like popcorn. "Burn you bastards" growled Matthew lowly, clearly even a year removed from Typhon he had no sympathy for the IMC.

Felicia found it a tougher pill to swallow, not the killing per se, or even that the people on the receiving end didn't deserve it, it was how remote it was. She had looked through binoculars and pressed a button to rain death down on unprepared soldiers caught completely off guard. As she watched a trio of men dancing, their gear burning as they flailed about, she could finally take no more and lowered the designator. "You alright darlin?" asked the Marauder quietly as she turned to see the blue visor staring at her intently. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Yeah, just…" she began before trailing off, "did you see stuff like that before? On Typhon?" she asked carefully as a pillar of black smoke beagn to rise into the sky as the fires soon combined into a raging inferno. He didn't talk about Typhon much, and he had never shown more than the last day, the heroic charge to take down the Fold Weapon, though he still bore the physical and mental scars.

"I didn't just see it" answered the Marauder quietly, "I caused it." There was no pride in the admission, though his voice remained steady as Felicia digested the words while her eyes remained glued to the carnage below. "Come on," said Cooper after a few moments of uneasy silence, "We need to head back before that column reaches their position" he encouraged as the thief nodded and tore her eyes from the pyre and they turned to leave when she heard a faint humming sound. "Shit!" called Cooper almost by reflex as purple orbs shot overhead, "Plasma drones! Move!" he barked as Felicia's legs picked up speed of their own accord, adrenaline surging through her as she looked over her shoulder to see Matthew trailing, Smart Pistol out and taking aim at a gaggle of the silver colored miniature craft hovering about thirty feet above and behind the pair.

Making for the edge of the roof, stealth was traded for speed as Felicia moved with the speed and grace expected of someone known as the Black Cat as she leapt to the neighboring building. Landing and transitioning back into a dead sprint without having to break her stride, she was operating on reflex and instinct. Cooper was too, and his instinct was to shoot back as the distinct report of his sidearm filled the air, followed soon after by the sound of several drones being hit. Veering right, Felicia made for the alley the building backed up to, vaulting over the fire escape and using a solid strut as a trapeze to propel herself across the gap and through the window of another building, shattering glass as she rolled to her feet.

A second window shattered a second later as the green armored form of the Marauder entered the hallway behind her and the two resumed their mad dash. The drones hovered outside the windows and opened up, plasma orbs slamming into the brick wall, the glass windows, and the paint mere inches from the two humans as the braved the gauntlet. But it was only a matter of time until lady luck frowned upon them, and Felicia was desperately looking for an alternate path when she spotted their ticket out of this killzone. "The elevator!" she called out as she slid into the wall next to it, "Open these doors!" she ordered as Matthew complied without hesitation, driving his axe between them and slowly prying them open.

But the drones weren't going to let them go that easily as they came to a stop just outside the window. Mouth clenched in anger, Felicia pulled up the P90 and unleashed a long burst, spraying rounds into the group from the hip, the armor piercing 5.7mm projectiles slicing through the thin armor and chewing up the internals until the gun had chewed through its entire 50 round magazine. Just as another drone settled into view to take it's shot, the R-201 roared to life as Cooper engaged the machine. "I gotcha covered! Go!" her ordered as Felicia leapt into the shaft and grabbed hold of the central steel cable, sliding down the twenty floors in seconds.

When the gunfire stopped, she looked up to see Cooper hadn't even bothered with the cable. The Pilot electing to descend simply by bouncing off the walls on his way down. When they reached the bottom, both took a moment to catch their breath and reload their weapons, but they didn't have much more time than that. "They'll have squads vectored in on us, we need to get moving" reminded Cooper as Felicia nodded and led the pair to an exit, her muscles were already burning, and they still had more than a dozen blocks to cover.

After that it would be back into the frying pan.

* * *

Silver Sablinova's teeth rattled as more IMC mortar shells slammed into the building when her radio crackled to life, _"Silver Bird, this is Baseplate. We've received target coordinates but no call to engage, do we have permission to open fire?" _asked the fire controller.

The Symkarian didn't even weigh her options, and her response was instantaneous. "Cleared hot, engage immediately." Even if she had her misgivings about the Marauder, she had none about his abilities, and if they were sending a target then it was their target.

"_Understood" _returned the controller flatly, _"12 mortars, CIFM-E, shot out" _called the controller, telling her the number and type of rounds being sent down range. The Cluster Indirect Fire Munition-Energy was one of the most advanced, and devastating, shells in the world, used exclusively by Sable International. _"Fire mission complete, Baseplate out" _reported the controller calmly before the radio clicked off.

Fifteen seconds later, and the incoming fire ceased, a ghost of a smile appearing on Sable's lips as she let out a sigh of relief and called for a status report from her men. There were a half dozen wounded, and three of them were being extracted down to the subway to be taken to a CCP while the others refused to be taken off the line. She had trust in her men, if they said they could continue to fight, then she believed they could continue to fight.

Despite remaining on high alert, no sign of the IMC appeared. For fourteen nerve fraying minutes there was no opposition for the Private Security Force. But the respite could not last forever, and she soon had one of her rooftop spotters hailing her on the comm net. _"Ma'am, we have inbounds…enemy infantry, vehicles, and heavy armor. It's all coming right at us" _he reported, and before Sable could process the report, the leading elements of the enemy advance opened fire.

"All Sable units return fire! Make them pay for every inch with blood!" she snarled over the comms as she raised her own Havoc rifle and took aim. Firing in short bursts, the veteran mercenary sent small squirts of superheated plasma downrange with deadly efficiency.

"_Technical!" _called out another trooper as the machine gun armed truck pulled up, heavy rounds tearing through the air and slamming into the buildings as the white armored contractors ducked into cover. But Sable was still stone faced as she flicked the fire selector with her thumb and steadied her breathing despite the life-threatening projectiles being sent her way. The rifle in her hands hummed menacingly until the beam firing mode had charged and a concentrated quarter second burst of continuous fire leapt back in reply, drilling the gunner right between the eyes as he slumped over his gun.

Not a moment later, a trooper with his recoilless rifle fired, putting the vehicle out of commission. But the action only served to give him away as the IMC responded in kind, their own explosives steaking up in reply, destroying the section of the wall and killing whoever was on the other side. A wall of grenades was lobbed forwards, but fell short, just as intended. The street below was filled with huge clouds of white smoke as Sable recognized what the IMC was doing. With their advanced obscured, the IMC could breach the buildings the defenders were holed up in and start to clear them out. "Grenades!" she barked out as she yanked her own frags from her belt and ripped out the pins, tossing the baseball sized explosives out.

The resulting string of explosions was followed by dozens of pained screams as advancing soldiers fell, but more were coming with even more support. Peeking out, Sable saw a massive shape emerge around a corner, the hulking tracked vehicle crushing a car parked on the side of the road as it emerged and began its advance. Before the Symkarian could bark out an order, there was a thundering roar as both of it's main cannons fired simultaneously and sent a pair of HESH rounds screaming towards the defenders, blasting apart the walls of the building across the street and throwing up a massive cloud of dust and smoke. The Sable International troopers responded, bringing their own anti-tank weapons to bear as more rounds shot out only to be swatted down by the Active Protection System on the incoming tank before it reloaded and fired again, putting a round into the origin of the fire as bodies and debris fell past the window Sablinova was looking out.

But things weren't bad, not yet, because that came next. _"We have a breach! Hostile troops have breached the first floor!" _came a frantic cry as Sable reacted instantly, turning and running to the stairwell that would take her down to the first floor. _"Enemy grunts and Stalkers on the first floor of both buildings! We need reinforcements!" _Halfway down the stairs, the entire building shook under the weight of another pair of impacts as the IMC tank continued to hammer away at the defenders.

Dust filled the stairwell as Sable braced herself on the wall and pressed on as she could hear the sound of a furious firefight as she stuck her head out the window to see her white armored troopers furiously firing out across the room and through the shattered windows. In the brief moment she stood still, a bullet snapped by her head and buried itself in the wall behind her, snapping her from her stupor as she slid into cover behind a desk. Raising her rifle, she unleashed a burst that slammed into the chest of an IMC soldier trying to cross the street only for two others to charge out immediately afterwards. With the proficiency that only comes with years of training, she jammed a new power cell into the Havoc and spooled up the energy rifle again.

Around her, the familiar red pulses lashed out ferociously, trying to hold back the tide of white that rolled towards them, but it was a futile effort. The building rocked again under another salvo from the massive tank in the street as it continued to pound the defenders with near impunity. If Sable kept her men here then they would all die, there was only one choice to make. "This is Silver Bird; all Sable units fall back from Alpha 1 Kilo. Fighting withdrawal" she ordered, knowing her men would begin carrying out her orders. Troopers on the upper levels would evacuate to the neighboring buildings before working their way down and into the nearest underground access to retreat. Sable Troopers on the ground floor would have to lay smoke and place mines before falling back to cover their own exit, but first they had to hold and cover their comrades.

Without the fire coming down from the upper levels, the IMC put more pressure on the remaining defenders as they pressed their advantage. The incoming fire picked up as another round of smoke and frag grenades came in that caused the remaining defenders to take cover before a barrage bullets that came in. When the stream slowed, Sable stood and raised her weapon, only to widen her eyes as she saw both barrels of the IMC tank pointing towards her position. "COVER!" she roared just as the massive weapons fired, blasting the storefront to bits as debris and shrapnel filled the air, the concussion throwing Sable back to the wall. Fighting to get air back in her lungs, she opened her eyes to see the IMC vehicle still there, but that wasn't what had her attention. It was the green armored bastard standing on top of it.

The Marauder raised his weapon and cut loose on the IMC soldiers around him, shredding the infantry who hadn't been expecting the Pilot to appear almost out of nowhere. As he continued to engage, the hatch of the tank popped open and an IMC officer stuck his head out only for a black streak to land behind him and put a bullet through his head. As the Marauder rolled back and off the turret to reload, the Thief pulled a device from her belt and yanked the pin off with her teeth before dropping it down the hatch.

Sable could see the shields visibly 'pop' from the effects of what she assumed was an EMP before the Marauder triggered his underslung launcher, putting an armor piercing slug into the engine bay that started a fire at the rear of the tank and both vigilantes fired their grapples and shot out of danger area and up towards the rooftops. "MINES! MINES!" she yelled out, this was the best opening they were going to get to escape with their lives and the rest of the troopers moved posthaste to toss out the small circular anti personal mines before they began filing out, ignoring the burning tank and making their way down to their exfil point.

As the sun began to rise up, it signaled the start of the longest day.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Vehicle: M-179 Paladin Heavy Assault Tank_

_When you don't have a Titan to punch through some stubborn defenders, than a M-179 Paladin will probably do. The great great great great grandson of modern-day Main Battle Tanks, this 92 ton monster lacks the versatility and flexibility of a Titan, but makes up for it in sheer brute force. The pair of 140mm cannons pack enough firepower to put any Titan down if they aren't respected, and their autoloaders and vast variety of available ammunition ensure they can rapidly engage and reengage different targets. More impressive are the defensive systems the Paladin has, not only does it have a Titan's energy shield, but also features an Active Protection System (APS), Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA), and up to a foot of cutting edge composite armor in some places. The result is a vehicle that is a thoroughly tough nut to crack. _

_Mobility is somewhat lacking, the advantages that tracks provide for weight distribution are somewhat offset by the fact it weighs more than twice as much as BT and 80% more than the heaviest Legion Class Titan. They are fast in a straight line, up to 45 miles an hour, but lack agility and evasiveness, meaning that they are at an even greater disadvantage in urban environments that further limit their mobility. _

_Similar to some modern tanks, this vehicle has a crew of three. A commander and gunner are in the turret while a driver is in the hull. While this more than a Titan's single pilot, these crewmen do not require the rigorous training and selection process that a Titan Pilot must undergo. It is far easier to crew a company of Paladins than a platoon of Titans. _

_There is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a rivalry between Titan Pilots and Paladin crews, and more than one barfight across the Frontier got started because words exchanged between these groups became blows. No matter the outcome, it's far better that this happened without the participants respective vehicles. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: Well this is the opening of it, hopefully you all like it because this is a good idea of what the next chapters will be like. Obviously, I do have some surprises in store but if you don't like lots of shooting and action, you may not like the rest of this arc. There won't be all action obviously, but there aren't any chapters of pure downtime until the arc is wrapped up. Admittedly, I'm just trying stuff out and I do really want feedback on it for later arcs, there's also an element of doing something different from what's come before it what I have lined up after. **

**So reviews and critique regarding anything, especially the character interactions with the X-Men, Gates, and Barker, are very much welcome. One that will become apparent is the way the focus cycles through the three distinct groups, that sort of began here, but will be even more apparent next chapter. **

**In that chapter, one will move between the lines, a soldier breaking the confines to become a Ghost in the Trenches. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	47. Chapter 47: Ghost in the Trenches

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

If any of you have three free hours and an Amazon Prime membership, then there are worse things you can be doing than watching the 1977 classic, 'A Bridge Too Far' about Operation: Market Garden. It may not have been one of the movies I watched before writing this arc, but there are some bits that have the same feeling I want this story to have, nevermind the amazing special effects (no CGI anywhere! Everything you see was actually done in front of a camera!), all star cast, and highly authentic retelling of the history on which the movie is based (every thing that happens is based on actual events), and you have one of the best war movies ever made. In the words of Joe Bob, "Four stars! Go check it out!"

**Blaze1992: You raise a very good point, Shadowcat has an interesting powerset with lots of possibilities. As for why she wasn't doing those things, the answer is simple. The fight shown was the first one, there were no wounded yet, and there were no Titans or tanks for her to do a sapper type maneuver against. Of course, that may not be the case later on, you'll just have to wait and see. **

**I also want to admit that her being there and fighting like that is more in service to the drama than tactics. Obviously, I strive to balance those as best I can but I'm still learning, so feedback is welcome.**

**kenodoxia: Yeah, I've never been satisfied with how that played out exactly. I'm taking another look at that section and hopefully have a revision of it up by this time next week. **

As for the title, yes, it is another Sabaton track (I swear there will be others eventually), but this time it comes from their most recent album (at the time of writing), _The Great War, _which came out in 2019. Unsurprisingly, every song from that album is about some part of World War I, from the advent of tanks in 'The Future of Warfare' to the greatest flying ace of the war in 'The Red Baron' and Lawerence of Arabia in 'Seven Pillars of Wisdom' to the longest continuous battle of the war in 'Fields of Verdun.' It also has one of my favorite songs full stop, 'The Attack of the Dead Men.'

'Ghost in the Trenches' is about one man, a Canadian Aboriginal Sniper named Francis "Peggy" Pegahmagabow, who was one of the most highly decorated Canadian soldiers ever and credited with 378 confirmed kills as well as 300 captured during his time on the western front. In a service record that reads like the levels of a Call of Duty campaign, he saw action at Ypres, the Somme, Passchendaele, and the Hundred Days Offensive. He was known not only as an exceptional marksman, but also a scout and messenger, braving no mans land to get messages to their destination, guide men to the line, or in one case scavenge ammunition so his allies could hold off German attacks. Knowing all that, it shouldn't be surprising I looked to him for inspiration, and this chapter is mostly about the one character who shares a few traits with this living, breathing phantom.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 47: Ghost in the Trenches**

_Into battle, the gas has them pinned_

_Then this soldier invoke the spirits of the wind_

_Under fire, a ghost that roams the battlefield_

_Move between the lines, a soldier breaking the confines_

_Just another man and rifle, a marksman and a scout revealed_

_Makes his way from trench to trench alone, moving undetected_

* * *

"_Get more fire on that left side! Left side!" _screamed a Sable trooper over the radio, _"We are FUBAR and need to fall back!" _Frank could do naught but listen as he kept his eyes focused down the road while the radio continued on the table. Four hours after first contact and they still hadn't seen anything on this side while Sable and Fisk's men seemed to be getting all the action.

Castle didn't ponder the intricacies of the situation, keeping his eyes split between the street ahead of him and the drunkard to his right. _"Alpha 1 Foxtrot you are cleared to disengage, break contact and join Bravo 1 Foxtrot at the second defensive line" _returned the controller coolly. _"Be advised, FAR support callsign 'Stingray' is inbound, ETA 3 mikes." _

"Nice to see the flyboys getting involved" grunted Frank as he kept up his watch, stealing a quick glance at Barker, who sat sprawled out and spinning around in one of the left behind office chairs. Four hours after first contact and none of the defenders in the NYPD sector had so much as fired a shot. Still, the Punisher was remaining vigilant; enough time in Afghanistan had told him that anytime it felt like it was too quiet, that was because it probably was. "But what about us Captain? Anything? Or does the town drunk the biggest thing we have to worry about?"

At the words, both Castle and Watanabe turned to look at said drunk, who was still spinning in his rolling chair, singing a shanty as he drank from his flask. While the lawwoman's face was obscured, Frank could see the creases in the fabric as she frowned and the way she shifted uncomfortably. "Still no contact anywhere in our sector" she repeated for the third time that hour before she suddenly turned and squared up to the Marine, "I'll be honest Castle, you have the best handle on what's going on here. What's your take?" she asked honestly.

The Punisher 'hmmed' deeply and worked his jaw before answering. "We need eyes ma'am" he said simply, "the radios are so cluttered we don't know if our flanks are secure. Our boys here aren't going to be able to manage a fighting retreat under pressure and if we get outflanked then everyone on this side is toast" he answered candidly.

"Is that the technical term Castle, toast?" asked the Captain wryly as she rubbed her head through her covering before muttering a curse under her breath. After a moment, she seemed to have hardened her resolved as she looked over her rifle and got up off the desk she was sitting on, "Alright then, I'll go and have a look" she decided as Castle began to get to his feet, "By myself" she added.

"Captain…"

"Not up for debate" cut off Watanabe sternly, "as much as I don't like this, you need to stay here and keep everyone's heads screwed on. If it really is as bad as it sounds out there, then I'll radio you directly to have everyone pull back." The Master Sergeant glared at Yuri for a moment but nodded in acceptance despite his objections. "I'm counting on you to hold down the fort and keep everyone alive, but that doesn't mean I trust you to watch my back."

"Understood" grunted the Punisher in return as he settled back in behind his Mk 48 and Yuri turned to make for the fire escape so she could begin her recon run. "Good hunting Captain, and remember, Celer, Silens, Mortalis" he called out, reciting the motto of his unit in the Corps, which translated to 'Swift, Silent, Deadly.'

The Captain merely gave him a slight nod before vanishing behind her cloak and slipping out the window, prompting the Marine to look over his other shoulder and see Barker leaning back in his chair. Growling in distaste, Castle lashed out with his boot and kicked the chair, sending it rolling away until it hit a cord and tipped over, sending its occupant tumbling down and left him sprawled out on the floor.

At this, the Punisher could only shake his head.

* * *

Yuri involuntarily let out a sigh of relief as she felt the jump kit on her back come to life and hiss as she began to slow before he boots gently kissed the ground and she regained her focus. Clutching her rifle tightly, the NYPD Captain dashed across the street before remembering she wasn't confined to the ground anymore and planted her right foot as she launched herself up. Immediately, the Kit responded, another burst of deep blue flame sending her skywards and towards the wall as she planted her feet on it.

As the Cop hit the perpendicular surface running, the device was still hard at work, the jet of fire continuous as it fought against gravity to keep her encumbered weight up and pressed into the wall. The sensation still threw Yuri for a loop as she surged forwards and leapt across to the opposite brick surface smoothly, still running despite the unnatural angle. Reaching the end of the alley way she jumped into the wall blocking her path forward and used the retractable Ripper blades to slow her descent before she was back on the ground. Swiftly readying her MCX, she used the muzzle to nudge the unlatched door open and swiftly made her way through the sandwich shop and continued her push southwards.

Two blocks later, and she still hadn't encountered any opposition. The area was devoid of life except for a few stray animals that roamed the streets, seemingly just as confused as the Captain. Pursing her lips behind her mask, Yuri turned east, towards the Sable International sector and got moving again, suppressing the unease that came with seeing the streets of the city she had grown up in so barren and quiet.

But that was replaced by a different kind of unease as she heard colossal footfalls and immediately activated her cloak as she dashed into cover and scampered through a window and into an apartment. Staying low, she made her way through the building until she reached the other side and looked out a window onto the street. Just as she did, a car in the road was unceremoniously crushed by a massive metallic foot as Yuri looked up at the enormous Titan it was attached to. It was even larger than the Marauders, bulkier and rounded, hefting a massive grenade launcher type weapon as it stomped its way through the streets with a group of IMC foot soldiers in tow.

As Yuri scanned the street, she locked eyes with one of the troopers and instantly ducked back down; afraid she might have been spotted. Activating her cloak in a panic she dashed out of sight and watched the window as a soldier came up and peered inside, but seemingly saw nothing. Letting out a sigh of relief, Yuri pulled up her mask to allow herself to draw in deep breaths until she heard a door get kicked in, her head snapping to the source as she yanked her mask back down.

"Make this quick," barked a gruff sounding IMC trooper as Yuri stiffened, "if Harris did see someone then take care of them fast, we got a deadline to keep." Eyes widening behind the six lens goggles, Yuri opened a door labeled 'stairs' and made her way up the steps as quick as she dared, willing her footsteps to remain silent on the wooden steps. Behind her, she could hear the IMC searching the building room by room, heavy bootsteps on the tile floor and doors being kicked open. Reaching the third floor, she opened the door, only for it to let out an ear piercing screech. "Up the stairs! GO!"

All pretenses at stealth were dropped as Yuri rammed her shoulder through the door and sprinted down the hall. Hearing the door squeak again, she turned around and brought her rifle up, snapping off a shot that slammed straight into the face of the lead soldier, snapping his head back and painting the door with blood and brains. But Yuri didn't stand and fight, diving into a room as a torrent of lead ripped through the air where she had just been standing.

Frantically pulling a frag grenade from her belt, she yanked the pin and rolled it out into the hallway before shoulder checking the next door open as she heard the explosion, muffled by the walls. Surging forwards with no real plan or sense of direction as she threw the next door open to be face to face with a white clad IMC trooper and snapped a pair of shots into his chest reflexively.

Before she had a second to breathe, her rifle was knocked away and she was punched in the face by a second soldier and recoiled from the blow. Roaring in rage, adrenaline surging through her veins, Yuri extended the Ripper blades and swung, plunging them into his chest, watching the light fade from his eyes before he ceased struggling and the Captain let the corpse fall to the floor. Unable to help herself, Yuri found her eyes fixated on the two gaping holes she had made in the man's chest as they bled profusely, turning the stark white kit a grisly shade of red. She was swiftly knocked from her gawking when a bullet snapped right by her head, causing her to reflexively draw her Rhino and fire blindly behind her as she stepped over the two bodies of the men she had just killed.

Not looking back to see if her magnum rounds found their mark, she resumed running and after firing her sixth and final shot she slid as a burst tore through the air, rounds perforating the walls as she slid out a door and rushed to get back to her feet. Sprinting down the hall, her exo assisted legs pushing her past her own limits before she realized she had made a critical error, running into a dead end.

But there was a window in this corner, and with no other options available she smashed it with the butt of her rifle and jumped out, tucking her head under an arm as she crashed through a second floor window on the next building. She was not out of the woods yet, running again before ducking around the corner, listening out before felling she was alone enough and allowed herself a moment to catch her breath and reloaded her revolver.

Unknowingly, however, Watanabe had stepped out of the frying pan and into the fire, literally.

Outside, a massive mechanical clanking got her attention before a 'thunk' echoed through the street and there was a flash at the corner where Yuri had entered the building. Looking over her shoulder, the Captain blanched as she saw a massive pool of liquid fire on the floor, flames licking up the walls and beginning to spread.

She began to move away, only to hear that 'thunk' again and the opposite corner erupt in the same thermite fueled blaze and Yuri looked out a window to see the massive Titan stuffing another round into the breach of its launcher. Head swiveling, she saw her only viable exit was an elevator as she used her Ripper to pry the doors opened and recalled how Cooper had traversed the elevator shaft in her building before trying to replicate the move.

Squeezing through the narrow gap she had created and taking a breath before a wave of heat slammed into her back, prompting her to swallow her fears and leap forward, the jump kit propelling her to the opposite wall. Swinging her legs around and planting her boots on the wall, she bent he knees and sprung off the wall of the shaft, her kit propelling her up and to the next wall as a plume of fire that bit at her heels as she continued her ascent. Once she had reached the top of the shaft, Yuri slowly pried the door open and squeezed through onto the top floor of the burning building.

With haste, she found a window away from the street full of IMC and looked out to see a rooftop below her and activated her cloak before leaping down to it and turning to look at the street below. The Titan was continuing to look for her in the building she had just vacated, the fires starting to simmer down as the troopers congregated in the street. After a few minutes, the IMC finally concluded their search and began moving on, further into the city.

Likewise, it was time for Yuri to get moving, taking extra care to avoid any more excitement.

* * *

Taking a break from his vigil, Castle returned from a trip to the head to find another of the pilots speaking with Barker. Eyeing the pair with a hint of contempt, the Marine returned to his position when he sensed he was being followed. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw the Pilot, his helmet having a T shaped visor and a bullpup rifle slung over his back. "You Castle?" he asked, to which the Punisher nodded, "Barker says you're in charge now that Captain Watanabe went out looking for the IMC?" he asked. Nodding again, Castle looked out to see if there was any movement or anything that looked out of place. "She does know that one of the ACEs would have been better equipped to handle that?"

"Must've figured you boys would have been more useful here if the IMC do decide to hit us" answered the Marine with a shrug, surprised he would defend the NYPD Captain. "Just in case, move your people to the east side, we know our center is under pressure and falling back, if they take us by surprise then we'll be FUBAR." Nodding, the Pilot turned and left, leaving just the Punisher and the drunkard for him to babysit.

"I hope she knows what she's doing, the IMC is no joke" murmured Barker, the first coherent, almost sober sounding, words Frank could recall hearing from him. The ACE founder noticed the Marine staring at him and smiled weakly before continuing. "I know that better than anyone, unlike everyone else in the Militia, I haven't just fought IMC…I used to fight _for _them."

Now, Barker had the Devil Dog's undivided attention, "No shit?" asked Frank gruffly, getting a sad nod as the old Pilot looked down longingly at his flask but didn't take a drink. "What happened?" pried Castle slowly, taking care to appear uninterested as he repositioned his GPMG on a desk, extending the bi-pod as he pulled up a chair and settled back in behind the FN Machine Gun.

Barker let out a long sigh and finally took a sip of liquid courage as he recalled the story. "It must have been 17…no, 18 years ago now, near the end of the Titan Wars" he began, "back when I was a feisty punk like the Kid is now, Co…the Marauder I mean. This was the first time Titans were used in combat, until then they had just been kept in the core worlds, but we were shipped out to the Frontier for 'peacekeeping' or whatever bullshit story the brass fed us" he explained bitterly.

Frank got a bad feeling in the pit of his gut, his own experiences in Afghanistan beginning to rear their ugly heads in the back of his mind as the salt and pepper haired man continued. "Us kids, we thought it would be an adventure, we were invincible, the heroes who could do no wrong" he said as he triumphantly raised his flask before taking a swig, "what fucking fools we all were." Now, Castle wasn't even trying to hide his interest as he listened intently to what the older man was saying. "Most of the time was spent just doing the same shit we had been, drilling, training, maintenance, running the sims. That was until one day, when we finally got the call that they wanted us out to support an infantry company looking for Militia insurgents on some planet or other…I can't even remember what it was called" he admitted shamefully. "Seemed like a simple op, we'd touch down a klick outside the colony and roll in, the infantry would sweep and look for contraband or any signs of hostile activity, and then we would leave."

"But it wasn't that simple" interjected Frank, it wasn't a question.

Barker only grimaced before he revealed what happened next. "Everything went smooth, just like we had trained. The colonists didn't put up a fight, not like there was much they could do, and we gave the green light for the infantry to come in. But they didn't just search for contraband, they looted the whole settlement, some of the colonists were probably raped, a bunch were executed for no reason as far as I could tell."

Frank raised an eyebrow, "You didn't do anything?" he asked with only a hint of condemnation in his tone.

"I asked if they had found anything, was told that they found guns in a bunch of the homes and that was how things were" he replied, his voice shaking as the hand without his flask clenched tightly, "and like the fuckin' moron I was…I believed them" he finished. With a deep breath, he finished, "we never fired a shot, but the ones that weren't killed were rounded up by the grunts while the settlement was burned."

There was a pregnant pause in the room before Barker finished recounting his tale, "The next week I found out that the settlement we went to had discovered a Titanium ore deposit not too far from where it was, the IMC was already making plans to set up a mining operation, we were just there to remove the settlement to clear the way for them, the commander in charge sold off all the stuff they looted and that went into his own pocket" explained Barker. "I kept seeing the faces of the women they dragged off or the kids they put in handcuffs or the men they shot and left lying where they died…what was I supposed to do?" he asked as he finished off the last of the contents of his flask before throwing it angrily across the room.

Frank understood all too well, his last tour in Afghanistan had been under a CIA operation called 'Cerberus' that hunted down remaining Taliban and Al-Queda that were still in the country, only the man running it was corrupt. His goal was to establish a black market operation trading in drugs, weapons, and anything else people were willing to pay for, and he used Frank and the other SOCOM soldiers under his command to take out his business competition or anyone who threatened to expose him.

When Frank found out how he had been used it had prompted him to don a vest adorned with the emblem of the unit he used to lead and begin his campaign as 'The Punisher'. Only recently had he finished completing his payback on the head of Cerberus, Bill Rawlins, but even then he had needed help. Hearing that the IMC commanders had their men commit even worse acts than he had in Afghanistan, his face tightened and a switched flip in his head as he knew what he was going to do when he finally met the IMC.

"Punish them."

* * *

"_Golem Lead: Pickle! Pickle!" _called out one of the fighters overhead on the radio as Yuri watched the pair of jets turn and bank away. The specks that fell from them slowly grew in size until they disappeared behind a skyscraper a few streets away until a massive plume of smoke and fire erupted from where the bombs hit, shaking the building Yuri was standing on as she looked down at the streets below. The asphalt was littered with bodies and strewn with debris as the Captain continued forwards slowly, keeping an eye out for any signs of activity as she crept closer to where the Sable position had been, thought it was eerily quiet.

"Icepick!" she yelled out as she kept her rifle ready, only to get no response, "Icepick!" she called out again and waited for the countersign. After thirty agonizing seconds, she let out a nervous breath and dropped down to street level and dashed across the street to the building that should have been full of Sable's soldiers. "Icepick" she challenged again before slowly opening the door, "Oh my god" she breathed as she took in the sight.

The walls were redecorated with bullet holes and blast shadows while the floors were slick with blood. Slowly stepping over the bodies as she continued forward into the dimmed hallways, her night vision automatically activated to cast an eerie green filter over her entire view. Pushing further in, she only found more horrors inside what had been, in a twist of grisly irony, a butcher's shop.

Before the counter was a killing ground as IMC troopers came in the door into the waiting Sable man near the cash register, but he had been blown to bits by a grenade, his arm having been ripped off by the shrapnel. Past that had been the hallways that were filled with spent bullet casings and blood smears, the wounded being dragged to safety through where she now tread. Following the trail, Yuri continued through the still silent shop until she reached the large freezer and looked inside, the contents of her stomach lurching up at the sight, only for her to force them back down through sheer willpower. Several Sable mercenaries were inside, their armor partially removed, and their bodies impaled on the meat hooks inside, hanging limp with blood pooling on the ground beneath their dangling feet. "Holy shit" she breathed out as she slowly made her way between the rows of at least a dozen corpses, all staring at her with dead eyes.

But as she neared the exit on the opposite side, she heard a gurgle and swung her rifle around to the source, a trooper who had his arm outstretched towards her, blood dripping from his lip as he mouthed the words 'Help me'. Immediately, Yuri slung her rifle over her shoulder and moved to see what she could do, "Don't worry, I got you" she assured automatically, though they were empty words. "Stop struggling, I'm going to see about getting you down" she commanded, thankfully, the trooper complied and became still, though his eyes were still frantic and wide with terror.

Unfortunately, the man's situation was even worse than at first glance, a bullet had destroyed his knee and he would be unable to walk, meaning Yuri would have to carry him out. But the Captain would not leave him like that, and so she placed a hand under each armpit and spread her feet before saying, "I'm going to lift you off, it's going to hurt" she told him bluntly before whispering, "I'm sorry." When the man nodded in understanding, Yuri mentally prepared herself, "on three. One…two…three" she grunted as she lifted with all of her exo assisted strength. Slowly, and with a sickening sound, the man came up, screaming in gurgling cries all the way, until he was all the way off, and Yuri dropped him down as carefully as she could manage. "I got you, I got you" she assured as she turned him over to inspect the wound, applying pressure with one hand as she reached for her first aid kit with the other.

But before she could grab the kit, she could feel his pulse fade until it was gone completely. Looking down sadly, Yuri turned him back over and closed the man's eyes, the only dignity he had experienced in over an hour. "Damn it" she cursed bitterly before her attention was grabbed by the sound of muffled voices.

"So what? These guys have been moaning and wailing since we put them up there" were the first words she could clearly make out. "Why does one guy screaming before he kicks the bucket mean we have to go back here?" Watanabe's teeth ground together as she was about to unsling her rifle before thinking better of it and extending the twin wrist mounted blades instead, adrenaline and rage coursing through her veins.

Pressing herself into the wall next to the doorway, she waited for the IMC soldiers to enter. "We gotta come back here because if one of them got down then Blisk's merc wants them to go back up" returned the other as they both came in, immediately focusing their attention on the body laying on the ground. "Just like that, see, I told you it wasn't impossible" said the second casually as they came in the freezer, the only light coming in being from the open doors on either end of the room.

As the one in front reached the corpse and bent over to grab hold of it, Yuri struck, slicing the trail trooper's throat and letting the body fall as the first whirled around to get a punch in the jaw as his back slammed into the wall and he fumbled with his gun. Without remorse, the Captain swung down and sliced the man's hand off clean at the wrist as his rifle fell to the ground.

Following up, the blades were driven into the shoulder joint of the other arm, causing it to hang limp and useless while Yuri finished him with an uppercut. With cold efficiency, Watanabe used the blades to carve up his armor, ripping it off and letting it fall to the floor before retracting the blades. Then, ignoring the protests and squirms of the IMC soldier, Yuri used her exo skeleton to give her the strength needed to lift the man up and drop him down on the now empty hook formerly occupied by the Sable trooper.

Stepping back, she watched the man struggle uselessly, but felt no pity nor remorse. In fact, she felt just.

* * *

Inside the Command and Control center on Roosevelt Island, the scene was an odd mix of frantic radio work and eerie calm as those inside were reduced to spectators of the scenes that were playing out on the numerous screens and over the radios. As soon as she was put in this new position, DeWolff knew she would be more stressed, but never had she imagined she would be put through the ringer like this. With Sable's professionals handling the seemingly unending stream of updates, reports, and desperate calls for help, the acting Commissioner found herself entranced by a feed from the FLIR camera from a drone overhead.

Against the dull grey background, Jean could see the bright white heat signatures of the IMC troopers scampering around like ants. The Sable position looked like an angry hornets' nest, the laser bolts descending on the white human like shapes and splashing against the cars, buildings, and concrete. She could hear one of the radio operators speaking to the position indicated on the monitor. _"Delta 3 Hotel, fire mission: grid KL 177 683, enemy infantry in the open, danger close" _ called the trooper on the front lines frantically as the IMC pushed in.

"Roger, Delta 3 Hotel, confirm fire mission, R, F, DPICM in effect, three rounds, out" returned the controller coolly. Seconds crawled by as the mission was relayed to the battery. Biting her lip, DeWolff watched as the mortars exploded above the streets in puffs of white, raining anti infantry fragmentation cluster munitions down onto the streets. The indusial explosives were proximity fused, detonating about 3 meters above street level like lethal firecrackers. Once the nine shots had all exploded, the advance had been halted, quite literally, dead in its tracks, the still warm bodies of the IMC soldiers visible on the IR camera.

"Quite a sight isn't it" stated an eerily calm voice behind her, whirling around; she was met with empty air until she looked down to see the bald-headed Professor, seated in his wheelchair. "Out of all our vast array of nightmares" he began before nodding towards the screen showing the effects of the mortar fire, "these are the ones we choose to make a reality and then we inflict them upon our fellow man. Disconcerting, do you agree?" Jean had turned back and nodded absentmindedly, finding another showing the feed from a traffic camera as the Wolverine tore into a group of machines, slicing and dicing to frightening effect. "He was meant to be a weapon too, another nightmare. But now he is trying to find his own path" he informed sagely, with a tinge of sadness.

"I still can't believe it" she admitted lowly, "a month ago it was small time crime, a week after that it was a gang war, the next it was domestic terrorists, then a WMD threat, and now…_this_." The blonde shook her head, "will it ever end?" she asked finally, not at all expecting an answer.

"Someday, I believe, yes, it will end" returned Xavier confidently as Jean turned to look at him, but he had that same unreadable expression on his wizened features. "I have faith in humankind, to be better, to overcome the baser instincts. Their fear, their prejudice, their hate" he listed off steadily. "I created the X-Men so that they can be persuaded to give up those things in regard to mutants. Eventually, I believe they will give up those things in regard to each other."

DeWolff pondered the words in silence before turning to look down the man. "And what" she began lowly, "makes you believe that?"

For the first time, he craned his neck up to meet her inquisitive gaze, "The most potent force in the world Ms. DeWolff" he said with a small smile, "Hope."

* * *

It wasn't hope that was fueling Yuri as she crawled along a rooftop; she was continuing to head northwards. Coming to the edge, she peeked over and took stock of where she was, three blocks behind the initial line and she still hadn't found where the Sable International forces had fallen back to. This was a problem, if the IMC swung around then they could very easily outflank the NYPD and encircle them. Looking down at the group of IMC soldiers that had paused at an intersection. Pulling back slightly, Yuri turned on her radio, which up to that point she had kept off to avoid the possibility if the IMC tracking her, and hailed the Punisher.

That was something she never thought she'd ever do.

"Castle, do you read?" she whispered lowly, still wary of any patrolling IMC squads or drones. "This is Watanabe; I need you to start pulling everyone back. Do you copy?" She asked as she watched a pair of jets streak overhead, low enough she could feel the rumbling from the engines.

"_Solid copy" _returned the Marine gruffly, _"I'll pass the word to have the blue bloods pull back to Rally Point Bravo. ETA: 40 minutes." _The procedure to that would have been a mix of the streets and subway lines, and it went without saying that everyone moving back would be horribly exposed during such a move. If the IMC hit them while retreating, then it would be a one-sided slaughter.

Creeping forwards once again, she saw an IMC squad split off from the group, but they weren't heading north towards the Sable lines, they were heading west, towards the NYPD flank. "You might not have that long" she alerted quickly before making a split second decision, "I'm going to buy you some time. Find Barker and have his shooters head this way and harass the IMC, slow them down and play for time" she ordered coolly.

There was a momentary pause over the line before the Punisher answered, _"Understood. I'll help as best I can and…good luck out there, Captain."_ Yuri's eyebrows quirked up at the words, or more specifically, the modicum of respect in their tone. The contempt Castle had when speaking previously was gone, replaced with an understanding that they were on the same side and facing the same evil and doing so while standing shoulder to shoulder. _"Semper fi."_

"Celer, Silens, Mortalis" she replied before switching her radio off and regulating her breathing as she looked through the scope on her rifle, scanning the soldiers down below to look for who she would pick off first. Her crosshairs finally settled on one man wearing an officer's cap and barking out orders directing the others to head west as he scribbled something on the side of a cab. Steadying her breath, Yuri could feel the distinct rumble of more approaching jets and waited, feeling them get closer and closer until they were just about to pass overhead and gently eased back on the trigger.

Right as they shot past, the sharpshooter took her shot; a single 7.62mm slug sliced through the air and pierced the top of the officer's skull, exiting just above his brain stem. The man was dead before he hit the floor, and the others around him immediately scattered as they looked for the source of the shot, some even fired their own weapons in every direction, frantically trying to retaliate. One of those firing had the massive particle shields, but unfortunately for him he was facing the wrong way and it would do him no good. Watanabe's next round went in just under his shoulder blade and nicked his heart, leaving the trooper to writhe around on the ground as blood filled his lungs.

The downside was that the IMC troopers now had a general idea where their assailant was, fire streamed up at the building Yuri was perched atop as she ignored it and searched for another target. "You" she whispered to herself as she saw a man produce a rocket launcher and point it in her direction, her shot arriving on target and drilling a hole clean through his forehead as he pulled the trigger. The rocket shot errantly into the sky as the Captain decided to relocate, retreating to the opposite side of the roof before activating her cloak and dropping down to the patio of a restaurant.

On street level, a squad of IMC soldiers was entering the building as Yuri swapped her rifle for her revolver and waited until all but the last had entered before making her move. Leaping down, the man only noticed her descending on him when the jump kit hissed and looked up just in time to bet a boot to the face that drove him to the ground before the Ripper was driven through his neck to sever his spinal cord as Yuri pressed herself into the brick. As bullets poured out of the doorway, the Captain grabbed one of the tear gas cannisters she had on her hip and pulled the pin, yellow vapor began to leak out as she tossed the grenade inside and waited.

The gunfire soon died down, replaced by coughing and cursing as Yuri triggered her cloak and swept into the room. With a harsh _crack_, the .357 dispatched the first trooper nearest the door as the one closest to Yuri tried to respond by clubbing her with his weapon, but with a gas mask built into the Wraith kit, she was easily able to sidestep the blow and trip him as she fired at a third, planting two shots in his chest as he fell to the floor. The fourth and final soldier was still coughing at her feet as she turned the gun to him and put another round through his skull.

Before making good her escape, she decided to leave the IMC a parting gift based on a trick Cooper had used. Yanking a grenade from the dead man's vest, she pulled the pin, ensuring the 'spoon' was still down as she rolled the body over and place the grenade in such a way the spoon was held down by the weight of the soldier. Just as she finished, she looked up to see that the IMC had come in from the opposite side and shot the first one in the doorway, winging him in the shoulder as she activated her cloak and broke contact.

Safely out of the building and across the street, she heard a muffled explosion as she began ascending another building and prepared to repeat the whole thing.

* * *

"Come on! Let's GO!" barked Castle as the cops jogged behind him, his deep baritone prompting them to pick up the pace. Despite the fact that he was carrying a 22 pound machine gun and its equally heavy ammo, he was the only one among the group that wasn't breathing heavily. "Across the street! Double time!" he ordered as he lay prone at the corner and readied his Mk 48, ready to lay down suppressing fire if any trouble came across them.

Looking back, he saw some of the Officers lagging a bit and instantly got on their case. "C'mon assholes, your captain is out there risking her life to buy you time to get out of here, don't waste it!" he growled. Getting the message, they sprinted across the street to join the others, it seemed that this Captain Watanabe was liked and respected by the rest of the Force, and Frank could begrudgingly admit that he understood why. She led from the front and did what had to be done, traits even the Punisher found admirable.

Still, he had his doubts about if she was up to the task, so he was pressing the others to move as fast as they could. At the very least, she did have a little bit of help in the shape of four veteran Pilots who, unlike their commander, seemed capable and focused. "Alright" slurred Barker as he staggered up, at least he was being useful by humping Franks AT4 in addition to his own personal liquor and a sidearm. "We're about halfway done; my guys are saying the IMC are starting to move this way in force. They could be here any…"

Whatever he was going to say was cut off by the distinct chatter of automatic weapons as bullets snapped past Castle's position. Reflexively, he squeezed the trigger of his LMG; the Belgian GPMG roaring to life as it began to chew threw the disintegrating link belt. Every eighth round was a tracer, leaving a lime green trail as it arced down the road as Frank swept the gun from side to side. Spent brass and links began to pool on the right side of the gun as he kept up the fire, covering the NYPD that had to now cross the street under fire. "What are you waitin' for ladies! The Moonshine is on the other side!" hollered Barker as he waved his pistol around, prompting the next bunch of Cops to sprint across the road.

Castle kept the trigger hard down as he ran through the last of the belt, yanking the charging handle back, he threw open the top cover as steam wafted from the barrel from the continuous firing. As the Punisher placed a fresh 100 round belt in the feed tray the IMC kept up their assault, slowly advancing towards the Marine. "I'm not dead yet assholes" grunted Castle as he chambered the first 7.62 NATO cartridge and hefted his gun to a concrete barrier of a dismantled Sable checkpoint and set up again just as a group of IMC Grunts broke cover and advanced up the street right into the Punisher's killing zone.

In one 5 second burst, the Mk 48 consumed half the fresh belt as it shredded the troopers where they stood, the barrel beginning to glow a soft orange as more shots came back at him, forcing him to duck behind the barrier. A form clumsily stumbled into cover alongside the Marine only for Frank to discover it was Barker. "You got the right idea pal!" whooped the ex-Pilot as he stood, flask in one hand and pistol in the other as he stood and snapped off a few unaimed shots while taking a swig, "Come and get me you sober sons of bitches!"

Castle grabbed the man by his arm and ripped him off his feet as he dragged him back down into cover as a piece of concrete was torn off by the return fire. "What the fuck are you doing?" roared the Marine as Barker gave him an indignant look and shrug, "Just stay the hell down!" ordered the Punisher as he set the GPMG back up and got back to it.

Even now with support coming in from behind him as Cops that crossed lent their own guns to holding back the IMC advance, Frank's mind was screaming that this was a bad position and if he stayed here, he would be overrun and killed. But if he abandoned it then the NYPD counting on him to hold here would be run down like dogs. Emptying the remainder of the belt to keep them suppressed, he ducked down to reload as a mechanical clanking began to echo off the buildings while Castle went through the arduous process of reloading the FN machine gun. "Specters!" called out Barker as he fired his pistol at them, the machines advancing up both sides of the street.

Laying on his stomach and then rolling out from the barricade, the Punisher cut loose with a devastatingly accurate burst that tore through the metal legs of the robots. But they continued to claw towards his position with just their upper limbs, some spraying blue tracers at the pair. While their attention was focused on the near side, neither put fire towards those on the far side as more of the advanced Mechanical Infantry pressed forwards toward the defenders.

The first indication Frank had that they were in trouble was when a shot slammed into the side of his vest, slicing through the Kevlar and grazing him as he whipped his head around to the source. "Fuck" he snarled as he twisted around to bring the gun to bear, firing from the hip as the first Specter staggered from the impacts before finally falling over sparking and full of holes. More were coming to replace it as the Punisher got to his feet and advanced with the -48 at his hip, firing short bursts at any white machine that exposed itself.

While his brash action enabled the last of the policemen and women to cross the street and evacuate, it also focused all of the considerable IMC firepower directly on him. The first shot hit his plate and was ignored as he pushed forwards, employing a 'Walking Fire' tactic as a second round slammed into his back. The rear armor plate took it but staggered the Marine as the third and fourth hit his side, one only grazed him, but the second tour a four inch long gash in his back as he spun and fell to the concrete, smashing his face into the hard surface.

Through the concussion addled haze, he could hear the machines advancing as he rolled on his back and tried to gain his bearings, only for a mechanical foot to come down on the skull emblem on his chest. At long last, his vision cleared as he made out the form of the Stalker standing over him as he tried to get up, only for the foot to press him further down as the featureless face glared down at him. Grabbing the machines leg, Frank twisted it to no effect, and it took aim with its strange weapon.

As Frank's vision began to darken while he struggled uselessly, he frantically searched for some way to escape, but it was a losing effort. Before he could come up with anything, a bullet impacted the 'head' of the machine and obliterated it, leaving a sparking stump of wires as the Stalker collapsed atop Frank. Coughing as air rushed back into his lungs, he reached out and grabbed the sleek sub machine gun and began spraying it at the machines standing over him, combined with the unknown sharpshooter, they were all felled in short order until the Punisher was surrounded by smoking and smoldering wrecks.

Throwing away the empty weapon, the Marine then focused on getting the ruined machine that was pinning him to the ground off him, but despite using all of his strength couldn't get himself free. Mustering everything he had for one last effort, he let out a roar as he pushed with all of his strength, but the thing barely budged until it he moved it an inch and felt of search of hope. With renewed fury, he pushed as he felt the machine seemingly get lighter until he managed to throw it off.

But another figure was standing over him, but this was no machine. The form fitting green gear showed the curves of a woman, and the six goggled mask told Frank exactly which woman. "Thanks for the assist Captain" he grunted as she extended a hand and helped him to his feet. "You run into much trouble?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle" assured the woman as Frank retrieved and reloaded his machine gun, "but there are more heading this way. How are the evacuations?" she asked as she reloaded her own rifle.

Checking his wounds, Frank took stock of his remaining ammo, two belts left including the one in the gun, but he still had his grenades. "Almost finished, everyone is already north of here, we should probably be heading that way too…" he began, only to be cut off by a terrifying sound from up the road. The warbling mechanical roar echoed menacingly off the buildings as he saw Yuri go rigid. "What the fuck was that?"

"You don't want to know" responded the cop as she grabbed his arm, "Run!" she barked as Frank saw the source charging straight at them. The 10 foot tall robot moved faster than a machine of that size had any right to, barreling down the road. "Split up" ordered Watanabe as she veered right, and Frank sprinted into cover behind an abandoned car to his left. Turning back, he saw the cop had used her jump kit to move vertically, running on a perpendicular surface with surprising speed.

But the machine, which Frank now recognized from the briefings as a 'Reaper', wasn't about to let her go that easily, skidding to a stop and extending both hands. Orbs of blue hot plasma shot out, splashing across the building, melting the brick and stone where they impacted as the Captain leapt across the street, twisting around in mid air so that she was running back towards the machine before jumping back to the original side, firing her rifle from the hip as the poorly aimed shots bounced harmlessly of the heavy composite armor.

But the bold move gave the Punisher an opening to act, bringing the big FN to bear on the central joint weak point and cutting loose with a long burst. Armor piercing .30 caliber rounds tore into the exposed circuitry and mechanical components at the core of the IMC reaper. Despite the pain he was dishing out, the Punisher was unable to put the mechanized beast down and it turned to him, hands glowing an ominous blue. Castle's eyes widened before he turned and sprinted away, still hefting the 20 some odd pounds of machine gun. Not daring to look back, he could hear the shriek of the energy projectiles and feel the heat as they streaked by and he dove behind a corner.

Catching his breath, he noticed the Reaper was no longer focused on him and popped out to reengage, firing the gun accurately from the shoulder, stitching bursts up and down the Reaper's height. As the machine turned around again he was forced to duck into cover and heard his earpiece crackle to life, _"Castle, you got something that can kill this thing?" _asked Yuri.

"Yeah" he answered as he reached back reflexively for his AT-4 before realizing that Barker had it. That didn't mean he was entirely out of options however, "I got a pair of thermobaric grenades but I can't get close enough to use them," he answered as he put his last belt in the Mk 48. A flicker behind him caused him to draw his 1911 and turn around to find the Captain there, hand held out expectantly. "Make 'em count" grunted the Marine as he handed the two red spheres to the Cop.

The woman jumped up, bouncing from wall to wall before shooting out across the street, blazing away with her suppressed rifle to draw the attention of the Reaper before cloaking, giving Frank his opening as he moved out, advancing forward and firing in short bursts. Walking his shots towards the central optic, the Punisher earned his moniker as Yuri made her move and came in from up above, one of the sticky incendiaries primed and ready.

Only this time the robot had learned, spinning back and slapping the woman away as the device fell to the ground and burned blindingly white hot. Castle watched the woman's limp form cart wheeling through the air before the Reaper turned back to him. Diving behind a car as blue plasma streaked overhead and Castle pressed himself against the metal, only for the machine to lift the car and toss it down the street like it was a toy, leaving the Marine totally exposed.

But, miraculously, the drunk inserted himself back in the fight as a flash caused Frank's eyes to reflexively snap towards the source. The unguided High Explosive Anti-Tank rocket streaked straight and true but was just slightly off target. If the rocket had hit dead center then it would kill the Reaper, but as Frank heard the distinct hiss of the molten copper jet and saw the smoke clear, the Reaper was still upright. Still, the effects were devastating as the rocket blew the machine's left arm completely off.

A blue blur overhead caught his attention as the damaged Reaper staggered, enabling Yuri to come down atop it and plunge her Ripper blades into the top of the machine as it tried desperately to buck the Captain off to no avail. Slamming the final thermobaric into the top armor and leaping away as the device went to work, turning the top armor into slag as it dripped down and tore through the internal components as the machine began to short out.

Watanabe leapt through the air and collided with Frank as the pair rolled across the ground until coming to a stop and looked towards the wreck of the Reaper as it continued to burn to a crisp. "Not bad" grunted Castle as Yuri pushed herself up.

"Don't get any funny ideas" deadpanned the Cop as she helped him to his feet and looked around to see the missing man stagger past the smoking hulk, flask in hand.

Seeing the Cop and Marine giving him an odd look, he raised the flask and called out "I'll drink to that!" before downing the contents of his flask.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Apex Predators _

_For one reason or another, Titan Pilots often work for mercenary bands on the Frontier. For the most elite Pilots, this is the best way to get a hefty paycheck while offering a greater level of autonomy than if they were a part of the IMC, Militia, or similar group. Dozens of outfits have popped up over the years, willing to take the risk on the massive costs involved in purchasing, outfitting, and maintaining a force of Pilots and their Titans, and their degree of success is as varied as the men and women who formed these groups. _

_Unsurprisingly, these groups often had the most formidable Pilots among their ranks, offering fortune, a challenge, and almost guaranteed opportunities to test a Pilots mettle. It's not surprising that the SRS was formed with the aid of many mercenaries, and the Marauder Corps in particular took a lot from these Pilots for hire. The regulations are looser and more relaxed, enabling Pilots to operate as they see fit, leading to a very individualistic mentality among those in its ranks, all the way down to the way each Pilot customizes his or her own equipment. At the end of the day, Commander Briggs is the one who made it work, demanding discipline in the field, if not off it. The men and women of the Marauder Corps may act like freelancers, but all fight for a common cause._

_If the Marauder Corps fight for a cause, the Apex Predators fight for themselves. Of all the mercenary groups operating on the Frontier, none demands more respect, or instills more fear, than the Apex Predators. Fighting solely for the highest bidder, they are brutal, ruthless, and effective. Nothing is given higher priority than their paycheck, not a cause, not their employer, and not even their fellow Apex Predators. Well…that might not be strictly true, some may value pride, at least Sloane probably did before I killed her. But the epitome of that mentality that defines the outfit is the man at the top, South African born Kuben Blisk, who wouldn't even finish me off because he had fulfilled his contract to deliver the arc and had no reason to waste a bullet on killing a potential recruit. _

_That's one of those moments you don't forget, when you're dead to rights and the man standing over you doesn't pull the trigger, all it would take to change that were it to be put in his contract. As the man himself says, "you kill me, you're better. I kill you? Then I'm better." _

_Well Mr. Blisk, I'm hoping we get to find out who's better._

* * *

**Closing Notes: That was, admittedly, one of the shorter chapters. The way this is going to go is to have each group rotate into the spotlight, this was the right, leaving the left and center to be covered in the next two chapters. I am genuinely curious as to thoughts about having the focus be on what are, in all honesty, side characters. This was more or less an experiment to see if anyone other than the main group (Matt, Felicia, and Peter) can carry a chapter, with Yuri and Frank obviously being the ones who got called on. If you played the DLC then you know some of the endgame, but I have considered the idea of bumping Yuri in particular up to lead status later (much much later) on, so I'm keen to see if you guys think she's interesting enough to go through with that or not. Review and let me know your thoughts on this or anything else.**

**One of the more interesting bits to write was Frank and Barker's interactions, none of what Barker talked about is canon or anything, I just wanted to come up with some other reason for Barker to be in the story than comic relief and that's the final result. Also, the talk about the Marauder Corps at the end was inspired by the American Volunteer Group (AVG), better known as the Flying Tigers...at least to those who like John Wayne movies. **

**Next chapter will see the IMC come across a storm, a force that is Unbreakable.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	48. Chapter 48: Unbreakable

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

If you haven't seen Extraction, than pull up Netflix and give it a watch, very John Woo like vibes, fun action movie.

**Blaze1992: These are cops, they aren't familiar with these sorts of military type maneuvers, especially done under fire. They can clear a building, but that doesn't make them the 10th Mountain. (But if there is anybody more familiar with SWAT training, correct me if my browsing of Wikipedia gave the wrong impression.)**

**1\. No random civ's or anything, having one show up randomly would be too contrived and that is something I have chosen to avoid. **

**2\. Osborn's motivations and machinations will become more apparent in this chapter and ones following it. He has plans on how to take advantage of the situation, and they don't involve the villains in the RAFT. **

**Threll Ignis: Good to know. I have plans for more Frank and Yuri coming up. And slight correction, the various chapters more or less take place in sequential order, but focus on different fronts at different times. The events of this chapter start around the same time the previous one ends for example. Thanks for the feedback. **

**ILoveBlueAndRice: You'll never read this, but thanks for giving the story a shot, even if it has the pairing in the story description. **

**But this has me curious, the way I tried to avoid the situation described is by having Cooper accept that Black Cat will never be pure good and not trying to hold her to that standard. Having her almost get him killed in chapter 9 and then have him not get mad about it was what I did to try and set the stage for their relationship being different. They're both anti-heroes, or something that at least isn't 'pure' hero, which is also a factor. **

For this title, we have another track off of _Art of War_, in fact, it's the song immediately following 40:1, meaning it corresponds to chapter 5, relating to creativity and timing to build the momentum of an army. Fitting then that the historical basis for this song is an ambush conducted by Partisans during World War II, though the band can't remember exactly which one. But it was that setting of a mostly para military resistance to a superior invading force that caused it to be picked. As for the song itself, it's an odd one, almost feeling like two different songs fused together. The first part is slow and deliberate before it breaks down into chaos in the back half, which I had intended to try and replicate with this chapter, but not much of that idea remained in the final edit. I promise, next week will have a different band than Sabaton.

* * *

**Power Without Question - Chapter 48: Unbreakable**

_They'll never know we give no warning_

_We set a trap they took the bait_

_Leading them straight into hell_

_They will not live to tell the tale_

_We'll strike at dusk and fight 'til dawn_

_Tonight our foe is bound to fail_

_Our time is now all ready at arms_

* * *

If there was one thing Peter was not prepared for, it was the continual pounding in his head from his spider sense as he spun and flipped through the air as the bullets whizzed and snapped around him. Unlike the other defenders, the east side, with their abundance of superhuman combatants, was fighting out in the open with the few shooters they had from Fisk supporting them from cover. At the apex of his swing, the webslinger disconnected the line and streaked straight down before firing more weblines at the ground below and slamming into the concrete right in the middle of the group of grunts. The force of the impact knocked them back as the armored webhead reacted to the ringing at the base of his skull and rounded on a solider behind him who was trying to raise his rifle.

Even with the additional weight from his heavy armor, he moved with superhuman quickness as he closed the gap and slapped the gun away while throwing a right cross that slammed into the man's jaw and spun him around. Deftly firing a pair of weblines, he ensnared the trooper's feet before yanking them out from under him and whipping him around, knocking two more soldiers down before a third was slammed into a wall. His spider sense was still buzzing, and he reacted by jumping and flipping over a car as a burst of gunfire tore through the air and he crouched down low. Poking his featureless mask out from behind his cover, he saw the IMC trooper with a particle wall barrier holding a machine gun.

Before Spider-Man could make a move, a shapely black clad figure passed straight through the wall right behind the gunner and delivered a savage kick to his knee, the X-Man followed up by slamming an elbow into the back of his head that knocked him out. "Hey Spidey" she called out with a jovial wave, "How have you been?" she asked.

"Pretty good" he returned absentmindedly before his sixth sense blared as he dove across the sidewalk as bullets tore through the air and he slammed into Shadowcat and tackled her as the two slammed down into a doorway of a shop. As the pair untangled themselves, Peter poked his head out to look at the situation, "Okay, so that's a lot of angry robots" he remarked as more bullets and blue tracers darted by.

Kitty looked out, placing a hand on his shoulder as she pressed against him and used his armored body for cover. "We've dealt with worse" reminded the X-Man as the two ducked back down and decided on a course of action. "Remember Mysterio? He must have at least twice that many robots" continued Pryde dismissively. Peter didn't feel like arguing that these machines were far more dangerous than anything Beck had brought to bear. "I'll go left, you go right?" she suggested as she batted her eyes at him.

Doing his best to ignore her advances, Peter refocused his mind on the immediate task ahead, "Sounds like a plan" he replied, "on a count of three…one…two…seriously Kitty?" he called out as the mutant phased through him and tore off down the street, charging forwards. "Impatient as ever" he muttered as he fired off a webline and shot across to the other side of the street before sprinting along the wall to catch up.

Before he could, Shadowcat had already closed the gap and was busy disarming the first machine, ripping its weapon away and bashing the machine over the head, the polymer stock of the gun shattering from the superhuman force of the strike. Behind his mask, the webhead narrowed his eyes at the machine coming up behind his ex and swung in, feet up as he planted both in the machines back and sent it flying. Deftly flipping over and landing on the ground, he opened up with his web shooters on the nearest Specter, webbing it up as Pryde phased through her opponent to deliver a spin kick to the ensnared bot while Peter rounded on the machine she had been fighting. Delivering two quick blows to stagger the machine before an uppercut sent it airborne as Peter leapt up and continued to wail on it until its armor was buckled and it's internals fried from the abuse.

Landing back on the ground alongside Shadowcat, Peter settled back into a fighting stance as the remaining machines surrounded the two heroes. "How much you wanna bet I'll get more than you?" asked Katherine casually as the two stood back to back.

"How many times have I beaten you?" he asked, "What makes you think this time will be any different?"

"Because we broke up" supplied the mutant brunette quickly. "So, I don't have to worry about placating your ego, I can go all out" retorted Pryde with mirth before she leapt onto the offensive, diving at the nearest machine.

"Still impatient" muttered Peter as he snapped off a Webline with a flick of the wrist and yanked himself towards the largest group, determined to not let his perfect record get a blemish.

* * *

About 100 yards behind the duo, another watched with varying levels of interest. "What's gotcha' worried luv?" asked the older of the two in her English accent, "as far as fights go, this has been a pretty easy one. Those 'heroes' are bloody crazy…and bloody good" she commented, unknowingly striking the nerve that had Mary Jane worked up as she watched Spider-Man and Shadowcat tear through a group of IMC machines, working together seamlessly to do so.

"Yeah…they're really good" she answered, concealing her jealousy the best she could as she waited for the pair to split up and put some distance between them. When they did, she took a photo that showed Spider-Man, in his armored form, alone and standing tall after driving the last machine into the ground. Meanwhile, the brunette in her figure flaunting outfit was busy phasing through solid matter before ripping a car door from its hinges and bashing another Specter with it while she was stuck out of the fight, sitting on her less shapely ass and could only take pictures.

When she finally let out a shaky breath and lowered her camera before taking a swig from one of the water bottles she had brought before she noticed Gates had turned to look at her. Chuckling lightly, MJ could only glare at the 6-4 veteran. "Which of you is his ex?" she asked knowingly, causing the reporter's mouth to fall open, drawing another bark of laughter from the woman, "It is obvious, the way the two of you stare at his ass…not that I can blame you."

Ignoring the heat in her cheeks as she looked away, or at least trying to, Mary Jane tried to answer Gates. "We both are…technically. Though we're trying to get back together after seeing other people. But it…it's been a challenge" she explained weakly, "I just…how am I supposed to compete with her, or people like her?" she bemoaned rhetorically. Even after GCT and working with Peter, Matthew, and Felicia, she was suddenly and brutally reminded of just how vulnerable she was, especially compared to somebody who was truly superpowered.

There was an awkward silence for a moment as MJ realized she may have overstepped a bit and shrunk a bit before Gates suddenly spoke up, only something changed in her tone of voice. "Tell me about him" she said simply as the redhead stared at the woman dumbly only to widen her eyes as she took off her helmet to reveal her face. A head of full blonde hair and alert blue eyes stared back at MJ as the reporter noted the large scar than ran down her cheek as she sat down and placed her rifle on the ground. "What's he like as a person when he isn't bringing fists to a gunfight and winning?"

"He uh…he's smart and kind" she responded as her mind raced to try to describe the utter enigma that was Peter Parker. "Like really smart, those webshooters he uses? Made those himself when he was 15 while I was still trying to wrap my head around the quadratic equation" she remembered with a slight chuckle. "Back when I was a theater diva and had to go to him for tutoring, he would always show up sweaty and with bruised knuckles before teaching me whatever I needed help with it that way where it was clear that he _cared_ even if we only could barely be classified as acquaintances."

The Pilot gave her a small smirk, "And I don't suppose you had any trouble paying attention to those lessons, did you?"

Her lack of an answer was answer enough, but she tried to push on beyond that anyways. "I'm not sure when it happened but soon we became friends, then I wanted to be more than friends, and when I heard he didn't have a date to Junior prom I showed up on his doorstep and practically dragged his ass to the dance" she recalled fondly, things were so different back then…simpler. "I still remember what I said when he opened that door with the dumbest look on his face. _'Face it Tiger, you hit the jackpot' _I told him." Both women shared a laugh at that before a more comfortable silence settled in, despite the surrounding sounds of distant gunfire. "Can't believe that worked" she muttered with a shake of her head.

"If it's stupid but it works, then it isn't stupid" reminded Gates with a smirk as Mary Jane nodded in agreement. It was odd to think about all of those early times again, back before she knew about his alter ego, which was what Gates asked about next, "must have been quite a shock to find out your boyfriend was such a violent bloke" assumed the Pilot.

"He's not violent" she defended adamantly, bristling at the accusation. In response, Gates merely leveled a look before casting a sideways glance out the window. On the street below, Peter was moving with the fluidity and grace only he could as he bounced between IMC robots, tossing them up and throwing them at more machines, crushing them against walls as another came up behind him. Peter caught it's arm with his hand before picking the STALKER up and smashing it into a lamppost with such force the machine snapped clean in half. "He isn't" she insisted, "he has _never _killed anyone because it isn't in his nature…none of that is."

Mary Jane looked at Gates and could easily see that the 6-4 pilot was far from convinced. "Pe…Spider-Man never flaunts it, despite what Jameson may say. I remember this one time" she began as she had to stifle a laugh at the memory, "this one time after we started dating I finally got tired of him being courteous so I just kissed the hell out of him and was trying to get his shirt off, right? And he just _freaked out _because he had his costume on underneath. But I didn't know this and thought he was either super shy or whatever, but he just up and left" she recounted before bursting back out into laughter at the absurdity of it all. "This was at a point when half of Midtowns female population had shrines to Spider-Man and thanked all that was holy for that outfit."

By this point, even the steely eyed veteran had a hard time containing herself and sputtered with laughter before a large explosion knocked them from their revelry as Gates looked out the window before waving off MJ from doing the same. "Just another airstrike, nothing to worry about" she assured before sitting back down. "Let me get this straight" began the pilot as she furrowed her brow, "he's being doing this since he was 15and doesn't tell anyone?"

"Basically, though I figured it out and I think the Marauder did too…but I'm not sure how. He may have only told one other person but that's it" revealed the reporter, "like I said, when he isn't doing this, he's just a normal guy, a nice, normal guy. Just…don't ask him to make dumplings" she added with a smirk as Gates shrugged at the inside joke.

"If it's okay" began the Pilot slowly, "I'm going to tell you what I think." MJ quirked an eyebrow at the blonde, but nodded nonetheless, intrigued at what the veteran would make of the Webslinger. "There are three kinds of Pilots" she began as she held up the corresponding number of fingers, "Those who seek strength. Those who live for pride. And those who can read the tide of battle. Those are the three" she explained. "The uh, what'd you say he was called? The Marauder? He's special too, because he's all three" she said, "a pilot has to love to fight, to feel the sting of battle and push himself to his limits. Some set out to be the best, the fastest, the most deadly, most skilled. Yet there are others who make it through without any of that, because they got a good head on their shoulders and know what moves are the right ones to make. That's what I am, I never wanted to be the fastest or the strongest, I just wanted to get through it, still do" revealed Gates curtly.

"I see" replied MJ as she mulled the words over before her mind wound up with a fairly logical question. "And what about Spider-Man?"

"Him?" she asked as MJ nodded and Gates cracked a knowing smile. "He's even more unique I think" she began as MJ waited patiently for the Pilot to continue. "Spider-Man isn't like a pilot at all, in fact he sounds like the farthest thing from one. He isn't any of those" she said confidently. "Which is why you shouldn't worry; he doesn't care if he's strong or if you're strong. He isn't so prideful as to judge you solely by your looks. And he lives in the moment, he wants what he wants and doesn't give a damn about what anyone else thinks. He cares about you because he _cares_ about _you._ The sooner you realize that then the better off the two of you will be" she said finally before slipping her helmet back on and picking up her rifle. "Trust me luv, I know."

"Is that what that's for?" asked MJ, unable to contain her curiosity as she stared at the playing card patch on the pilot's sleeve, an ace of hearts with a dagger driven through it.

"That?" asked Gates as Mary Jane nodded, "that's just an old war wound now."

* * *

Scanning ahead of him, Cyclops saw nothing moving on the lifeless street ahead of him, the street and buildings criss crossed with black scorch marks from both his own crimson eye beam and lightning summoned by the woman he had been holding this position with. "Storm" he called out, the woman in question hovering in midair, the cape on her back fluttering in the breeze she commanded to keep her aloft. "We need to regroup and find Logan; do you see anything?"

Before the mutant woman could answer, Scott Summers felt a familiar presence in his mind before the sagely tones of Charles Xavier entered his head. _'You will find Logan approximately three blocks to the west' _informed the Professor politely all the way from Roosevelt Island. "Did you hear what the professor said?" he asked as the woman elegantly descended to land gracefully alongside him. Nodding, the pair began to stride off towards their wayward companion. "I suppose we'll just go with the usual plan once we get closer."

"Follow the screams?" returned Ororo dryly, both X-Men at this point being quite familiar with how the Wolverine operated and the results of his style. And the results were quite messy. "Cyclops" began the woman regally as the visored man turned to the blue eyed woman, "I fear for the outcome of this day, it is far from over" she said as they continued to move cautiously towards Logan.

Internally, Summers shared the same concerns about how things were going. From what Professor X had relayed to him, the defender's lines were holding…barely. The Sable lines in the middle were being pressed the hardest, but the X-Men had been under constant pressure from Grunts, Specters, and STALKERs. Most of the Fisk shooters had already fallen back while the heroes maintained contact. Word had just come in that the NYPD had fallen back as well lest they be outflanked, and it was looking like the X-Men would have to cede more ground if they didn't want to become surrounded. "We'll make it Ororo" assured Scott firmly, not wanting any of his people to become disheartened, if they became distracted then there was a very real possibility they wouldn't make it out.

The woman 'hmmed' in reply, but didn't appear entirely convinced. However, Summers chose to drop the subject as they got closer to where they could hear a scream of pain. Exchanging a knowing glance, the pair sprinted forwards towards the source and rounded a corner to a familiar sight. An alleyway was covered in gore and wreckage as their short, broad shouldered ally drove three adamantium covered claws through the chest of a screaming soldier, causing him to fall silent. "Logan" addressed Scott calmly, "you've been busy" noted the mutant.

The Wolverine snorted dismissively as he pulled a cigar and lighter from his tattered trousers and lit it as he marched through the carnage. By the time he reached his fellow X-Men the numerous bullet, knife, and fragmentation wounds he had sustained were nearly invisible due to the immense healing factor the man possessed. "I suppose that if you two are here it means that the IMC have pulled back for now?" he asked, Summers nodding as Logan shoved the cigar back in his mouth and puffed. "Shame."

Summers exchanged a glance with Storm, and despite the crimson visor that covered his eyes, the woman got the message he was trying to convey easily enough. "Professor Xavier wishes for us to regroup with the others, another order to retreat is due to arrive soon" informed the Cloud Walker calmly, even as Scott's patience was beginning to wear thin. Logan merely grunted before walking off in the wrong direction. "Logan, the others are this way" informed Storm politely as the Wolverine seemed unconcerned with that detail.

"I know" he called back over his shoulder before he looked at a ruined storefront and made his way inside. Cyclops and Storm shared a shrug before Wolverine emerged a few moments later, beer in hand, and began to march back up the street towards the other mutants. Knowing what he would be asked, he answered preemptively, "If we're leaving, I figured I'd better grab one for the road."

* * *

"Director Fury" intoned the smartly dressed man at the head of the table in the Situation Room with icy calm, "I made my decision. You are to deploy the Avengers to Manhattan immediately. Do you understand?" The room fell silent as the Joint Chiefs turned their attention to the eyepatch wearing director on screen, who had entered a staring contest with the speaker.

Finally, Fury broke the tense silence as he cleared his throat. _"I respect that you've made a decision Mr. President, but given that it's a stupid fucking decision, I've decided to ignore it" _responded the Director coolly, seemingly unfazed by the stern expressions being directed at him by the men and women gathered beneath the White House. _"All operational Avengers, along with the Helicarrier _Yorktown_, are currently deployed on operations against suspected HYDRA activity in Northern Serbia. If HYDRA is up to something…" _

But Fury didn't get to finish, the President's patience for the ex-CIA man had finally run out and he slammed his fist down onto the table, the sound reverberating throughout the room as the Commander in Chief _glared _at the SHIELD Director. "I don't give a damn about whatever a shadow organization that _may _or _may not _exist _may _or _may not _be up to over in the world's asscrack!" he shouted angrily. While many others shrunk in their seats or took a step back from the President, Fury stood straight, tall, and proud. "What is the name or your Agency, Director?" asked the Chief Executive.

"_The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division" _answered Fury calmly before adding on, almost as an afterthought, _"sir."_

"That's right Director!" retorted the President. "Strategic **Homeland**," he emphasized angrily. "And the damn purpose is to prevent and counter threats on US soil. I couldn't give two shits about what's happening in Syria…"

"Serbia, sir" corrected and aide.

"Who gives a fuck?" retorted the President as he quickly placed his derailed train of thought back on the tracks and resumed his tirade. "Point is, I don't care where you are or what you're doing. I want you to get every Avenger on the _Yorktown_ and then for you to turn that thing around and head back here immediately. Am I clear?"

Fury's sole eye narrowed as he held his ground for a brief second before answering. _"Crystal, sir" _replied the Director, _"our ETA is 18 hours, Fury, out" _finished the head of SHIELD before the screen went to black and the President leaned back in his chair before letting out a sigh.

Turning to the other screen, the President addressed the man on it, bags under his eyes. He had eschewed his suit jacket, and his appearance was, in a word, disheveled. "You heard the man Mayor Osborn" began the President, "now the question becomes weather or not your people can hold out for 18 hours." There was a tense silence in the room, but just as it looked like the former CEO was about to answer, the President added "and no bullshit Osborn. Honest assessment about what the situation is down there."

"_Everyone is out there fighting with everything they've got" _he began, _"and we haven't sustained that many casualties…yet." _Of those Osborn was addressing, a majority of them were the Joint Chiefs of Staff or their aides, professional military officers who understood full well what was likely to come out of his mouth next. _"But sooner or later their backs will be pressed against the wall and we will start taking casualties. A lot of casualties."_

The President looked to the others as he grimaced before probing further into the matter. "Numbers Norman" said the President, though the weight in the words made it clear that they weren't a request. "How much time do you have left…_realistically_"stressed the Commander in Chief.

"_At this rate? In about six hours everyone will have pulled back to the last defensive line at 112__th__," _he answered. _"All that's after that is makeshift hospitals, refugee camps, and the like. That's where they'll make their last stand. Once there? Nobody is really sure but most estimates are somewhere around six hours. The most optimistic ones say eight, while others are as low as two hours" _finished Osborn.

Taking a moment to digest that revelation, the President turned to the officers in the room as well, his expression clearly prompting some input from them. "Those estimates are in line with ours" answered one.

"And a damn sight better than we originally thought" deadpanned a gruffer voice.

"_If it weren't for Sable International then we would have been overrun already" _agreed Osborn, though the fact that the Mayor credited their continued success to the PMC that he himself had brought in and was paying for.

The fact that it was very possible that Osborn could very well be the main candidate against the incumbent President in his bid for reelection didn't escape the Commander in Chief. "Very well Mayor, just hold on for as long as you can, any help we can send your way we will" he promised, "the country stands with New York City."

At that, Osborn terminated the connection as the President turned to the officers. "I need options, who can get forces in to help them within the next 12 hours?" he asked, point blank.

The Joint Chiefs squirmed for a moment, all but one, a grizzled older man in Marine green coat and pants, khaki shirt and belt, with a chest full of ribbons, including two blue ones with five white stars, indicating he had been awarded two Congressional Medals of Honor. "I believe I can sir" he said with confidence.

"Alright General Butler" said the President, seeing as nobody else seemed eager to speak, "what do you have for me?"

* * *

"Jesus Christ" muttered Captain Nicole 'Lanner' Brown as she winged over, the colossal 45,000 pound jet responded sluggishly, but the Air National Guard pilot was more than okay with that. "Look at that fucking beehive" she commented to the three other pilots of Steeljaw flight, 104th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the Maryland ANG 175th wing as the came into sight of Manhattan. Her flight of four A-10C Thunderbolt IIs, known around the world as the 'Warthog' and the legendary Tank Buster responsible for the Highway of Death, had been sent to help in the way only Hog drivers could.

When the fighter jocks in their fast movers had long since blown their loads and had to go back to base to refuel, that meant the A-10s had clear skies to do what they did best, even if they couldn't do it very quickly. But what the quartet lacked in speed they more than made up for in raw firepower. Each plane carried 15,000 pounds of ordinance, including semi guided 70mm rockets, AGM-65 Maverick anti tank missiles, JDAM precision guided bombs, and over 1000 depleted uranium cored 30mm armor piercing rounds for the GAU-8/A. The 'Avenger' was a seven barreled rotary cannon that the A-10 was literally build around, and it's combat record meant that many soldiers would rather have this Avenger backing them up than any other.

"Alright Steeljaws, let's get to work" called Lanner as she strapped on her oxygen mask and lowered her visor to limit the glare coming from the slowly setting sun. "Overlord, this is Steeljaw lead, flight of four A-10s coming in from the southwest, bearing 030. Ready for tasking" she called out over the channel.

The response was immediate, _"Solid copy Steeljaw" _returned the FAC, _"good to hear from you." _As the famous landmarks of Manhattan, the Empire State, Avengers, and Oscorp towers, slowly came into clearer view, the four attackers spread out as each pilot went 'switches on' and armed their vast array of weapons. Now, the Warthogs had barred their teeth and were ready for action. _"Hopefully you all are ready to work, you're going to be busy…"_

* * *

"You really don't have to do this MJ" insisted Peter, though he was still wearing his mask he had half of his armored top off while the redhead was crouched next to the seated superhero, first aid kit open on the floor next to her. He winced in a very un-superhero like fashion as she dabbed a disinfectant soaked rag into the gash on his side, "Stop that!" he yelped, "I'll be healed up in an hour anyway" he insisted, but the glare he got when he turned to look at 'Nurse MJ' quickly shut him up.

"If you won't take care of yourself then I will" she replied calmly, though she was focused on cleaning the wound as she said it, "you'd do the same for me." Tossing the rag aside, she began rifling around the kit for something to seal up the wound, knowing that Peter was too stubborn for her to sew it up, the reporter settled for a pack of heavy duty adhesive bandages. "I don't need you to try and be a macho man out there…leave that to the Marauder, he's much better at it. Now sit up straight" she commanded firmly as she set to work.

"I'm sorry MJ" he admitted quietly, "it's just…Li and Devil's Breath, and now this? What's next?" he whispered.

"Whatever it is," began Watson with absolute certainty as she secured the first bandage and set to work on the second, "I know you'll be doing what you are right now. Doing the right thing and trying to stop it."

There was a brief silence before the armored Webhead answered, "Thank you Mary Jane" he said sincerely.

"You're welcome" replied the redhead with the same tone as she finished bandaging the wound and stole a glance at his abs before stepping back and allowing him to put his armor back on. "Go get 'em Tiger" she said before planting a quick kiss on his mask.

"You two love birds done yet?" drawled an accented voice as both whirled around to see Gates standing in the doorway, helmet tucked under one arm while her weapon was cradled in the other, a bemused look on her unmasked face. "Same drill as before, the grunts are falling back and we gotta buy some time" she informed as she slipped her helmet on and turned around, beckoning the others to follow. The two partners returned back to the lobby of the hotel to find a gaggle of Fisks men bustling about as they prepared to pull back.

"_Contact!" _shouted Summers over the tactical net, the sole word causing everyone to react, either by moving faster or halting dead in their tracks. _"X-Men, Spider-Man, get out front to give these guys a warm , get out on the flanks and harass these guys. Everyone else keep doing what you are and fall back to the next defensive line." _The calm and collected words of Cyclops seemed to get all the Fisk shooters back on track as they resumed whatever it was they had been doing before the alert came in.

"I gotta go" said Peter quietly as he turned to the redhead, pushing a wayward strand of red hair up over her ear, "stay here, I'll swing by and pick you up on my way out" he said. "Just keep your head down, promise me you'll stay safe" he begged silently.

"Only if you promise the same thing" returned Mary Jane.

"I promise" he said sincerely as he turned and made his way out the front door with the other supers. MJ ambled towards the door to look out at the six strangely dressed individuals standing in the middle of the street. At the edge of her vision, the far end of the road she could see the lead IMC vehicle, a four by four white truck with a turret atop the roof. Immediately, she reached for the camera hung around her neck and raised it to take a picture, only for Peter to turn around and look right at her. The narrow blue eye holes brokering no argument as MJ scampered away, taking the stairs up to the second floor so she could get a better view and stay out of the way.

The sky rumbled forebodingly, which could only signal one thing. Now with her camera up, Mary Jane watched with awe as she saw the white-haired mutant woman rise into the air, cape fluttering in the wind as she lifted her hands to the sky. Angry white bolts of lightning tore through the air and slammed into the lead vehicle repeatedly in reply.

That was what kicked the battle off as a torrent of lead came flying back at them, forcing the defenders to duck and scurry into cover as MJ ducked reflexively, a few windows shattering from the barrage of bullets. Peeking her head up, the reporter could see total chaos outside, tracers came in from the next pair of IMC trucks as a distinct red laser shot back in reply. Infantry emerged from alongside the vehicles as the X-Men replied with Storm once again bending mother nature to her will. Razor sharp hail fell from the sky, pelting the troops and vehicles, slicing through clothes and flesh and denting the armor plate of the vehicles.

While the X-Man was keeping up the ice-cold assault, more IMC forces emerged from alleyways on either side of the street, prompting the others to charge forwards into the fray. Even with her elevated vantage, the reporter was unable to distinguish individual actions from the few blocks distance. Even then, it wasn't hard to see that the good guys were winning, the distinct blue contrails of a Pilot's jump kit streaked over head as Gates fired her rifle on the soldiers below before darting away to make sure no parallel pushes outflanked the group. While that itself did little damage, it did force the IMC grunts to keep their heads down as Shadowcat, Spider-Man, and Wolverine closed the distance until they were right in the faces of the white armored troopers. In the face of the superpowered individuals, there was no way in hell the IMC was going to be able to stand up and fight.

But the large grey shape rumbling into view gave Mary Jane the impression they weren't going to stand up and fight. Trundling through the hailstorm, shrugging off the razor sharp ice like gnats, the monstrous tracked tank rode up and crushed the smaller jeeps like toys before slamming back down to earth, cracking the concrete on impact. Sticking out of the turret, MJ could make out two massive cannons, with her suspicions confirmed when one of them thundered, kicking up a plume of dust as the shell launched down the street.

The intended target, Shadowcat, merely phased out of existence as the round impacted, throwing up a towering plume of fire and dust as cars were thrown about as if they were made of plastic. Mary Jane could feel the entire building tremble beneath her feat as she snapped off as many pictures as she could. Bravely, or perhaps stupidly, some of the remaining Fisk Syndicate Enforcers decided to get involved.

From below the redhead's position, three rockets streaked out of the first floor and right down the middle of the street. Mary Jane silently cheered for the projectiles as they drew closer only to widen her eyes as they exploded well short of the IMC tank, blown out of the sky by the advanced vehicle's Active Protection System. The first to respond was Cyclops, dashing from cover back to the entrance of the building, screaming all the way for the others to get inside. But MJ missed this scene, instead focused on the massive twin gun turret turning to take aim at the source of the rockets. "LOOK OUT!" cried the redhead frantically, prompting the mutant to turn around as the cannon was brought to bear. Her warning arrived in time for them to react, but not enough to fully get clear as the second cannon thundered, sending its own high explosive packed shell straight towards Mary Jane's position.

The redhead had just enough time to throw herself to the floor and cover her head with her hands as the airburst fuse detonated in the lobby below, shaking the whole building as windows were blown out. Ears still ringing as she registered that the floor was still creaking until it began to give away completely, wood snapping and splintering as MJ lurched down as the floor crumbled. For a brief second, the floor seemed to hold enough for the reporter to try to crawl across it towards the staircase at the back, but that was for only that brief second.

Before her mind processed what was happening, she was screaming at the top of her lungs, her heart in her throat, and stomach lurching until she slammed into a table one the floor below. Groaning and coughing to get the dust from her lungs, the redhead found, to her great relief, that all her limbs still worked, even if they all ached horribly. Slowly, she brought her hand up to investigate a sticky feeling on her face, running the red substance between her fingers before her concussion addled mind registered the fact that it was blood, specifically, her blood.

As soon as it was registered, it was pushed aside as her mind fixated on another familiar object, her camera. Slowly getting to her feet, she staggered over to her camera and found it thankfully intact before she turned around and surveyed the carnage surrounding her. Bodies and body parts were strewn about, furniture was reduced to splinters, and the floor was charred and peeled up. Through the devastation, MJ heard someone cough and immediately began to head for the source. "Hello?" she called out uneasily, "who is there?" she asked tentatively until she could make out the shape of a man trying to crawl across the rubble. "Are you alright?" asked MJ, somewhat bewildered that anyone could be alive at all.

Crouching down at the man's side, she saw the black uniform with the yellow x across the back and immediately deduced that Cyclops was the wounded man. Instinctively, she grabbed the many by the collar and dragged him to a hallway despite his groans and hisses. Propping him up against a wall, the redhead could tell that his arm was dislocated by the way it hung limply, seemingly held where it was solely by his suit. "Arm dislocated, ribs cracked, shrapnel in my leg..." listed off Cyclops as Mary Jane noticed the darkening in his suit around a hole, a piece of metal jammed in it.

She might not have been able to do anything about that, but she had enough experience with dislocated shoulders as she grabbed hold of the afflicted appendage, "This'll hurt, I'm going to reset it, alright?" she asked, getting a nod in return. Focusing, she took a deep breath before beginning to apply pressure as she guided the arm back into place. Once she felt it was lined up, she pushed with all her strength, aided by adrenaline.

With a 'pop', the shoulder reset, Cyclops roaring in anguish before slowly testing his arm. Before Mary Jane asked if there was anything else she could do, the mutant used his other arm to grab hers and force her to look him directly in the red tinted visor. "Take my radio, get air support" he rasped as the reporter went about gingerly removing the headset and placing it on her own head, "hurry, they won't last long."

"_You still breathing one-eye?" _came a gruff voice over the headset as MJ rushed outside, past more bodies and into cover. _"Talk to me Scotty."_

"Cyclops is breathing, but out of the fight" she answered, trying to keep her voice calm, but knew that she probably wasn't doing a very good job, "I uh…" she began before stuttering as she tried to piece together her thoughts, "I need some help here" she admitted, "what do I need to do to help?"

"_Okay MJ, I'm going to walk you through this" _came the somehow calm tones of Peter, her partner not judging or even raising his voice as she could hear the snaps of bullets over the connection. _"On a wire connected to the headset should be a little box, find the dial or switch on the 'transmission' setting and switch it to 'FAC'" _instructed the webslinger.

Mary Jane did as told, fumbling with the controls for a second before she managed to work the switch, being rewarded with a crackle of static before she spoke tentatively. "Hello? Is anyone there?" she began, "this is Mary Jane Watson with the X-Men and Spider-Man. If anyone is receiving this, we need help."

"_Solid Copy Red Headed Stranger" _returned a stoic Sable controller as MJ made a befuddled expression at how she had a callsign, and why that callsign was the name of a lingerie line. Quickly, the reporter remembered that one of Peter's exes, who she suspected was a nymphomaniac, had been around Sable bases a lot and had probably snuck in to mess with the databases and did this as her idea of a joke. _"Transferring you to nearest available CAS asset, callsign is Steeljaw lead" _explained the controller before there was another burst of static.

The stoic male voice was replaced with a female one, though MJ first got an earful of the woman's strained breathing in her flight mask. _"Listen, I'm just going to call you 'Stranger' alright?" _said the woman without preamble, _"you said you were in trouble Stranger, what's the problem?"_

MJ peeked around the car she was crouched behind to get her bearings, "There's a really big fucking tank on the corner of 65th and 2nd" she explained as she tried, and mostly failed, to stay calm as she felt and heard the impacts of bullets against the car, her voice getting higher in pitch and faster in pace. "And a lot of bad guys too" she added as another massive tank shell blew up somewhere, sending a shockwave reverberating through the air that rattled her insides, "a whole lot" reiterated the redhead.

"_Understood, hold tight, we're inbound" _returned the pilot as MJ waited, unknowingly grinding her teeth as she waited. But a sound in the distance raised her spirits as she craned her neck up and saw a pair of jets lumber overhead, their straight wings loaded down with bombs and missiles. _"Stranger, this is Steeljaw Lead, I'm seeing lots of activity down there and can't distinguish good guys from bad" _explained the Pilot as the jets pulled up and circled back around, _"you down there need to designate the hostiles, over."_

"Uh…okay Steeljaw" returned Mary Jane as she frantically thought of a way to mark the tanks for the pilot, "give me a minute" she requested. She needed something that could go on the tank but was easy to spot, preferably bright. After a few moments of frantic thought, a literal spark came into her mind as a small smile came across her face and she flicked through the settings on the radio back to their original ones so she could talk to the super heroes. "Storm!" she called excitedly, "I need you to hit the tank with lightning! Everyone else needs to get the hell away from that tank!" ordered the reporter quickly.

"_Mary Jane? What are you…" _began the voice of Shadowcat.

But she was cut off by Spider-Man, _"Do as she says!" _barked the webslinger, being as authoritative and confident as she had ever heard him, _"Ororo, hit it!"_

The sky crackled and arced menacingly as the Bugle reporter flicked the radio back to the other channel and hailed the pilot. "When you see the lightening, where it strikes is your target. Can you do that?" she asked, she may have been optimistic, but it was the only real option they had.

In reply, she got a small chuckle, _"Stranger, I'm a Thunderbolt driver. We ride the lightning for a living." _That caused MJ to let out a heavy sigh of relief that her hair brained idea would actually work. A few seconds later, the bolts of blue-white electricity came down from the heavens, scorching the paint of the tank and flickering brightly. _"Confirm, hostile armor and infantry in the open, danger close. ETA 30 seconds" _rattled off the pilot coolly as MJ worked the headset again.

"30 seconds! Everyone DOWN!" she ordered as everyone hit the deck, diving behind or under anything remotely solid.

"_Steeljaw Lead: Guns guns guns" _called out the pilot as Mary Jane looked up to see the mighty airplane coming in from behind her, going head on with the tank. But it was tank vs tank buster, and there was only one way this could go. The next thing that MJ heard was one she would never forget, a deep ferocious roar that echoed through the streets, the war cry of the Warthog, _Brrrrrtttt!_

The resulting rain of shells, more than 300 that were unleashed in the three second burst, overwhelmed the energy shield of the tank before cutting through the thinner top armor of the turret and engine deck. 14 ounce depleted uranium incendiary rounds tore through the fighting and engine compartments, causing the men inside to suffer a significant emotional event. It was even worse for those in the lighter armored vehicles, the 30mm rounds left basketball sized holes in the vehicles and vaporized anyone even more unfortunate and was outside and in the open.

"_Steeljaw 2, rifle" _called out the second jet as it unleashed a barrage of 70mm rockets. The 24 Hydra rockets, each loaded with airburst APERS warheads, stitched a line of blast marks across the street, further adding to the death dealing ordinance pummeling the exposed infantry and machines advancing up the road. A few rockets slammed into the tank, but did little against the heavy armor. Still, the damage had been done, one of the 30mm rounds had struck the ammunition, causing a chain reaction as the massive rounds 'cooked off' inside the tank, sending up a geyser of sparks before a massive explosion rocked the street, sending the turret flying fifteen feet up into the air.

"Steeljaw, thanks" breathed MJ as she stared in awe at the burning wreck, "you got them" she confirmed, the Superheroes emerging from their hiding places to survey the results, most prominently the pillar of thick black smoke that went up as high as the jets peeled away, their work done.

But before the celebration could begin, the ground had begun to shake again as all eyes were now narrowing towards the wreckage of the IMC force until a shape began to take form through the smoke. _"The hell's that?" _asked Wolverine wearily as a single blue light pierced the blackness, 20 feet above the street.

"IT'S A TITAN!"

* * *

Peter stared up blankly at the hulking from of the IMC mech, massive cannon in its hands as the blue eye scanned the street before fixating on the heroes. It was about the same size as BT, but had a more rounded construction to the torso. Most strikingly, it was painted a deep red color, the skull of a strange horned animal emblazoned on the 'forehead' of the machine. "It's an Apex Predator" realized Peter in horror, the best of the best, and according to Cooper, absolutely ruthless. A fact that was reinforced as a pair of very familiar looking pods extended up over the Titan's shoulders, "RUN!" cried the Webhead as he and every other hero turned and took off in a dead sprint for their lives.

Spider sense blaringly madly, the wallcrawler pulled himself skyward with a webline as he flipped in midair, firing out another line to snatch a missile out of midair and redirect it into another, causing them all to detonate in a massive chain reaction. _"Webs, how do we kill this thing?" _asked Wolverine gruffly, the others using the brief reprieve to duck into cover as Spider-Man landed on a rooftop, already charging back towards his foe. Already, his friend's words were coming back to him, 'The only things that can defeat a Pilot and Titan is overwhelming firepower, or an equal.'

They didn't have a Titan of their own and unless they could get those planes to come back they were definitely outgunned. Still, they had to take this thing down, "Same as everything else" he called as he leapt off the roof and zipped straight for the Titan, "we improvise." The hero stuck to the chassis of the machine, crawling over to the back as he looked for anything that could be a weakness. Unsurprisingly, the Apex Predator thrashed the entire 40 ton bulk of the walking tank thrown around the street in an effort to shake Spider-Man loose.

Meanwhile, the cannon in the Titan's metallic hands hummed menacingly, deeper in pitch and greater in intensity until a mighty bolt of lightning leapt from the muzzle as the two parts split open to release the excess charge. Seizing the opening, the three X-Men still standing charged forwards at the colossal metallic monster, intent on doing something, anything to stop the Titan. Kitty was the first to arrive, the Apex Predator slamming a steel fist down in an attempt to squash the mutant only for her to phase through the attack. Behind her, Logan leapt through the air, claws extended, and landed on the four fingered hand. The Wolverine drove his adamantium covered claws into the titanium composite fingers of the Titan before using them to work his way up the attached arm.

Storm ascended into the air, hovering daintily and easily as she guided a barrage of lightning strikes against the Titan until it's shields depleted and 'popped.' All the while, Logan continued clawing his way upwards until he reached the elbow joint, slashing wildly at anything that could limit the Apex Predator's fighting ability. Meanwhile, on the back of the Titan, Spider-Man saw the other arm come up and leapt into action. Firing off his webline, Peter fired a glob from his other webshooter and held it as he used the first to fire off another line, so he circled around the raised arm, restraining it to the top of the torso.

But that didn't last for long, seemingly fed up with the collection of annoyances pestering it, the mechanical beast tore through the webbing and wrapped its fingers around Wolverine before hurling him into a building before the mutant fell to the ground, splattering across the pavement. Down to three, they pressed their attack with even more ferocity, shifting to the legs. Kitty Pryde stuffed a stolen grenade through a gap in the armor around the shins to minimal effect. The Webhead decided to take inspiration from one of his favorite films and try to wrap up the legs of the titan like an AT-AT. Using his Spider sense to dodge the next missile to fly his way, he then set to work, attaching the two together as he circled low around the thighs of the Titan. He then set about pouring on the webbing,

While Peter wrapped the legs up in a veritable cocoon of synthetic silk, Ororo stayed at a higher altitude, eyes almost glowing as more lightning crashed into the Titan. A single missile pod popped up, only for the Wind Walker to focus her efforts there, the heat from the strikes igniting the rockets in the tube and blowing the pod to bits. Staggering, the machine wobbled precariously, unable to move its feet freely as it teetered on the brink before it was Storm gave it the final push. Thrusting both hands forward, the woman bent nature to her will and summoned a gale force wind that turned the street into a wind tunnel as Peter pulled himself to a building and stuck fast as garbage, debris, spent shell casings, and even vehicles flew past when he saw Shadowcat finally lose her battle to hang onto a lamp post. Firing out a webline, he was now standing on the side of the building, hanging onto the line with both hands while Katherine did the same.

But finally, it was the Apex Predator who lost, the 40-ton titan crashing to the ground with a massive crash as the wind died down. However, just because the Titan was down did not mean it was out as it let go of its lightning gun and reached down to tear away the webbing with its metallic hands. As Peter frantically tried to come up with someway to put the monster down, a familiar shape flew at the struggling titan, howling in rage, and slammed his gleaming claws into the glowing blue eye.

Still lying on its back, the machine thrashed wildly as it brought a hand up to turn the Wolverine to paste, only for Logan to roll away and the blinded Titan to smack itself. But it still wasn't down, even if Peter could see a crack where the hatch had buckled from the impact as the Apex Predator got back to his feet. Peter had his own spark of an idea as he narrowed his eyes at the huge weapon the Titan had dropped as he leapt over to it. Kicking it around so that the muzzle was pointing towards its former wielder, Peter flipped down so that he was behind the gun and put everything he had into pulling the huge trigger. The ARC Cannon fired with a massive electric 'snap' as the bolt of blue lightning found its mark, arcing across the Titan as it staggered and froze for a split second.

Seizing the opportunity, Peter fired off a pair of weblines and _pulled_, grunting, he finally felt the Titan give and begin to tumble forwards, his Spider-sense blaring madly as it fell towards him. But instead of being crushed, he felt a familiar tingly sensation as Shadowcat sprinted in and grabbed hold of him, phasing them both through the falling Titan until they reached safety. Wolverine once more took advantage, leaping on the back of the fallen Apex Predator and tearing into the thruster pack with reckless abandon until sparks from his claws found a fuel line.

The resulting fireball engulfed the Titan as Wolverine was thrown from his perch, Peter instinctively shielding Shadowcat as his armor took the brunt of the force. When he finally looked up, the Titan was a raging inferno, slowly blackening from the intensity of the still burning flames. Undeterred, Wolverine marched right up, cigar in hand, and lit the tobacco with the flames before marching back to rejoin the others, letting out a puff of smoke on the way. "Well" began Spider-Man as he finally tore his eyes from the Titan, "the bigger they are, the harder they fall I guess."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Titan Loadout: Scorch_

_Shorthand for 'Scorched Earth,' the main tool of this loadout is fire. There's a brutal simplicity to it, the psychological or tactical effects of fire never diminished over time, but the ways of delivering it have only evolved. From Greek Fire to Napalm, fire arrows to fire bombing, it's always been a formidable weapon and coupling that to a neigh invincible delivery system is a solid choice dating back to the 'Crocodile' tanks of the second world war. Whereas they had flamethrowers, 'Papa Scorch,' as he is affectionately known, packs a mostly thermite based arsenal. For most cases, the T-203 Thermite Launcher will do, a large breach loading weapon based on a standard grenade launcher but modified to handle the specialized thermite rounds. _

_But when it comes to literal 'firepower,' then the T-203 is just the beginning, and when Scorch needs more area denial, then there are the incendiary traps, letting off a flammable gas in the same way as a fuel air bomb. These can be set off by the T-203 or the unique ability that most Pilots ignore the actual name of and simply call the 'Fire Wall.' Through some black magic science stuff, a slammed fist can project a line of thermite along the ground, effective for dealing with heavy armor. If that doesn't deter them from getting right in your grill, the Scorch can flam broil anything with the Thermal Shield, which burns so hot it destroys any incoming ordnance, but serves as the loadouts close range melee option. Able to melt through fortifications, vehicles, and Titans with equal ease. _

_No matter how deep the enemy is dug in, Scorch can burn them out._

* * *

**Closing Notes: I've wanted to do a Spider-Man vs. Titan fight for some time, even if this wasn't that exactly it I think it was good enough, let me know if it scratches that itch. The whole chapter was merely setting up that setpiece at the end, so everything else that happens isn't as impressive upon rereading it. Hopefully the stuff with MJ doesn't come across as awful since she has her fair share of detractors, understandably, but the experiences and wisdom she receives should contribute to her behaving differently than her in game counterpart later on. Gates got a lot of inspiration from Ace Combat 5's Captain Jack Bartlett, right down to stealing his 'Heartbreak 1' emblem and mentor role, but her words about the types of Pilots are pulled straight from Ace Combat Zero's Larry 'Pixy' Foulke. **

**Just to have more Ace Combat references, 'Lanner' is a callsign from AC6, though in that game she flew an F-16. The squadron she comes from is a real unit that does fly A-10s, and as a fan of the aircraft, I had to feature it doing some of the tank busting it was designed to do and has done for 35 years. It is perhaps the most stereotypically American aircraft, since it is quite literally build around it's 30mm cannon, and that gun is what creates that legendary 'Brrrrt!' sound.**

**But there was the beginning of how this arc will come to an end hinted at, if you paid close attention, and are familiar with US Military uniforms, or history, you might be able to guess who's coming to help. In a similar thing, the wiki said that Helicarriers are usually named after norse gods, but I've decided that that's really stupid, so in this story all Shield Helicarriers will bear the names of historic US Aircraft Carriers. Hopefully nobody cares too much about that, but I like naval history and since modern US Carrier names almost all suck, I'm making this change because I can. **

**If you have thoughts or feedback of any sort, even if you just want me to shut up and not make such lengthy author's notes, leave a review. **

**Next chapter, they will see what will be, blinded eyes to see For Whom the Bell Tolls. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	49. Chapter 49: For Whom the Bell Tolls

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

I've been scraping the bottom of the barrel of things to do this week, reading a proper book if you can believe it. _Weapons of Choice _by John Birmingham, a really interesting alternate history sci-fi novel that really has me itching to do something similar. What that means is that I want to do something with old school battleships, _Iowa, Vanguard, Scharnhorst, Jean Bart, _those kinda ships, would anyone be interested in that? Any ideas or suggestions?

**Blaze1992: The lack of NGFS (Naval Gun Fire Support, what the Navy calls shore bombardment) is due to the difficulty of directing effective fire missions in such a heavily built up area. Add in the fact that the modern US Navy has no such ships capable of carrying out NGFS (this is a the cause of a rift between the USN and USMC) to a serious degree with their small number of 5 inch guns and it'd be such an insubstantial element that it wasn't worth including. It's simply more efficent to use cruise missiles or air strikes, and with airfields nearby and the gross overkill a Tomahawk would be on most things, there's no real point to it sadly. **

**This is one of those things where it's hinted at instead of outright explianed. In 'Ghost in the Trenches' there are mentions of airstrikes from F-16s, and there is a similar line in Lanner's introduction. It's simply a case of hinting at a larger scale without bogging the reader down with too many useless details. **

**The debate of A-10 vs AH-64 is an interesting one, and if you want an 'official' answer, we'll assume the 10th Mountain is on deployment somewhere and took all of their Apaches with them. Those are the only US Army gunships in the northeast US and they aren't around. Honest answer? Apaches in New York reminds me too much of the 1998 TriStar _Godzilla _and I don't want to be reminded of the 1998 TriStar _Godzilla. _Tactically? Thunderbolts carry more ordnance and deliver it more safely, kinda. And why send larger helicopters when you can use smaller drones instead?**

**Why is that? It's not a perfectly in sync retreat, at least that's not how I imagined it, or thought I wrote it. The IMC is putting up enough pressure in all areas to force them all back and if one isn't under pressure then it would be easy for them to become surrounded, cut off, and anhilated if they don't retreat. **

As for the title, we have some Metallica, so thrash metal instead of power metal. Sticking with the war theme, even if this is a song inspired by a book that was itself inspired by a war, the often overlooked Spanish Civil War. The Spanish Civil War inspired a lot of art such as Picasso's _Guernica_, which I distinctly remember being talked about in an art history course because it was supposed to represent 'the brutalatilty of war' and I couldn't help but laugh. Why? Three years after it was painted would be The Blitz, and five years after that would be Dresden, Tokyo, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki, I can't be the only one that sees the grim irony in that.

The song itself? What am I going to say? It's _For Whom the Bell Tolls_, it's one of the best metal songs there is, dating back to 1984's 'Ride the Lightning.' With music's second most recognizable openeing bell (_Hell's Bells _is the best, no doubt), unique opening bass solo, and lack of a true guitar solo, it's a cool song that was picked not only for its themes, but it's...atmosphere? Maybe attitude, but that word doesn't feel quite right. Though if you haven't had enough Sabaton, they did cover it, both versions are great, but this song really does belong to Metallica.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 49: For Whom the Bell Tolls**

_Blackened roar, massive roar, fills the crumbling sky_

_Shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry_

_Stranger now, are his eyes, to this mystery_

_He hears the silence so loud_

_Crack of dawn, all is gone except the will to be_

_Now they see what will be, blinded eyes to see_

_For whom the bell tolls_

_Time marches on_

_For whom the bell tolls_

* * *

Pulling the stick back, Lanner pulled out of her run after putting a 500 pound satellite guided bomb down on a troop concentration drones had spotted. Her and the other Steeljaws were nearing 'Bingo Winchester', pilot speak for 'outta bullets and just enough gas to get home,' after almost three hours of continuous CAS work. The sun was just now beginning to fall below the horizon, the first traces of black beginning to push the orange out and claim the skies for the night. It was a beautiful sight for the Thunderbolt driver as she coaxed the big, heavy attacker into a lazy turn, dropping below the level of many of the tallest skyscrapers before leveling out and continuing to fly south.

A piercing tone ripped into her ears, forcing the A-10 Pilot to whip her head around frantically in search for the source. Despite seeing nothing, the radar warning alert buzzed constantly in Brown's ear after having been silent all day. None of her pilots had even reported so much Man Portable Air Defense System (MPADS) and now something had the veteran warthog pilot thoroughly locked up.

Just as Lanner began to calm down, an even worse sound filled the air, what sounded like hammer strikes began to sound around her as the cockpit canopy was shattered in a hail of laser accurate gunfire. "Holy shit!" yelped Brown as she hunched herself down into her seat. Armor piercing slugs sliced through the aluminum skin of the 'hog and shredded the internals, if not for the titanium plated armored 'bathtub' that Brown was sitting in, she would have been turned into swiss cheese like the rest of her airplane. Stomping on the rudder pedals, the rugged craft responded, but the shooter was the most accurate Brown had ever seen, more and more rounds pummeling the Thunderbolt.

Looking out over her right wing, she could see that control surfaces had been shot off and what little fuel was still inside the wing was burning. Lanner craned her head further back to see one of her engines belching smoke before the craft lurched violently, throwing the woman about the cockpit. Turning around to look over her other shoulder, it was clear that this was the best, or luckiest, gunner in the world. Half of her tail had been shot completely off as the plane began to descend, the stick and pedals unresponsive.

There was only one thing she could do, with her stricken jet dead set on a collision course with central park, the woman reached down to her right and grabbed the bright yellow handle attached to the seat. Taking one last breath, she yanked like her life depended on it, because it did. What was left of the shattered canopy was blown away before the rocket motors in the bottom of Lanner's seat ignited and launched her upwards like a missile. Her body experienced 9gs of force and weighed over 1200 pounds due to the acceleration until the rocket motors thankfully cut out and a parachute deployed. Dangling beneath the circular chute, Brown could see her burning plane crash, throwing up a shower of dirt before sliding to a stop as she slowly descended into the heart of IMC territory.

* * *

Blisk popped the hatch of his Legion Titan and stood up, poking his head out to get an unobstructed look at the results of his Smart Core on the primitive aircraft. It had proven to be fairly tough bird, but not tough enough, the twisted remains of the airframe still smoldering at the end of the ditch it had carved as it slid to a stop in what the signs called 'Central Park.' If Blisk had been an intellectual, he might have pondered the strangeness of being on an alternate earth, fighting the locals that were also human and spoke the same language. Alas, the Soldier of Fortune was just that, and nothing else, he only cared that he had a job to do and was being paid handsomely to see it through. "Damn fine shooting boss," commented Ice as her own Titan came to a stop alongside his, the woman also looking over the wreckage. "Still no sign of the Pilot though, I have patrols looking for her" reported the mercenary crisply, always the professional.

The South African grunted in approval, "Good work, I want him found and brought to me, I want to make an example of anyone else who tries to play 'hero'" he ordered. This operation had already cost for more than he had expected, the opposition had fought well and he had to respect them for it, but his patience was running out. He wasn't so naïve as to think that other forces would never come, and if any of them were like the freaks that had shown up on the East side then that would complicate matters even further. Crimson had been dispatched to deal with them, but hadn't reported in, which wasn't supposed to happen.

"There is one more thing boss" began the NorthStar Pilot as Blisk turned back to the woman to see her holding up a boxlike object. "We recovered the aircrafts radio and it's still functional. I might not be able to trace anyone else on the frequency, but I could use it to listen in," she offered.

Blisk grunted, one thing he never understood about smart people was why they couldn't just come out and say what they were thinking. "Then why don't you?" he asked impatiently.

He could've sworn the woman rolled her eyes at his short temper, "because," she began, "we're jamming their communications. We ease up, let them talk, and set a trap."

"See to it. Stay on this Ice, I want him, preferably alive, but dead will do" he finished dismissively before settling back into the seat. Flicking a pair of switches, the hatch closed over the Apex Predator as he turned and began to head east.

He had to figure out what had happened to Crimson.

* * *

_Stepping forward, Matthew felt the warm embrace of the Mediterranean sun on his skin and the similarly warm feeling of sand between his toes as he walked across the beach. Taking a deep breath, he enjoyed the total peace of the scene before him as the waves rolled gently against the shore, a few small sailboats bobbing on the water in the distance. "Like what you see Cowboy?" asked a familiar voice as Cooper turned around to see Felicia glide across the sand. Like him, she was in her own swimwear, but it was a fairly modest, for her, one piece that still accentuated her curves. Taking the whiskey she offered him, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, "What should we drink to?"_

_Cooper shot her a small smirk as he raised his glass, "To happily ever after" he suggested. _

_One eyebrow came up in surprise, "You, Mr. Cowboy, the Manhattan Marauder, are finally at peace?" she asked with a tinge of amusement._

_The Pilot could only shrug at the question, "I have my revenge and the woman I love" he answered with a small grin, "What more do I _actually _need?" he said, glass still raised in offering. _

_To his relief, Felicia returned his smile, "To happily ever after" she returned before raising her own drink and clinking the two glasses together before both drained the contents. After that, things moved quickly, embracing, Cooper found himself lying on his back as Felicia looked down at him with a predatory gleam in her eye. The platinum haired vixen lay her hands on his chest before she shook him, "C'mon Matt, get up" she beckoned as she continued to shake him, "Sable needs us, let's go."_

* * *

To her relief, Cooper's eyes snapped open to reveal his bright blue eyes, attentive as they darted around before finally settling on her and she gave him a smile. "What's happening?" he asked, clearly still pushing the last vestiges of sleep from his mind as he grabbed his helmet off the floor and slipped it on as he threw his legs off the bed in the hotel they were currently in. Like many of the troops who had been on the first lines of defense, both the Marauder and Black Cat had been rotated out and allowed to rest and rearm in the rear areas. Cooper had insisted she sleep while he rearmed and when he joined her in their assigned room she had gone to get some time to herself.

It had come back to her trying to answer one question, what was she doing here? Why was a thief here fighting a war against some futuristic mega corporation's army? She should have gone to a family vacation home in the Hamptons and waited for everything to blow over, but she hadn't. She even knew why: Matthew Cooper. He had asked her to stay, and she had without considering much else. While Felicia had always the concept of 'the one' was ridiculous, even she would admit that the Texan was a rare breed. He was, after all, one of the few men she could see herself with.

But all of that would only matter if they made it through this, so she refocused on the here and now as Cooper began putting himself back together. Even if he had slept in his armor, he still had to attach his webgeear with equipment and ammo. "Not sure exactly" she admitted, "but everyone is still falling back in good order. Sable was cagey, but I take it something didn't go according to plan and she has something special in mind for us" she informed.

"No rest for the wicked 'eh?" he mused with a chuckle as he grabbed his various weapons and made his way for the door, Felicia in tow as they made their way to the elevators and began their descent. "How are you holding up sweetheart?" he asked honestly, even with the voice filter masking the emotions in the words, he was being sincere in his concern.

"I'm fine" she answered, the curt answer curtailing any follow ups he may have asked before the heiress broke the silence. "Just worry about yourself out there stud, I'd hate to lose you" she purred flirtatiously, though even she could tell she hadn't fully sold it, her actual thoughts and feelings creeping into her tone. Turning away quickly, she was thankful that Cooper knew her well enough not to press as the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open as the pair made their way through the hallways side by side until they swept into the conference room Sablinova had made her Command Center.

The Symkarian looked, in all honesty, like utter hell. Deep bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep, hair messed and dirty, and uniform battle damaged and filthy. On the holographic table she was standing over, the positions of both her troops and the known IMC positions. Everyone had fallen back north of Central Park, but the fact that the iconic park was highlighted didn't escape Hardy's notice as she scanned the maps, committing everything she could to memory. "Good to see you two" greeted Silver with surprising honesty, fatigue heavy in her usually stern voice. "What's your status? Green?" she asked, getting a pair of nods back, causing her to sigh in relief, "Excellent, I have a mission that requires your unique skill sets."

Tapping her datapad, the map shifted to focus on one point in central park, a photo popping up next to it to show that spot now. "Approximately 15 minutes ago, one of the Maryland ANG A-10's providing CAS was shot down and crashed here. We confirmed that the Pilot, Captain Nicole 'Lanner' Brown, safely ejected," continued the mercenary as the pilot's picture was put up and spun around so the gathered troopers could see it. "Her current status is unknown, but Osborn has ordered that we mount a rescue effort. Contact made after the crash included a pickup point: the Manhattan Museum of Contemporary Art. Your mission is to take a convoy, penetrate the IMC lines, retrieve Brown, and extract her back to our lines," revealed Sablinova flatly.

Next to Felicia, the Marauder clenched his fists at the mention of the Mayor's name. But he held his tongue as the Symkarian looked around to each of the men and women in the room before her eyes settled on the Texan. "Marauder" she addressed calmly, "I want your Titan to be available to support this incursion" she said, stunning them. The fact that she had wanted, not just one of the defenders very few Titans, but BT-7274, their most powerful, to help, which would also tip their hand that they had Titans, spoke volumes about what the dangers of this mission were. "Would that be possible?"

There was a heavy silence in the room as the Marauder stepped forward to the table and examined the terrain, "Yeah, I think BT is up to pulling off another miracle" he said as he pointed to a spot not too far from the crash site. "I can have him about there in an hour without the IMC noticing him. If things get to hot he can come bail us out, if not then he can get back just as easily."

Nodding in acceptance, Sable was satisfied with this answer. "Make it happen" she ordered curtly before turning back to the others. "Alright people, H-Hour is in 10 minutes, report to the motor pool and mount up." With that, her hand snapped to her forehead in salute. The Sable International troopers immediately went to attention and returned the gesture, the only ones who didn't were the Green and Black clad couple opposite Sablinova. But, to her surprise, even the Renegade Commando brought his hand up, two fingers tapping the front of his helmet, not a full salute, but a show of respect nonetheless. Chuckling a bit, even Hardy copied him, touching the front of her mask and held it until Sablinova snapped off the salute that was returned by everyone else. "Good hunting, dismissed."

As everyone began to file out, the Marauder stayed behind, still focused on the table, though the way he had his hand pressed to the side of his helmet betrayed what he was actual doing as Felicia came alongside him. But, strangely, Silver Sable was still there, looking at him from the corner of her eyes as she tapped away on her datapad. When Cooper finished, Sable snapped her head back up to look at him, "Marauder" she addressed, causing the other two people in the room to meet her eye to eye. "I received a report from Spider-Man while you were resting. It said he encountered an 'Apex Predator'" she revealed coolly, "What does that mean?"

The way the Marauder stiffened gave away how he felt, but the reveal caused even Hardy to blanch beneath her mask and hood. Of all the stories Matthew had told her about Typhon, none were more deeply etched in her mind than those involving the Apex Predators. "They're the reason I hate mercenaries" returned Cooper in a voice only just above a snarl, "Vicious, bloodthirsty, and loyal only to money, they are the most evil and twisted sons of bitches I've ever come across" explained the Marauder lowly, effectively summing up Felicia's own conclusions about the group based on what she had seen of them. "And they are very, very good."

Sable digested the words, "I will have my men be on alert" she returned as she led them out of the room, and they made their way towards the motor pool. "Titans then? According to Spider-Man the one he encountered had a horned skull logo. But he couldn't identify the classification, Gates said it was an 'Atlas' but that isn't one of the ones you told us about" she continued.

"Because Atlas class titans haven't been used in years" grunted Cooper in reply, "but each Predator always did their own things anyway. If you see one, then expect it to have a few extra tricks. They won't look like the standard IMC titans either" he explained. Sable was furiously typing out what he said into her tablet to update her forces on the new threat as they continued their way downstairs. "If you want recommendations…Terminate with extreme prejudice."

With those final words, Felicia and Matthew stepped outside and into the motor pool, where half a dozen Sable vehicles were sitting, engines running as troops climbed in. Four where the large boxy APCs, massive missile turrets on top, but Cooper and Hardy were assigned to vehicle two, a smaller, much less lightly armored truck. But it was military, if her research was right it was a Panhard VBL, the French made vehicle was used by that country's Special Forces. If there was any doubt about its uses, then the Heavy Machine Gun mounted on the roof would dissuade that notion. "I'll be up top" said Felicia as she clambered up into the back, keenly aware every man in a 20 yard radius was watching her and not minding.

"Of course you will" muttered Cooper as he slid into the passenger seat next to the Sable Trooper who was driving the vehicle. "At least you know how to handle a powerful weapon" he called back flirtatiously as Felicia grinned and got into the turret and worked the triggers of the GAU-19 three barreled electrically driven gun. The gun responded by spinning the barrels slowly and whirring dangerously, an evil grin working its way across her face at the sound.

Only then did their driver interject, "You yanks ready?" he asked in a deep voice, English accent obvious.

"As far as I'm concerned" returned Cooper as he stowed his personal arms and settled into the hard seat, "this'll be me and my sexy lady friend taking a romantic ride through the park, you're just our driver." The cockiness was back in his tone, and she could see the shit eating grin on his face inside the helm, it was as if he had flipped a switch. He had put the worries of the world behind him to focus on the here and now, and nothing excited him more than an adventure.

Except, Felicia conceded, her, which she was just fine with.

The driver chuckled as the lead vehicle began to roll forwards, "Well, I'm still the driver, which means I pick the music" he said as he worked the radio with one hand, "but I found some decent Yank music," finished the trooper as a set of familiar guitar chords worked their way out of the speakers.

As the convoy picked up speed, Felicia groaned as the Marauder hooted in approval at the selection. Then, incredibly, the two men began to sing along as the lyrics began. _"Make us fight on the hill in the early day, constant chill deep inside…"_

It almost made the Black Cat look forward to the inevitable point when the shooting started.

* * *

After waiting one hour after the fighting ended, Tony Masters dropped down from the rooftop, using his rocket pack to slow his descent as he came to street level. Peering through the eyes of the skull shaped mask of his 'Taskmaster' persona, the Mercenary marched purposely past the charred wrecks of various vehicles and dead and webbed up troopers towards the largest wreck. Drawing his sword from the sheath on his left hip, Taskmaster came to a stop as he scanned the wreck, gaze settling on the central, spherical pod. Despite being blackened and the central optical assembly totally shredded, to his eye it looked fine structurally.

Raising the glowing orange blade, the mercenary thrust it into a small gap and began to pry it open. Slowly but surely, the thick metal plate gave way as Masters slid a hand into the gap and pulled with everything he had until the hatch popped open. Using the glow of his sword, Taskmaster peered inside the cockpit, ignoring the sparks from eh damaged displays and controls, instead focusing on the body slumped over in the seat. Reaching out with his free arm, the mercenary grabbed the small man and slung him over his shoulder. It didn't escape his notice that he was dressed similarly to the Marauder, though, like his titan, he was clothed in a deep red color, the word 'Crimson' written above his visor.

Retreating back into cover with his passenger, Masters checked to ensure that nobody was around as he set the man down in a corner before cuffing his arms and legs. Once that was done and he was sure that his prisoner was secure, he pulled an encrypted sat phone from his belt and dialed a familiar number. _"Taskmaster" _greeted the scrambled monotone of his employer, _"I trust you have news regarding your assignment," _continued the contact, the words were not a question.

"That's correct" informed the Mercenary in his dry tones, "I managed to…acquire a pilot from the unknown faction as requested" he revealed curtly as he turned to look over his shoulder at the man in question. "He will be delivered to the RV in approximately two hours; I trust my payment will be made upon delivery?"

There was a slight chuckle on the other end of the line, _"You negotiate like you work. Fast and to the point," _returned the unknown intermediary, _"the agreed upon amount will be wired to your account as soon as the transfer is made. But I just received word that the same employer is willing to offer you another contract to stay on and…ensure the prisoner's cooperation" _explained the scrambled voice, carefully selecting those exact words.

Behind him, Masters could hear his captive begin to stir, shaking off whatever had happened to him as he began to slowly come to his senses. "Tell them I'll take it at twice my usual rate. I'll even get started right now…" he added before cutting the connection and turning back to the Pilot. The red hued lines on the mostly solid helmet, one vertical down the middle, and four angled on respective corners, were now looking up at him. "Can you understand me?" asked Masters, getting a slow nod in reply, "Good, that will make this easier" continued the skull masked mercenary as he stood over the pilot. "My employers want a Pilot to help them on a project and I'm supplying you," he explained flatly with no waver or give in his voice, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword in case he had to back up his words.

Of all of the responses Masters could have expected, the one he got was not on his mental list. "What's the rate?" returned the Pilot coolly as he casually tested the limits of his bonds, when Masters didn't reply; the pilot took that to mean he should continue, "From the sound of that call, you're a mercenary, like me. I joined this outfit to get away from home and the war. Now that I am, I need a new job" he explained.

Taskmaster mulled over the man's words before pulling the man to his feet, "I'll relay your request, maybe we can be partners later, but for now?" said the mercenary coldly, "for now, you're a package to deliver."

* * *

"_RPG!"_

Those three letters provoked an immediate reaction as Cooper swung the pintle mounted weapon ahead of him to the source and cut lose, red energy bursts leapt from the strange muzzle towards the window. By the time he had squeezed off his first shots, the IMC rocket slammed into the lead vehicle, blowing off a wheel and causing the vehicle to swerve and roll onto its side before skidding to a stop, blocking the road. The convoy ground to a halt immediately, _"Form a perimeter! Double time!" _barked out someone over the comms as Cooper instantly complied, pulling out his Launcher equipped SOAR.

Looking back, he saw Felicia begin to dismount as well, "No!" he shouted, startling her, "Stay on the big gun!" When she didn't seem convinced, he double jumped up to the turret and spoke quietly, "Spool this gun up and blow anyway anything that tries to get in the perimeter. I know you want to get out there, but I need someone I trust watching my back." Felicia relaxed and nodded as she settled back in behind the multi barrel machine gun as she spun it up once again. Letting out a sigh of relief, the Pilot dropped down to the street and was back on full alert. Around him, the Sable dismounts rushed to the disabled vehicle and began to work the doors open while the missile batteries remained on alert.

The minutes crawled past slowly, with Cooper keenly aware that the IMC would know they were here and were going to respond, the longer they stayed here the higher chance that they would get hit, and hit hard. "Sergeant!" he called out to a trooper who seemed to be supervising some others, "We need to get moving! What's the hold up?"

"We're waiting for a reroute from Sable command, as well as additional aerial reconnaissance," he replied as Cooper looked up the road to see some of the distinct white armored troopers scouting ahead. "Until then we've been ordered to hold here and solidify our perimeter" relayed the NCO as Cooper's jaw dropped inside his helmet, "so hold tight, we'll be moving inside of 10 minutes."

"10 minutes!?" replied the shocked Pilot, "We'll all be dead inside of two minutes. You listen to me, you get this convoy rolling or…" whatever he was about to say died on his lips with a thunderous _CRACK! _Ripped through the air and the vehicle at the rear of the halted Sable convoy erupted in a fireball a second later. "Shit," growled Cooper as he slung his rifle over his shoulder in favor of the Charge Rifle, "NORTHSTAR!" he called out, only needing to hear the distinct report of the plasma railgun echo through the streets.

But it was the massive form of a Legion that came around the corner; prompting a massive volley of missiles from the two remaining APC's to lash up at the Titan as a circular wall of blue light came out from the multi-barreled Predator Cannon in its hand to absorb the first few. There wasn't any more time for talking as Cooper raised the Charge Rifle and snapped off a shot that went straight into the hatch as chaos broke out. Skidding to a stop next to the vehicle he had disembarked from he began to climb in as he yelled at the driver, "Let's get the fuck outta' here!"

Incredibly, the Sable trooper chose then to be stubborn, "Not until we have the order! I'm not…"

Whatever he was about to say never made it out as Cooper punched him in the face and dragged him into the passenger seat. Clambering over the knocked out trooper and into the driver's seat, the Pilot threw the vehicle into reverse as he looked back at a shocked Black Cat. "Spin 'em up sweetheart!" he called as the VBL lurched back as the Marauder cranked the wheel over and swerved onto the curb. While he was busy doing that, the Thief was leaning back, hands gripped tight around the dual spade grip as she pressed both buttons down her expression cold as the gun went hot.

A stream of .50 caliber rounds poured into the staggering Titan as Cooper slammed the shifter into drive and put the pedal to the metal, the French armored car responding quickly as Hardy continued to pour on the lead at a rate of 20 of the half inch slugs every second. While she wasn't the most experienced with this type of weapon, the target was so massive and the range so close that she couldn't possibly miss. They were having some effect too; chunks of armor had been shredded and the Titan had been forced to one knee as one leg had been knocked out. But even with that success, it was clear why the Texan was so keen to be somewhere else, already a second Titan had appeared, just as large and bulky as the first, and raised its hands to the sky.

Cooper saw this in the mirror and knew what was coming, though he was relieved to see one of the larger APCs follow suit as the Scorch Titan slammed its closed fists to the ground, sending out a wave of burning thermite out towards the remnants of the halted convoy. Thinking fast, the Marauder spun the wheel as the armored car responded smartly, slamming into a newspaper stand as it rounded a corner. He even let out a sigh of relief at the sight that the other APC had made it before the wave of fire rolled past, consuming both man and machine with equal fury. But that relief was short lived as the headlights settled on the familiar silhouettes of IMC Specters, "Targets front!" he called out over the Com as Felicia spun the gun around its ring mount. Barrels still spinning and glowing red hot, the heiress took aim before cutting loose with the .50 cal again, mowing the machines down where they stood like chaff.

Not slowing down for anything, Cooper put his foot to the floor as he barreled over the damaged machines, crushing them beneath the run flat tires of the Panhard as they sped into the night and broke contact. All in all, from start to finish the entire fiasco had lasted 90 seconds.

* * *

Lying prone in the shadows of an alleyway, Lanner kept her breaths as shallow and steady as she could while yet another IMC patrol passed her by. Ever since she had touched down, she had been putting her SERE training to use, with both foot patrols and some strange flying drone things. Still, she was ever so thankful that her radio was working and she had been able to arrange for rescue, selecting the Manhattan Museum of Contemporary Art to be the extraction point, if only because it was the only landmark she could recall from memory in the area.

And now there was just this one street between her and her destination.

Waiting a few agonizing minutes more to make sure the coast was absolutely clear, the Captain slowly got to her feet and bolted across the street before pressing herself to the building. Keeping her sidearm drawn and at the ready, she tried the first door she came across, cursing under her breath when she found it locked. Squeezing her pistol tighter, she began making her way along the building until she managed to find a loading dock, one of the doors wasn't closed all the way, just enough for her to squeeze through.

Once inside, she made her way deeper into the museum. Allowing herself to relax ever so slightly, she strolled slowly through the barren exhibits, taking them in to try and push her extreme circumstances from her mind, if only for a bit. Any semblance of peace was shattered when she heard another voice inside the museum. Flicking the safety off on her Barretta once again, Lanner crept closer to a corner as she began to make out the words. "…situation is under control Boss, should be wrapped up in a few minutes," said the woman confidently.

Straining to hear more, the next sound the A-10 driver heard was the sound of rapid footsteps heading her way. "What do you mean Crimson is gone?" she asked quickly, her speech pattern now as fast as her steps as they got louder. "I'm moving now, just need to…"

"Freeze bitch" snarled Lanner as the woman rounded the corner, one hand pressed to her ear while the other held a strange looking helmet at her waist. The unknown then turned to look at the Thunderbolt Pilot as the latter's jaw dropped as she stared at an almost mirror image of herself.

They were close enough that Brown could hear what was being said in the earpiece, a gruff Afrikaans accent barked out, _"Ice! What's going on Ice! Respond, that's an order!" _

Lanner watched as a twisted smirk creeped onto the face of 'Ice' before she answered. "Nothing Boss, just found the package. Collecting her now," said the Apex Predator. Just as the words registered to the Thunderbolt Pilot, the other Pilot swung her helmet, causing Lanner to flinch reflexively, but the helmet wasn't aimed at her head, but her hands. The blow caused the Barretta to clatter to the floor as the Apex Predator followed up with a powerful punch that sent Brown down alongside the gun, out cold.

* * *

Turning the VBL off, the Marauder grabbed his rifle and stepped out of the armored car as he strode towards the other vehicle that had escaped the ambush to see that it had come to a stop and those inside were beginning to dismount. Likewise, Felicia hoisted herself up out of the gunner's position and slid down the Panhard to land next to him. This mission had shown itself to be the colossal clusterfuck that he had suspected it would be.

Now, what was left of the convoy was here in this parking garage a few blocks from their objective, and the weight of the fact that they were all that was left was heavy in the air. While trying to figure out just how he was going to get out of this, the radio in the Marauders helmet crackled to life with a familiar and relief inspiring warbling monotone. _"Major Cooper, I am en route to the waypoint. ETA: 15 minutes. What is your status?" _asked the machine as the Pilot let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Still alive buddy" he answered, "that's the extent of the good news. As far as the mission…SNAFU" supplied the Texan in his usual drawl. Turning, he could see Cat cock her head in question before he elaborated, "Situation Normal: All Fucked Up." Letting out a breath, he composed himself before coming to an inevitable conclusion: someone would have to step up and take charge, and if anybody was going to do it then Cooper wanted it to be him. "Listen BT, get in position and be ready, I'll call when I need you" he ordered calmly.

"_Understood Major Cooper," _responded the Titan, _"Good luck, BT-7274 out." _

With that done, the Pilot steeled himself as the connection went to static and he turned to the Sable Troopers in front of him. "If there aren't any objections then I'll take charge of this operation," he said while doing his best to imitate Yuri and the air of authority she had. For a brief moment it looked like it would go smoothly, right up until it didn't.

Behind Matthew, the sound of one of the VBLs doors slamming shut echoed through the parking garage, "Damn right I object, ya bastard" called the Englishman as he came up, still somewhat dazed from the knockout punch the Pilot had delivered earlier. "You left the rest of them to die! Why in the hell should you be in charge?" he sneered as he got right up in Coopers face, matching him in height.

"Because I actually know what's waiting for us out there" growled the Marauder lowly, "I won't sugar coat it, the odds are long, but everyone here would be dead if I did nothing" he argued calmly, though he didn't try to hide the edge in his voice. Turning back around, he addressed the others, "I'm not saying this'll be easy, but I am saying that sticking with me will be your best bet."

There was a snort of contempt from the irate Sable Trooper, "Up until you leave us all for dead" he muttered under his breath.

Rounding on him, the Marauder snarled "There is an American ANG Pilot out there that needs our help" he reminded, "if you don't want to help her, then walk out that door but good luck getting back to Sable lines." The offer hung in the air, not so much as to give the men a choice, but to reinforce the fact that there wasn't one. Turning back wasn't really on the table, and everyone knew it. "This won't be easy, but fighting isn't about how hard you can hit. It's about how hard you can _get hit _and still get back up. I still have some fight in me, so I'm going to get up, go out there, and punch those sonsofbitches right in their motherfucking _teeth_." Pausing, he then took the time to look right at the visor of every mercenary in that parking garage, "and all I really have to know…is who's coming with me" he said.

There was a full minute of tense silence as the Sable troopers communicated with their internal radios before one finally squared up to the Marauder and addressed the SRS Pilot. "We're with you sir…all of us" he added, nodding towards the dissenter, "our tally is two combat ready fire teams and three drivers, what's the plan Major?"

Cooper let out a small sigh of relief before settling down, cocky smirk on his face, "Nice and simple, four shooters with me move on foot to the RV and secure the principal. The rest stay here and protect the vehicles" he began. "I'm bringing in BT, when we all come back; we mount up and make a break for it. We'll be mixing things up and shooting our way out," he explained with a small grin. "Any questions?"

There were none, the Sable Soldiers straightened, "Decide who's coming with. If you are then grab ammo, turn off long range radios, and for fucks sake douse those stupid lights" he ordered, "We roll in 10." With that, the white armored mercenaries got to work getting ready to move out. With that out of the way, the Marauder turned to the Thief and beckoned her to follow him until they were out of earshot of the others before he removed his helmet and ran a gloved hand through his hair. "Alright Cat, I want you to go ahead and scout" he began, anticipating her talking back, he cut off any response by saying "I know you want to stay together, but you're the quickest one here and light on your feet, plus I trust you to be able to spot another trap. Trust me to…"

He stopped talking when a gloved finger was placed over his lips as he noticed the amused smirk on Felicia's own. "I do trust you" she said softly, "I'll do it" confirmed the burglar as she pulled her hand back.

"Thank you, Felicia," murmured Matthew honestly, "now, since our objective is a museum, I assume you know how to get there and how to get in?"

Her head cocked in an amused way, "I can get into that place three different ways…and that's when all the security systems are online" asserted the woman with a smirk. "I am more than just a pretty face" she purred confidently.

"I know, you also have a great ass" deadpanned the Pilot, though the cocky smirk on his face undercut his somewhat flat delivery. "I think long range radio is compromised, stay on our bands if you have to talk, use IR flicks otherwise. We'll be on street level but feel free to stick to the rooftops."

Felicia nodded in acknowledgement before the burglar became more serious, "Promise me you'll be careful cowboy, I want to be able to ride with you into the sunset when this is over" she admitted quietly.

"I promise" replied the Marauder instantly before his smile turned into a grin, "but do you want to ride with me or just ride me?" he asked cockily.

"That's for me to know and you to find out" returned the heiress without missing a beat as she turned and began to stride away, hips swaying enticingly all the way until she rounded the corner and vanished.

Dousing the less than pure thoughts in his mind, Cooper muttered "Talk about motivation" before slipping his helmet on and making his own preparations.

* * *

Maintaining her stoic expression, Sable let out a small sigh of relief that she was nearing the end of this conversation. It was only due to her discipline that she was able to keep a straight face through the past half hour and that her internal turmoil wasn't apparent. True, so far the defenders had executed the plan almost perfectly; inflicting heavy loses while sustaining remarkably few casualties, but to Sablinova the direness of the situation was apparent. Now, all of the defenders were at the last line of defense with their backs truly against the wall. With the full weight of the IMC being brought to bear on them, they couldn't hold out forever. To make matters worse, they had lost contact with the Marauder's convoy, the fact that one of their most capable soldiers might have been thrown away on a suicidal mission perturbed her to her core.

No, she didn't want to leave the Pilot to her fate, but the effort to rescue her may have cost the lives of forty men, and that wasn't a trade Sablinova liked. That was simply the brutal calculus of war, and it was her profession to work those equations for the best outcomes. Yet she knew why it had been done, and who was responsible. _"I give you word, help is on its way," _repeated Osborn, his face taking up the screen in the comm room. She had heard that same assurance a half dozen times, and she didn't care to hear it again. _"What is the status of the mission to rescue Captain Brown?" _asked the mayor expectantly.

The Symkarian closed her eyes to gather herself. "We lost contact with the convoy half an hour ago" began the mercenary, "we're waiting on updated aerial reconnaissance to confirm the situation." Only she knew Osborn had very deliberately ordered that the Marauder be sent on this mission, and judging by his reaction, she guessed he had expected, or at least desired, this outcome. He too had pondered a specific set of equation, but the result of his calculus was his own gain.

Osborn nodded mock solemnly as he mulled the news over, _"That is…regrettable" _replied the billionaire executive in the way one does when presented with 'low fat' ice cream, not even attempting to sound greatly displeased at the loss of the Marauder, or her men. _"That will be all Miss Sablinova, dismissed" _finished the Mayor curtly before making a slashing motion across his net, an instant later, the feed was cut.

Only now did Silver fully relax, heaving a heavy sigh and taking a deep breath before taking a moment to compose herself. Straightening her tunic and running her hands over the fabric in an effort to make herself somewhat more presentable, the Mercenary adjusted her beret to realign it properly before stepping out of the comm booth and back into the command room. "Latest updates for you ma'am" said an aide as a fresh datapad was passed to her and she began to flip through the information.

She only paused for more than a second when she reached one particular item: the aerial images of the convoy ambush site. While she could see several wrecked vehicles and, to her pride and satisfaction, a destroyed Titan on the ground, a quick count brought a small smile to her face. There were two vehicles missing from the kill zone, and Sable was confident she knew what that meant. "Don't die yet Marauder, I want to see the look on Osborn's face when you get back" she whispered under her breath before steeling herself and putting the tablet aside and getting back to more pressing matters. "I need the latest updates on IMC troop movements! Double time!"

* * *

"We might have a problem," murmured Felicia over the radio as she scanned over streets below, "I'm seeing IMC activity at the museum, northeast corner. Defensive perimeter with several light vehicles," she rattled off. From her vantage the Thief could make out a few light trucks similar to the VBL and one larger APC type vehicle. There were more pressing issues however, "I'm seeing what looks like two Reapers, say again, TWO Reapers and additional infantry, break, advise caution, copy cowboy?"

"_Solid copy darlin" _drawled the Marauder coolly, still hanging by her grapple, which she was using as a makeshift rappel to hang off the side of a building, the Black Cat swung her head around to see the Pilot lead the four others closer. _"Confirm eyes on hostiles. You two, cross the street on my mark…mark" _ordered the Texan coolly as Felicia tracked two of the black and white armored Sable Troopers dash across the darkened street, only visible to her via her NVGs. _"Darlin, I want you to move north and find a new vantage, fast and quiet" _he ordered as Felicia moved to comply.

Reeling in her hook instead pulled her upwards until she was on the rooftop before she looked north and spied her next destination. Taking a running start, Hardy fired the grapple at the corner of the building, felling it connect before she took the last few steps and leapt off the roof. Soaring through air as her arm strained and she brought her feet up before leaning to guide herself around the corner and out of sight before using the grapple to haul herself upwards onto the rooftop. Repeating the process once more, Felicia had a new angle to view the IMC position, and the news was bad. "I'm in position" she reported as she zoomed in as far as the visor allowed her to confirm her suspicions. She could see a woman in a grungy flight suit on her knees with a blindfold wrapped around her head and cuffs on her wrists, "Looks like the IMC have our pilot, she's behind the middle vehicle, the big one" relayed the thief.

"_Shit," _cursed the Marauder bluntly. _"Bastards just had to go ahead and make things interesting," _muttered the man as he mulled the situation over. Looking south, Felicia could see the five men work their way carefully up the street, getting ever closer while remaining out of sight. _"Fuck it, it's too quiet anyways. Get ready to go loud everyone, new plan…"_

* * *

Cooper worked his jaw as he felt the hum caused by the surge of adrenaline in his veins, looking to his left he saw the other two Sable troopers pressed against the museum as they advanced in parallel. Making one last check that his R-201 was loaded and ready, the Marauder looked back at the two troopers with him, one of which had the large tube of a Carl Gustav resting on his shoulder. "You boys ready to kick this thing off?" asked the Pilot.

They both gave curt nods in reply before one spoke up, "We're ready sir, but…are you?" he asked, clearly unsure about the plan Matthew had proposed. Indeed, to those unfamiliar with the Marauder and exactly what he was capable of, it sounded absurd. However, the Marauder had been waiting for a long time to cut loose, and the IMC coming into his new home was just the excuse he needed.

"Oh yeah" he responded as he dropped the bolt, "I've been looking forward to doing this" admitted the SRS Renegade. With that, he began to charge forwards before igniting his jump kit to launch himself up on to the side of the building, running along it before leaping away right towards the nearest Reaper, already having a Fire Star drawn. "Yippy Ki Yay" snarled the Texan as the IMC finally noticed his approach and turned to face him, the reaper he was bearing down on sounding out a rumbling roar like noise.

At that, Cooper hurled the thermite packed shuriken right into the red eye socket of the Reaper as he phase shifted through the machine, coming back out as he slid along the ground, twisting his upper body to bring his Carbine to bear on the shocked grunts milling about and cut loose with a long burst, shredding them where they stood. Not daring to stop, the Marauder used his grapple to pull himself up and away as he turned his rifle back to the Reaper and triggered the launcher, sending an armor piercing slug straight through the midsection, staggering it long enough for his backup to line up a shot. The Sweedish designed recoilless rifle gave off its distinct echoing report as it fired, an anti tank round slamming into the machine, causing it to topple over.

With one down, the Marauder had even more freedom as he acquired the second Reaper and dropped down to square off against it. As the machine raised its hands and powered up its plasma projectors, the Pilot charged forwards, his STIM giving him a distinct blue contrail as he dove and rolled under a barrage of superheated gas before his jump kit propelled him up and he came down atop the machine. Bucking wildly, the Reaper tried in vain to dislodge its passenger, to no avail. Cooper had his axe in one hand, pick buried deep in the armor of the Reaper as he used his free hand to open up an access panel to expose the vital innards of the heavy mechanized unit. Snarling in rage, Cooper drew his Smart Pistol and unloaded the whole magazine into the electrical guts until he realized he wasn't doing much more than pissing it off. Exchanging his side arm for a frag grenade, Cooper activated it before jamming it into the Reaper and sliding off, hitting the ground and activating his phase shift to escape the explosion before sliding into cover behind a car.

After being pulled back to reality, he could hear the Reaper give off one last warbling roar before the grenade detonated, shredding the internals and triggering a chain reaction as explosions tore through the mechanical monster. With that, most of the hard work was done; now all that was left was to quell the rabble as he slammed fresh magazines into the R-201 and MK6 before tossing out a smoke grenade.

A pulse blade followed, illuminating the remaining troops as they all converged on his location en masse. Smirking, Cooper placed a hand to his helmet, "Alright sweetheart, I got their attention. Do your thing."

* * *

Upon hearing those words, Felicia went to work as she repelled down from her current vantage until she was at street level before disconnecting her hook and reeling it in. With her black suit ensuring she was neigh invisible in the darkness that covered the street, she advanced towards the museum, critically; she did so from the side opposite where the Marauder now was. With speed being just as critical as stealth, she was moving at near enough a dead sprint, but the thief was light on her feet, and near silent except for her shallow breaths. Pulling the sleek Five-Seven from the small of her back and flicking off the safety, the Burglar saw the world through the green tint of her masks NV mode as she reached the trailing truck and came to a halt. Pulling a smoke grenade from her bandolier, she pulled the pin out with clenched teeth before rolling it under the truck until it went off right at the feet of the two soldiers guarding the reason she was here.

Quickly swapping her visor to go into IR mode, she went into the smoke cloud as she took aimed and planted a shot straight through the head of the first before smoothly transitioning to the second as he saw his friend fall dead as his feet before she pulled the trigger again. With that done, she stepped over the bodies before crouching down next to the Captain, shaking fearfully at the commotion she could hear, but not see. "It's okay, I'm here to rescue you" assured Hardy as the battle continued to rage around them. "My god, look at me, rescuing damsels in distress" she muttered as she worked the locks on Lanner's cuffs, "I've let Spider rub off on me too much." A second later, with a satisfying 'click', the restraints were off as Felicia worked the gag and blindfold next before getting the woman to her feet.

"Th…thank you" managed the weary Pilot as she looked down at the two dead grunts and blanched a bit.

Hardy flashed a grin, "Don't thank me yet, still haven't finished the rescue" she reminded before a set of headlights began to illuminate the road, causing Hardy to peek out and see an IMC APC rumbling down the road towards them. "Get down" hissed the thief as she looked around before her eyes settled on what she needed. Scooping up the Archer, the Black Cat casually stepped out of cover and took aim before loosing the Anti-Titan rocket on the vehicle, blowing it sky high. "So uncivilized" she said disapprovingly as she discarded the empty bazooka and went back to Brown. Wrapping one of the pilot's arms around her shoulders to help carry her weight, the thief grabbed Lanner by the waist and pulled the woman close, "Hang on tight, I'm not shy" she teased flippantly as she took aim with a grapple gun and spirited the two away.

But it seemed things were never easy as she heard a distinct trundling in the distance and turned to look up the road to see a familiar, terrible sight. "Cowboy! IMC Tank!"

* * *

"When it rains it just fucking pours, doesn't it?" grunted Cooper to himself at this latest development as bullets from the last of the grunts pinged off the car he was cowering behind. "Everyone: Fall back" he ordered over the comms, "I'll stall 'em" he announced before breaking cover just as the tank fired, obliterating the car that had been his cover and showering the Marauder with debris. Changing direction, he cut back the other way right as the second barrel fired, sending a 140mm high explosive round towards him, impacting just 10 feet from him and sending him flying through the air, arms and legs flailing.

Cooper slammed into a building, knocking the wind out of him and cracking a rib before he fell to the street, crying out in pain as he felt another rib crack, sending a spike of pain through him as he rolled onto his back, wincing the whole way. His ears rung incessantly; the noise of the whole world drowned out to the Marauder. Like a grim reaper, the massive tank trundled slowly towards him as Matt's hazed head tried to fight back, crawling back as he pulled the MK6 from his holster and fired the Smart Pistol, the rounds pinging uselessly off the hulking armored behemoth.

With his fate sealed as the turret pointed at him, the Marauder's mind wandered aimlessly through a concussed fog, he murmured the only coherent thought that formed, "I'm sorry Felicia," before the ground began to shake under him. He wasn't fully cognizant of what was happening, but registered the muzzle flash of the tank gun just as a wall of blue light appeared in front of him, shielding the Pilot as the tank shell was stopped in mid air and a massive mechanical hand plucked him from the ground. "BT?" he mumbled drowsily as he was stuffed inside the cockpit and the hatch closed.

Now sealed within the familiar territory, his mind seemed to return somewhat as he grabbed a first aid kit and injected a cocktail of stimulants and painkillers into his leg, giving him the kick in the ass he needed to try and fight his way out. _"Major Cooper, what is your status? Your vitals are fluctuating rapidly" _intoned the Vanguard as the video displays came on line and Cooper slowly took hold of the controls.

"Still breathing buddy" returned the Pilot as he linked in to the machine and took control, immediately hurling the tank shell back at the vehicle, breaking its energy shield as he raised the XO-16. "C'mon you sons of bitches, is that all you got?" he growled as he squeezed the trigger, sending 20mm shells into the armor, denting it as the Titan closed the gap. Just as the tank was about to fire its second round, Matthew reached out with one of the titan's massive hands and bent the barrel. The tank fired anyway and the round exploded before it even left the muzzle, turning the metal to splinters.

Even if the Vanguard shuddered from the shockwave, it was Cooper who found himself hit the hardest, his teeth rattled and spikes of pain erupted from his wounds as the shockwave only re aggravated his injuries. But the Marauder was not about to die, not yet, and raising the fist of the Titan, slammed it down, buckling the roof of the vehicle before ripping the armored plate clean off. Looking down on the terrified crewmen, he felt neither pity nor remorse as he unleashed a salvo of missiles at point blank range. Operating under an adrenaline addled haze, the Marauder stood BT to his full height and looked for more targets as his helmet radio crackled in his ear. _"We're clear cowboy" _came the soft voice of his lover, triggering memories that refocused the Pilot on where he had to go and what he had to do, _"as soon as you make it back we'll head out." _Spinning around and fighting off a tinge of nausea, ears still buzzing, the Pilot spotted the waypoint BT had provided him, grateful the machine was helping make up for his deficiencies as he took a step that way.

But as soon as he took that step, a force like a freight train slammed into the side of BT, knocking the Vanguard into a building as the shields were instantly drained. Reflexively raising the Vortex shield as he turned to meet this new threat, Cooper's eyes narrowed on the spherical midsection and gangly arms and legs of a North Star class Titan. But what made this one stand out was the horned skull of the Apex Predators painted on the front, but with icicles hanging from the distinct curved horns. Barring his teeth and sneering at his foe, Cooper reacted by dashing left into cover, buying him some time to come up with a plan.

Knowing his reactions were slowed, the Pilot decided to capitalize on a key weakness of the North Star, the relatively weak armor protection and lack of defensive options offered by the Titan. Toggling an extensive list of death dealing options, Cooper selected the most imposing, the Legion Load out. Centered on the devastating Predator Cannon, the specialty of this load out was Aggressive Sustained Counter fire, just what he would need. In an instant, the phase resupply technology caused the eight barreled rotary weapon to appear in BT-7274s mechanical hands as Cooper gave it an experimental spin. Looking out, he could see debris get blown across the ground at the corner and quickly spun the gun up to max rpms as the Titan backpedaled, albeit at a painfully slow speed due to the bulk.

Just as Cooper suspected, his foe was taking advantage of the lighter machine's hover ability, rounding the corner forty feet above the ground only to find the eight barrels of the Predator Cannon awaiting her. Without hesitation, Cooper squeezed the trigger, unloading 14.5mm armor piercing rounds at a rate of 2000 rounds per minute, turning the arms and legs of his foe into swiss cheese as she charged her massive plasma railgun until the muzzle glowed red hot. At the last possible second, Cooper deployed his defensive option, a blue wall of hard light springing to life around the Cannon that absorbed the shot, only for the Apex Predator to launch a circular object at him.

As soon as the object hit the ground, a cable leapt out and tethered BT, holding the Vanguard to his spot as Matthew continued to pour lead into the North Star, knowing he would have to pummel it into submission eventually. But, to his shock, his foe kept coming until its thrusters finally gave out, but the smaller Titan lashed out with a foot on the way down, sending BT staggering back, only held upright by the tether trap. Just as the Texan was about to recover, the Apex Predator swung her railgun, ripping the legs out from under him and sending the SRS Titan crashing down onto his back, throwing the Pilot inside around the cockpit.

As the Marauder slammed his helmet into the hatch and then back against his headrest, he could feel the taste of copper in his mouth as he shook his head to clear his mind and saw the North Star standing over him. Ignoring whatever alert BT was intoning, the Pilot reached out by instinct and grabbed a car on the side of the road, slamming it into the Apex Predator to knock her away as he went on the attack. Using his dashing thrusters, the Vanguard _surged _up and shoulder checked his enemy back into a building. Seizing the opening, he charged forwards and threw his full weight into the smaller machine just as it activated the hover jets and flung itself skywards. Still, all 40 tons of Militia metal went into one leg and pinned it to the building as Cooper reached up and grabbed it with both hands, twisting and ripping armor away, feeling it give beneath the Vanguards grip.

But the Apex Predator jammed her Plasma Railgun into the top of BT and snapped off a shot, and with no shields left from the battering he had taken, the round impacted the chassis. The super cool shot caused the metal on the top of the cockpit to harden suddenly before the bulk of mass hit it, sending a few high velocity splinters down into the cockpit, one of which embedded itself in Matt's leg. He screamed out in pain and relinquished his grip, the Apex Predator limping off as he fought through the pain to keep BT upright. Just as he reached the last corner, an explosion went off behind the Vanguard as the cluster missile detonated, more explosions rattling the Marauder's machine as it got to safety.

Fighting to hang onto consciousness just a little bit longer, Matt guided his machine to their destination before he could take no more and collapsed down onto one knee before triggering the emergency release.

* * *

Felicia knew something was wrong well before she laid eyes on BT. Standing vigil at the entrance of the parking garage, she could hear the battle raging just on the next street, but her lover remained silent. No taunts or one liners, he didn't even respond to her when she hailed him. All the Thief could do was wait and hope that he would pull through. "Please Matt" she begged under her breath when she saw the hulking form of BT-7274 round the corner and a smile burst onto her face at the sight of all the kill marks and the pin up art of her painted on the machine. But that elation quickly turned to panic as she noticed the battle scars the machine bore, and the way it lumbered, lacking the poise or power it seemed to always have. When it finally arrived, it came down to one knee before the hatch opened and her lover spilled out onto the street. "Cooper!" she cried out as she rushed forwards to her lover.

"Baby, what the hell happened?" she asked in near terror as she looked down at him, "MEDIC!" she called out as she went to her knees next to him and worked his helmet off. His eyes were foggy and wandering, blood dripped from his mouth as he coughed and more spilled down his lips. A massive piece of metal was jammed into his thigh and his armor was buckled, scales missing, and blood stained. "It's going to be alright stud, stay with me" she begged as a hand came up and she grabbed it, holding it tight.

"Felicia" managed the Marauder through weak breaths, "take…BT" he ground out before wincing in pain as she stared at him in shock. "Do it" he urged with as much force as he could.

But the heiress shook her head fervently, "No no, no," she insisted fervently, "you do it, you're going to be alright" she reassured as the Sable Medic arrived. "We need you cowboy…I need you" she pleaded.

But the Marauder shook his head as he stared up at her with those charming blue eyes, "Not…not this time darlin'' he managed before he hacked a cough, "Take BT" he insisted.

Before she could retort again, the Titan itself chimed in. "Black Cat, in the instance the Major is unable to perform his duties as Pilot, you are the one designated to be his successor" reminded the machine.

"I can't" she whispered, she was a thief, not a soldier, and definitely not a Pilot.

"You can" responded the Marauder as he gave her hand a small squeeze, likely all he could manage with his fading strength, "kick ass sweetheart," he ordered, "and Felicia, I…" he began before his eyes rolled back and he passed out, she could still feel life in his hand, but it wouldn't last if they didn't get him out.

Looking up as she fought back a tear, the thief could hear the hostile Titan advancing; it was do or die time. Barring her teeth as she growled, the Black Cat turned to BT. "Let's do this" snarled the thief, fires of determination burning in her chest as she was scooped up and guided into the blood-stained cockpit of the Vanguard. Settling into the hard and tight seat, Felicia placed her hands on either armrest, getting a feel for the controls as she felt a buzz surround her head.

"Protocol 1: Link to Pilot. Establishing Neural Link" intoned the machine as green lines and dots filled her vision as the buzzing increased in intensity before subsiding. "Neural Link established. Felicia Hardy, you are now confirmed as acting pilot of BT-7274" droned the machine as those words sent a chill down the woman's spine. There was something about this, the weight of experiencing this moment, the same one Cooper had on Typhon a year prior that struck her and struck her hard. "Protocol 2: Uphold the Mission. Defeat hostile titans and escort Sable International Convoy back to friendly territory" reminded the machine as Felicia slowly refocused. Taking a deep breath as the screens began to come online, she got a feel for the buttons, reciting the basics Matthew had told her the day before as she rolled her neck. "Protocol 3: Protect the Pilot" continued the Vanguard, "Good luck."

Quickly bringing up a menu, Felicia licked her lips like she was in an unguarded diamond vault, perusing the selection before settling on one. With the Ronin loadout selected, she had a leadwall shotgun and massive 15 foot long arc charged broadsword at her disposal, intending to get up close and personal with whatever rounded that corner. Indeed, when the IMC titan did round the corner, it stopped to regard the scene, allowing Felicia to get a good look at it, narrowing her eyes at the Apex Predator logo it bore before drawing the massive sword and holding it in a classic ready stance. Finally, she extended one hand and beckoned her opponent to come at her, "Come let me show you what happens when you mess with the Marauder" she intoned in a low, venom filled voice, "because then you mess with me."

Even if her opponent couldn't hear her, the hostile Titan charged down the street before rocketing into the air and extending two massive missile pods over its shoulders. Eyes widening, Felicia sprinted forwards, holding the sword up to block as the first missiles came at her. "Alert: Heavy incoming fire, recommend phase dash" warbled BT as Felicia did just that, sending herself and the Titan through an alternate dimension to close the gap. Coming out just beneath the NorthStar as it pulled out its massive gun and returned to earth, Felicia swung the broadsword with all her fury and cleaved the Plasma Railgun in two as the Apex Predator responded with a punch that sent her reeling.

Dashing back, she traded the Broadsword for the Leadwall and came up firing, sending blasts of 40mm pellets downrange into her foe, the massive impacts causing the smaller titan to stagger as more chunks of armor were stripped off the NorthStar. When the magazine was emptied, Felicia merely discarded it and drew the sword once more, throwing a wave of arc energy towards her foe to stun her so she could close in for the kill. While the enemy pilot raised an arm to shield herself, Felicia delivered a savage strike that severed the limb before following it up with a strike that cleaved through a leg, sending the titan down onto the ground and knocking the hatch loose. Felicia looked down at her vanquished foe who squirmed in her seat harness as she raised the sword once more. "And when you mess with this cat, you get the claws" she finished coldly before driving the sword down through the Pilot and Titan, ending both with one brutal stroke.

"_Black Cat, this is Metal 0-1. Marauder is secure and we are ready to move out. What's your status?" _

Looking down one last time at the destroyed enemy Titan, Felicia realized she felt neither pity nor remorse. "All finished here. Let's go" she returned as she turned the Titan away and began to escort the others back to friendly lines.

End of the day, both she and Matthew had survived, and that was all that she cared about.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Titan Loadout: Legion_

_This Titan is the epitome of the phrase 'when in doubt, empty the magazine.' There isn't much subtle about this loadout, especially less so when paired with its most common chassis, the Ogre. While in theory able to be wielded by the smaller Atlas chassis it is often attached to a modified Ogre for the larger machines heavier armor that makes it more able to weather the inevitable counterfire that comes back at you when you are the largest target on the field and wielding the largest gun. However, there is a practical limit to the amount of bullets you can shove down a single barrel. Thankfully, you can always add more. _

_The Predator Cannon is a formidable 14.5mm eight-barrel rotary cannon able to spit out up to 8500 round per minute, even if most pilots turn down the cyclic rate. While a new design, the tried and true concept, which dates back to the American Civil War, grants excellent reliability and accuracy. One key difference from other similar weapons is the way it siphons gas from four of the eight barrels to recharge the weapons attached power pack, allowing it to get away with a much smaller unit than should be required for a weapon of this size. _

_Proving that Pilots have no imagination whatsoever, the shield the gun projects is called a 'Gun Shield.' This can only be deployed while the gun is spooled up and leveled, since it siphons power from the same power source that spins up the gun. Spinning up the gun like this is how the 'Power Shot' works, the Predator Cannon loads all eight barrels and spins them up so fast that when the rounds are fired it appears that they all come out as a single shot to the naked eye. The automatic fire control can either have these rounds land on top of the previous one for maximum armor penetration or spread the out to stagger Titans or Reapers. All of these abilities can be used in conjunction with the Smart Core, proving that the engineers of this kit were clearly a fan of 1980's action cinema. Not only is the Predator Cannon a scaled up version of the weapon wielded by Jesse Ventura in _Predator_, but this core ability turns it into an even more badass M56 Smartgun from _Aliens_. Slaving the weapon into the sensors of Legion to bring it to bear on any targets within the forward quarter automatically with the aid of specialized 'smart' ammunition like that in the MK6, enabling the precise, high speed lead packages to be delivered at a frightening rate. _

_When it comes down to it, Legion is defined by eight barrels, aggressive sustained counterfire, and payback delivered at muzzle velocity 115 times every second._

* * *

**Closing Notes: Lotta fun for this one, pretty obvious Black Hawk Down stuff going on here, which is a great film if you haven't seen it. A few nods to Saving Private Ryan and one of the early Titanfall cinematic trailers were thrown in for good measure. The overall intent was to do a smaller and more intimate chapter overall, more character driven and that sort of thing. Less of the really big battle sequences up until the Titans come out at the very end, and the sequence where Felicia takes control of BT was, of course, inspired by the same scene in Titanfall 2. People seem to like them as a romantic couple, and so I'm trying to move that along by giving them shared experiences, and we see Felicia go through a small arc in this chapter too, hopefully it came through to some extent. **

**Review if you have something to say as we pass the halfway mark of this story arc, there are five chapters left and I'm curious as to what everyone things so far.**

**Next chapter you will hear the sound of the mortars, the music of death, a grand symphony, from Stalingrad.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out.**


	50. Chapter 50: Stalingrad

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Hopefully all of you are staying safe, especially my fellow Americans. I'm not going to comment further on current events (as of June 3, 2020) because it's not really my place. I'm not going to preach, I'm going to offer entertainment and escape like I have hopefully done over these 50 chapters (you want to talk politics, PM me if you care that much). I never expected this story to go on for so long or reach any semblance of the popularity it has. Thanks to the guys who help out, ravens18 and TheCarlosInferno, as well as all who read, follow, favorite, and especially review.

**Guest: Hopefully you've found Castle by now, Daredevil was just a cameo, and as for Luke Cage? Haven't come up with a good reason to include him. That could change though and I'm not opposed to it. **

**Blaze1992: I will not be going through everything we discussed here, because it's just too much, if you have the same concerns then PM me and I'll get back to you. But I will address the one line that was actually 'the review' in his own words. What happened to Cooper was ultimately a case of creating drama and some homages to stuff I like, the end of Saving Private Ryan most obviously. But yeah, it was mostly storytelling reasons that tank loaded a golden BB.**

For the title, we're back to Sabaton and this song off of their first album, _Primo Victoria. _The reason I included it is obvious, you can't have an urban fight without taking inspiration from the most famous of them all. It is one of those defining battles of World War II, as an American I would say Midway or D-Day, the British, well I'd imagine you all point to the Battle of Britain or Battle of Cape Matapan (maybe D-Day too, but I'm not going to miss an opportunity to shill for _HMS Warspite)_, but for the Russians, they get Stalingrad. Entire books have been written on Stalingrad and its importance cannot be overstated, with over 2 million casualties on both sides it's one of the bloodiest battles in human history and a critical turning point not only on the Easteren Front, but in the war against Nazi Germany. It's been featured in so many books, movies, video games, and yes, songs, that giving even a brief overview of its importance in pop culture would be impossible, but if you have managed to make it to this point without knowing anything about it, then fix that immediatlely.

But the song itself is something else, one of the bands earlier efforts, it does lack the production value of their newer stuff but I think it has the magic that flows throughout the _Primo Victoria _album, though I say that as a very biased fan of the band. There is no one sound that characterizes the album, and each track speaks for itself. 'Stalingrad' is probabaly most recognizable for it's lyrics which the lead singer attributed to the diary of a soldier found after the battle and it is that theme of the music created by the sounds of battle that is what stand out to me, along with the grim reminder that "no one cares about a single violin."

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 50: Stalingrad**

_The sound of the mortars, The music of death_

_We're playing the devil's symphony_

_Our violins are guns conducted from Hell_

_Oh Stalingrad! Mratnimiat!_

_Are you playing? Do you follow the conductors lead?_

_No one knows you, No one cares about a single violin_

_Play the score of the damned Know the devil within_

* * *

Proceeding through the dimly lit tunnels, Frank Castle grit his teeth at the moans of the wounded that filled the subway station as civilian paramedics treated who they could, though more were being loaded into the subway train to be taken to a hospital in the rear. The Marine could sense the unease the Police Captain next to him felt as they pressed through the carnage, and more than once they stopped so she could say a few words to somebody she knew. The Punisher had remained stoic and tightlipped as they made their way to the train lines as a group of Sable troopers exited the freshly arrived cars, their spotless white armor indicating they were reserves sent in to bolster the line. "More meat for the grinder" grunted Castle in observation, Watanabe offering no response as they made their way to the stockpile of weapons and ammunition to resupply.

While the Captain still had the MCX that she had been giving the previous day, Castle had tossed away his Mk 48 after he ran out of ammunition for the weapon and was forced to find a replacement. As he scanned the arsenal, Watanabe spoke up, "how do you think the others are doing?" she asked, Frank shrugging in response as his eyes settled on an old favorite. "What's that supposed to mean?"

The Punisher hefted the M16A3, the venerable American rifle had been the first gun he ever fired in the Corps and still had a special place in his heart. "It means" began the Punisher as he pulled the bolt back to inspect that the rifle was in good condition, "that I'm not worried about it. You lose focus on what's in front of you and you won't see the guy that puts one between your eyes" he grunted before dropping the bolt and slinging the rifle over his shoulder. "Trust me on this Captain, if anybody can take care of themselves is those crazy kids" assured the veteran as he went about stuffing magazines and 40mm grenades, illumination rounds, and even a flare for the underslung M203 launcher.

Watanabe seemed to mull those words over as Frank finished his resupply when the tunnel shook, the lights flickering as a reminder that they didn't have forever. "You ready?" asked Yuri as Frank nodded, "then let's get back up there, on me," she commanded as she spun and led the Punisher back the way they came. As they made their way through the crowded hall, the Captain turned back to him, "How you holding up Castle?"

"Well enough ma'am" he grunted back, even if he was fatigued and sore from his wounds. He had a few staples in his back, but it wasn't anything he couldn't fight through. Still, with her face exposed, he could see the distance in her eyes. She was equally weary, both from physical exhaustion and the sight of so many dead and wounded friends.

* * *

The two soon found themselves off the beaten path, closing in on a strongpoint that they were going to reinforce. Before they got there, they came across a pair of bodies, mother and daughter if the Marine were to guess, huddled together in a pool of blood, "is this what war is like Castle?" questioned the Cop as she stared blankly down at the corpses.

The Marine knelt next to them and closed their eyes as he responded. "I remember back on my first tour in Iraq, we were in Fallujah," began the Punisher, practically spitting out the name. "This was back in '06 and none of us really knew what to expect. We were kids" recalled the Marine as Yuri listened without taking her eyes off the bodies. "Platoon was on patrol, dumbass LT got us fucking lost, right? So, he asks one of the locals for directions," continued the Punisher, "this woman comes out of her home and he takes our interpreter to get help while the rest of us are keeping an eye out. Then there's this explosion and we all hit the deck and look around before it hits us…" he trailed off.

"What?"

"The woman" said Frank, anger creeping back into his gravely tones, "had a fucking suicide vest, blew herself and the LT to kingdom come. She had two kids, found them when we searched the house." There was a poignant silence as Frank finished, his stoic gravitas coming fully back, "that's what war does to people Captain, it changes 'em, makes 'em do shit they never would've done. When you got scum like Taliban, the IMC, the shit they do makes anything you do to them seem sane." The Punisher let out a breath and swallowed hard before continuing. "And when you do it once, you can't ever stop. You know why? It's because war teaches you that you can't hold back, 'cause if you do and the other guy don't then you're dead. War is so fucked up it makes shit like that make sense."

Yuri showed no external response to the words, but inside she was replaying the last 48 hours in snapshots. It didn't take long for her to conclude that the Marine was right, her own actions included things she never thought herself capable of, and it all seemed reasonable and justified. "How do you live with it?" she asked hoarsely.

The Punisher shrugged, "I never could go back to the way things were, not really," admitted Castle, "so I just kept fighting."

* * *

"You do know those are bad for you, right furball?" deadpanned Spider-Man as he and Logan pressed themselves into pillars on the first floor of the ornate offices, bullets chipping away at the walls. Logan growled lowly as he shifted the cigar in his mouth, craning his head over to see the Webslinger above him, sticking to the pillar opposite his.

Logan shook his head, "least of my concerns right now bub," he replied dryly as he risked a peek around to see if the IMC machines had actually advanced any. Grumbling, he could see the first Specters beginning to work their way through the barbed wire that formed the perimeter as bullets rained down from above, punctuated by a crimson beam or bolts of white hot lightning. With this being the last line, it had been more heavily fortified than the other positions, barbed wire and sandbags, a few mines, what little the defenders could scrape together. On the ground floor, Spider-Man and the Wolverine, since their role was short range, was to hold their ground should anything breach the defenses outside. It was a dangerous job, but Logan outright refused to be placed anywhere else. "About damn time" rumbled the X-Man as he saw the first robots exit on the near side of the barbed wire.

Pulling the cigar from his mouth, he snuffed it out before discarding the spent tobacco on the ground as the adamantium claws emerged from his hands, bloody and gleaming in equal measure. Sure enough, the witless machines marched straight into the room as Logan waited, relying on his hearing to tell him when to strike as he watched Spider-Man slowly crawl his way up until he was hanging from the ceiling, ready to pounce when the Wolverine did. Taking a last breath, Logan spun out from behind his cover with a roar, plunging the claws into the torso of the first bot as he lifted it off the ground and held it as a shield. Bullets peppered it from the other IMC machines as Logan pushed slowly forward until he threw the trashed bot into the others and set to work with his claws.

While he was busy hacking and slashing, the Webhead got involved, dropping down into the second wave. He threw some trap that attached to one machine and shot a web out at another machine that then pulled them together as Spidey leapt up before dropping down, landing a punch that literally knocked the mechanical head off as the machine collapsed in a heap. _"Look alive old man, Reaper coming in" _alerted Shadowcat, who was up ahead, scouting and directing fire as best she could.

"Hear that bub?" he called out as he ducked a robotic arm and countered by slicing through both of the machines legs and before following up with a diagonal stroke across the thing's chest. Before he could hear a response from the wallcrawler, a warbling mechanical roar echoed through the space, causing both men to destroy the last of their respective machines just as the monstrous 12-foot-tall Reaper appeared in the doorway. "You're a big one, ain't ya?" snarled Logan as he leapt forwards, only to be brutally batted away into a wall.

Shaking his head to knock the haze away, he saw Spider-Man riding the machine as it thrashed around, one of it's claw like hands ensnared and a glob of white webbing as the super hero beat on the top of the machine in an effort to crack the armor. As Logan slowly got back to his feet, feeling his ribs reform in his chest, he had to smack the side of his head, because he could have sworn he was seeing double, only this second Reaper didn't have a red armored Spider-Man riding it like a bucking bronco. It didn't dawn on the Wolverine until this second Reaper raised it's hands before unleashing a barrage of plasma, causing Logan to widen his eyes as he rolled away, just as the spot he had been in got turned to slag.

Spider-Man, meanwhile, was still hanging on for dear life when the Reaper snapped the webbing holding its arm as it reached for the Wallcrawler as he jumped up and flipped to dodge. While twirling and firing another line at the second Reaper, trapping one of its arms and yanking to redirect its fire at the first. Shuddering under the fire, the first machine staggered from the fire, giving Logan the opening he needed. Sliding across the floor, the X-Man jumped up and drove his claws into the Reaper and ripped across the side as it raised a hand to try and flick away the Mutant. Just before impact, Logan raised his free hand, impaling the claw like appendage of the Reaper and fighting against its strength. Superhuman muscle struggled against servos and steel until Logan yanked his firsthand out and slashed, slicing the hand clean off the Reaper as he fell to the ground alongside it.

Scampering back to his feet, Logan charged at the one-armed machine, ignoring the incoming balls of blue plasma even as he felt their heat and leapt once again, plunging all his claws into the midsection. With one last herculean effort, Logan pulled his arms apart until they were free of the mechanical guts, destroying so much of the machine that it split in two under its own weight, the two halves toppling to the ground.

Snarling as blood trickled down his face, leg seared and smoke rising from his scorching trousers, Logan turned to see the back of the second Reaper, still engaged with Spider-Man. The IMC machine slammed a glowing blue hand down as the Webhead dove and rolled away while firing a webline at the machine's leg. With a mighty yank, Spidey ripped one leg out, causing the machine to spin around as Logan slammed into it with all the force his 300 pound body had, further aided as the Webhead fired a second line ensnared the other leg, ripping it towards him as well. When the Reaper slammed into the ground, the impact knocked the air from Logan's lungs as he drove his claws through the ceramic plate. Tearing and hacking like a man possessed, Logan kept up his assault as Spider-Man joined in.

The Webslinger leapt up until his head grazed the high ceiling before firing a pair of weblines downwards, straddling the felled Reaper before he slammed into the machine. The force of the impact caused the structure of the robot to buckle and fail, Wolverine able to slip his claws into the cracks made by the blow and lop off entire sections of armor before tearing apart the internals. After nearly 20 seconds of wailing away, the blood lust began to wear off as Logan, skin marked by spark burns and covered in oil and lubricants, pulled himself out from the wrecked machine before sliding down to the ground. "Whew, what a workout" quipped Spidey as he bounced on the balls of his feet energetically.

"Calm down Webhead," drawled Logan as he trudged back to his original spot behind the pillar, pressing his back to it before sliding down to sit on the floor, "that was just the warm up," he finished as he picked up his previously discarded cigar, dusted it off, and shoved it back between his teeth.

* * *

Silver Sablinova couldn't help but feel her heart wrench as she strode through the field hospital, the sight of so many wounded and more than a few sealed bodybags with helmets and rifles next to them. Still, the Mercenary pressed forwards until she reached her destination, opening the door and stepping confidently into the room three four people were, one nurse, one seated, and one laying down while under the effects of a medically induced coma. "How is he?" asked the Symkarian calmly as she looked at the handsome face of the man in the bed.

"Good," replied the nurse as he flipped a sheet up on his clipboard and read through the next page, "clean surgery, shrapnel missed major arteries, laundry list of other minor injuries though" amended the man before clearing his throat and listing them off. "Contusions across the torso, concussions, multiple bruised ribs, minor internal bleeding, and a not insignificant amount of blood loss" finished the nurse before flipping the papers back down.

Sable couldn't help but let out a low whistle, but one of the other women in the room had a distinctly different view, 'hmming' as she stood to stand next to Silver, the black clad thief looked down at the wounded man, "just another day at the office…" she said quietly, letting out a mirthless chuckle as she grimaced.

"Leave us," ordered the Mercenary, the nurse nodding and heading out, closing the door behind him as a tense silence filled the room. "Do not worry about the Marauder, he is strong, he will pull through," assured the Symkarian stoically, though her words didn't seem to pierce the stormy veil of emotion clouding the woman's green eyes. Turning her attention back to the man before her, part of Sable couldn't believe that this was the Marauder, far from the formidable Renegade he had proven himself to be, seeing him in a hospital gown and hooked up to an IV as his chest and leg were swathed in bloody bandages meant he didn't cut nearly the same intimidating figure he usually did. Before she could stop herself, the Mercenary found herself asking "is he a good man?"

"The best," replied the Black Cat instantly, though Silver could sense more there, and waited patiently for her to elaborate. She herself was curious, of all the colorful characters that she had encountered in New York, from the Mayor, to Spider-Man, certain Police Officers, and the…enthusiastic man on the radio named JJJ, none intrigued her like the Marauder. "After everything he's seen and done, and even after it's affected him so much, he's never considered stopping, not really" she explained as Silver mulled the words over. "I…I don't really know what he was like before he was the Marauder," admitted the burglar with a tinge of shame, "I know he likes his cars, his guns, and his friends. I know what he likes in bed. I can recall the movies and music he likes, but I can't say why" continued the Black Cat, "because I didn't care."

"But you do now," finished Sable knowingly, even she had one or two trusted individuals with whom she shared her past and life story. "There will be time," she assured, "but I know his type," said Silver, nodding towards the Pilot, "he will be stubborn about it, but if you truly wish to know, then he will tell you." She was confident of that much at least, understanding finally setting in as to why the Marauder infuriated her so, because he, in many ways, reminded Silver of herself. "Just know the road ahead will not be easy, there will be many times ahead like this," she said as the thief turned to look at her, "and one time he will not get back up."

The thief let out a deep breath and nodded her head shakily, "I can accept that. He'll live as the Marauder and more than likely die as the Marauder, it's who he is" reasoned the burglar. "Being the Marauder, a Pilot, it's his first love" she admitted, "I can…understand the appeal. There's no way to describe it, is there? You understand, right? The way doing this makes you _keep _doing this, almost like stealing in that respect" she supposed, but Sable could feel herself getting strung along. "And while I know I'm new at this, and he's done it more and you've done it more than him" she continued, causing Sable to tense and go on alert, wondering where she was going, "I think I can still recognize a suicide mission when I see one from as up close as I did," finished the thief in a hiss, venom dripping from her words and daggers coming from her eyes. "Who?"

The question was simple, and Sablinova offered a simple, honest, answer, "Osborn." The Black Cat had earned her respect, finishing off an Apex Predator and piloting the Marauders Titan back to the line, escorting the survivors too. The thief had saved the lives of her men when her employer had written them off, and while Silver believed she indebted to no one, she also believed the Black Cat had earned her honesty. "I advised against the operation," revealed the Mercenary truthfully, "but Osborn gave the order…and the order to send you and the Marauder with them." In her mind, if the CEO was in a position to make such decisions, then he was also in a position to suffer the consequences.

Out of the corner of her eye, Silver could see the thief tilt her head curiously, scrutinizing her features as the Mercenary remained stoic, revealing nothing until the Black Cat was satisfied. "Thank you," she said in the same tones as Sable's answer before replacing her mask and hood and exiting the room smartly.

Allowing herself to relax for just a moment before straightening, the Symkarian addressed the rooms sole remaining occupant, even if he couldn't hear her. "Damn fine work. And thank you for protecting my men" she said calmly before snapping off a salute to the injured Pilot and spinning on her heel to return to her post.

* * *

In the dead of the night, the only light coming from the handful of illumination rounds that drifted down lazily, Frank and Yuri crept through a bar, avoiding the beams of light that came in through the windows. The pair were heading to a strongpoint that had gone dark at a critical point, being where the NYPD sector met with Sable Internationals, and a vital crossroads that had to be held. "Creepy, ain't it?" began Frank gruffly, with Yuri unsure if the Punisher was speaking to her or to nobody in particular, "to think that, not too long ago, this place would have been bouncing, loud with the chatter of friends and lovers, a ball game on the TV and some music," he mused as they passed by a broken flat screen. Crossing the room, past the toppled tables and chairs, they reached the bar, vaulting over it to use it as cover against anyone that may have been watching the pair through the windows. "But no longer," snarled Castle, "bastards came in, thought they good push around good people to get their way."

The Punisher shook his head sadly as they reached the end of the bar and he darted to a booth before trying a door that led to the back rooms and slowly pushed it open. Following quickly, the NYPD Captain joined him, keeping her rifle up and at the ready as the Marine resumed his monologue, "they aren't the first" he asserted in his gravely tones, "and they won't be the last. No matter what they call themselves, IMC, MS-13, Kitchen Irish, Dogs of Hell, the Market, they're all just the same scumbags in the end. And when the law can't stop them, then somebody…me…has to remind them that despite the money, and drugs, and power…that they can die, just like all the rest."

Watanabe offered no response as she followed silently behind him, part of herself finding itself amusing that the Punisher had just offered a philosophical monologue. However, the Captain could understand how the things she had seen could cause introspection, and as much as it pained her to admit, Castle almost had a point. Still, she couldn't bring herself to agree with his extreme methods when in 98% of cases the typical Police ones got the job done. Still, a part of her mind said, in those other 2%...

Shaking her head to ward off that train of thought, she refocused on the here and now, dispelling all notions of large moral conundrums as she stacked up behind Castle at the top of a staircase and the pair burst into the large empty room on the other side of the door. The Punisher took point as he was prone to do, floorboards creaking as he took slow, measured strides across the room, weapon sweeping to the interior as Yuri kept her scoped rifle lookout out the windows. Without warning, a window shattered before the distinct _CRACK! _Of a high-powered rifle sliced through the silence, causing both to hit the deck, "motherfucker!" cursed Frank angrily.

"Castle, you hit?" asked Yuri as she belly crawled towards the windows, eyes frantically scanning for any sign of the shooter.

There was a groan at first before the Marine answered her. "I'm good," he grunted, "see where the shot came from?" he asked. Looking back over her shoulder to see where the bullet hit the wall, she then drew a mental line to the broken window and continued on till it met with where the shooter likely was.

"Gotcha…" whispered the Captain under her breath as she rested the muzzle of her rifle on the windowsill and took aim, "my 10 o'clock, the building with the scaffolding," she relayed calmly as she began scanning, "do you see him?"

Her response was a grunt that Yuri took to mean 'no' as she cursed internally before she noticed the Punisher was up to something in her peripheral vision. The Marine pulled out a small flashlight, his bayonet, and some tape as he began taping the light to the blade, "I'll draw his fire" explained Frank as he finished making his ad hoc decoy, "look for the flash, then nail this sumbitch." Watanabe nodded, taking a deep breath as she settled behind her rifle and dialed in the range on her scope, "ready? Here goes" said Castle as he turned the flashlight on, the light presenting a target that was impossible for the IMC sniper to resist.

Yuri's eyes picked up the flicker and swung her rifle around to the source, ears registering the shot as she pressed her goggle covered eye to the scope. So focused was the Captain that she didn't even realize the round had slammed into Castle's flashlight and annihilated it, the force of the impact knocking the bayonet from the Marine's hand. "There you are…" murmured Yuri as she saw something shift and settled her sights on a stack of bagged concrete mix on the fifth story of the scaffolding. She could see the muzzle of a gun sticking out one end and a pair of legs visible on the other. Bringing her crosshair to the kneecap, Yuri let out a breath and gently squeezed the trigger, the rifle bucking against her shoulder as she resettled her point of aim and saw the IMC sniper panic. Watanabe could now make out the full form of the soldier as he repositioned, now standing behind the concrete, rifle braced against it, he was searching for her, though she fired first.

Her second round slammed into the man's chest, knocking him back until she saw him stumble and falter before he lost his footing. She wasn't sure how injured he was, but by the way his arms flailed, she knew he was alive as he fell from that fifth story platform. He tumbled down, slamming through the wooden planks, snapping them as they slowed his descent until he finally reached the ground, the 'thud' of the impact barely audible from her position. It was only after the sniper hit the asphalt did he cease moving and Yuri allowed herself to relax.

Closing her eyes for a split second, she was slightly irked to hear heavy bootfalls as she opened her eyes to find the Punisher standing over her, though offering a hand that she took as he pulled her to her feet. "C'mon, any patrols around will have heard those shots, we need to move," he encouraged as he checked his own rifle before shouldering it as Yuri grumbled lowly. The incoherent noises drew a look from Castle, amusement, if the man could be amused, "now shut up and get behind me, Captain."

* * *

Coffee in hand, Captain Ernest Evans, USN, entered the bridge of his ship, the _USS Makin Island,_ to get an early start on his shift. His arrival didn't go unnoticed as his XO turned and snapped a salute, "Captain on deck!" he shouted as the other officers and enlisted came to a halt and turned to salute.

"As you were" replied Evans groggily before taking a sip of his beverage, face twisting at the overly bitter taste as he slowly became more alert. It was still pitch black as the 840 foot long and 41,000 ton Amphibious Assault ship charged headlong through the Atlantic. Aboard she carried a half dozen stealth fighters and two dozen helicopters, all of which could support the 1,500 Marines that would be taken ashore either in those helicopters, or the 17 landing craft also embarked. This floating fortress of steel was made to get Devil Dogs ashore and support them, and that was what she was going to do. Understandably, the Captain wanted to ensure _Makin Island _was in fighting shape, "how're we looking Copeland?" asked the grizzled veteran.

"Green across the board, we're on course and on schedule" reported the Lieutenant Commander coolly. Evans settled into the Captain's chair and began scrolling through the info on the display, including the ships status and GPS location. "Sir? If I may add something…" said the LC in a low tone. Robert Copeland was a man that Evans had come to trust, and he knew the man had his finger on the pulse of the _Makin Island_.

"Speak freely Lieutenant Commander" replied the Captain as he took another sip of coffee, if there was something wrong then he wanted to know sooner rather than later.

"Well sir," began Copeland as the older officer gave the LC a look that plainly said 'spit it out' as the junior officer shifted, "the crew is getting a bit antsy sir, and frankly, so am I," he revealed, "what's going on?"

Muttering a curse under his breath, Evans looked at his watch and let out a breath. H-Hour was in a little over four hours, and since prep was about to begin, his orders enabled the Captain to reveal their actual destination and intent. "Something big" replied Evans as he pushed himself from his seat and made his way to grab the handset attached to the shipwide PA system. "Attention all hands, this is Captain Evans" he began as he took a breath to compose himself, when he received the news along with his orders about what was happening, he could scarcely believe it, but that didn't change what he had been ordered to do. "Approximately 18 hours ago, an unknown hostile force attacked Manhattan" he began before looking around at the shocked expressions of those on the bridge, "over the last four hours, we have been steaming towards New York and will be within range to provide support at 0500. The 'rapid deployment training' will be the real thing. The sailors and marines aboard this ship, along with those aboard the _Essex _and _Bataan_, will compromise the first reinforcements to arrive in New York" he revealed, there would be no Avengers or heroes, the ball was in their court. "The enemy is there in force, with heavy armor in support, and upon landfall, we will engage the enemy directly and push him back!" he said, getting a few whistles of approval as he paused, "I have full faith and confidence in all of you, gung ho!" he shouted, getting a round of his ships motto back in reply. With that, Evans replaced the handset and turned to Copeland, "sound general quarters," he ordered.

"Aye aye" replied the LC as he took up the handset, "Attention all hands, general quarters! General quarters! All hands man your battle stations!" called out Copeland as the siren began to ring throughout the ship and the bridge was bathed in red light as Evans sat down. Looking down, the Captain picked up the half-finished cup and tossed it in the trash. He didn't need any more coffee; he was wide awake now.

* * *

"What's the situation?" asked Yuri as Frank eyed the weary looking men and women who were defending the building. Clearly, it has seen better days, sections of the wall were blown out and the floor is covered in shell casings and debris. Outside is a wasteland, barbed wire is illuminated by the search lights on the rooftop, and the bodies of a few IMC squads who tried to breach the wire remain as a grisly warning to those who would try to follow.

Finally, one of the Sable troopers, a bearded man who had discarded his helmet, stepped up. "Bad, we're down to half strength and the IMC have a jammer somewhere close by so we can't call in support. All we've been able to do was get the wounded to the underground CASEVAC and hope somebody picks them up" reported the mercenary. "It's been quiet for the last hour, but the IMC knows we're weak. If they attack us and we can't get some reinforcements…" he said before trailing off, and the looks on the faces of the others told the Captain all she needed to know.

"Castle? Any ideas?" she asked as she turned to the skull vested vigilante.

The Marine grunted an affirmative as he rifled around his gear and came back with a 40mm round with white and black markings before he opened the breach on his rifle mounted grenade launcher. "I'll head for the roof and send up a flare, that should their attention" he said as he stuffed the round into the breach and closed the M203 with a metallic 'click.' "Everyone's attention," he clarified seriously.

Yuri 'hmmed' but didn't see any practical alternative, "do it," she ordered firmly as Castle nodded and turned to head up, "everyone else, dig in!" she barked as she checked that her own rifle was loaded, "we need to hold out until backup arrives!" Those words caused the remaining Police and Sable fighters to get to their feet and back to defensive positions. Some windows were sandbagged with heavier weapons in them while downstairs had a Sable deterrent field to slow down anybody who made it through the kill zone.

Taking up position at an open window, Yuri settled in, bracing her gun against the wall and sighting in the distance when the night sky was lit up by the bright white illumination flare. "Any minute now. Get ready!" she called out as the entire block fell silent once again, the calm before the storm. Sure enough, after a few tedious minutes had passed, the Captain saw movement down the street. "Hold your fire," she ordered, "see if we can draw them out first, then empty your guns."

"On your shot ma'am," replied one of the Sable Troopers as Yuri settled her sights on the far end of the street.

Seeing the world through the pale green glow of her night vision, Yuri saw more and more grunts emerge onto the street and slowly approach the defenders until their numbers filled her view. Dozens packed the road ahead of them as Watanabe disabled the goggles and keyed her radio, "Castle, got another one of those flares?"

"Check," grunted the Marine.

"Then give us some lights so we can light these bastards up" she snarled icily as she brought her sights to settle on where she knew one of the soldiers was and waited patiently. A moment later, she could make out the echoing 'thunk' of the launcher before the white of the burning ilium casting a bright, artificial glow on the formerly dark streets, exposing the IMC soldiers on them. It took only the slightest adjustment for the crosshairs of her scope to be placed in the forehead of a wide eyed infantrymen as the grunts realized just how vulnerable they were, a point that was punctuated when Yuri pulled the trigger and plastered his brains across the road.

A second later, every other gun chimed in to create a terrifying symphony of death that rained down on the IMC. Yuri's ear could distinguish the staccato cracks of semi auto police rifles, the high-pitched rapid chirping of Sable energy guns, and the thundering, almost rumbling baritone of the heavy machine guns. In a desperate attempt at self-preservation, the grunts darted for cover as red energy rounds and yellow hued tracers hammered at them, cutting down dozens in the initial barrage.

As successful as the opening salvos are, the IMC didn't take long to regroup, returning fire as rounds flew back at the defenders with an equal ferocity. Soon those bullets are joined by grenades, their explosions muffled by the walls, which also muffled the ensuing screams.

Gritting her teeth, Yuri just stayed focused, lining up shot after shot with practiced efficiency, focusing on the grunts that tried to push forwards as they got closer and closer to their position. To her shock, one brave soldier had waltzed through the raindrops of lead and made it to the wire, but as soon as he reached it she put a bullet through his chest, causing him to fall and lay sprawled out on the concrete as the bolt of her rifle locked open, the magazine empty.

Stepping behind the wall as she fished out a fresh magazine and let the empty one clatter to the floor, Yuri heard a voice frantically cry out "RPG!" The words barely registered in her ears before the rocket slammed into the wall, blowing the brick out as the shockwave drove her to the floor. Shuddering from the ringing that filled her ears, Yuri tried to gain her bearings as she rolled onto her back, grabbing her rifle as she fumbled around with the dropped magazine until she finally slid it into the rifle and crawled to the new, massive hole in the side of the building. Swiping the rubble aside, Yuri flipped the bipod of her weapon down, single mindedly focused on finding whoever was responsible for the carnage that surrounded the woman and drilling a hole between his eyes.

Not long after she rested her head on the stock of the gun the IMC grunt with the Archer fired again, the rocket streaking towards the building and hitting the floor above Yuri. As bricks and debris rained down in front of her and she followed the contrail back through her scope as a fresh illumination round lit up the night just as she found the source. The Captain gently squeezed the trigger and felt the rifle kick against her shoulder as the 7.62mm round found its mark, punching straight through the target's clenched teeth and slicing clean through his spinal cord. The trooper was dead before his body hit the floor, his rocket launcher falling to the ground next to him as Yuri coolly moved to the next and fired again, and again, and again until she had put down the entire four man fireteam.

By the time she did, the slowing of fire going out towards the IMC allowed them to regroup and make a push. A group of sappers had slid Bangalore Torpedo type explosives into the wire and detonated them, opening two gaps for men to rush through and reach the building. The riflewoman switched her fire as soldiers rushed for the openings, firing as quickly as she could line up shots, steam pouring from the ejection port as brass pooled beside the gun. But even this effort combined with the renewed attacks of all the other defenders, couldn't stem the tide, smoke grenades popped off to obscure the advance and caused the defenders to become much less accurate.

Many were forced to wait for targets to come out on the near side of the smoke, and Yuri could tell that her own effectiveness was hurt the most. She no longer had the reach to pick someone off at 200 yards and slowly crawled away from the position. Finding an elevator shaft and jumping down, using her Ripper and jump kit to slow her descent, she hit the top of the elevator with a dull 'thud' before kicking in the hatch on top and dropping down inside before she was immediately forced to press herself to the wall to avoid the hail of incoming fire. "Don't these guys ever quit?" she snarled angrily as the Wraith equipped woman activated her cloak and slinked out of the metal box, staying low as she took cover behind a sandbag barricade next to the corpse of a policewoman, half her head blown off as she stared up at Yuri with a singular, dead eye.

Taking a second to close it before shoving the body aside, Watanabe popped up just long enough to plant two rounds into each of the pair of guys about to make it out of the wire before ducking back down as bullets soared through the air where she had just been. As the fire kept up, Yuri grabbed a tear gas grenade from her kit and heaved it out into the oncoming IMC troopers. Taking a few moments to collect herself and slam a fresh magazine into her gun before steeling herself and rolling out, laying prone next to the sandbags as she cocked the gun sideways to make use of the canted red dot. With deadly efficiency, Watanabe cut down the grunts that tried to break into the building as the others on the ground level rallied around her. Riot police hefting their heavy duty bulletproof shields stepped forward into the gap, braving the hail of fire as they pushed forwards. A handful of Sable Troopers appeared behind the Captain, adding their guns to hers, as the IMC push faltered.

It didn't end though, the ballistic shields were still absorbing fire while the defenders dug in, but as Yuri saw a pair of headlights pierce the smoke, she knew that time was running out. If they were going to survive the next 10 minutes then they would need one final, heroic effort.

* * *

Silver Sable was watching the live feeds of her men, tight lipped and stern faced as reports rolled in, sporadic firefights or harassment from snipers dominated her attention. That was, at least, until one of the drones spotted a single distress flare from the west flank. The Symkarian frowned and internally cursed, with most of the IMC attention on the east side, she had precious few troops to send to see off this threat if she wanted to keep the rest of the line at the strength needed to see off any more IMC assaults. "Lieutenant," she barked lowly, "I want eyes on the west side, get one of our Bird-Eye's on it."

"Right away ma'am." The S-2 went to it, moving one of the small UAV's to the hotspot while Sablinova went about trying to find up something, anything she could send their way to help in case this was something serious. Part of her wanted to say that it was probably nothing, but after nearly a day of constant fighting, there was no part of the Mercenary that actually believed that notion. Her suspiscions were quickly proven right as the S-2 returned with a tablet in hand, "we have eyes on that distress flare, this is a live feed," he informed as he passed it to her, "I'm trying to get more assets over there, see if there's any more activity."

That didn't bode well, but she was only able to take things one thing at a time, "very good lieutenant," she said, saluting to dismiss him as she looked down at the data pad. The picture wasn't good, from the IR camera, the Symkarian could clearly see the numerous IMC troopers surrounding a building, the distinct shapes of Sable International laser bolts flying back as the defenders fought back valiantly. This was not a small skirmish, but the Mercenary judged it to be a diversion or, at most, a secondary axis of attack to try and draw her focus away. But she would not leave those men to die totally unsupported. Setting the tablet aside, her main focus was on finding _something _she could send their way. With no fresh units to send, the mercenary was forced to begin looking through the units that had taken losses when she found some that were close. Two platoons, Hotel-4 and Uniform-2 had been almost completely lost except for their attached mortar sections. Those men still had eight tubes and plenty of ammunition, and were currently idle. Bringing up the rosters, she felt a pang in her gut at the number of KIA and WIA listed in both until she found the ranking member of the platoon. Opening a link, she waited patiently until it was picked up. "Sergeant? This is Silver Bird, muster your men. I am sending you a rally point; you are to provide fire support to a position under heavy IMC pressure…"

* * *

"Is that all you got you sonsofbitches!" roared Frank, even if the tactical part of his mind said that they couldn't hear him, it didn't stop the Punisher from doing it as he fired bursts from his M16, his targets illuminated by the near constant illumination rounds the IMC had put up once the shooting started. Apparently though, it wasn't all they had as a flurry of bullets flew up at him and forced him to drop to his belly as he slipped his hand around the oversized trigger of the M203 and peeked his head over to see the twinkle of muzzles and took aim. "Say hello to my little friend" snarled the Punisher as he squeezed the trigger, the 'whump' of the underslung launcher as it sent the HEDP round down range in it's parabolic arc.

When the 40x46mm round detonated on impact, the wall it hit began to crumble and the debris rained down on the soldiers below. Frank could see at least one get crushed by a larger piece as the others scattered and rand into the street where they were hammered by the other defenders. But still, the Marine could tell they were getting worn down and there were breaches in the wire, and judging by the approaching set of headlights, the IMC was committing more forces to overrun them. Ignoring the implications, Castle instead closed the M203 around his last HEDP round and stood to give himself the angle to fire down on the approaching vehicle before firing the last 40mm he had.

The round found it's mark, blasting a hole in the hood of the truck and sending red hot shrapnel through the engine compartment, igniting the fuel as the white vehicle burst into flames as it crashed headlong into the wire and carved a wide path through it. That seemed to be the opening the IMC were waiting for as they rushed forwards through the hole as bullets rained down at them. Those that tried to go through the main door found themselves staggering by Yuri's tear gas and stunned by the Sable defense barrier. Most however, tried to circumvent the defenses, spreading out to probe the rest of the battered structure for weaknesses.

A strange sound caused Castle to turn his eyes to the sky as he saw the familiar indicator lights of an approaching aircraft as it came to a hovering stop. Above, a fresh illumination flare allowed the Marine to get a good look at the new arrival, it's slender body and downturned, stubby wings, helicopter like cockpit, and fearsome looking weapons mounted to it. On instinct, he turned and to the stairwell as the aircraft opened fire, bullets snapping past him before he began descending to the top floor. Still not out of danger, Castle smashed the butt of his gun into the case holding the fire axe and grabbing the red implement, slamming it into the doors and prying them open. "What the fuck are you doing Frank?" he wondered aloud as he felt the shockwave and heat as a rocket slammed into the wall behind him and he wrapped a bandage around his hand before leaping out to grab hold of the metal elevator cable.

Gritting his teeth in pain as he slid down the cable, Castle descended fifteen floors rapidly until he slammed into an elevator held up on the fourth story of the structure. "Get up Frank" he grunted as he tested that his limbs all still functioned after his impromptu fast roping and got to his feet as he heard gunfire much too close, and even picked up a few reports his experience ear that he didn't recognize. Drawing his 1911 as he got to the ledge and slowly worked the doors open. The Marine was greeted by the back of a white clad IMC trooper, with that acronym stamped across his armor. "Hey asshole" he whispered as the grunt whirled around and Frank slammed the gun down, bashing him across the face as he drew his K-Bar and plunged it up into his gut under his armor as the Punisher drove the soldier into the opposite wall, hand holding the pistol stuffed into his mouth to muffle the screams as he tore through the man's guts until he ceased his struggling and Frank let the corpse fall to the floor.

"Mayfield! Sound off!" shouted the gruff voice of an NCO as Frank whipped around and brought the big Colt up, "Mayfield!" barked the IMC sergeant as he came into the hallway and caught sight of the skull vested Marine just before he pulled the trigger. The .45 thundered as the hollowpoint blew the mans brains out the back of his head, the sound of the shot would surely draw unwanted attention and Frank swapped out the Colt pistol for the Colt rifle, ready for things to get more interesting.

It didn't take long as two more men rushed out the open door only to be cut down before Castle swept into the room, checking each corner in turn before he was satisfied and moved out down the hall, circling his way around the floor until he reached the circling stairwell. Kicking the door open, he swung the muzzle up, then down as he sidestepped into the barren space and caught sight of a white armored man sans blue lights and opened fire before snapping his gun further down and carefully descending, catching sight of another flicker of movement that was doused with a quick burst. A well honed mental counter shouted at him that his 30 rounds were nearly depleted and he efficiently flipped the magazine over so the one attached to it slid into the gun.

And not a moment too soon as three more soldiers came up at him, their fire forcing Castle to fall back on the stairs as bullets slammed into the wall above him and he twisted his whole upper body to bring the gun to bear and return fire. The lead man was dropped instantly, red covering the wall and stairs as he kept up the fire, forcing the IMC men back before he had to reload. But instead of swapping mags, the Punisher pressed his attack, drawing his sidearm, mentally counting down the seven shots he had left.

The first missed, glancing off the helmet of the first and forcing him to duck back down as the second raised his SMG and got the second in the shoulder. When the IMC soldier fired, his shots went wide, ricocheting off the railings as Frank worked his way down the stairs and fired a third round that hit the soldier's hand, causing him to drop the gun and scream in pain. By now, Frank was directly above them as the first trooper turned to the Punisher only for Castle to fire bullets four, five, and six. Two slammed into the man's chest and the third slamming straight into his nose to finish a perfect Mozambique drill before switching to the wounded one and firing the seventh and final round straight through his eye.

Smoothly inserting a fresh mag and dropping the slide, Castle repeated the process with his M-16 before using the muzzle to push open the door onto the next floor, sweeping it, but finding it devoid of life. The sounds of fighting continued, but they were growing weaker, the IMC was slowly crushing the defenders beneath the weight of their attack. Making his way towards the front of the building to see waves of IMC coming at them, but fire was going out at them as some still stubbornly resisted. The veteran Marine knew what he needed in this situation, he needed more firepower. "That'll work" he grunted as he made his way over to what he saw, slinging his rifle over his shoulder.

Lying on the ground, its pintle mount sliced through by shrapnel, was a six barreled M134 Minigun, still hooked up to its power source and ammo belt. Grunting, the Punisher picked up the weapon, coming to grips with the heavy and awkwardly designed weapon that was never designed for what he was about to do. One arm cradling the gun in the crook of his elbow while his right was snaked around the grip before he pressed the button, the gun humming to life before roaring in exclamation. Precision wasn't his concern as Castle roared along with the gun, the muzzle flash as bright as a spotlight as the six barrels spat at rounds as fast as the electric motor could send them.

The shrieking of the gun shrouded the sound of incoming mortar fire as rounds streaked in from above and behind him until they detonated above the oncoming IMC troops, raining down small red streaks amongst the men and machines. They detonated, those caught in the blast radius of the cluster munitions were hit by a wave of heat that seared flesh and melted electronics, the barbed wire beginning to melt as more incoming mortar shells arrived, detonating just above the rooftops like the world's most lethal fireworks.

When the first salvo finished and the IMC advance resumed, Frank swept the gun across the wire, cutting down the men who tried to push through. Still spinning barrels glowing from the heat, Castle began walking the bullets further up the street to a vehicle with its own mounted weapon, the two gunners trading rounds as Frank stood tall in the face of the tracers that came his way. While the incoming fire was accurate, Castle's was even more so as armor piercing 7.62mm slugs turned the vehicle into swiss cheese before giving the gunner the same treatment before he slumped over his gun. Not a moment later, another salvo of Sable International mortar shells arrived, one of which exploded directly over the vehicle, the energy munition igniting the fuel that was leaking from the truck as more shells hammered the retreating remains of the attack. With thousands of shell cases and belt links pooled at his feet and the gun finally out of ammo, Frank dropped the weapon, barrels glowing red and smoking hot.

Through his own heavy breathing, the Punisher realized that it was deathly quiet and let out a relieved and almost lighthearted laugh, "we did it..." he realized numbly as he looked around at the dead that surrounded him, they had done the impossible, they had survived.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Titan Loadout: Northstar_

_Northstar is the least common Titan loadout on the frontier, but it has a fearsome reputation, if it's in the right hands that is. The Plasma Railgun is exceptionally powerful, able to throw its superheated plasma with precision over extreme ranges and the rounds hit hard enough to give even Scorch and Legion drivers pause. A good Northstar Pilot will use that hitting power in conjunction with the elusiveness of the Stryder chassis this loadout is based on, and the rest of the kit is meant to make this as effective as possible. The lightweight of the Stryder allows for Vertical Takeoff Or Landing (VTOL) thrusters to give short bursts of hovering flight. This can be used to open up the distance, especially if the Tether Traps are used to ensnare and slow down any opposing Titans or other vehicles. Most Northstar users will combine these with the area of effect Cluster Missile or the Flight Core to take flight and rain down a massive stream of dumb fire rockets on anyone who made the mistake of not respecting the seemingly defenseless Northstar. _

_Of course, the Northstar, with its devout, almost cult like following, is one of the most extensively modified and upgraded loadouts around. There exist modifications to the VTOL thrusters that will enable full powered flight, a dozen and a half mods for the Plasma Railgun from quick fire to arc to a continuous burst of plasma to make it look like it's a laser gun, and the ability to make the tether traps arc powered to further fuck with anyone who gets nabbed by one. Even more so than with other Titans, when you go up against a Northstar, you don't really know what to expect. _

_But the loadout has an equally common reputation for being a widowmaker, with many hotshots learning very quickly that they aren't good enough to make use of Northstar and it being the last mistake they ever make. At the same time, many other Pilots thought they were going up against one of these rookies only to be going up against a veteran Northstar driver and that being the last mistake _they _ever make. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: This chapter went through two or three different iterations admittedly. The first one had the entire chapter center around the ESU campus, a play on the nickname Stalingrad had during the battle, the 'Stalingrad Academy of Street Fighting' but have it be the 'ESU College of Urban Warfare' or something like that. The second idea was to make it a fully sniper oriented chapter, basically just make it 'Enemy at the Gates' with tons of sniper stuff. Obviously, part of that made it, but the idea of the overarching structure being this ongoing game of cat and mouse didn't make it. Obviously, the final product took a lot of inspiration from the Stalingrad missions in Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty: World at War, Comrade Sniper and Vendetta respectively. I finally got Frank Castle to have one of his classic monologues, but it was helped by Sergeant Reznov as any old school CoD players might recognize. **

**I also managed to get the Punisher a line inspired by Halo:CE, because I'm a nerd and couldn't help it. **

**The CO of _Makin Island, _Ernest Evans, was named after the Captain of the _USS Johnston _who was awarded the Medal of Honor. If you want to be amazed then go look up his story. The XO, Robert Copeland, was the captain of the _USS Samuel B. Roberts _during the same battle, the Battle of Samar. Seriously, go look it up, it is the greatest David vs. Goliath in history, period. **

**This wasn't originally intended to only have Yuri and Frank doing the action stuff, but that's how it turned out. Reactions were positive last time and I think this one was better, review and let me know what you think about this or any other issue. **

**Next chapter, with our final breath, we'll fight to the death, because we are Soldiers.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	51. Chapter 51: Soldiers

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Of all things, I've been playing the original F.E.A.R. this week, pretty good game and well worth the $6 I spent on it.

**Empyrean Asura: Cooper's character is interesting, we skip a lot of his development on Typhon so you don't see his transformation, but by the time he comes out of it he is supremely confident in his abilities, cocky even (the 'Fighter Jock' mentality). Obviously, some of the points you bring up get addressed later and if you want more detail then PM me. As for him not having any real background before Typhon, his ability to become this 'super soldier' was inspired by someone like Audie Murphy or Alvin York, who were not any kind of special forces or anything, but you would think they were if you read what they did. Perhaps this is me thinking too much into it, but I was hoping to get across that age old adage about a seemingly ordinary individual, when pushed to their limits, being capable of extraodrinary things.**

**I haven't been able to figure out the lack of reviews either, curious if you (or anyone) has any ideas regarding this. **

**Threll Ingis: Thank you for the kind words, and it's good to see that since there will be more of them later on. I will be leaning on the supporting cast in the next arc especially, and will get Sable in the spotlight at some point. **

**Blaze1992: Have you ever seen an evacuation in which 100% of people are evacuated? It also was a poor choice of words to use such absolute terms admittedly, and a _little _bit of accidentally forgetting everything I wrote for the sake of melodrama. I try to avoid that kind of thing, but did it by mistake, my bad. **

As for the title, this is a song and band I don't usually listen to, but a buddy suggested it and when I heard it I knew I would have a spot for it. Obviously, this is that spot. The song was the first single the band released off their first studio album, the 2012 effort _True Love Never Dies. _I did have a certain type of chapter in mind for this song and it is fair to say that the events were written with the thought that if this was a movie or netflix show or something, this song would be playing during the times the action is happening. It's a bit more emotional than the other songs that have been in this arc, but I really can't imagine having anything else be the title to this chapter.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 51: Soldiers**

_We stand shoulder to shoulder_

_You can't erase us, You'll just have to face us_

_We are the ones who will never be broken_

_With our final breath, We'll fight to the death_

_We are soldiers_

_We are soldiers_

_We are the ones who will not go unspoken _

_No, we will not sleep, We are not sheep_

_We are Soldiers_

* * *

Above all else, Peter was tired. His entire body was sore, he was sure that his chest and back was one big bruise, and his arms felt like they hung at his sides. The Spider Armor Mk III was faring little better, pockmarked, blackened, filthy, and with some pieces of armor torn away or being held on by sheer willpower. Even more distressing was his ever dwindling supply of webbing, he only had a handful of gadgets left and maybe two or three full cartridges of standard webbing. So driven was his desire to make the most of what he had left that he slipped a pair of half spent metallic cylinders before closing the armored housings. While taking inventory, the Wallcrawler had a chance to reflect on…other things.

Seeing Katherine again had been nice, fighting beside her brought back a lot of memories. But at the same time, he had come to a realization about his relationship woes. While Kitty Pryde was truly one of a kind, but there was only one woman that Peter truly wanted to be with, and that was a certain headstrong redhead. For the past 20 hours, whenever things seemed impossible, he found that thoughts of her that got him up and fighting, motivating him to never give up.

"There you are" said a voice that sounded as tired as he felt, but it was one that brought comfort to the superhero despite its state _'Speak of the devil, and she shall appear' _mused Peter. "Cyclops is looking for you" informed Mary Jane as she offered a hand and pulled the Webslinger to his feet, though Peter had to actively resist the temptation to reach out and remove the wayward strands of hair from her face as he beamed behind his mask.

"What for?" asked Peter as he stifled a yawn and began to try and focus through his drowsy haze.

"Not sure," admitted the reporter, "he's upstairs, come on" she encouraged before turning around, only for a red armored hand to reach out and grab her by the arm, stopping her suddenly as she whirled around towards the offender. "Peter?" she asked quietly after a moment of tense silence, though the Queens native found it hard to get the words on the tip of his tongue to travel that last fraction of an inch.

"It's just that…well you see MJ…I uh" be stuttered dumbly as she just continued to stare at him expectantly, eyes clearly saying what she was thinking _'Spit it out!' _Swallowing and clearing his throat, the webhead squared his shoulders and tired again. "I just wanted to say how much it means to me that you're out here. I know the whole 'partners' thing went kinda bad but after this…I want to talk about it. See if we can't try and make it work," he offered. He looked down at her, waiting for her response as she stared at him blankly. As the silence dragged on into awkward territory, Peter tried again, "Uh, MJ? Does that sound okay?" he asked.

Finally, to his immense relief, she reacted, the corners of her mouth coming up as he saw a hint of teeth in her quickly forming smile as she laughed that adorable little laugh, "Is this really the best time to be discussing this?" she asked as she looked up at him in disbelief, though with a hint of amusement.

"Maybe…?" he tried, but he had to get some stuff off his chest, so he pressed on regardless. "I just wanted to apologize for not taking you as seriously as I should have the first time" he admitted. "You were a big help in taking down Mr. Negative, and I know I was overbearing and you can take care of yourself, but…" he trailed off before finally taking a deep breath and finishing, "you're too important to me to lose MJ" he admitted.

"You won't get rid of me that easily Tiger," she assured sincerely, sighing tiredly. "I may have been a bit…forward and unreasonable" she admitted, and he could tell how hard it was for her to admit that. "I got used to what you did, took it for granted how difficult and _dangerous _it is," explained the reporter, "and thank _you _for giving my crazy idea a second chance." she finished sincerely.

Peter opened his mouth, about to ask her about giving _them _'a second chance' when the sounds of echoing gunfire began to fill the air. "We'd better get going, can you take me to Cyclops?" he asked, and the redhead nodded before leading him back the way she came. Looking out the windows into the pitch-black city, it was only just past 3:00 in the morning, and for the first time he could recall, the lifelong New Yorker could see stars in the night sky of his hometown. A bit of beauty in the midst of unspeakable horrors, a hint of the light awaiting them at the end of the tunnel, all they had to do was survive.

It wasn't long before the pair arrived at their destination and were greeted by an equally exhausted looking bunch all gathered around, the visor wearing X-Man standing in the middle. "Alright, everyone here?" he asked, scanning the room. Satisfied that everyone was, Peter noting that he had managed to still be late for absolutely everything, Summers began. "I've got news, both good and bad" he began.

"Just spit it the fuck out slim," grunted Logan through his ever present cigar.

The red tinted eyewear turned to face the Wolverine, who just shrugged, completely unperturbed by the glare before Cyclops sighed and resumed. "The good news is that Mayor Osborn has guaranteed that help is coming, and they are no more than three hours out…" informed the mutant, causing a round of cheers to fill the air most who didn't cheer let out heavy sighs of relief.

But the white haired cloud walker remained composed, "And the bad news?" she asked calmly, her smooth tones cutting through the mood like sharpened steel.

"The bad news is the IMC isn't going to make it easy on us," informed the visored man, "what intelligence assets Sable has left is saying the IMC is preparing for another big push that could hit us any moment. Add in reports of enemy air support and we're going to need everyone we can get…" but the briefing was cut off by a distinct whistling that everyone there had become quite familiar with, "get down!" shouted Cyclops as everyone hit the floor.

Peter instinctively came down atop Mary Jane, covering the reporter with his armor covered body as the opening salvo of the IMC bombardment hit the building, causing it to shudder as pieces of plaster fell on those gathered. "Everyone to their positions!" shouted Cyclops. "Shadowcat! Wolverine! Go west, cover our flank. Storm is staying here with me. Gates, you and Spider-Man take the east side, don't let us get outflanked," ordered the senior X-Man before his crimson visor fell on Mary Jane. "All non combat personnel to the rear."

Before MJ could speak up, Peter did, "she's with me," he answered firmly, Summers giving him a questioning look before deciding not to push it and allowing it with a subtle nod. "C'mon, let's go MJ," beckoned the Webslinger as the trio took off, moving as fast as they could towards their assigned post. All around them, purple clad gunmen employed by Fisk scrambled to their own defensive positions, only a few bothering to cast glances at the Webhead and reporter. Though it seemed that everyone was in higher spirits as he passed by, word was quickly spreading that help was coming, and morale had spiked as a result.

MJ would stop and snap off a picture every so often for her story until they finally arrived at their assigned position, a warehouse that served not only as a defensive position, complete with the usual sandbags, barbed wire, and machine gun and mortar emplacements, but also was a resupply and casualty collection point. EMTs triaged the wounded, either treating minor injuries or getting those with graver wounds the help they needed. Amusingly, the wounded were all below ground, through hidden entrance into a secret area. Peter would have found that odd had he not soon seen 'FISK CONSTRUCTION' proudly written on one of the walls. "Good to see you're helping the city in your own special way Willie," mused the webslinger, "even from the comfort of prison."

"Good luck Spidey," called MJ before she turned and went off, Peter was tempted to follow her, but knew he would have to let her take care of herself. Instead, he pulled himself up to a perch and stuck his head out the sunroof to get a look at what was outside. While he couldn't see anything, his sixth sense hummed warningly, nothing imminent, but just enough to cause a pervasive unease urging him to get out before more trouble arrived. But like so many times, he steeled himself in the face of the danger sense as the cause of the humming came into view, a massive group of machines marching in sync. The Stalkers and Specters came straight down the road at the defenders, undaunted by the fortifications.

"Hold your fire until you see the whites of their eyes!" shouted one of the Syndicate enforcers.

Peter could already feel a quip on the tip of his tongue when somebody beat him to it. "Those things don't have eyes dumbass!" called back another as the Webslinger held back a chuckle and double checked that his webshooters were ready.

"Whatever," returned the first grumpily as the machines came ever closer until Peter could make out every detail on the mechanical infantry. The sleek angular shape of their heads, the makes of weapons in their three fingered hands, and the antennas on their backs for transmitting signals. The Queens native could feel his muscles tighten as his middle and ring fingers hovered over the buttons in his cloves, poised to activate his signature gadgets. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet when he heard the Enforcer call out again "give 'em hell boys!"

Peter was quickly enlightened on what that meant as the cars that lined the road all exploded in sync, each and every one rigged with at least five pounds of C4 that tore massive holes in the IMC formations. Fisk's sappers weren't done yet, before the dust had settled from the first string of explosions, a wave of smaller ones followed suit. These were smaller pipe bombs and claymores all strategically placed near the doors and windows of the buildings lining the street, intended to dissuade anyone of bolting out of the killbox.

The rest of the gunmen were quick to make that the case, ripping into the wall of metal with unmitigated ferocity. Peter had always held a sort of respect for the men Fisk employed, they were loyal and dedicated, and while those traits were usually troublesome, when they were on the same side, they proved to be a boon. With firepower usually directed at Spider-Man, the criminals ripped into the IMC ranks, RPGs streaking in to blow massive groups to pieces before the familiar red laser sights of the snipers would settle on the survivors before high powered slugs finished off the wounded machines. The rest had to contend with a hail of assault rifle fire, Fisk's men putting accurate, controlled bursts of fire downrange.

To Peter's annoyance, there was little he could offer to help, restricted instead to watching as a scrapyard was created in front of the warehouse. Yet their success couldn't go on forever, and it wasn't the weight of numbers that tilted the odds, but a singular fearsome weapon: A Titan. This one seemed to be a smaller version of the Apex Predator they had encountered earlier, not nearly as bulky, but still towering and holding a boxlike weapon in its mechanical hands. _"BRUTE!" _yelled out Gates over the comms, _"focus fire on it NOW!" _As the various RPG gunners scrambled to reload anti-armor warheads in their weapons and bring them to bear on the Titan.

But the odd two or three rockets did little to slow the machine as it charged forwards, trampling the destroyed robots under massive metal feet before stomping through the barbed wire before it raised a hand and slammed it's fist down, tearing out a massive chunk of the wall. The whole building shook as a four foot wide and 15 foot long gash was ripped out of the front face, sending the men behind the wall scattering. Spider-Man leapt into action, swinging as several of the shooters on the upper catwalks flailed as they fell until the webhead plucked them out of midair, setting them down safely before he focused his attention on the IMC machine. Firing a string of synthetic silk on either side of the gap before shooting through, slamming into the 30 ton machine, super strong legs pushing the machine back, composite armor cracking and deforming under his feet.

Acrobatically, Spider-Man launched himself skyward before coming back down, ramming a punch into the machine that sent it stumbling back, dazed and confused as Gates emerged, grapple hook attached to the Titan. With a coolness that only came with experience, the 6-4 Pilot clambered across the top of the machine while Spidey landed on the roof of the warehouse. While he wasn't entirely sure what Gates was doing, Peter was determined to help in any way he could. Holding down the buttons on his gloves as he ran along the rooftop until he slid along the slope until he released the button, firing off a pair of impact webs that slammed into the red line like 'eye' at the center of the spherical torso, covering it in a layer of thick white gunk. Flailing wildly as one of its arms swept across the rooftop, peeling the panels off as the Wallcrawler leapt up and flipped over the hand before dropping down the newly formed gap.

Looking up, Peter saw the Pilot riding the Titan like a cowboy as she ripped out a green cylinder and tossed it away before shoving an armed grenade in the gap and jumping off. An explosion shook the Titan as it swung its weapon around wildly, and Peter felt his sixth sense warble intensely before a rocket shot from one of the four tubes. Instinctively, he leapt and rolled away before jumping up and raising his webshooters to redirect the missile and gave the buttons a double tap to call up a webline.

Only to get a _'click hiss' _in return, not the _'thwipthwip' _he was expecting and needed.

His world slipped into slow motion as he watched the rocket streak by and slam into the concrete, throwing up a fireball as the shockwave shook the Webhead, with only the extreme stickiness granted by his superpowers keeping his feet firmly planted on the floor as others were tossed across the room like ragdolls. A massive cloud of dust and smoke filled the room, obscuring his vision while ringing still filled his ears, drowning out the events going on behind him. The number of men still standing firing their rocket launchers to finish off the wounded machine, causing it to collapse in a smoking wreck while the webslinger remained focused on the receding dust cloud.

Or, more precisely, the newly revealed unmoving body of the redheaded reporter sprawled out on the floor.

* * *

"….and that is the most recent update on the situation."

The rest of the room was silent as the gathered individuals stared at the speaker in a mixture of shock and awe before the most prominent unasked question boiled to the surface. With an understanding forged over their experience together as a unit, all attention was turned to the defacto leader, who clenched his jaw and met the one eyed gaze of the speaker. "And just why in the _hell_" began Captain Steve Rodgers from his seat in the briefing room aboard the helicarrier _Yorktown_, "are we only moving on this now?"

"Language Captain," chided a voice to his right, though it was far flatter than Tony Starks usual delivery. Almost instantly causing the other individuals present to cast disapproving glances at the billionaire, and even Iron Man couldn't manage a retort, instead refocusing on Director Fury.

For his part, the ever-stoic Director Fury held his ground. "Because Captain," he began as the trench coat wearing spook began to pace around the room, "my sources indicated that the supposed threat this IMC posed was overblown. I am investigating the possibility that these sources were compromised in some way," he admitted coolly.

"Still, to enable controlled travel beyond the dimensional boundaries of time and space…" supposed a rather unimpressive looking man as he removed his glasses and standing to get a better look at the information on the holographic display. "Not only would the power requirements must be astronomical, but they must have a way to create a stable Einstein-Rosen bridge that is imbued with Shaw-Fujikawan properties…" he continued before noticing the blank stares the others were giving him. Taking a minute to compose himself, Dr. Bruce Banner let out a breath, "even the Tesseract wasn't able to do anything like this. I…the theory doesn't even exist to something like that; it hasn't ever been postulated."

Captain America didn't understand the science, but he did understand that there was an uninvited military force tearing up his hometown while he was half a world away. While he had faith in the United States Armed Forces and had a high opinion of New York's more colorful protector in Spider-Man, the reports Fury had just shown the Avengers painted a bleak picture. "Maybe that's what we should go after," suggested the team's archer. Hawkeye looked over the maps with a careful eye for detail, "on the front lines we won't be able to do much. But if we can find this…portal thing…take it out…"

"Aye Hawkeyed one," agreed the only man there more imposing than the veteran soldier. "We shall trap these dastardly foes and corner them like Fenrir! Truly, a great battle lays ahead!" cheered the God of Thunder, Thor, as he extended his arm and his hammer, Mjolnir, shot across the room and into his hand, "and I shall crush them like I did those vicious wolves!" Most of the team rolled their eyes at the Asgardian, but his bombastic boasts had a way of lifting spirits. Still, he noticed the teams less than total agreement and sought to amend his claim, "with you help of course, fellow Avengers."

"Ah, Point Break," sighed Stark with a stupid grin on his face as he lowered his designer sunglasses, "never change pal. I for one cannot wait to see how Capsicle will respond when you bring the thunder down on his hometown. Hey, wouldn't it be something if these Interstellar Mega Cunts set up their wormhole machine in the Bronx? The look on his face…" began Stark as Rogers merely glared lightly at him while Iron Man broke down into a small fit of laughter. As quickly as it began, it ended, his face becoming worried before going wide eyed, as if he was imagining a different scenario. "What if they built it on my tower?"

"Then you'll just have to build us a new one," deadpanned the sole woman in the room. If Steve's look was chilly, then Natasha Romanov's expression was colder than the ice Rogers had spent 70 years in. It was her frosty stare that sufficiently cowed the billionaire before she softened her look and turned towards Banner. "Is there any way you can rig up a way to find this portal?" asked the Black Widow seriously, "even just to get us close, this'll be a blow through op as it is. We don't have time to be fumbling around while there's a war going on."

"I suppose…" returned Banner as he crossed his arms and began to tap a finger idly as he thought, "the radiation something like this would put out…it would have to be unique. The Tower has a full suite of sensors across the entire radiological spectrum that _should _have picked up _something,_" he supposed as he continued further on his train of thought. While Steve had utmost faith in the Doctor, if he thought it would help, he would also be willing to get out and push to help move that train along. "I got it," he announced excitedly, "New York has those Oscorp Crime Towers, right? They have radiological sensors, once I know what I'm looking for I can use those to pinpoint a source."

"I'll ensure you have access to the crime network" assured Fury calmly as he spun on his heel and made for the exit. "Our ETA is eight hours; you have until then to figure something out. Good luck."

* * *

Marching through the dimly lit hallways, Silver Sablinova moved with a poise and confidence few possessed, chin held high with her Saritch 'Spear' rifle slung over her shoulder. That came from her feeling that she absolutely belonged here. Reinforcements were due to arrive in 2 hours, she had committed her forces to counter where reconnaissance showed the IMC was going to attack and done everything she could from her command center. Now, the need was for every able bodied soldier and every gun to be on the front lines. Silver was, at her core, a soldier, and so she belonged on the front lines. The feeling was one she had not felt before, the Symkarian truly felt that she was exactly the right woman, in exactly the right place, at exactly the right time. She was where she was meant to be: On the frontlines at the critical hour of a crucial battle.

Her presence hadn't gone unnoticed either, there were whispers already spreading as she arrived at her destination among the men, and she could see them blatantly staring as arrived at her destination and came to a stop in the middle of the room. Coolly scanning the room, she cleared her throat and addressed her men, "Look alive, help is coming, but until then WE MUST HOLD THIS LINE!" she shouted. "The IMC has hit us with everything they had, BUT WE HELD! They will try again, fight them with courage and fury! You will push them back because we" she began before allowing herself to take a breath, the resulting pause was nearly dead silent, "because we will not take ONE STEP BACK!"

"_RAH!" _chanted back the white armored troopers as they immediately got back to what they were doing, restocking ammo, keeping watch, or just grabbing a bite to eat or treating various injuries. For the next few minutes, Sable made her way through the room, offering a word of encouragement or stern reminder to keep their guard up. Eventually, she reached the end of the line and thought the last window was unmanned. Just as she was about to bark for a trooper to take the position, she noticed a few hints of white as a figure moved.

The dimly glowing green eye lenses that looked up at her revealed who it was, "That speech wasn't too bad. You practice that in your bathroom mirror?" snarked Black Cat with a hint of a smirk on her face.

"Every morning," deadpanned Sablinova with a small smirk of her own, eliciting a slight chuckle from the thief. "Are you ready Black Cat?" she asked seriously, her tone defaulting back to the mirthless, even accent she was known for. In reply, the cat burglar nodded absentmindedly, which caused Sable to frown in turn, distractions usually carried fatal consequences on the battlefield, and she was confident she knew what was distracting the younger woman. "The Marauder is stable," she alerted suddenly, "no real change in his condition, but he will pull through" she assured.

The tension seemed to vanish from the woman as she let out a relieved breath, "Thanks," she replied, trying to sound casual despite her body language. 'Hmming' in acknowledgement, Silver spun on her heel and took one step before she heard the Thief speak up, "Hey," she called, causing the mercenary to stop dead in her track and turn around, "for a stone cold bitch…you aren't so bad" finished Black Cat before deciding that was all she had to say and moving back to keep an eye out.

Snorting lightly in amusement, Sable turned back and strode off to resume her patrol, hoping that she had done enough.

* * *

_Cooper felt a few stray beams of sunlight fall on his face as he slowly came to, enjoying the feel of the soft sheets and softer skin pressed against him. The head of platinum blonde hair in his face and familiar taut curves signaled that it was Felicia acting as the little spoon. Matthew was more than happy to stay like this, but sadly it wouldn't last for very long. While he slowly trailed his finger up and down her body while he cupped one of her breasts in his other hand until he felt her slowly start to stir. "Mornin' stud," she purred as she snuggled closer to him and rolled over to face him._

"_Hey darlin," drawled the Texan in reply, "I could get used to this."_

"_I could too," admitted the thief as she gave him a small kiss, "but sadly, we aren't here yet. Rise and shine cowboy, we have work to do."  
_

* * *

Slowly, eyelids lifted to reveal bright blue eyes that took in the bare room that Matthew Cooper found himself in. Groaning as he felt his sore ribs flare up while he slowly forced himself to sit up, he craned his neck to see what was going outside the closed doors and the hectic scene outside. "Sonofabitch that hurt…" he ground out as he threw the sheet off and looked down at his bandage covered chest and swung his legs off the bed. Standing tall and ignoring the spike of pain from his leg and immense sensation of dizziness and lightheadedness as he made his way to his gear in the corner.

In what was the most arduous process the Pilot had in getting ready, he slowly got dressed in his battle worn gear. The compression undersuit was stained with his sweat and blood as he got into it, the tears caused the rough fabric to rub against his tender skin. Following that were his fatigues, the rugged and loose fitting fabric was encrusted with a thin layer of dirt and grime, beneath which, the distinct green color was clearly faded. Above that was the Dragon Scale armored vest, pieces chipped away and cracked, the kill marks on his back were worn while others were gone completely. Then the extremities for the exoskeleton were put into place, the dirty and darkened strips of usually deep blue finished metal took away its futuristic aesthetic. Following that were his various pouches and holsters for his multitude of tactical gadgets and weapons. His tomahawk, Data Knife, and Smart Pistol were all soon stowed as the Marauder pulled on his gloves and boots, affixing the arc knuckles before he strapped on his Jump kit, hearing the small pack hiss and hum as it came to life, power spread to his exo and arc knuckles as they came to life, leaving just one thing.

The Texan picked up the skull adorned helmet, running his hand over the name emblazoned on the side in script, trying in vain to wipe the grime off the words before attempting the same with the skull. Gruesomely, the eyepatch wearing skull with blood dripping from its open maw had been splattered with actual blood that Matthew couldn't remove. Looking into the dimmed x shaped visor, Cooper couldn't help but realize that he had come so far only to wind up fighting the IMC again.

Except this time, he had something to fight for other than himself, something that mattered. He had friends, a woman he cared about, and a home. If they were going to take those things from him, then Cooper was going to make them pay in blood. Really, this time, everything had changed. "Well, almost everything",he amended quickly as he slipped the helmet on as the HUD booted up, "I need a weapon."

* * *

The first sensation Mary Jane felt as she came to was the throbbing pain that filled her head, beating the inside of her skull like a drum as she brought her up to her head, feeling the large bandage wrapped around her forehead. Slowly getting her bearings, the reporter began to look around to find she was in the underground hospital as she remembered the Titan and being thrown back by the explosion. Outside, she could hear the sounds of the battle continuing to rage on as she slowly stood up, picked up her camera, and staggered for the stairs, making her way up slowly until she poked her head up into the main space. To her shock, she was met with a hellish sight, the walls the building were heavily damaged, holes blown in them or gashes ripped through the front. Debris littered the floor, rubble, bodies, discarded weapons and spent shell casings were all over the space.

But most stunning of all was the sight she could make out through her blurred vision on the outside of one of the holes blown in the side of the warehouse. The red clad figure darted into a white machine, slamming it into the wall and grabbing by the head before bashing it into the wall with such force that the head shattered completely. Spider-Man stepped back, only for the machine to swing a wild punch out that the Webslinger easily dodged before he picked the machine up and slammed it down on his knee, snapping it clean in two. A blue tracer slammed into his back, staggering the Webhead before he turned around and threw a punch with such force that his fist went straight through the robot before it too dropped down in a heap.

The next group that came up had Spider-Man jump up and spin around to deliver a kick in the head that knocked the head clean off, sending it sliding across the floor until it came to a stop not five feet from MJ. While he was coming back down, the superhero lashed out with a second kick that sent the decapitated machine back into its compatriot, chest caved in from the impact. It was a display of violence that she had never seen from Peter before. However, she didn't have time to dwell on it before a series of tracers shot over her head, forcing her to duck back down.

"Get back girl!" called a familiar voice as Gates slid to a stop next to her and opened up on the group of IMC soldiers that was coming in, rifle barking as the enemies fell rapidly.

But the reporter had to satisfy her curiosity, "What's going on?" she yelled over the cacophony of combat as the Pilot had to stop firing for a second to reload her weapon.

"IMC is pressing hard" she ground out as she jammed the fresh magazine home, "reinforcements are still an hour out, but we probably won't last that long" she admitted as she dropped the bolt and resumed firing. Pausing after a long burst, the glowing visor turned back to face the redhead, "you need to get back down there, it's not safe here and about to get a lot worse!" insisted the Pilot before Mary Jane found herself given a shove back into the safety of the underground field hospital.

Her first instinct was to ignore Gates, but after taking one step, she thought better of it, she made a promise to Peter she wouldn't do anything stupid, and this was a bit much, even in her eyes. Heading back down the stairs to the hospital, Mary Jane slumped against a pillar near the door and lifting her camera from around her neck as she began to idly scroll through the images on the viewer before the sound of someone coming down the stairs caused her to snap her head up to see Gates walking down the stairs she herself had just come down.

Now snapped from her little bubble, Mary Jane could hear the rhythmic sound of marching mechanical feet mixed with sporadic gunfire as Gates came to a stop over her and dropped the rifle she was holding right into the redheads lap. "What is this?" yelped MJ in surprise as she looked up at the 6-4 Pilot, "I'm a noncombatant."

The helmet turned to look down at her, Ain't no such thing today girlie," informed Gates as she then tossed down three magazines. "You know how to use that thing?" she asked as MJ nodded, terror now beginning to take root as adrenaline began to enter her veins, "Good. Anything comes down those stairs that isn't your boyfriend, you shoot it and keep shooting it till it stops moving. You got it?" asked the Pilot as MJ nodded again as she tried to pick up the rifle. But the weapon was covered in the sticky red blood of its previous owner as MJ dropped it instinctively, causing Gates to snap at her again, "You got it?"

"Yeah," confirmed MJ as she swallowed her fear and gripped the rifle tightly, going through the motions she had practiced with Cooper as she took a mag, lined it up, and rocked it back into place with a solid 'click.' She then pulled back on the charging handle, dropping it to chamber a round as she shouldered the weapon, "I got it." The reporter got a nod and grunt of approval from Gates before the Pilot turned away. Almost instinctively, the reporter tried to copy what she had seen the other soldiers do, crouching down on one knee so that most of her body was behind the pillar, though she was still tapping her foot furiously, betraying her anxiety. Without even realizing it, she found herself saying something she hadn't in a very long time. "Our father, who art in heaven…"

"Lady and gentlemen!" barked out Gates over the sounds of the firefight raging above them, "prepare to defend yourselves!" Letting out a shaky breath, Mary Jane tightened her grip on the gun as she recited the bits of advice the Marauder had given her like mantras, the lifelines that might see her through this. _Steady breaths, stay relaxed, firm grip, don't jerk the trigger, short controlled bursts. Steady breaths, stay relaxed, firm grip, don't jerk the trigger, short controlled bursts…_

A burst of gunfire behind her roared, echoing through the enclosed space as someone else opened up on another entrance, soon followed by more guns as the firefight broke out. MJ could see IMC coming down the main ramp, with both groups packed so tightly together, and at such close range, it was almost impossible to miss. Both men and machines were riddled with bullets and fell dead. "Grenade!" shouted out somebody else, causing Mary Jane to whip her head around to look over her other shoulder just as a man through himself down on the ground atop the explosive just as it detonated. His whole body lifted up as blood went flying, but the others were unharmed and resumed firing with increased anger in retaliation for their dead friend.

Eyes still wide from what she had just seen, the redhead looked back at her assigned entrance to see a pair of white clad feet on the steps and jerked the gun up as she looked down the iron sights. Soon those feet became legs, which became a torso, at which point MJ could tell it was a man in IMC white, squeezing the trigger, the AKM barked in her hands, pushing itself back against her shoulder as the muzzle climbed up and she fought to keep it on target. After dumping a third of her mag, she remembered the 'short controlled bursts' part of her internal chanting and release the trigger, blinking away the white circles in her eyes from the muzzle flash. The man she had been aiming at had been hit four times, neat holes drilled in his armor that were slowly dripping blood as he tumbled down the stairs and rolled to a stop not three feet from MJ, his head turning so his empty eyes were staring right at her.

At first, Mary Jane didn't quite connect the dots, but soon what she had just done washed over her like a tidal wave, making her sick to her stomach as she began to dry heave, fighting to keep her food down as she sunk behind the pillar. In front of her she could see everything as if it were in slow motion, both sides fighting furiously, the defenders just to stay alive, and the IMC to wipe them out. She could see wounded men desperately fighting with whatever they had, one older man stood tall in the middle of the room, bandage over one eye and an arm in a sling, pistol in the other as he calmly loosed single shots into the fray before he turned her way just before a bullet went through his head, snapping it back and causing him to drop dead. Seeing that knocked her from her stupor as she spun out from around her cover and cut loose another burst, cutting down the two men that were there as she felt her gun run out of ammo.

Shakily, she ducked back down and ripped the empty magazine out of the rifle before replacing it and leaning back out. But the threat came from her side as bullets slammed into the wall above her as she spun and shot wildly, cutting down the man where he stood before steadying her sights on the two behind him, blasting the second as the third hit the ground while clutching his arm. "Don't do it…" hissed MJ as the grunt went for a pistol on the ground, as soon as he picked it up MJ fired again, planting three rounds in the man's head that caused it to pop like a melon.

Able to hear the sound of approaching machines, MJ frantically jammed her last 30 round magazine into place. Poking her head out, she saw two massive red robots standing in the doorway as she opened up, the 7.62mm FMJ rounds from her rifle slamming into the lead STALKER as the other returned fire, red hot energy projectiles slamming into the pillar and passing by so closely she could feel the heat on her face as she focused on gunning this first one down. When it stopped moving she switched to the other target, roaring as she held down the trigger, the distance so close she couldn't miss as rounds pummeled the machine until it fell to its knees and slumped over, unmoving.

Gun empty and smoke pouring from the receiver, MJ looked up in horror to see a third STALKER in the doorway, the weapon in its hand pointed right at her as she screamed. The unfeeling machine stared down at her as Mary Jane felt her life flash before her eyes as she screwed them shut, but nothing happened.

Opening them cautiously, she saw the robot had its arm ripped off before the limb was slammed back down across the back of its head, causing it to fall to the floor as its assailant leapt up and spun before driving his feet through its chest, killing it. At the main entrance, a distinct red laser cut through the rest of the IMC forces as the room fell eerily silent and MJ got a chance to see the red armor and spider emblem her savior wore.

As the Wallcrawler came towards her, she fully realized the level of carnage that surrounded her as the rifle slipped from her hands and clattered to the floor. She could feel her eyes well up as Spider-Man, no, _Peter_ crouched down next to her and pulled her in close for a hug as she did the same, unable to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks, thankful the nightmare was over.

* * *

"This city is a fucking nightmare!" roared Blisk as he slammed his hand down on the table. Two of his Apex Predators were dead, though Crimson's body was missing, and he had lost almost 700 men and 1200 mechanical infantry as well as most of his heavy armor. "Bloody stubborn locals," he snarled as he pulled up the information they had gathered. There were three distinct groups, clad in white, purple, and blue. The white worked for 'Sable International', mercenaries he surmised, well equipped, trained, and damned effective. Further east, the Purple clad men had more conventional weapons, and were supposedly enforcers for a criminal named 'Fisk', why a criminal had sent his men to oppose the IMC was beyond Blisk, but they had proven tenacious. Lastly, the ones in Blue were the least impressive, but the Apex Predator had been determined to take the most direct path to his objective, and they were the furthest away.

He only had enough forces left for a single final push, he had expected to already be back home and cashing Marder's cheque by now, not still slogging it out in this godawful place. His first instinct was to send the attack against Fisk's men, but he paused at that thought. Not because of the purple clad gunmen, but the others with them.

When Marauder had told him of the 'special' individuals he had been sent to retrieve, the mercenary had been skeptical. But upon seeing the results of them, he decided that if he ever got the chance, then he would try to recruit them to join his crew. According to the information he had 'extracted' from a few of the captured enemy, they included a few 'mutants' who could call lightning and shoot lasers. Blisk would always prefer a gun or his knife, but his motto was 'If you kill them, you're better' and these 'X-Men' had been killing a lot of IMC troopers and pilots.

"Major," he barked, causing the white clad officer to snap to attention as the Mercenary rounded on him, "I want you to punch through here," he said, indicating the Sable International position that served as the center point of their whole line. If they could take that position, then the entire section would crumble and Blisk could get back on schedule. Thankfully, he still had an entirely fresh Mounted Cavalry troop of around 100 men with their combat vehicles, and he was allocating a Titan to enable them to break through. "Expect heavy resistance" he continued gruffly. The man saluted and turned as Blisk called out after him, "if you can't break through…then don't come back alive."

* * *

"_Irene. I say again, Irene!" _

"You hear that Deadly?" asked the man in the seat in front of First Lieutenant Miranda 'Deadly' Pelayo as she lowered the visor on her flight helmet, "Motherfucking _Irene_!" he shouted happily. Looking to her right, she watched the director, or 'yellow shirt' as he gave the signal to spin up. Coolly, Pelayo manipulated the throttle and the Collective as the AH-1Z Viper began to spin its propeller, the fully loaded attack helicopter soon began to gently lift off the flight deck of the _Makin Island _along with other Gunrunners from the USMC HMLA-269 as they lifted their machines off the deck and turned west.

The comms were relatively quiet as orders were given and as the sleek Viper gunships along with the bulkier UH-1Y Venom transports formed up to head for Manhattan. They were to clear the way for the Sea Knights that would follow, those transports would be loaded down with fully armed Marines. Of course, they also had clearance to engage any targets of opportunity, and 'Deadly' was looking forward to living up to her callsign. As the eight helicopters began heading out over the water, Pelayo heard the radio in her helmet crackle as a weathered voice filled her ear. _"Marines and Sailors of the _Makin Island, _this is Captain Evans" _began the commanding officer, _"we have officially begun combat operations against the enemy. I am honored to lead you all into battle. Good hunting, and god speed" _finished the Captain.

Looking out, Deadly could see the waves beneath her Viper, but also the 70mm rockets and Hellfire Anti-Tank missiles beneath the stubby winglets, "It's time to kick ass!" she declared with a viscous grin.

* * *

In her small corner, Felicia Hardy was thankful that she had been left in relative peace by the other troopers. While they were busy preparing in every way they could as pouches of ammunition and bandoliers of grenades were readied and weapons were checked, the Black Cat remained by herself in a self-imposed static silence as her mind was elsewhere. Behind the green lenses, her eyes scanned the street mechanically, the thief's unwavering gaze and attention for detail making her a formidable lookout. But she wasn't so focused on her task that she failed to be as attentive with her ears that she failed to notice the odd, almost stunned silence that fell over the room.

Lowering her PDW, she spun around and her jaw involuntarily dropped at the sight of a man braced against the doorframe and looking worse for wear. His gear was dirty, blood splotched, and damaged, and it was clear he was favoring one leg, but to Felicia, seeing the Marauder standing there was a welcome sight indeed.

So welcome, that before she realized what she was doing, her legs and stood her up and carried her across the room before she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tightly, embracing him and knowing instinctively that this was the genuine article as he slowly lifted his other arm and wrapped it around her waist until he suddenly hissed and groaned, "Darlin?"

"Hmm?" replied the Thief as she kept up her embrace.

"Darlin, I will never say this again but…" he began as she looked up at him, still holding him close, "but your tits are too big to be doing this with bruised ribs," he managed as she immediately loosened her grip. "Thanks, sorry 'bout that" he drawled weakly as he patted the front of his armored vest gingerly, "still hurt like a sonofabitch." They both shared a small laugh as he brought a hand up to push a wayward strand of hair back out of her face. "I'll make it up to you later," he promised in a throaty whisper, and she could just imagine the cocky smirk behind the helmet, one she couldn't help but reflexively match.

"You can try," she purred seductively as she pulled back finally, ignoring the stares of the others in the room. "But that's for later, ready to get back in the saddle cowboy?" she asked seriously, a hint of worry in her voice.

"That is irrelevant," interjected a stern and unyielding voice as they both turned to see the stoic features of Silver Sablinova staring right back at them. "He should not be up regardless of 'if he is ready' after the injuries he sustained. I do not know if he should be anywhere _near _an active combat zone."

"Bullshit," snapped the Marauder in a tone that told Felicia it was best to not be between him and the Symkarian. "I got the choice of either dying on my ass or fighting on my feet," snarled the Marauder in low tones as he took a slow step towards the Mercenary, "you know as well as I do that that isn't really a choice. So you can fight me on this…or you can just give me a gun."

There was a long tense moment as the two warriors squared off in a battle of wills before Sable nodded in understanding and unslung the .308 bullpup battle rifle and offered it to the Marauder. The Pilot looked down at the tan weapon for a moment before taking it with an affirming nod as the Symkarian began transferring the ammunition to the pilot as well. "Can you handle that rifle?" asked Silver seriously.

Smoothly, Matthew pulled the magazine out of the rifle, pulled the bolt back to see that the chamber was empty before sliding the curved clip back into place and yanking back the charging handle to chamber a round before shouldering the weapon and getting a feel for the ergonomics. In a matter of seconds, he lowered the gun and gave a small chuckle, "Yeah, I think I got it…" he answered confidently.

Before Sable could offer up some response, she pressed a finger to her earpiece. "Time to find out" she returned before drawing her twin energy pistols and spinning to address the rest of the room. "Looks like the IMC is making one more push! Stand to and dig in everyone!" she called out as the entire group sprinted towards the windows and peep holes, well, except Cooper. Felicia looked back just as he keyed his jump kit and flew past before sliding along the ground to the window next to hers as he promptly set up.

"Eager much stud?" she asked with a wicked grin as she came to a crouch, unable to resist teasing Cooper in an attempt to ease the tension.

In response, the Pilot merely flicked the fire selector from 'safe' to 'full' and tucked his head in behind the scope of the Russian polymer rifle. "Wait for it" barked Sable as Felicia could make out the first armored vehicles and dismounted soldiers making their way down the car lined street towards them, "Wait for it" repeated the mercenary to steady everyone's nerves. Felicia was unsure what exactly they were waiting for, but the IMC continued their measured advance unimpeded when the observant burglar noticed Sablinova holding something other than a pistol in one hand. With a look of resolute defiance etched on her face, the Symkarian slammed her thumb down on the button of the detonator, triggering the explosives hidden in and the cars on either side of the road. The IEDs exploded one after the other, rippling off in sequence as they sent shrapnel and shockwaves through the air, "Empty your guns!" roared the woman as she triggered both her pistols while every other soldier there followed suit.

It didn't faze Felicia that she was watching human beings killed, their death throes illuminated by the burning wreckage and first glimpses of predawn light, nor did it faze her when a rocket streaked up and slammed into the floor above them, shaking the building and dropping and bodies down in front of her. She simply found a target, took aim, and fired before repeating the process until her magazine was empty. At that point she merely ripped away and discarded the spent box and slammed a full one into the top of her weapon. Her brain absently noted that Sable left at some point to bolster the defense somewhere else, but that didn't matter to Felicia. All that mattered in that moment was that she was still breathing and that the man next to her was still breathing, she was simply doing whatever it took to ensure that didn't change.

Out of the corner of her eye, it was clear that the Marauder was similarly functioning on autopilot as he meticulously picked off anyone foolish enough to expose themselves to him. Already the couple had accumulated a pool of spent brass at their feet as they kept up the barrage. Felicia wasn't sure how long they kept that up, but as the pool got larger, and the IMC pressed in closer, it felt like they had been there for hours.

They were at the breaking point, with the slightest strike it felt like the defenders would fall to pieces. But this was the IMC, and where a pinprick would suffice, they brought a sledgehammer. Said sledgehammer soon rounded the corner up ahead, "The fuck is that?" wondered Cooper in confusion at the sight of a truly gigantic quadrupedal walker, spider like leg at each corner of the square base and a rotating turret mounted on top. The thing was almost five stories tall, a third again the height of BT, and it didn't take long for it to show its teeth.

With a high pitch shriek, the main weapon revealed itself to not be a cannon, but rather a rocket launcher of a size befitting such a massive mounting. The projectile detonated just before making contact with the building, the shockwave was so powerful that it blew a colossal 30 foot diameter hole in the wall, dead center. Defenders and pieces of wall were sent flying, and even if Cooper and Hardy were at the edge of the blast, they were still sent all the way to the back wall as dust and rubble came down around them. Those closer to the impact were not nearly as lucky, either killed in the explosion or crushed beneath the rubble as the floors near the epicenter began to crumble and collapse. "Holy shit," muttered Cooper as he took in the devastation, but already she could tell the blue visor had settled on the IMC machine, look for something, anything, that could be a weakness. "There," he said to himself before turning to the Black Cat, "I got an idea, cover me" he told her before stumbling and wincing in pain while clutching his leg, fresh blood darkening his gear.

"Oh no you don't," countered Felicia as she moved to steady him, "I'm not letting you die on me yet. What do I need to do?" she asked seriously. There was a tension, a pause as Black Cat was scrutinized by the glowing blue visor before the Marauder suddenly shifted.

Cooper bent down and removed one of the bandoliers of grenades from a dead Sable trooper and gave it to her. "You need to grapple onto that thing, pull one of those pins, and throw the whole thing down the barrel before jumping clear. I know it's crazy but…"

"Well then luckily for us both," she began as she drew her grapple gun, "I like crazy," she returned before she turned back to the walker that was now mere yards in front of the building. From her third floor vantage point, she was looking up at the machine as a plan began to take shape. Turning back, she blew the Pilot a kiss before firing her grapple and swinging from the floor as IMC troopers filled the air with lead in a desperate attempt to prevent her from carrying out the insane scheme. But she safely arrived just below the joint for the turret and hull and clung fast when she looked up to see one of the vehicles crew standing above her with a rifle and shocked expression.

Before she could react, his head snapped back and he fell forwards and off the edge as she turned back to see the green armored gunfighter offering her a quick partial salute as he turned his rifle to other targets and she began her ascent. Pulling herself up and swinging a leg over the edge, Felicia nimbly worked her way up the Hodge podge of stowed equipment and applique armor on the side of the turret as she made her way up and towards the front until she turned the corner before leaping out and digging her claws into the barrel of the stubby rocket canon. Just as she did, the turret turned while the legs dropped to lower the whole machine as she fought to hold her grip against the motion until she managed to swing one leg up and over the tube. With her distinct fluidity, balance, and grace, the Black Cat crawled on all fours along the top of the large cylinder until she reached the open end. Grabbing the edge, she elegantly did a handstand as she came down so that she was hanging in front of the muzzle while hanging from the top of hit as she unlatched the bandolier with one hand and placed it in the tube.

"NOW CAT!" hollered a familiar voice as Felicia turned to see Matthew standing right in front of the gun and her eyes widened behind her mask as she instantly ripped one of the pins off and shoved the entire ensemble down the barrel. Quickly, the Burglar brought her feet up so that they were pressed against the bottom lip of the gun and she launched herself off of it backwards like a swimmer starting a race. She made it about halfway before the fuse ran out and the grenade detonated as the energy device's extreme heat not only detonated the other grenades, but the 380mm rocket projectile in the breech of the gun, blowing the top of the turret sky high and hurling the escaping thief forwards with extra velocity.

Felicia braced for a hard landing only to slam into something a bit softer than a wall or floor as she lost almost all her momentum and fell to the floor along with her unexpected obstacle. Then the obstacle spoke in a total deadpan, saying "You really are a crazy bitch darlin."

"Like you'd have me any other way," retorted the woman in question as they turned to watch the entire walker keel over and collapse, but that didn't do much to deter the dozens of other soldiers from charging forwards, knowing that the defenders had been broken despite their heroic efforts. With grim determination, Felicia drew her sidearm as Matthew did the same when she heard a strange noise, "What's that?" she asked, causing the striped helmet to cock to the side in question, "That sound?"

But that sound was followed by an even more incredible sight; a rain of rockets came down on the IMC soldiers as a chaingun roared to life, spitting out a stream of tracers that swept from left to right, cutting down anything left standing after the initial barrage. "Who the hell is that?" asked Hardy over the symphony of destruction, "The Avengers?"

"Nah, even better!" shouted back Cooper as the destruction ceased and the source revealed itself. A sleek grey helicopter dropped down from above and came to a hovering stop just above them as it turned to allow them to read the name emblazoned on the tail boom. "It's the Marines!"

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook - __Vehicle: XRG-41 Sturmwanderer_

_The heaviest walking vehicle on the frontier, this is a dedicated assault platform made to break through the toughest defenses over the most difficult terrain. The recipe for this vehicle is simple, make a really big walker, cover it a ton of armor, and strap the biggest gun you can find to it. In this case, the IMC chose a 15-inch diameter rocket howitzer, the short stubby barrel means it can't reach out and touch someone with any sort of accuracy or reliability. However, what you do hit will feel it with up to over 250 pounds of high explosive packed into the shells. _

_60 tons, a third of that dedicated to armor, means that even Titans will struggle to take one down if you go toe to toe, but the place where these vehicles lack is mobility, both tactical and strategic. They are expensive, difficult to manufacture, hard to transport, and rarely used in their intended role since it is a situation that rarely appears. Their main use now is instead as a perimeter defensive unit and deterrent, their sheer size, imposing weapon, and thick armor seeing off most trouble before it even starts. _

_Now, while the Militia sees them as a serious threat, the are also seen as an example of corruption in the IMC beaucracy, no commander would want this kind of vehicle, want to put up with maintaining it, fueling it, transporting it, or anything else. But those thoughts start to matter a lot less when one of them creeps over the horizon at you, at that point your main concern is finding the biggest gun you can get your hands on. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: In case you didn't notice, this is the turning point in the battle and in an arc where momentum is key, then it should be easy to predict what is generally coming. If there was anything I looked to for this it was the 2002 film 'We Were Soldiers' starring Mel Gibson. The last section with Felicia and Matt went through a few different iterations before the 'Assault Walker' concept came into being. That was inspired by the old Sturmtiger, which was a German assault gun used at the tail end of WWII and the armament was the most obvious holdover. Also, any german speakers want to correct me on the name? It was the best I could make work with google. **

**The biggest back and forth I had was regarding Mary Jane's sequence and I am curious as to your thoughts. That whole section was taken from We Were Soldiers with MJ standing in for Joe Galloway. I debated between her fighting machines or grunts and wound up with grunts, this will affect her down the line, especially making her not as much of a near suicidal jackass. If you have thoughts about this or anything else, feel free to leave a review. **

**Next up is when the tide turns with a kickstart fighter launch, throttles set to full. Speed king, race to win with afterburners roaring, and launch a ghostlike Counterstrike.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	52. Chapter 52: Counterstrike

Author's Note: All properties are the rights o ftheir respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

I don't want to talk about the real world, I'm frankly sick of it.

**Blaze1992: At some point, you run out of space to fall back to, there are no more prepared defensive positions and it's just soft things you'd rather not have the bad guys touch. Things like field hospitals, supply depots, command and control centers, and eventually where the civilians were evacuated to. Yes, you can fall back in theory, but by that point it becomes less an organized battle and more of a large scale melee. I could have done something like this, referencing some of the fighting in the Pacific theatre where this happened, but chose not to. I wanted to have everyone make a heroic last stand and wanted the stakes to match that goal. Good to hear you liked the chapter title, though I always wonder how many people get my refernces since they are odd at best. **

This chapter was _this close _to being called 'Devil Dogs' for obvious reasons, but I decided to go back to Sabaton's first album, _Primo Victoria _once again. It will be the last time I go to this album for a while though. 'Counterstrike' won out because of the opening 20 seconds, the rapid fire drums and that first guitar lick pretty much nailed the feeling I wanted of a hard charging counterattack. The song is about the 1967 Six Day War, where Israel beat the armies of three of their Arab neighbors in less than a week in a textbook display of airpower and armor use. With French built Mirage fighters clearing the skies as British made Centurion tanks carved up Egyptian forces on the ground, the speed and momentum of the strikes ensured they went down in history.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 52: Counterstrike**

_Drive back surprise attack, Take the western wall_

_Next day make them pay, __Over river Jordan_

_Syria last in line, Head for Golan heights_

_Strike without a warning, __See the Syrian forces falling_

_Syria attacks_

_Israel crushed their lines of defense_

_Ruling Golan heights_

* * *

"Jesus..." muttered Sergeant Paul Jackson of the 'B' squad of the fourth platoon, 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company, United States Marine Corps as he looked out across the ocean towards the New York City Skyline just ahead. From his seat in the UH-1Y Venom, the veteran Marine could see the pillars of black smoke rising up as high as the Empire State, the buildings illuminated by the newly rising sun at their back. The entire group of some 20 helicopters was indeed approaching not far above wavetop level and attacking from the sun. Despite the surreal scenario, the stoic voice of his Lieutenant, a heavyset Devil Dog named Vasquez, spoke over the radio. _"Marines! Our mission is to link up with a group of defenders on the west side of the city," _he informed. The situation was still fluid, so the Force Recon platoons who formed the tip of the spear weren't given their individual assignments until they were already airborne, and this was theirs. _"We're going to secure a perimeter, link up with these guys, and then start pushing the IMC back. Oorah?"_

"_Oorah!" _returned the men and women of fourth platoon.

"_Alright, let's lock and load!" _ordered the officer as the Marines readied their weapons in full anticipation of going into a hot LZ.

"_Feet dry, ten seconds," _alerted the Venom Pilot as Jackson leaned out over the edge just before the pilot pulled the chopper up to clear the fast approaching buildings and came over dry land. Down below, the sergeant could see signs of fighting as they flew past, wrecked vehicles and buildings were present every few streets. About halfway across Manhattan was when the first few tracers came up at them. _"Taking fire," _alerted the pilot, his tone not changing in the slightest as he remained concentrated on keeping his bird straight and level, _"Stand by, 30 seconds."_

"30 seconds!" shouted Jackson as he held up 3 fingers, the seven other marines of his squad understanding the signal before the nose of the Huey flared up and came about as it steadied itself into a hover above a four way intersection. Once it was, Jackson saw a red LED turn green, their signal to get stuck in. "Ropes! Ropes!" he shouted as two large lines were tossed out the side of the helicopter. "Go! Go! Go!" barked the NCO as the Marines grabbed hold and slid down, fast roping right into the street as Vasquez and the other half of 4th platoon did the same one block over.

As soon as the Jarhead felt his boots hit the street, he unslung his Infantry Automatic Rifle and sprinted into cover. "Establish the perimeter! Double time!" he barked as he watched his gunner set up his machine gun on the hood of a car while others found any hideout that gave them a decent field of fire. To their backs was a fortified building, but it had definitely taken a beating, bullet and blast holes were scattered across the entire front side and the barbed wire out front was full of the dead. The entire street was a kill zone, and Jackson appraised that it would have taken some serious badasses to make this happen.

Needing to satisfy his curiosity, he rolled over one of the wrecked bi pedal robots with his boot, peering down at the bullet ridden bot with its box like head, exposed mechanics in the legs, and strange looking weapon lying on the ground next to the machine. When the briefing said he'd be fighting Terminators, the sergeant hadn't truly believed it, but all doubts were gone.

But something felt off, like he was being watched, and he realized what was wrong: the Marines were totally alone out here. "Lieutenant!" he called out, causing his CO to turn towards him, "any sign of the friendlies?"

"Negative sergeant," returned Vasquez, "take a fireteam and secure the structure!" he ordered.

"Oorah!" he called back before turning to the others. "Masey! Roycewicz! West! On me. Griggs, you have the con" he barked out before turning and sprinting through the gaps in the barbed wire and into the structure. Once inside they were greeted by a plethora of destroyed machines and dead men, and some of the uniforms took the marines by surprise.

"My god…" muttered one as they began to spread out, weapons up and at the ready as they pushed into the carnage, "These were cops. Hey is there anyone still alive in here? We're Marines!" called out Masey as the Devil Dogs slowly waded through the remnants of the storefront.

Then, a faint groan could be heard as the Marines stopped dead in their tracks and looked for the source, "Hey! Hey! Hey!" called out another marine as their heads whipped around, "I got a live one over here!" Sure enough, he dragged out a figure clad in a strange set of gear, and judging by the high tech features of the six lensed goggles and metal along the arms and legs, this one belonged to the IMC.

The other Devil Dogs instantly came to the same conclusions as Jackson, snapping their weapons up as the unknown was dragged out into the open. "HANDS UP! YOUR HANDS! SHOW ME YOUR FUCKIN' HANDS!" roared Jackson as he charged forwards, muzzle pointed right in the face of the unknown. He could see the person tense as the goggles fixed on him and he saw a flash of movement as the unknown grabbed the muzzle of his rifle and pushed back with more force than should have been possible, ramming the stock into his face before the weapon was ripped from his hands and tossed aside.

Then the right hand grabbed the Marine that had found it by the collar before a blue flash and 'hiss' came from their back as they flipped up and over the top of the stunned jarhead and came down behind him. By the time Jackson had drawn his pistol, the unknown had produced a wicked looking pair of blades and had them pressed to Masey's throat. A standoff developed instantly, until a commanding voice cut through the tension. "Knock this the fuck off!" barked a man standing in the doorway, "all of you."

Jackson registered the man was wearing a black Kevlar vest with a white skull on it, but all that mattered was the face he would never forget, "Castle?" he said in astonishment as the new arrival turned towards him, "That really you Frank?"

"Frank…" began the unknown, the tones of a woman surprising the Marines, "you know these guys?"

Castle nodded slowly, "That's Lance Corporal Paul Jackson, USMC FORECON. Met him in Kabul back in '09," he said, and the woman removed the blades from Masey's throat. He then pointed to the woman and explained, "she's with me, Captain Watanabe of the NYPD," provided the Punisher in his gravelly tones.

Watanabe unceremoniously released her human shield, shoving him forwards before cautiously retrieving a rifle and standing beside the vigilante. "What the hell happened here Frank?" asked Jackson as he eyed the pair, "We were told to link up with a group of friendlies defending this strong point."

"You're looking at 'em" answered Castle gruffly, "IMC hit us hard and we're the only ones left. The others are either KIA or WIA and went back to get patched up" he explained as he walked forwards, unslinging his own rifle. "Besides finding us, what's the op?" asked Castle, all business.

Jackson moved alongside the Punisher as Watanabe fell in behind him with the other Marines behind her, still weary of the NYPD Captain. "We got damn near an entire MAGTAF rolling in here as we speak. Problem is, we don't have clue number one as to what's waiting for us out there," he said, gesturing with his head towards the city outside, "we need to learn how to fight these guys."

"Learn, huh?" asked Watanabe in an almost mocking tone, "then you're in for a serious education."

* * *

Peter was in wonderment at the surreal sight of army tanks trundling down the streets of Manhattan, soldiers alongside as the tracks of the tan machine crushed the bodies of destroyed Specters under the tanks weight. Alongside him, Mary Jane had traded the rifle he had found her with earlier for her camera, and even if she hadn't said a word, he could tell she was still trying to process everything. Unfortunately, there was little he could do to help her, and in his own exhausted and mentally drained state he didn't have the words to make her feel better. The reporter continued to take pictures of the men and their machines when Spider-Man finally took a deep breath, break time was over. Pushing himself up as he turned back and offered his hand to the redhead, who took it after a moment's hesitation. "You sure you're up for this?" he asked cautiously.

"I…I need to see this through" answered the redhead shakily as she quickly composed herself, "try to understand what happened here." Peter nods, but can't help but be worried, he's never heard her sound so distant before as the pair begin to move forwards. They attract a few looks from the other troopers moving forwards, but if they objected to the reporter's presence, then the sight of a fully armored up Spider-Man seems to make up for it. Now, the pair are proceeding through the ground they had given up in pursuit of the retreating IMC.

MJ had her camera up, constantly snapping pictures as the tan clothed soldiers moved up the street, kicking in doors as they cleared the city block by block. Only Peter's sixth sense was uncomfortably quiet, after the near constant tingling to outright blaring he had been experiencing for the last day it filled him with unease to not have the danger sense in the back of his head. His whole body was still tense, read for the inevitable moment when the battle resumed.

Little did Peter know, but Cooper was already watching a battle play out right before his very eyes.

* * *

Not an hour after the IMC had turned tail at the sight of the USMC helicopters that now filled the skies, Silver Sable had regrouped what remained of her forces and shown up with a simple message. _"Rest and rearm while you can because it will soon be our turn." _Among their number, there wasn't one who hadn't seen combat at some point, and most all were tired, some were wounded, but there was one other thing they had in common. There was a certain energy, a fire radiating from the 350 or so gathered, a desire to strike back and even the scores. The focal point of those feelings was Sablinova herself, who had seen nothing but her men carried back on stretchers or body bags, who had been forced to retreat time and again in the face of overwhelming odds, and now she, more than anyone, wanted to take the fight to the IMC.

With that in mind, Matthew felt pity for the poor Marine Lieutenant who was trying to dissuade her from doing just that. "I have orders ma'am," he insisted, "this is now a US Military operation. I need you and your forces to withdraw from this area immediately." The Symkarian looked calm, but something told Cooper could tell there was a storm brewing beneath the mercenary's features, and that was saying nothing of the men gathered behind her.

"Who's your money on cowboy?" whispered Felicia from alongside him, the two were off to the side as they both resupplied ammunition from the reserves brought forwards by Sable.

Cooper took a quick glance over to the argument, "Her," he said simply as he went back to his preparations. He had been given his pick of captured IMC arms and had taken a G2A5 Battle Rifle and pair of RE-45 Autopistols.

He turned back to the Thief and saw her giving him a curious look, "Why her?"

The Marauder shrugged as he holstered the pair of autopistols and grabbed the G2, "Just a gut feeling. Sable's smart, stubborn, and doesn't know how to take 'no' for an answer," he elaborated before tilting his head in thought, "I wonder if those are things all platinum blondes have in common?" he mused, only to get a playful shove from the Black Cat as she strode past. Shaking his head, he followed her closer and went back to shamelessly eavesdropping on the conversation.

"…you need to listen to me! You and yours have done well, but amateur hour is over!" shouted the junior officer as he puffed out his chest pridefully. Behind him, Matt could see the shocked faces of two older looking NCOs as the took a step back, subtlety distancing themselves from the arrogant Lieutenant. The officer stepped forwards, getting right up in the Symkarians grill, "So you and your people can turn right around and get…the fuck…OUT!" he yelled, his temper clearly having run out before Sables.

For her part, Silver's expression didn't change in the slightest before she nodded, seemingly resigned to the situation, and Cooper reacted by tapping three fingers on her girlfriend's shoulder, then two, and then one. As soon as he tapped her for the third and final time, Sable's hands shot forwards and grabbed the M-4 the Marine was holding at his side and ripped it from his hand. Before he could react, the Symkarian rammed the butt stock into the devil dog's gut, causing him to double over before the mercenary spun and delivered a kick to the side of his head which, if he hadn't been wearing a helmet, would have given him a nasty concussion. As it was, the pompous ass just was knocked onto his back as he stared up wide eyed at the woman as she threw his rifle down next to him and stood over him, grabbing him by the collar. "Listen to me you nemnogoder'ma," growled the woman angrily, "my men have been fighting since the very beginning, this is _our fight_. We have spilled our blood and theirs before you even knew something was wrong and now you have the balls to tell us that we do not belong?"

The Lieutenant stared up blankly as he croaked an incoherent reply, which only prompted Sablinova to continue her thinly veiled tirade at the out of his depth junior officer. "If you think us so weak willed, so feeble, that we would relinquish our honor as soldiers so easily?" questioned the woman in a barely disguised growl before she relinquished the Lieutenant, slamming him back down against the asphalt, "As you Americans are so fond of saying: 'bullshit'" she snarled as she stormed back while Matthew smirked behind his helmet. "Major" she addressed as she approached him, causing the Pilot to reflexively stand a bit straighter, "what is your status?"

"I still got some fight left in me," he reported as Sable looked him and Cat over, grasping his arm to look at small wound where a piece of shrapnel sliced a small gash through his sleeve, the bandages that covered the wound visible beneath. In response, she patted him on the shoulder in a consolatory gesture that Cooper found oddly sincere.

"Good, you'll need it," she assured as she stepped back, "I think it is time to…how do you say…bring out the big guns?" she said, raising an eyebrow in question and getting a nod of confirmation in return from the Marauder. To his shock, Cooper saw an almost wolfish, definitely predatory grin appear on Sable's face, clearly, the Symkarian had been waiting for this moment. She pressed a finger to her ear, switching the channel as she hailed a friend from the Frontier, "Barker, do you read?"

"_Loud and clear," _returned the ACEs Founder with only a relatively moderate slur, which was the most sober Matt could recall hearing the old pilot. _"What can 'ol Barker do for the pretty lady?"_

Judging by the look on Sable's usually unreadable features, Cooper didn't know exactly what she had in mind, but he did know that he would probably like it. "Permission granted for Titanfall, say again, go for Titanfall."

There was a loud belly laugh over the radio, _"Wooooo Yeah baby!" _hollered Barker excitedly, _"now you're speaking my language." _A distant rumbling caused Cooper to look up as he saw the starship bearing his name, which was still surreal, decloak and move overhead, ventral bay doors open. _"Alrighty fellas this is it…STAND BY FOR TITANFALL!" _called out Barker with sheer joy. _"Heh heh," _he chuckled, _"I've been waiting to say that," _he admitted as a series of black objects fell from the Militia spacecraft, steaking towards the earth in what looked like massive fireballs as heat built up around them. As those gathered stared up in awe at the sight until another one came into view. It was a large dropship, complete with massive twin tail booms, so large that it barely fit in the intersection as it descended. Suspended beneath it was a 25 foot tall black bipedal robot, complete with a plethora of kill marks and a silver haired pinup girl on the side. _"Heya kid," _greeted Barker as Cooper got a good look inside the cockpit and who was at the controls, _"I'm serious about it this time, no more babysitting!" _he insisted as he released the clamps and BT fell from the dropship and to the street, _"now jump in your Titan and kick some ass kid!"_

With that, the side doors opened and the other Angel City Elites jumped out, wallrunning down the road towards their newly landed Titans before Barker pulled the drop ship up and banked it away, leaving BT there as the Titan stood. The Vanguard turned towards the Marauder as he walked forwards, relying on his exo to keep him upright. Even then, Felicia was keeping close and eyeing him wearily in case he stumbled. "Status BT?"

The Titan crouched down on one knee, "I am fully operational Major," reported the machine. "Structural integrity is above combat standard, power output is optimal, and all weapon systems are online" rattled off the machine, blue eye blinking in time. "Suggest you embark Major," finished the machine as the hatch opened to reveal the cockpit, cleaned from his last excursion to rescue the A-10 Pilot.

As Cooper took a breath and stepped forwards, only for a hand on his shoulder to stop him as he turned around. Without hesitation, the Black Cat stepped forwards, pressing her hand into the side of his helmet to find the key that opened the visor and breather before she immediately pressed her lips to his and gave him a deep kiss. After overcoming his initial shock, he returned it for a few brief glorious seconds until she pulled back and fixed him with a smile that made him a bit hot under the collar, "Give 'em hell cowboy."

With that, she hit the switch on the helmet and closed it back as she turned and strutted off to rejoin Sable as Cooper smirked behind his helmet. After he watched his knockout of a girlfriend walk off, he turned to his 40 ton walking tank and his smirk became a grin as he climbed up a leg and tapped the pinup art right on his favorite pair of Felicia's anatomical features before clambering into the Titan. Closing the hatch and feeling the neural link engage as the Vanguard stood and Cooper came to a realization, "God I'm one lucky SOB."

* * *

Leading a fireteam of Marine Force Recon, Frank Castle came to a crouch, holding a fist up as the rest of them followed suit. Turning back, he pointed at the Police Captain behind him and gestured by pointing up to a fire escape above them, then a fist in front of his eye, and pointing down the streets towards where he saw a hint of movement. Nodding, Watanabe moved away from the wall and jumped up, the blue jets on her back launching her up as she used her exoskeleton enhanced left arm to pull herself up and into the elevated position before using her rifle's optic to scout out what had caught the Punisher's attention. Even the stoic MARSOC operator couldn't help but crack a small smirk at the gob smacked looks on the faces of the other Marines as they watched the ad hoc Pilot in stunned amazement. _"Contact, looks like a mixed group, human and mechanical infantry, no heavy units," _rattled off the woman coolly.

Castle chewed that over as he considered his options, "How many?" he asked simply.

"_About 20. The machines are around the perimeter, eight regulars in the middle of the intersection," _explained the police officer as Castle mentally visualized the battlefield.

As he weighed the chances of the ten soldiers against the IMC group before turning to the man who was technically in charge of the scout group. "Your call Lieutenant," grunted Castle flatly.

Vasquez furrowed his brow and contemplated the situation before his features hardened, "Let's take 'em," ordered the Devil Dog. The Lieutenant grabbed his radio from his shoulder and spoke into it, "Griggs, move your squad up into the brown five story structure and set up overwatch on the second floor" ordered the Latino officer.

"_Oorah" _answered the NCO as he took the eight men inside the building and began to work their way up and through it.

"Watanabe, I want you to get as high as you can, don't be seen, and line up a shot,"ordered the Lieutenant as Yuri gave a simple click on her mic. Without another word, the Captain began ascending the fire escape quickly and quietly. "Move us up Castle, we're going to spread out across this road" he explained before gesturing towards the positions he wanted his men to take up. "Let's move it out" he ordered as the nine men on the ground dashed into cover across the whole street.

Castle found a car with its windows shattered and pressed himself to it before resting his M16 on the windowsill. Looking over, he nodded towards Vasquez as the Marine keyed his radio, _"Griggs, sound off. You in position?" _asked the Lieutenant.

"_Rah," _answered the Staff Sergeant as Frank tightened the grip on his weapon.

The Punisher let his sights settle on one of the nearby Specters, _"Watanabe, you got eyes on?" _whispered the officer once again, getting a singular click over the comm in reply, indicating that the woman was in fact ready. _"Okay, stand to Devil Dogs, we engage on her shot. Captain, fire when ready."_

After a heartbeat, Castle saw one of the heavier Stalkers stumble as the power pack on its back glowed and sparked dangerously and the humans dove to the deck just as the Marines opened fire. In a few short, furious seconds, the entire IMC force was cut down by the Force Recon troopers as they reloaded their weapons. "Shit, is that all they got?" asked one Marine with a LMG, "This is gonna be a cakewalk."

"Stow it," hissed the Punisher lowly, the older man keenly aware of what else the IMC had out there waiting for the platoon. Without another word, the vigilante stepped out from his cover and moved up to the corner before poking his head out to check up the street. With a quick hand gesture, four of the Marines darted across to the opposite side of the street and pressed themselves into cover as Vasquez made his way to Franks position. "How much further LT?"

The Hispanic Marine crouched down and pulled out his map, checking a street sign before stowing the paper once again, "Two more blocks," he answered before his brow furrowed, "we should have had more resistance by now…" he began before trailing off. Castle didn't offer a comment as the helmeted soldier shook his head and shouldered his rifle once more. Grunting in acknowledgement, the Punisher prepared to push forwards when his earpiece crackled to life.

"_Contact!" _alerted Watanabe as all the Marines tensed, _"unknowns coming in from the south, look alive people." _In response, both Frank and Vasquez looked ahead and could make out the silhouettes of something coming at them.

"Now we got their attention," muttered the officer as Frank agreed silently while Vasquez spoke into his radio, "Hudson, get your men inside," he ordered as the quartet across the street kicked in a door and swept through a building. "Castle, your point, clear us a path," ordered the Devil Dog as he gestured towards a door.

"Rah," acknowledged the vigilante as he turned and shoulder checked the door open, raising his weapon and sweeping the room to find it empty. "Clear!" he called out as the others filed in quickly, closing the door behind them as they all stayed low and out of sight. Each Marine covered an entrance point as Frank poked his head up to watch the scene outside. The IMC patrol came down to investigate the shootout, about forty in total if Castle had to guess. While that was bad, things were about to get a whole lot worse.

"The hell was that?" asked one of the soldiers as everyone else shot him inquiring looks, only for him to widen his eyes, "There it was again. You guys don't feel that?" he asked.

While the others continued to wonder what he was referring to, Castle concentrated and felt…something, looking around, he noticed a bucket for catching water leaking from a pipe above them and saw the surface ripple. "I feel it too," he whispered suddenly as he nodded towards the bucket. In Castle's mind, there was only one thing that could cause that sort of phenomenon. "Stay the fuck outta sight," he growled as the others seemed to heed his words and shrunk back as the shaking got more and more intense.

Eventually, Castle could tell that the shaking was in time with gigantic, one could say titanic, footsteps. The shaking got more and more intense as Frank looked up and watched the IMC troopers that had been milling about seemingly straighten and turn their attention towards the source. "Castle," whispered Vasquez, "what do you see?"

"Two big fucking Titans," hissed back the Punisher, and he wasn't exaggerating. These things were bigger than the Marauders. Each nearly as wide as the entire street and with a mad clown face painted on the front of the rounded upper section of one and the other painted blood red, cradling a massive gatling gun. He was aware that the others were stealing glances over his shoulder, but none of them were dumb enough to take too large of a risk.

"_No goddamn way," _said Yuri suddenly over the radio, _"I ran into the grey one earlier. Whatever you do…do __**not **__engage. He burned down half a block last time," _she explained as the others shrunk back from the window as the Titan came to a stop and the hatch opened of the red one.

Castle couldn't see the Pilot that emerged, but he could hear him address the troopers. "Oi, leave them," he barked out callously, "fall back to the tunnel. Turns out those Militia bastards were here helping the whole time and just called in their Titans. We're leaving this shithole!" announced the Pilot in a South African accent. "Psycho here will dispose of the bodies" finished the Pilot as he turned to address the clown faced machine, "and make it quick will ya? No time to waste" he finished.

"They're falling back?" said one Marine lowly, "Leaving?" he added, almost in disbelief.

"That's right you mothers" growled another, "run!"

"Not if we can help it Corporal," countered the Lieutenant as he pulled out his map and scrutinized it once more, "the Lincoln Tunnel," he said finally, "that's they're extraction route. We need to break off and call this in."

"Your long range radios won't work," reminded Castle, "we need a runner. Yuri?" he said into his radio, "you need to break off, find the Kid, Sable, anyone, and tell them that to get to the Lincoln Tunnel."

"_Is that all?"_

"Tell 'em to make it hurt."

* * *

Mary Jane ignored the glances cast her way by the soldiers as she stayed back and continued snapping off pictures. They had gone almost two hours without encountering even a hint of resistance. But instead of that being calming, it only served to unnerve her. She had always thought Matthew was crazy when he said that shootouts gave him a peace of mind, but now, compared to the terrifying anxiety of not knowing when the shooting would start? Now she understood how he felt just a little bit.

Beside her, it was clear that Peter clearly wasn't suffering from the same fears as he strode casually, waving jauntily at the tan camouflaged men and women who recognized him or even snapping a photo or two of his own with his smart phone. Seeing him strike a pose in a selfie with one Marine and take a picture of a landmark caused her to shake her head. Only Peter Parker could find a way to take his mind off things in the middle of an active warzone, it even caused her to crack a smile in the way that nobody else could, reinforcing the belief that giving him another chance was the right choice.

The rhythmic trundling of the massive tank at the head of their column ground against her ears, droning on and on, only to be punctuated as it crushed a taxi or destroyed IMC machine. Still, compared to the colossal vehicles the IMC fielded, it left something to be desired, causing MJ to feel a little uneasy about their chances if…or when the shooting started. They were continuing to push south, with the plan to meet up with another push spearheaded by Sable International and the Titans of the Angel City Elites around Central Park.

However, her anxiety soon went away, as she suddenly felt herself thrown off her feet, the wind knocked out of her as an armored form slammed into her and two strong arms wrapped around her as she was forced to the ground. Vaguely, she registered the sound of an explosion before she was slammed into the ground and rolled across the concrete until she came to a stop, staring into the glowing blue eyes of the Spider Armor mask as she saw a fireball in the background and time seemed to speed back up as she fought to get air back in her lungs. Her ears were still ringing as she looked past to see the lead tank burning as the crew frantically climbed out the top hatches, only for the ammunition to explode and throw them, as well as the entire turret, into the air as another shockwave slammed into her. "AMBUSH!" yelled out one of the soldiers as they opened fire, shooting any anything and everything in the confusion.

MJ tried to bring her camera up, but Spider-Man was quicker, lifting her up with ease and carrying her as he put his shoulder down and brute forced his way into the building and set her down gently. "Sorry," apologized Peter, having to yell over the gunfire outside, "are you okay?"

The redhead just stared at him with pure incredulity, while she was flattered she was his main concern, he really needed to get his priorities in order. "Me? I'll be fine," she snapped back, "get out there!" she ordered.

He hesitated for a second until there was a monstrous crash outside, "Stay safe," he said before turning and sprinting outside, leaping up into the air as he crossed the street in one fluid motion. The Wallcrawler lived up to his moniker, clinging to the wall effortlessly before firing a webline and flying down the road as MJ poked her head out of the doorway. Her worst fears had come true, one of the massive tracked IMC battle tanks had bulldozed through a warehouse wall, it's massive array of weapons being turned onto the Marines.

On cue, one of the main guns fired, the explosion showering MJ in debris as she was smacked in the chest by the reverberating shockwave and stumbled back. Looking out into the street as her vision cleared, the reporter saw a Marine laying out on the street, screaming in pain as she held the bloody stump where her left leg had been. Without thinking, Mary Jane poked her head out before swallowing her fear and dashing into the street, grabbing the woman by the straps of her body armor and dragging her back to her hideout. Shockingly, the Marine pulled out her sidearm and began firing back defiantly while MJ grit her teeth, ignoring the 'snap' of bullets passing by much to close for comfort.

Somehow, against all odds, the two made it back inside the storefront without taking any more hits, MJ propping the wounded woman up against the wall as 'Nurse MJ' took over in her mind. Taking the Marine's rifle, she removed the sling and wrapped it around the wounded leg, just above the knee. "This is gonna hurt" warned the reporter calmly as the Marine nodded and grit her teeth as MJ tightened the sling as much as she physically could around the wounded leg, "There, that should stop the bleeding."

"Th-thank you," croaked the Marine as she winced again when she tried to move her leg, convincing her to not try that again. But Mary Jane never heard her, instead, she was focused on the display outside, moving numbly towards the window as she raised her camera to document the spectacle.

The source of that spectacle was Spider-Man, who had landed on the tank after having dodged through all the bullets and shells. He now had to figure out just how to take down the metal monster. Moving his way up to the top of the turret, he tried simply to punch through the roof, "Ow!" he yelped as she shook out his hand, "That armor's harder than the Rhino," he muttered as he looked for an alternative. "Okay spidey, got to be smart about this." Unlike his heavily armored foe, the tank couldn't be tripped or tangled up, nor was there any momentum to misdirect.

But as the tank began to trundle forwards, he knew he had to do _something_ to stop this thing. Jumping down to the engine deck, he punched down into the exhaust vents, bending them before he used his strength to rip the cover off before he started peeling back the armor plate before his sixth sense began to blare in warning as his head snapped up to see the massive gun turret begin to traverse. Reflexively, Peter let his body throw itself down on the engine deck as he rolled closer to the turret ring to get under the tanks weapons.

Lying on his back, he looked up as he saw a white armored trooper emerge with a pistol, standing on top of the turret and looking down at the Webslinger before the superhero reacted, firing off a webline and yanking, pulling the man down from his perch as he drew his knees to his chest and extended his feet up. The wallcrawler planted his feet squarely in his foes chest before throwing him off the tank. He could sense something as he looked 'up' to see that the IMC tank had advanced into an intersection and sitting on it's flank, waiting for it, was a tan American tank. The 120mm smoothbore cannon of the Marine Abrams fired, the armor piercing sabot round slamming into the side of the hull, causing the IMC super tank to come to a halt as the electric drive motors powering the sprockets were destroyed.

But the IMC machine still had its guns operational, and there was little chance the smaller Abrams could survive a single hit. As the turret swung around and one of the barrels was about to pass over him, Spider-Man sprung into action, coming to his feet and slamming his hands against the barrel, he put his super strength up against the hydraulic turret drive as he grit his teeth and willed his feet to stick fast and push back. But while it felt like he struggled for hours, in reality it was a few seconds before he felt his knees buckle and he gave up ground. Summoning the strength for one final effort, he let out a cry as he lowered his shoulder and threw his whole body into holding back the gun for the 8 seconds it took the Abrams crew to reload their weapon and fire again.

As soon as the second 'Silver Bullet' hit the side of the tank, cutting through the armor like a hot knife through butter, Peter's Spidey Sense kicked into overdrive. Telling him not just to get away, but to _**get the fuck away right now. Now god damnit now! **_He snapped off a webline and shot off as the tank exploded, a massive blue fireball erupting as the exotic fuel cell detonated spectacularly. The explosion knocked him violently off course, tossing him like a rag doll as he belly flopped onto the street and rolled along the black top until he came to a stop.

Staring up into the sky, he vaguely heard something until the face of his favorite redhead appeared in his vision. "Peter? Peter can you hear me?" she asked, her voice sounding muffled and distorted while Peter tried to figure out which of the three MJs he was seeing was the real one. "Say something!" she begged.

Instead, the merely groaned incoherently until a thought began to form, "Next time…Cooper deals with the tanks."

* * *

"_Marauder! Destroy that hostile armor!" _ordered Sable over the radio as Cooper, currently piloting BT-7274, reloaded the 25mm XO-16 chain gun while taking cover behind the corner of a building. As soon as the canister locked into place, Cooper guided the Vanguard out, carefully stepping over the troopers taking cover behind the same building. Once in the street, he raised the machine's left arm, a circle of swirling blue light emanating from BTs hand as the Vortex shield caught every piece of ordinance that came at him.

Without fear, the Renegade Pilot pushed forwards, squeezing a button on one of the joysticks, the Titan lurched forwards as the dash thrusters flared to life, closing the gap even further. But the move had put him practically right on top of the IMC as he threw the gathered ordinance in the Vortex Shield back at the enemy. Any exposed infantry were cut down instantly as he then turned his attention to the tank. While the Paladin would usually be a formidable foe for most things, against a Titan it was now outmatched.

Cooper trained his aim down and loosed a salvo of rockets that slammed into the corner of the vehicle, destroying the track as the tank spun as it tried to reverse away. Seizing the initiative, Cooper worked his way around the flank and jammed the barrel of the gun down onto the engine deck and unloaded the entire drum of 25mm into it, shredding the section as a fire broke out and the tank began to burn. Turning back, Matt waved the others forward with a massive mechanical hand, "It's clear! Let's go!" he called out as he reloaded the gun yet again.

As the Sable Troopers came forwards, his radio crackled back to life, _"Hot damn kid, you still got it. Just remember to leave some kills for my guys, okay?" _called Barker as the Marauder smirked behind his helmet. With five Titans leading the charge, they had made blistering progress and were already coming up on Central Park.

"Have them go find their own." retorted Cooper with a grin, turning to see that he hadn't outrun his infantry support, he once again moved forward steadily, the chain gun barking out short bursts to suppress any IMC opposition. A flicker of red caught his eye, the warning light coming to life as someone was trying to 'paint' his Titan with a lock on weapon. "I'm spiked!" he called out as he spun around to look for the source just as the light went from a dull glow to a rapid, angry flashing, ordinance was inbound. The Vortex shield came up and caught a barrage of missiles as the Pilot narrowed his eyes at the source, a Brute. "Contact! Hostile Titan at 2 'o clock!" he alerted as he threw the missiles at the machine to force it back into cover and brought the XO-16 back up.

"_Terminate with extreme prejudice Major," _snarled Sable, that being all the clearance Cooper needed to push the Vanguard into a dead sprint to closer the gap. The IMC Pilot came back around the corner and raised his quad rocket, getting one shot off that impacted BTs shields before the Marauder lowered the Titan's shoulder and used the thruster pack to slam into his foe. The smaller Titan stumbled back as Matt unloaded the entire cannister of 25mm High Explosive Incendiary into the Brute at point blank range, shredding the lightly armored Titan. Remarkably, the machine was still standing as Cooper pressed the attack, slamming into the wounded Titan with the bulk of the XO before following up with BTs fist. The force of the impact shattered the hatch as he ripped the Pilot out and crushed him, turning him into a red paste that covered the Vanguard's mechanical hand.

But he wasn't out of the woods just yet, reloading the XO once again, he started to return to the park when he saw a flicker of movement and reflexively dashed back as a massive electrically charged broadsword carved through the air where he had been and cleaved into the street. Cooper's eyes widened; he did not want to fight a Ronin in such close quarters, with his Leadwall and Broadsword, the IMC machine could rip him to shreds. His mind went a million miles a minute as he thought of a way to get out of this. Dropping smoke, he back pedaled as he readied the Acolyte missile pods, the weapons growling in his headset as they looked for their target.

Sure enough, the Ronin burst through the electric smoke at full tilt as the missiles locked on and were unleashed, forcing the enemy Pilot to either eat a shitload of missiles or slow his charge to raise his sword to block. In his mind, self-preservation won out and he did the latter, lowering his Leadwall and drawing the broadsword as the blade was brought up to block a majority of the HEAT warheads, thought two snuck through as it was now the Marauder's turn to go on the attack. Moving the stick forwards, BT responded smartly as the Vanguard lurched around Cooper, chain gun blazing.

But the Ronin driver had his own trick up his sleeve, swinging his blade as he unleashed a wave of pure arc energy that crashed into BT-7274, staggering the Titan as the systems shorted, screens scrambling as Cooper was blinded. Guessing, he dashed left as his screens came back to show the sword had come down where he had been. Taking one step forwards, he leapt up and slammed his left fist into the Ronin, knocking it back before he charged, stowing the XO-16 on his back as he picked the Ronin up and slammed the smaller Titan into the ground before the Acolyte pods came back up and unloaded straight into the face of the Titan until it was a smoldering wreck.

Guiding the machine back to its feet, the Commando Pilot turned back to Central Park, reaching the edge of the park when he heard a pained scream over the comms and turned to see one of the ACE titans getting its face melted off by a Scorch, the Thermal Shield turning the armor to slag as it melted, the screams of the Pilot filling the comm channel as his machine liquified around him. But Cooper could tell by the paint scheme that this was no ordinary Scorch, and Cooper knew deep in his gut that this was an Apex Predator. "Alright, come and have a go if you think you're hard enough," snarled the Marauder as he squared up to the Scorch.

Cooper strafed left, unloading the XO-16 as the shields of the massive Titan shrugged off the rounds as the flame faced machine raised its own weapon and fired. On seeing the flaming thermite projectile arc through the air, the Renegade SRS Pilot dashed back to the right only to see a cannister of flammable gas land at his feet as the Scorch raised its right fist and slammed it into a ground, sending a wall of fire straight at him and the gas. Cooper dashed to his right again until he was up against the buildings he had just emerged from as the Scorch closed in, thermal shield up to protect himself.

As the Apex Predator closed the gap, having boxed Cooper in, the Marauder searched desperately for an opening when he saw a trio of streaks fly in from his peripheral vision. The rockets slammed into the Scorch, causing him to lower the Thermal Shield for a split second, which was all Cooper needed. Closing to melee range as the Scorch tried to bring the shield back up, Matt effortlessly reached out with his Titans own hand and wrapped it around the massive forearm of the Ogre chassis and directed it upwards as the shield came to life, causing a dim red glow to be cast over the view on the displays as the two Titans, and their Pilots, were eye to eye.

On the cockpit hatch, Matthew could make out the name of the Pilot, or at least his callsign, _'Psycho'_. Gritting his teeth, the Texan brought his weapon up and emptied the rest of the chain guns magazine into the Apex Predator at point blank range, but the heavy armor weathered the storm as the rounds exploded ineffectually on the plate. Moving faster than a machine that size had any right to, Psycho dropped his T-203 thermite launcher and slammed a powerful right cross into BT, throwing the smaller Vanguard back and knocking the XO away, opening up the Marauder.

Only the machines other gauntlet smoked, the projector for the flame shield having overheated and opening him up as Cooper looked for a way to counter. Grinning, he reached out with BT's hand and picked up a taxi before standing once more and heaving the car at the Scorch. The impact of his improvised weapon enabling him to follow it up with a much more powerful kick that sheared the armor off one of the larger Titans legs as Psycho tried to bring his freshly cooled Thermal Shield to bear. "Not today," growled Cooper as he dashed forwards, getting behind the clumsier enemy as the bright red circle of fire came to life, nicking the shoulder of BT. Ignoring the damage, Cooper brought his machine about and reached out, wrapping both hands around the flame shield wielding arm.

With all the might he could squeeze out of his Titan, Cooper squeezed, steel fingers closing like a vice as the armor of the Scorch buckled and cracked before the Flame Shield projector was crushed completely, the weapon fizzling out as the Ogre leaned into the smaller Vanguard. It didn't take long for the Scorch's heavier weight and strengthened hydraulics to start to overpower the Militia machine. In the corner of his eye, Matthew saw the other massive metal hand come down as he instinctively turned and the blow knocked him to the ground.

But he reacted fast, eying the damaged leg as the Acolyte pods came up and he fired an unguided rocket salvo that shredded the exposed mechanics. As Psycho tried to step forwards to finish him off, the damage leg gave out and the Titan toppled over, falling to the ground as Cooper stood over his vanquished foe. But the Apex Predator was determined to not go quietly as his arms came up, summoning more thermite as the flammable metal oxide glowed ever brighter. "Enemy core activation detected, advise immediate action," warbled BT warningly.

Cooper's action was to plant one of his Titan's feet on the Ogre's shoulder as he wrapped his hands around the raised arm and savagely ripped it out from its socket before swinging it like a club on the battered Scorch. The impact knocked the hatch away to reveal the Pilot inside as Cooper grabbed the other, still attached hand, glowing with thermite fueled heat, and rammed it into the Pilot, turning him to ash in seconds. "Scratch 3 Titans," he reported over the comms as he retrieved his lost weapon.

"_Good work Marauder" _replied Silver Sable, _"but we have more work to do. Our next objective is the Lincoln Tunnel, you have point."_

"Solid copy," he replied as he rejoined the rest of the group. But in his mind, he knew what was coming. Reaching out, he ran his gloved fingers across the card with the Apex Predator emblem on it, "Let's finish this."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Anti-Titan: Archer Heavy Rocket _

_While many at first glance would call this thing a 'bazooka,' the Archer has very little in common with the 1942 vintage M1 rocket launcher that was the first weapon to bear that moniker. The Archer is a two stage rocket which is how the tube is so short, since it is initially a short burst of air gets the projectile out of the tube before the rocket motor ignites. With its advanced guidance system the short tube doesn't matter at all, the heat seeking guidance system makes the weapon fire and forget and features a toggleable 'top attack' mode for use against Paladin main battle tanks and other similar vehicles. For Titans, the longer travel time makes that mode almost useless with their greater mobility._

_With the lack of some fancy top attack ability to exploit an armor weakness, the Archer has to rely on a massive warhead packed into an equally massive 5 inch diameter rocket. This size allows for a variety of warheads to be fixed atop the rocket, from anti personnel, HEDP, to what has gone down as the 'Titan Hammer' which is a shaped charge warhead that fires a stream of molten plasma that will go through almost any armor on the frontier. _

_Such power comes with serious drawbacks, it's presence ensured that all Titans have advanced EW suites that can detect if the machine is being targeted by the Archer and there are plenty of countermeasures to use against it from electric smoke, to vortex shields, to a well timed dash. But despite all this and nearly four decades of use, the Archer still is a common sight because nothing punches as hard as this high-tech RPG. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: Yes, the USMC squad is a reference to CoD4, right down to the intro being heavily inspired by the mission 'Charlie Don't Surf.' There was supposed to be a section featuring 'War Pig' but that got cut sadly, I just didn't like how it flowed and the whole idea was this being a fast paced chapter. But other than that, there isn't a whole lot to mention, an odd Halo 2 reference here, having the IMC Paladin imitate the King Tiger in World at War there. I do wonder what everyone thinks of Silver Sable, since I don't have a lot to go off of and am kinda making it up as I go along. If you have any thoughts on her or anything else, then feel free to leave a review. **

**Next chapter, in the gloom the gathering storm abates and gimlet eyes await, the call to arms to hammer at the gate, to blow them wide and throw evil to its fate at the end of The Longest Day.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	53. Chapter 53: The Longest Day

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respetive owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

In an effort to be positive this week, I will be cautiously optimistic about Star Wars: Squadrons.

**Blaze1992: ****There are a lot of reasons for this, first of all, getting from his position at the turret ring all the way out to the end of the barrels would have taken time he didn't have. Even if he did get out to web up one, the Paladin, for some stupid reason, has two barrels. If that isn't enough, then I am assuming that tank ammunition in the future is still somewhat similar to the modern equivalents. In that case, you do not fire explosive or even HEAT ammuntion at a tank like the Abrams with it's TUSK kit and Chobham armor, you fire what is eloquently named an APFSDS round, basically a big steel or depleteed uranium dart with absolutely zero explosive content. I know that the webs are strong, but a modern shell can punch through roughly 20 inches of steel armor (though the exact value is classified) and one from the future would no doubt be capable of greater penetration, so I am dubious about webbing up the barrels being of any use whatsoever. **

It's been a long time coming (probably too long), but we finally have an Iron Maiden song. I like and respect Iron Maiden, but I'm not sure I could call myself a fan of theirs. But if you haven't heard any IM, then please, for the love of Eddie, do not let 'The Longest Day' be their first song that you hear. As a song, I have a _lot _of problems with it, mainly that it lacks punch to an almost criminal degree. This is a problem with the whole album _A Matter of Life and Death, _and as a whole, the album isn't strong. If you want to listen to good Iron Maiden, then you got lots of options. For albums, I'd give the slightest edge to _Piece of Mind, _but _Powerslave _is an ever so close second. If that's too much and you just want songs, start with 'Aces High,' 'Hallowed be thy Name,' 'Wrathchild,' 'Run to the Hills,' and my personal favorite, 'The Trooper.'

So how did a song I am very 'eh' about end up as the title of this chapter? Well, it wasn't originally, at first it was 'You're Going Down' by the Sick Puppies, but upon a second think I wanted to keep the war theme going. With this being the final bit of fighting, the climax, I wanted an epic song, and when it comes to 'epic' you can't do better than Maiden. 'Aces High' and 'The Trooper' were considered, but I wanted a true Maiden epic in terms of length as well as something a bit more grim. This song, with it's lack of the usual Maiden punch, fit that vision, a haunting opening and grit to the whole thing, with just a touch of hope in the chorus, captured the mood and atmosphere I like. Once you've heard actual good Iron Maiden songs, give this one a listen and decide for yourself, or not, your choice. No matter what you do, it's time to Up the Irons!

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 53: The Longest Day**

_The world's alight, the cliffs erupt in flame_

_No escape, remorseless shrapnel rains_

_Drowning men no chance for a warrior's fate_

_A choking death enter hell's gate_

_Sliding we go, only fear on our side_

_To the edge of the wire, __And we rush with the tide_

_Oh the water is red, __With the blood of the dead_

_But I'm still alive, pray to God I survive_

_How long on this longest day, __'Til we finally make it through?_

* * *

"And here I was thinking Manhattan traffic couldn't get any worse," muttered Mary Jane as Peter chuckled at the comment. The pair of them had managed to hitch a ride atop a Marine APC for most of the journey, and all it had cost the admittedly broke Webslinger was a selfie with the vehicles commander. They hadn't encountered any more IMC forces since their close encounter with the tank, and now, after three hours, they had finally managed to cross the Island and were now about to enter the Lincoln Tunnel…along with what felt like every other one of the nearly 6000 troops opposing the IMC.

Their LAV-25 had been idle for almost a quarter of an hour at this point, and was just one in the sea of desert tan Abrams tanks, other eight wheeled armored vehicles, and Humvees were all in the same state, clogging the streets as irate Devil Dogs shouted curses up and down the street. "Well, look on the bright side" returned Peter as he turned to look at the reporter, "as least they have better manners than cabbies," he quipped.

"You're goddamn right we do" returned the LAV commander before turning around and shouting "Come on you sons of bitches! You wanna live forever?" up the street. The two New Yorkers shared incredulous looks as someone further up yelled back another expletive filled response that caused both of them to sit back down and rest their backs against the back of the gun turret and attempt to simply wait it out. It seemed that progress was slow, a typical gridlock only with more heavy armor.

Soon, a familiar heavy stomping began to echo through the buildings as the massive bulk of BT-7274 merged around the corner with a few lighter vehicles in tow to join the bottleneck. Spidey raised his hand and waved jauntily at the titan along with Mary Jane, unable to not crack a smile behind his mask as BT raised its left hand and returned the gesture. Though the webhead spotted another familiar figure as Silver Sable emerged from the lead vehicle and signaled the Militia Machine as the two marched forwards, Peter watching as Cooper carefully guided the 40 ton mech down the street. Though his attention was equally split amongst the various Jarheads who watched the Vanguard Class stride past with a mix of shock and awe. Never able to resist a good photo opportunity, MJ snapped a picture of the LAV commander staring slack jawed at the Marauders Titan. The reporter then turned back to the Wallcrawler as BT continued his trek forwards, "Can you give me a lift up there? I can sense something noteworthy is about to happen."

Behind the Spider-Armor mask, Parker raised an eyebrow, not at the request, but at the word of choice. "Oh, so _you _can just _sense _those kinds of things now?" he teased as they both stood up and he wrapped an arm around her waist and she wrapped one around his shoulders.

She returned a playful smirk, "I can," she asserted, "it's my superpower," quipped MJ as Peter raised his left hand and was thankful he had been able to stop by one of Cooper's safehouses and restock his webbing before firing off a webline. The two flew above the gridlock and saw the source of the issue, just like so many other days, was a bit of careless driving. One of the desert camouflage Strykers had rolled up a car and toppled over, laying on its side in the middle of the intersection.

Dropping MJ off on the third floor of a fire escape overlooking the scene, Spider-Man turned and told her "I'm going to go down and see if I can help," before promptly swinging off to street level at the same time as Cooper and Sable arrived on the scene.

Unsurprisingly, the Symkarian was in her element and barking out orders immediately as she arrived. _"Atten-shun!" _she snapped, causing all the marines to drop what they were doing as they snapped straight and looked at her, but before they could object to the woman not actually being their superior, she continued. "Alright, here's what is going to happen! Marauder! Get that thing back on its wheels and out of the way over there!" she commanded bluntly before turning to the Devil Dogs and a Humvee that had crashed into the unfortunate armored vehicle. "You lot! Get that one over there and clear the road!" barked the woman fiercely, tone brokering no argument as the Titan complied with her words, roughly grabbing the LAV and rocking it back onto its wheels.

As the large machine turned back and looked at the static troopers, singular blue eye staring blankly at them until they were spurned to action. "Come on boys! You heard the lady" barked a particularly fast thinking NCO, "double time it Devil Dogs! Quit pussyfooting around and put your backs into it!" The Titan unceremoniously shoved the damaged armored vehicle up onto the curb while the Marines busied themselves manhandling the Humvee up over half the curb so the incredibly wide vehicle stuck out no farther than the other vehicles parallel parked on the sides of the road.

Deciding to make himself useful, Peter leapt up and flipped over the top of the crushed car before firing a pair of weblines and using his superhuman strength to yank the destroyed vehicle out of the road, getting a nod of approval from the mercenary. "Marauder!" she barked out as the Titan Jockey finished his assigned task, "Disembark. I need to use your Titan to give me a perch," she ordered. Amusingly, BT returned a thumbs up before crouching down on one knee in front of the Symkarian and opening the hatch as the Marauder dropped out. "Stand here BT," ordered Sablinova as the Vanguard complied and placed its left hand down, palm up, on the pavement.

Cooper, weapon in hand, approached his friend as Spidey pointed back at the Titan, "You're actually let someone else use BT?" he asked as the Texan looked over his shoulder. "Never thought I'd see the day."

"That?" he asked as Peter nodded dumbly while Sable clambered into the hand of the Titan and was then slowly lifted up so Silvers head was on level with the blue eye. "I know you don't think much of her but trust me on this. A wiser man than I once said that _'When they're in trouble they send for the sons-of-bitches.' _Well, Osborn decided to cut the middleman and went and got himself a cold hard bitch to clean up the mess. Now, I'll never say this again, but…" he said before looking around and leaning in closer, "based on the last 72 hours I think he made the right choice."

Peter watched in mild amazement and amusement as the silver haired mercenary pointed towards the lead Abrams at one corner and beckoned it forwards while holing up her other hand to order the other waiting vehicles to stop. "Look alive people, get moving!" she barked out as the vehicles trundled through the intersection. "Alright hold it, hold it!" she screamed as she brought that first group to a halt and ordered one of the others forward. "You there, get that thing moving, come on!" she ordered.

"I didn't think it was possible," muttered Peter as he watched the columns of Marine vehicles slowly be brought through the intersection by a Symkarian mercenary standing on the palm of his friends 40 ton war machine, "but this scene has gotten even weirder."

Cooper chuckled inside his helm, "You can say a lot about this life, but is sure is full of surprises," he agreed with his cool drawl, though the fatigue in his tone didn't go unnoticed. Even still, something, God, fate, or the ever reliable Parker luck, decided that he had to be proven wrong. As the vehicles progressed through, another familiar face, or rather facemask, joined them. "Captain," greeted the Marauder as Yuri, still clad in the loaned Wraith kit, joined them.

The NYPD officer pulled up her mask to reveal another tired face, though with the corners of her lips turned upwards as she addressed them, "Marauder, Spider-Man, glad you two are still with us."

"I still need to make sure you find a date for the policeman's ball," quipped Spidey, drawing a chuckle from Cooper. Even more shockingly, the usually stern Watanabe cracked a grin at the remark. "Though Yuri, I wanna know what you think our Symkarian mercenary's performance as a traffic warden?" inquired the wallcrawler lightly.

The trio shared another round of chuckles, a brief moment of levity amidst the near constant stress they had been under. "All I will say…" began Yuri, "is that if this whole 'gun for hire' gig doesn't work out then I'm sure I can find a place for her."

Not long after, one of the Marines showed up and took over traffic duties as Sable was lowered, thanked BT, and moved to return him to his Pilot. "Spider-Man, Marauder, Captain" greeted the woman curtly, "I think it is time to finish this."

The ever-quick witted Spider-Man was, unsurprisingly, the first one to speak up. "Took the words right outta my mouth."

* * *

Descending one of the many narrow stairwells of the _Yorktown_, Colonel Nicholas Joseph Fury was on his way to find the Avengers and make sure they were ready to get into action and give them an update on the situation they would be going into. The SHIELD Director had ordered the helicarrier move at flank speed and engage the IMC immediately upon arrival, fuel and ammunition level concerns be damned. His sources in New York continued to relay updates at fairly regular intervals and he had a good grasp on the situation, almost too well.

Fury had been in the game long enough to know that he didn't have all the answers, nor could he. But he could surround himself with the best and brightest he could find, and chances were that between them, they would at least have the ones he needed. Fury had tasked his most trusted subordinate to see what he couldn't, and it was Agent Maria Hill's report that was the main prompt of this trip belowdecks. "Hey cyclops," greeted Stark as the billionaire looked out from his workshop, part of his Iron Man armor disassembled before him, "if you came to bask in my genius, you're a bit early. How about you come back in say…15 minutes?" suggested the egotistical playboy.

Fury suppressed a sigh as he let his one good eye roll, "Not interested," he returned flatly, "Agent Romanov, where is she?" he asked with the tone of an order.

"Armory," supplied the Master of Machines as Fury grunted in acknowledgement and spun on his heel, proceeding deeper into the bowels of the ship, taking a moment to investigate what each member of the superhero team was up to.

Banner was poring over data in the lab and so engrossed in his work he failed to notice the Director's presence. Further down the hall, the God of Thunder was on the phone, his booming voice allowing Fury to hear his side through the door, _"Of course I am well Jane…Yes, yes, I know" _he continued, the eye patch wearing man presuming 'Jane' was Jane Foster.

The remaining three of Earths Mightiest Heroes were in the Armory preparing their respective weapons. All were dressed in body armor and tactical gear, with Agent Barton dialing in the sights on his custom bow, Captain Rogers was, unsurprisingly, polishing his iconic red, white, and blue circular shield, and Agent Romanov was meticulously inserting 9mm rounds into Glock 26 magazines, a dozen others already stacked neatly on the table. "Director Fury," greeted the super soldier stoically as he immediately snapped to attention.

The two agents ceased their preparation and looked up at the former Army Ranger, "As you were," said Fury, "we're due to be on station in two hours; word on the ground is that the Marines have arrived and are winning. Doesn't look like they're waiting for us either so I've authorized a quinjet to get you there ahead of the _Yorktown,_" he informed. "It's being fueled up in Hanger C, I want you wheels up in thirty minutes."

"Yes sir," responded Rogers quickly, "Barton, go prep the jet" ordered Captain America as the archer slung his quiver over his shoulder and collapsed his bow before leaving the armory. "Let's go get the others Romanov," finished the Living Legend as he placed his iconic shield in the holder on his back.

"Not so fast Captain," interjected Fury, "I need to borrow Agent Romanov for a few moments." The First Avenger looked to the Black Widow and got a nod in return before the Captain saluted Fury and followed Hawkeye out, leaving just the Director and Agent. "I have something else for you Romanov," began Fury as he pulled out his personal phone and began explaining what Hill had told him. "It has come to my attention that all of my New York sources have been compromised," he revealed coolly, "in some way, each and every one of them is connected either to Oscorp or the Mayor's office." At the same time, his phone projected the list and highlighted the relevant information for the benefit of the redhead, "Osborn has been feeding them, and as a result, me, inaccurate information."

"So, we have no clue what we're actually walking into?" asked the Russian Operative.

"Not quite," corrected Fury, "the latest reports are based on Marine traffic, they're accurate. But it does mean that our perception of the overall situation is…potentially inaccurate." The Director gauged Romanov's reaction as the Agent merely connected the dots Fury had laid out for her. "I need you to make contact with possible alternative sources," he revealed as the Black Widow raised a singular eyebrow in question.

Fury flicked his device to reveal who he had in mind as Romanov's eyes widened at the first picture, "Marauder?" she blurted out in near shock, "Director, surely you can't be serious."

"I am serious," affirmed the Colonel before adding, "and don't call me Shirley," with a ghost of a smirk as he disabled the hologram and pocketed the device. The Black Widow rolled her eyes as she prepared to argue only for the ex-Ranger to hold up his hand and explain himself to the superspy. "Yes, I am desperate, but we know the Marauder, the good and the bad. That, and we know he isn't under Osborn's thumb, probably the furthest thing from it, and _that _is what I need right now."

* * *

Above the forces on the ground, the Wind Walker soared through the overcast sky, she had been scouting ahead for some time, making sure to use the clouds for cover and avoid detection. _What do you see Ororo? _Asked Professor Xavier over the telepathic link he shared with the female mutant as she continued following the retreating IMC forces.

"Something is _off_" she said aloud, just as much to herself as to her old friend, whom she knew could hear the words. Everyone she tailed arrived at a park and vanished into thin air not long after. Storm circled the park, looking for any sign of IMC forces leaving but came up empty when her the air itself began to prick at her skin before the sensation faded as soon as it had arrived. _The air here is…unnatural_ she thought. The Master of Mother Nature was keenly familiar with what the Earth was capable of, and this feeling was not within that envelope.

Summoning her own powers, her eyes turned blank white as the air crackled around her, electro static charge accumulating far beyond its natural limits as Storm gathered more until she unleashed it all in one massive, angry, outburst. Lighting erupted in the clouds around her, immense heat and light washing over her as yet more bolts formed, seeking out anything that might attract the unfeeling bolts and striking it with great vengeance and furious anger. The effects were instantaneous as dozens of small drones fell to the ground, the cloak field they were projecting dropping to reveal a massive IMC facility hidden in plain sight.

It was a testament to the logistical might of their foe that they could have built such a construction in such a short space of time, but now that it was exposed it was only a matter of time. An unexpected sound pulled her from her introspection, the crackle of static in her earpiece before words broke through. _"…Anvil 1-4 to waypoint Oscar, break. Consolidate and prepare for immediate reattack. Be advised…." _Visible in the middle of the camp was an antenna, the top of which was drooping as a bit of smoke slowly wafted upwards, _the source of the jamming _realized the X-Man.

_Excellent work as always Ororo _intoned Professor X calmly, _rejoin the others, I believe our work is almost complete._

* * *

At the tip of the USMC Spear was a salty old Devil Dog who had traded out his eagle, globe, and anchor for the blood-spattered white skull that covered his chest. Along with the FORECON platoon, the Punisher had continued to stay hot on the heels of the retreating IMC in a pair of commandeered six wheeled trucks. They hadn't come across any enemy resistance since exiting the Lincoln Tunnel, not even any of those expendable robots Frank had seen thrown at them were left behind as a tripwire for the approaching onslaught.

That hadn't meant that Castle and the rest of 3rd platoon had a difficult time tracking the retreating enemy, the path they were taking had already been programmed into their vehicles navigation and that was what they were following. From the passenger seat, Lieutenant Vasquez checked that navigation system, "Pull over here Castle," he ordered as the Punisher complied, "we'll go on foot." Parking the massive truck and turning it off, Castle grabbed his M16A3 and a rocket launcher he had acquired from a dispatched IMC robot before he jumped down to the street as the rest of the Leathernecks fell in. The platoon spread out along the side of the buildings all the way to the corner.

"Lieutenant," began Frank, "permission to take point?"

"Granted," grunted Vasquez as Castle raised his rifle and rounded the corner and advanced up the street until he took cover in a doorway as one squad of eight Marines crossed the street before both columns advanced forward. Four more blocks and Castle could hear…_something_ in the distance when he felt a tap on the shoulder and came to a crouching stop. "What's up there Castle? What are we walking into?" asked the officer.

The Vigilante wracked his brain, he was near the Marauders old place that was down on the water. "North Hudson Park I think," he answered as he thought of the best way to approach the park, "we need to go right and pick up JFK, that'll take us to the southeast corner where there's a condominium complex that would be a good OP." The Force Recon Platoon wasn't there to fight the IMC, they were the eyes and ears of those behind them and setting up an Observation Post was at the forefront of their priorities.

"Then that's where we go," responded the Leatherneck, "take us there, Castle."

"Rah," answered Frank as he did just that, signaling to the other squad they were hanging a right before getting an acknowledgement back and leading them there. Arriving at their destination, they could see the beginnings of the fortifications at the edge of the park. "What the fuck?" muttered the Punisher as the Leathernecks moved off the main streets and into the back alleys to remain out of sight. Arriving at the locked back door, the others watched as Frank bashed the lock off with his rifle and kicked the door open before the platoon ascended the stairs.

23 flights later, the exited into the hallways, "One fireteam per room, breach and clear," ordered the CO as everyone stacked up outside various doors in the northwest corner. At the ready, Frank watched as Vasquez lifted his boot and unceremoniously kicked the door open before the others rushed in, "Clear!" called out the LT. "Marines! Set up spotters in the windows and establish a perimeter! The Corps ain't paying us by the hour, let's go!" he barked out.

But Castle was already pulling back the curtain to take a look at what was awaiting them in the park below. "Holy shit," said the Punisher in a state of shocked awe as he took in the heavy fortifications of prefabricated walls and pillboxes around the forces inside. Most incredibly was the massive swirling light atop an equally massive dish like device in the middle. The contraption was easily visible from his perch as a pair of smaller white jeeps drove into the light and it flared before disappearing to reveal they were both gone as the light began to reform. "We found how the IMC are getting out of here."

* * *

"_Titans up front, you boys are the spearhead," _grunted a Marine Officer, the image of a craggy and wrinkle ridden face filling a box in the corner of Cooper's HUD as he guided BT-7274 towards the last IMC bastion in New York. _"You'll have Marine infantry and armor in support. The President has nixed any CAS in the vicinity of the 'Gate' so we'll be doing this the hard way." _That last bit of news caused the Marauder to let out a sigh of relief, if that 'gate' was anything like the Arc that sent him here then the prospect of bombing it brought back bad, planet cracking, memories.

Pushing those aside, Cooper looked down at the Humvees behind him and the mixed force of USMC and Sable International troops manning them, with Felicia, Peter, and Yuri all in there somewhere. With a mere thought, the display zoomed in to show the outline of the IMC wall, seeing a few titan weapons set up in automated mounts on the prefabricated defense that could be problematic. More concerning was that the ground between the edge of the park and the wall was completely open, a perfect killing ground. As the counterattacking force emerged from the buildings, Cooper brought BT to a halt, holding up a fist to cause the others to do the same. "Unless we take out those guns we aren't going to get any closer," he called out.

"_You have the Com Major," _replied Sablinova in her heavy accent, _"all Sable forces are ready to attack on your command."_

She wasn't the only one to recognize the nature of the situation, _"Ah what the hell," _slurred Barker, _"boys, do what the kid says. I got a bottle of moonshine waitin' for our victory!"_

Matthew couldn't suppress a chuckle as he surveyed the situation and took a deep breath to collect himself before he flipped is comm channel over to 'all' and spoke. "Everyone listen up! We are here for one reason, not to defend, or to attack, but to _eject _an enemy that barged in here like they owned the place. Eject them from our city, our country, our _planet" _he called out. "We're going to go over there and put a boot up their ass to kick them the fuck outta here!"

Taking a moment to let his words settle in, the Marauder began assigning targets. "Titans, put all your heavy ordnance on the gates and clear us a path" he ordered as he got a round of acknowledgements back from the three other Pilots. "Tanks, your targets are those weapon emplacements, turn them to dust, pick your targets. After that…we charge, launch smoke and advance. Infantry, group up, use the vehicles for cover and spread out once inside the walls. Clear the place room by room."

Once again, a round of acknowledgements rolled in as everyone steeled themselves and shook out any jitters as they readied their weapons. Missile pods extended upwards as seekers sought the targets painted by the laser designators of the Titans. Meanwhile, Abrams gunners switched to IR and assigned targets amongst themselves. Outside the armored beasts, infantry huddled together behind their mobile cover, each bracing in his or her own way for the oncoming storm.

After a few moments of tense silence, Gates radioed in from the cockpit of her Ion. _"All ready Coop, we are green and very, very mean" _assured the 6-4 Pilot.

The Marines were the next to sound off, _"Confirm Major, hostile fortifications at range 5-0-0 yards. HEAT is loaded, targets acquired, ready to engage on your word sir" _rattled off a Marine Officer swiftly.

"_Don't even bother asking punk," _grumbled the Wolverine without care, _"just quit fucking around and let me kill something already."_

Cooper allowed himself a brief chuckle before his features turned dark and his eyes hardened behind his visor. "Alright this is it everyone! Weapons free, light 'em up!" he roared as he slammed his thumb down on the red button that unleashed hell.

* * *

Silver Sablinova swore she could cut the tension in the air with her combat knife, but it was not that particular instrument that accomplished such a feat, but rather ones that were many times more deadly and infinitely many times louder. The missile pods on the backs of the Titans erupted, fire spitting out the rear as their weapons leapt from the tubes and streaked into the air. A scant second later, the smoothbore guns on the tanks thundered in unison, the report shaking her to her core as the recoil kicked up dust all along their front. Peering through the grit, she could see explosions all across the IMC walls, ripping and twisting them as once formidable weapons were reduced to scrap. A moment later, the missiles descended, burrowing into the walls and even the ground beneath before detonating. The results would have been terrifying if she had been on the receiving end, instead, they were beautiful. Entire sections of durable metal were blown out or support columns crumbled, causing entire sections to buckle and teeter on the brink of collapse.

"Prepare to advance!" she roared out over the handful of echoes that reverberated through the air. After a moment, she could feel the ground tremble as the Marauder took one step forwards in his Titan and the distinct 'pop pop pop' of smoke grenade launchers followed. No sooner did the white obscurant start to fill the air than the IMC responded, what remained of the defenses spewing tracers back at them, rounds pinging uselessly off the tanks armor or skipping off the asphalt. Despite the fire, the Marine tankers began to trundle into the killzone. "Forward! Clear the way!" barked the Symkarian.

Behind them was a second wave in APCs, including Spider-Man, Black Cat, and some of the X-Men, it was up to them to open up a path inside the IMC base for them to follow up. Sable had refused to be a part of anything other than the first assault, and even if there was only this one eight-man squad of her troopers in the attack, she would be the one to lead them. Her honor demanded that she be nowhere other than at the very front, and her being would accept nothing less. She had been a mercenary for most of her adult life, she had been around the world, meet interesting people, and killed more than her fair share. But no other contract she had ever worked gave her the same feeling of satisfaction she had as she trudged forwards through the ground churned up by the tank tracks.

To her left, the Marauder fired his machine gun in short bursts back at the IMC as the Marine Tanks chimed in with their own machine guns, all of them continued their slow advance towards the smoke screen. But the IMC weren't going to sit idly by as the wall of steel bore down on them. As soon as they breached through the smoke wall, they were met with a salvo of RPG fire as rockets slammed into the Titans, barely slowing the bipedal machines before one was launched at a tank to Sable's right. The resulting explosion rocked the ground as the turret was thrown up into the air, the fireball that ensued enveloped the Marine squad behind the tank as they desperately tried to put the flames out, flailing uselessly.

Her breathing hitched before she regained her senses and whipped around to the other white clad troopers with her as they too watched the scene, "Keep moving!" she barked out, snapping them from their trance. The Marine tankers sent their reply, the 120mm guns spitting out retribution as more high explosive packed shells gouged out gaps in IMC defenses. As the distance continued to close the fire picked up, but Silver grit her teeth and hunkered down behind the Abrams until they reached the wall. The Marauder's Titan extended up its box like missile pods and unleashed another salvo of weapons on the defenders. BT then lifted a massive metal foot and kicked the mangled wall as it collapsed in on itself to open a way into the base.

Ignoring the rounds that were flying at him, the Marauder stepped over the rubble and into the base, chaingun blazing away. "Get going _sooskin,_" she growled as the Abrams driver spooled up the turbine engine and pushed forwards, "Over the top! Clear the hole!" barked out the Mercenary as the tank climbed up the twisted remains of the wall and crashed back down to earth. The infantry followed it through the gap as Sable darted into cover behind a barricade and prepared to finally make an impact in this fight. Poking her head up, the Symkarian took in the battlefield before her and came up with a plan. Seeing that the heavy armor was pushing forwards past the first layers of defenses and stopping short of the large open marshalling ground.

Silver's keen eye spotted that they might have over extended, between the wall and that marshaling ground was a handful of small pyramidal bunkers. "That structure, there!" she yelled out, though it was only by lip reading and her hand signals that the seven other troopers understood. As they advanced on the bunker, the Sable troopers prepared to enact their trained tactic for such scenarios, 'Blowtorch and Corkscrew.' A designated Sapper placed a breaching charge on the wall as the others covered him. "Fire in the hole!" called out Silver before the charge was detonated, thermite lined detcord ignited, flashing bright as it burned at over 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit and melted through the metal. After the metal powder, fuel, and metal oxide mixture burned out, the Semtex plastic explosive in the center of the charge detonated, blowing out the metal. With the blowtorch having carved their way in, it was now the turn of the grenadiers to apply the corkscrew, tossing in a pair of Sable developed 'Nine Banger' stun grenades.

Nine explosions popped off in rapid succession from each of the two devices, but these were more than mere flashbangs. They also emanated an Electro Magnetic Pulse to shut down any electronic devices, further putting the screws to anyone on the receiving end. The squad burst in afterwards and Sable's eyes used the resonant light from the grenades to make out the silhouettes of several Stalkers hunched over, stunned by the pulse. Without hesitation, they opened fire, planting energy rounds into the heads of the robots as they collapsed to the floor. "Clear!" called out one of the troopers.

As quickly as they breached, the Sable squad moved to the exits as Silver scanned the battlefield. The Marines were likewise clearing the other bunkers, but that wasn't the most incredible sight, that honor went to the Wolverine, claws extended and slicing through the hardened bunker before gunfire shot out in response. The X-Man ignored the rounds that hit before he dove into the fray, carving up the machines inside.

While the last holdouts were cleared out, the IMC regrouped on the far side of the marshalling yard. They weren't the only ones however, looking the other way, Sablinova saw the second wave of Marines, Sable Troopers, and heroes enter the base. Crouching under cover, the Symkarian reloaded her Havoc rifle during the lull in the fighting. "Ma'am!" called out one of the troopers, "Hostiles approaching!" Snapping her head up, Sable saw a half dozen Reapers emerge, hands raised and glowing a dull blue as they opened fire on the Marine tanks.

* * *

Seeing the new threat, the Marauder dashed right, bringing up the vortex shield to catch a volley only for a second to slam into an APC that entered the base and cause it to burst into flames. "Fuckers," snarled the Marauder as he threw the caught ordnance back, ripping up the ground on impact and throwing earth through the air. But the Reapers were unfazed by the firepower arrayed against them as yet more of the machines appeared and they all charged headlong in to the Titans, Tanks, and infantry that had broken into the base. Matthew raised the 25mm chaingun and began to unload on the nearest charging machines, shredding one before transitioning to the next until the magazine ran dry. But one of the Abrams gunners fired, the 120mm APFSDS round tore the 'head' of the Reaper as it fell forward.

As the renegade Pilot reloaded the XO, the screens lining the cockpit broke up with static as he spun around to try and see what was happening outside, _"Alert," _warbled the mechanical monotone of BT, _"ener…uctuations de…ted." _The interference continued to worsen before there was a flash of blue light through the static before the sensors returned to normal. _"Pilot, energy spikes increasing, continued use of 'gate' device could result in overload. Calculating…potential energy output of 54 terajoules, if overheated the resulting blast will…"_

"Wipe out the damn city," finished Cooper as his mind raced as he looked at what was still between them and the 'gate' before realizing that whoever was in charge, their plan was to throw every mechanical unit they had at them to buy time to escape. They couldn't brute force their way through the IMC, but thankfully they had other options. Keying his radio, the Marauder cut through the chatter, "Spidey? Cat? Wraith? I need somebody to find the control center for the 'gate.' They're running it hot and if they melt their power core down it'll flatten the city. Find it and shut it down, shut it down _now_!" he ordered.

"_Major, this is 1st Lieutenant Vasquez, Marine Force Recon" _grunted a marine over the radio, _"we got eyes on, there's a dome structure on the east side of the dish," _relayed the commander of fourth platoon from his vantage above the battlefield.

Cooper turned east and saw it, and several problems. "The one with the three titans around it?" he asked before he realized how dumb of a question that was, "of course it is" he muttered. "Gates, on me! Spidey, Cat, Wraith, hop on!" he barked out as the 6-4 Pilot strafed towards him and he heard a few thunks on the outside of the Titan.

"_Friendlies attached to the hull," _intoned the Vanguard Titan flatly.

"_Alright, we're on," _said Peter over the comm, _"take us there skitch." _

The Titan Jockey shoved the sticks forward as BT lurched, Matthew was careful to keep his face towards the majority of the incoming fire, using the bulk of the Vanguard class titan to shield his passengers from as many of the rounds as possible. Awaiting them were two IMC Tones backed up by a Scorch. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't engage in a full on Titan battle with his passengers, "Gates, take point" he ordered curtly, "does anybody see a good drop off point?" he asked.

As the 6-4 Ion fired a laser shot that staggered one of the tones, Cooper heard Felicia speak up over the comm, _"Behind that guy who got hit, window!" _called out the thief as the Marauder found it. Instantly, the missile pods came out as two rockets were loosed on the window to clear a path. With the opening made, Cooper keyed the dash as BT surged forwards, and he threw a punch to knock the staggered Tone away before spinning the Titan and bringing up the Vortex Shield as he backed up to the opened window.

"_Friendlies have left the hull," _reported BT as Cooper saw the wounded Tone as well as the Scorch both approach as Gates engaged the second Tone.

The Marauder dropped the Vortex Shield and raised the XO-16 as he stepped forwards, "Alright," he snarled, "let's _dance_."

* * *

Yuri felt the jump kit on her back throw her up as she soared through the opening before hitting the cold steel floor and rolling into a crouch as she drew her revolver and scanned the blank room she found herself in. Behind her, two more pairs of feet landed, "Nice place," commented Spider-Man, "love the 'evil empire' vibe these guys have going," he quipped weakly. The Cop rolled her eyes as she traded her pistol for her rifle as Spidey looked back at the two women, "I'll take point," he offered.

"My hero," drawled the Black Cat dryly before they heard a crash behind them, and the Thief cast a look through the opening to see the Marauder engaging the IMC titans outside.

Yuri could see the worry on her face before it was quickly replaced with one of determination and she readied her own PDW. "Spidey, get the door," ordered the NYPD Captain, "I'll cover our backs, now let's go!" she urged as the Webslinger fired a pair of weblines at the door and ripped it open as the massive metal panels slammed into the floor before the trio moved through.

Working their way through the hallway, there was a startling lack of resistance until they reached the end and could hear voices on the other side, "Let's introduce ourselves, shall we?" offered the masked platinum blonde as she extended her claws and went to work slicing the control panel to open it up and expose the circuitry behind it. Within a few moments, she had rewired it until the control panel flashed from red to green with a small 'beep' before the doors slid open.

Spider-Man was the first to act as he caught sight of two Specters and fired a webline at the head of each and ripped them off their feet before catching them by their heads before slamming them down and crushing the heads on the ground. Cat fired her grapple into the ceiling and swung across the massive room that took up most of the entire dome, spraying the other machines lining the catwalk that encircled the room with her P90. Watanabe moved out onto the catwalk and brought her rifle up to take aim at the remaining machines on the platform several stories above the floor.

The Webslinger leapt up and flipped through the air before unleashing a massive barrage of webbing that peppered the men and women working the controls below as well as the floor and many of the consoles. Yuri and Black Cat finished the machines on overwatch before descending to the floor next to Spidey, webbing covering most surfaces as she had to work to pry her boots from the sticky goo. While the initial attack had neutralized most of the IMC personnel, they weren't completely clear. Yuri saw a partially webbed up Stalker shamble out from behind a console as she planted three bullets in its chest while closing the gap until she leapt up and extended the ripper blades from her left gauntlet. With a single stroke, she sliced the head clean off the robot as it fell flat on the floor. Across the room, Black Cat found herself going toe to toe with two grunts, dodging as one charged her and planting an elbow on the back of his head before she ducked a punch from the second before extending her claws and slashing him right across the face, partially blinding him before the first recovered. Rolling, she wrapped her arms around his leg and gave it a savage twist that caused him to howl in pain and fall to the floor as she drew her grapple gun and fired it at the second. With a deft flick, she reversed the line to pull the grunt back to her as she got to her feet and jumped up to deliver a viscous bicycle kick that connected with his chin that caused him to be knocked out as cold as the steel floor he landed on. Spidey dispatched another grunt with much less effort but no less grace as he leapt up and fired a pair of weblines before somersaulting and throwing the man clean across the room.

"Blowing your load early again Spider?" asked Black Cat coyly as she began to look through the consoles that littered the space, "Always ending the fun so soon," she teased breathlessly.

The webslinger however, was having none of it. "Later," he replied curtly as he made his way through the rows as if he knew where he was going, Yuri following him close by until he came to an abrupt halt. "This is it" he said with a certainty the cop didn't expect as he looked down at the web covered controls while Yuri sent a glare his way. "Uh…oops," he mumbled lowly as a deeply irritated Black Cat shoved him aside and began cutting away the webbing, "So how are we going to actually turn it off?" he asked as he stared at the 'lockdown enabled' text on the freshly revealed screen.

Yuri lifted her leg and reached down to remove the Data Knife she kept in her boot before flipping the blade around before sliding it into a slot that seemed designed for the device as the blade cracked the security. After a few seconds, the blade clicked as the holographic projection turned blue and the lockdown ended before she withdrew the knife and stepped away. "Ok then" deadpanned Spider-Man as he stretched his hands and cracked his knuckles before getting to work on the controls, but because this was Spider-Man, he felt the need to narrate himself for some unknown reason. "Super advanced future computer software for operating an interdimensional gate uses an OS that runs like windows 7," he commented as he continued tapping away until Yuri saw an alert that read 'Initiating emergency cooling protocols, thermal discharge imminent' flash up on the screen before the Webhead hit one last key and took a satisfied step back, "now I've seen everything."

* * *

"Well now I've seen everything," grunted Cooper as he crushed the simulacrum pilot in the fist of BT before kicking the wrecked Scorch away and turned to the 'Gate' and let out a sigh of relief as the blue light quickly faded. Even better, he could see several troop transports still sitting in the center of the dish, meaning that Felicia, Yuri, and Peter had successfully shut the device down.

His observations were quickly confirmed by the Vanguard class Titan, _"Major, the gate's power source has gone offline." _With disaster averted, Cooper turned back to see the Marine Tanks steadily advancing on the remaining IMC troops when the mechanical monotone warbled in his headset once again. _"Alert: Hostile Titan detected, Apex Predators" _intoned the machine as Matthew whipped the Titan around to catch sight of a blood red Legion class Titan emerge from a structure, massive multi barreled Predator Cannon in its grasp. It was a Titan that Cooper had seen before, many times, and one that had permanently etched in his memory, as was its Pilot; Kuben Blisk.

Kuben Blisk, the head of the Apex Predators, the Kuben Blisk who killed BTs former Pilot and the man who trained Cooper in Tai Lastimosa, the Kuben Blisk who had Matthew dead to rights and merely taunted him. The realization that the South African mercenary was _here _sent a chill through his veins as his grip on the controls in the cockpit tightened ever so slightly. "Gates," he called out through grit teeth, "that tian is _mine_. Watch my back and help out the Marines" he growled as he rounded on Blisk and strode forwards to meet the Apex Predator. Reloading the XO-16 and casting a quick glance to make sure the rest of his ordnance and abilities were fully loaded and mentally prepared himself for a knockdown, drag out, all out brawl. The Renegade Gunfighter flipped to an open radio channel, "Blisk!" he barked out as he saw the red Titan turn until it settled on him, "I have unfinished business with you, you sonofabitch!"

There was a dark chuckle on the line as the Legion strode forwards to meet the Vanguard. _"Oi, hero," _greeted the mercenary as the Titan came to a stop and the hatch opened to reveal the scarred Apex Predator as he stood up and drew his knife from its sheath. _"Should've bloody known I'd run into you eventually," _he sneered as he ran the blade between his fingers, _"you want to find out who's better, eh? Well, you kill me and you're better…" _he said in his thick Afrikaans accent as he tapped the tip on the blade on his chest plate before pointing the same knife at Cooper, _"but if _I _kill _you_, then I'm better." _With that, the Apex Predator sheathed his knife and sat back down as the hatch closed in front of him.

No sooner had the hatch sealed than the massive weapon the Legion wielded began to spool up, barrels glowing red hot as it charged a 'power shot' while Cooper reflexively summoned the vortex shield and caught the opening attack. With the Marauder unable to retaliate while the shield was up, Blisk rushed in, firing bursts from his weapon as Cooper strafed to his right, hoping to find some solid cover behind a building there until the mercenary took him by surprise, dashing in to cover the last little gap. In a panic, the SRS Pilot fired the caught ammunition back at Blisk, staggering the heavier machine as Cooper dropped smoke and turned to sprint away before he heard shots hit his back and his shields began to slowly wear down. Keying his dash, Matthew got behind solid cover and waited in ambush as his shields partially recharged and he saw the muzzle of the massive weapon nose its way around the corner.

Grinning, Cooper leapt into action, reaching out with BTs left hand to push the gun down as he emerged and stepped on the gun with the Titans foot and lunged at Blisk, slamming a clenched steel fist square into the hatch and sending the Apex Predator back. Following up, the Marauder raised the XO and unloaded into the blood red machine until Blisk swung his weapon, knocking the Titan Battle Rifle from BTs hands as the Marauder extended the missile pods and loosed two rockets that struck home, tearing chunks off the armor of the heavier Legion. But the Apex Predator was already preparing his retaliation as he leveled the glowing barrels of his weapon at the Vanguard and unleashed a close range Power Shot that _launched _BT back as Cooper tried to reach out and grab a corner of the building only for Blisk to use his Cannon to trip him up as Matt went weightless in his seat and the massive bulk of the Titan slammed into the ground full force.

The Marauder immediately tried to get the machine back up onto its feet, but a massive blood red foot pinned the Vanguard to the ground as the bulk of the Ogre Chassis loomed over him as Cooper furiously worked the controls, struggling to find some leverage. _"Oi, end of the line for you, eh hero?" _taunted Blisk as he reached down with his Legion and ripped one of the batteries from the socket under BTs left arm and tossed it aside, the sudden loss of power causing the loss of BTs offensive and defensive systems. _"That's the thing about teams. You win together…and you __**die **__together." _

While the words did register in Cooper's mildly concussed mind, he was more focused on the sight past the Apex Predator as he smiled grimly and replied, "Yeah…but my team is more than just Pilot and Titan."

* * *

Felicia came to a stop on a rooftop and felt her heart launch itself up into her throat as she saw her lover's Titan be thrown onto its back and pinned to the ground. After averting the meltdown she had gone looking for Cooper and now found him at the mercy of another as her fear turned to anger. "Shit, is that him?" cursed Yuri as Felicia gave a curt nod as the cop continued, "We gotta help him."

The Thief narrowed her eyes as she watched the massive red robot rip one of the green cylinders from BT and toss it away casually, instantly the rocket pods drooped on BT before folding back up, "He's losing power" she realized. If Matthew didn't get more power then there was no way he would be able to beat this guy and then…she didn't want to think about what would happen.

After another moment, the third member of their raiding party joined them and quickly assessed the situation, "We need to get him another battery…and I know just where we can get one" he said knowingly as the two women turned to him with impatient looks. "That red titan, he has one on top."

Just as Yuri seemed like she was about to object, Felicia cut in, "Let's do it" she said firmly, tone allowing no room for argument. "Now, we need some way to distract him so somebody can get that battery…" she began only for fate to appear and help them out in the form of one very pissed off Marine.

"Hey ASSHOLE!" bellowed the Punisher as the skull adorned vigilante as he stood tall in the middle of the corridor, undaunted by the massive war machine as Castle took aim with a rocket launcher sitting atop his shoulder, "Suck on this!"

As the rocket shot out of the tube, the hostile Titan reacted by raising its massive gun to shield itself as the HEAT projectile slammed into the ammunition cannister attached to the gun. The warhead set off the rounds inside as a chain reaction tore through the ammo belt and into the firing chamber as the gun self-destructed in the Titans hands. In a fit of rage, the machine hurled the gun into a building before clenching its fists and charging forwards as Castle sprinted to the nearest structure and took cover inside.

Seizing the opening, Felicia began to sprint along the rooftop towards the red Titan with Yuri hot on her heels while Spider-Man began to web swing between the buildings until he fired a line that latched onto the heel of the machine as the webslinger stuck fast to the wall and pulled on the line with all of his superhuman strength. With a tremendous clatter, the Legion lost its footing and fell flat on its face, slamming into the ground and leaving a massive crater where it landed. But as quickly as it fell it pushed itself back up to its feet and spun to face the Webhead. "So, you want to be a hero too, eh?" called out a voice over the titan's loudspeaker in a thick accent, "Feel free to try you bloody pest" he spat.

Without hesitating, Felicia fired her grapple at the opposite building and leapt, reeling herself in so she didn't become a red stain on the side of the blood red robot. Once close enough, she disconnected the line and reached out to grab hold of one of the edges of armor and slowly pulled herself up before the Titan lurched, lashing out to throw a punch at where Spider-Man was. While the attack missed completely, it did cause Felicia to flail and slam back into the armor plate as she fought to keep hold.

Trying to get air back into her lungs, her muscles burned under the strain of holding herself in place as her feet desperately tried to find a place to help support herself. Grunting in exertion, she pulled herself up by sheer willpower alone until she managed to find a toehold and slowly but surely clambered up atop the Titan only for it to take another swing at the wallcrawler and cause her to fall on her chest and begin to slide towards the edge of the machine as she lashed out with her claws and dug in, clinging on for dear life as she felt her legs dangle over the side.

But all it took was one glance at the titan sprawled out on the ground to get her to summon her strength once more as she crawled back on the top of the Titan. Reaching out, she grabbed hold of a handle, a green glow emanating below it. Twisting it, she yanked the battery and hoisted it upwards and out of its socket. Now, with the green cylinder glowing in her hand, the Black Cat reached back for her grapple gun and loosed the hook as she slipped off the side and began to fall before the hook dug in and she was yanked up and away.

Her escape didn't go unnoticed however, the Apex Predator rounded and caught sight of the thief escaping with the battery as a massive metal hand swung through the air only for a webline to latch onto it as the Black Cat clawed her way up the side of a building. The hydraulically enhanced strength of the Titan strained against the strength and stickiness of the web until it finally snapped and another massive metal fist swung at the red clad hero who leapt away. But he didn't get to strike for free as the third member leapt into the fray, hanging onto the front of the Titan as the Captain drove the dual ripper blades into the main optical sensor. Snarling behind her mask, the cop pulled the knives out before launching herself up as the jump kit flared and sent her higher while both titan hands tried to grab her before Watanabe landed on top of the violently thrashing machine. Ramming the Ripper into the top of the Machine, the cop grit her teeth as she reached down and pulled a grenade from her belt and primed it before tossing it down the open slot before retracting the blades back in their sheaths.

While the cop slid off the top of the red Titan, the burglar landed gracefully atop the black Titan and strode over towards the cockpit and held the battery up for the Marauder to see, "You can thank me later cowboy," she said with a smirk before sliding down to the ground and carefully inserting the battery, "now kick his ass."

* * *

"_Now kick his ass." _

"_Full power restored, rebooting primary offensive and defensive systems," _announced BT as Cooper 'raised' a fist in celebration as the lights were raised from the red emergency setting back to full as the screens flared back to life to show the outside world. While Cooper felt the familiar and comforting vibrations of his war machine spool to life as he slowly guided BT to his feet, his foe hadn't failed to notice his second wind as he squared up with the Marauder.

"Alright Blisk," called out Cooper as he lifted the Vanguards fists up, "put 'em up so I can put you _down,_" growled the Renegade.

"_Oi, don't you know hero…" _returned the Mercenary as the massive mechanical hands of the Legion came up in response, _"the pride comes before the fall." _Extending one hand and curling the fingers to draw the Marauder on. Smirking behind his helmet, Matthew accepted the challenge and charged forwards until he saw one of the massive fists come at up as he dashed backwards and the fist slammed into the building. While Blisk recovered, Cooper bull rushed back in and threw a massive cross that sent the Apex Predator back as he tried to lash out only for Cooper to raise his off hand to block the strike as he followed up with two more jabs that dented the heavy plate before the Marauder extended the acolyte pods to unleash a full salvo of rockets at point blank range.

Howling in rage as explosions rippled across the front of his Titan, the Veteran Mercenary lashed out and slammed the entire bulk of the Legion into BT before turning and running. While Cooper was thrown around the cockpit of his Titan, he noticed a familiar blue light began to fill the air. "What the hell?" he snarled as he shook his head to try and clear the blur from his vision before setting off after Blisk, "I thought you shut the Gate down?" he asked as he charged after the Apex Predator.

"_I know I initiated the cooling sequence," _answered Peter defensively as Cooper followed the massive Titan around the corner and saw him tear towards the dish and set off in pursuit. _"But maybe it finished cooling and is starting up again…I'm not sure…" _admitted the Queens native as Cooper merely grit his teeth and keyed his dash to close the gap even quicker.

No matter what was happening, Cooper was _not _letting Blisk get away if he could help it. As he reached the outer lip of the dish, the Marauder fired another salvo of rockets at the fleeing Blisk, the explosions ripping armor off the legs and back and blowing its dash thrusters to bits. But the damage didn't slow the machine down, so the Texan threw himself and his Titan at the Legion and wrapped his arms around the red robot and twisted to bring the Apex Predator to the ground. As the blue light at the center began to grow, Blisk tried to force his way up only for Cooper to reach out and rip the arm out from under the Legion as the titans bulk clattered back down. Not letting up, the Marauder threw punch after punch as the armor bent, then cracked, then was sheared off altogether. When Blisk tried to raise his arms and retaliate, the Acolyte pods fired again, missiles tearing into the joints until the arms fell limp and useless.

Finally, as the blue light of the Gate neared its apex and all that remained of the Legion was a sparking, bent, and twisted wreck, Cooper ripped the hatch off to reveal the bloody faced and grinning Pilot inside. "Oi hero, I'm going to make your dream come true…you'll die a hero after all," he said as he coughed up another bit of blood and hit a switch in his cockpit.

Coopers eyes widened as he saw a bright white light emanate from the chest of the Legion and a whine began to build up. Instantly, Cooper stood up and ran for his life, trying to get as far as he could from the overloaded Titan core, every step could be the one that saved his life as the whine continued to build. "Get clear!" he bellowed, "Get clear!"

But the nuclear ejection sequence couldn't be stopped as the whine reached its apex and Cooper dashed and dove as the Titan went up in a massive explosion, the ejection system launching Blisk into the blue light of the Gate before it too was destabilized by the titan self destruct. A blue wave tore through the air, the screens inside went to static and the controls sparked in anger at the abuse the titan was suffering when the shockwave slammed into the Vanguard as it dove through the air in a desperate bid to gain that last bit of distance, slamming Cooper back before the impact with the ground sent him forwards, that second impact causing his world to go black.

* * *

As MJ blinked the light out of her eyes, the next thing she did was reflexively cough as dust filled the air and the rest of the Marines around her shook off the effects of whatever had just happened. The reporter slowly ambled forwards, weaving through the gathered troops and vehicles as she made her way towards the source of the anomaly, camera gripped tightly in her hands. Finally reaching the edge of the buildings, her presence ignored or unnoticed by the troopers as she finally laid eyes on the park. Pillars of smoke reached into the overcast sky as bullet holes and shell craters littered the area. Fighting to keep her food down, Mary Jane began to walk through over the same ground the others had crossed less than an hour prior. Though now it bore scars left behind by that assault, Titan and vehicle tracks had turned the grassy field to a muddy slop that soon caked the reporter's shoes and pants. Disabled vehicles smoldered, either abandoned by their crews or, like one the redhead passed, the crews died with the vehicle, charred bodies hanging from the turret only half escaped from the hatch.

While she was the first, she wasn't alone for long as navy Corpsmen came in to find and treat the wounded as well as ascertain the identity of the dead. Continuing forwards, the redhead soon reached the wall and worked her way down to an opening, unknowingly following in the footsteps of Silver Sable as she carefully negotiated her way up the crumbled concrete and past the bodies of the fallen. Beyond that lay the series of small structures, holes blown in them as MJ poked her head in and snapped a few shots, her flash lighting up the darkened room to reveal destroyed robots sprawled out across the floor. She checked a few others to much the same result, robots destroyed by gunfire, grenades, or sometimes hacked apart with extreme prejudice. Beyond that were even more horrors, more burning vehicles and bodies, this time mixed in with a frightening amount or Reapers. Though the IMC machines twisted and blasted apart, the sight of each inverted pyramid shaped bipedal robot caused her to hear the warbling mechanical roar she had come to associate with them echo in the distance, even if it was only a figment of her imagination.

In the back of her mind, the Daily Bugle reporter was unnerved by the silence. After having been subjected to near continuous battle, seeing the battlefield without the accompanying soundtrack unsettled her more than the carnage itself. The whole scene felt…unnatural.

Shaking off the thought, Mary Jane continued her trek as more and more Marines swarmed in and those that had survived the battle roused themselves and moved with purpose to secure the remnants of the IMC base. The next wrecks she found were the largest yet, those of the Titans that made their last stand outside a dome shaped structure, though there were signs of battle leading on from there to the dish shaped construction that she had heard was the origin of the blast from earlier. Following in the footsteps of Titans, literally, MJ was soon greeted by the sight of BT-7274 that had tumbled and rolled to a stop on its back. The Pinup art and kill tally clearly visible on the side, though they were as scarred as the rest of the machine. More eye catching were those gathered around it, the Punisher stood guard, weapon at the ready while Captain Watanabe was off to one side, finger pressed to her ear as she reported the situation. On top stood Spider-Man, still clad in his battered red 'Spider Armor' as he tried to pry the damaged hatch open, the Black Cat standing next to him, stance fraught with worry.

As the webslinger continued to work on getting the Marauder out of the Titan, Mary Jane felt a presence approaching her as she turned around to see Silver Sablinova striding up. Even if the Symkarian carried herself like she always did, standing tall with shoulders squared and chin up, it was easy to tell that even the veteran mercenary was feeling the effects of the fighting in her appearance. Her features were weary and gear dirty, though the most telling were Silvers eyes as she surveyed the battlefield, settling on one of the recognizable white clad troopers who lay dead, leg blown clean off.

The Symkarians head turned and fixed on MJ, who froze under the mercs steely gaze as the silver haired woman strode towards the redhead. Soon the two women were face to face, both dirty and disheveled as they regarded each other with an odd mutual respect before Sable extended a hand. The redhead stared at it blankly for a moment before accepting and shaking it, "Good to see you made it Miss Watson," began the Symkarian slowly, "but I have one more thing to ask of you. If you are able…" offered Sablinova as Mary Jane nodded, "tell the world what happened here."

Mary Jane was slightly taken aback at the blunt request, she was a reporter, it was her job to do exactly that. But she stopped herself and realized there was more to the mercenary's words as she looked past the silver haired woman at the carnage and destruction she had walked through to get where she was. How could she, hell, how could _anyone_ fully capture the events of the last 72 hours? "I…I don't think I can…" admitted the reporter as she fumbled in her mental attempts to grasp the breadth of the task.

"But you must," retorted Silver firmly, her tone brokering no argument, "nobody else can Miss Watson. You were here, you went through what we did and saw what we saw. _You _must be the one to tell the story of those who stood and fought and bled and _died_. Those brave men…my men, who gave their lives not because they were paid to…but because it was their duty as soldiers." Mary Jane heard the conviction in the Symkarians tone, along with something else, a sadness, a tinge of regret. There was no doubt in her mind that Sablinova was being anything but completely genuine.

It was then that the redhead regained her composure, she had become a reporter to tell the stories that needed to be told, and she knew that this was one such story. Of all who would comment on the events of the last 3 days, none could truly grasp the reality of the situation. Not writing her account of the events, Mary Jane decided, was simply not an option. "Okay," she said solemnly, "I will."

Silver Sable eyed the redhead, trying to gauge if she was up to the task before finally nodding, "Thank you," said the mercenary quietly as she stood straight and offered the reporter before offering a sharp salute and walking past Mary Jane towards BT. The redhead let out a breath before turning to follow, arriving beside the machine just as Peter managed to lift half of the hatch open as the thief crouched down at the edge and one gloved hand emerged, latching onto the outside as another took the burglars offered hand. Mary Jane couldn't resist snapping off several photos as the Marauder slowly emerged from his machine, his recognizable gear bloody and battle damaged as he leaned on Spider-Man and Black Cat for support. With the sun poking through the overcast sky as he raised a triumphant fist in the air for the benefit of the soldiers behind the reporter, it was a moment worth capturing.

After carefully helping the Marauder slid down the side of his damaged titan and back to solid ground, those gathered shook hands or embraced as yet another incredible moment began to form. An aircraft streaked down, coming in fast as everyone reacted in the same way, weapons were brought up and readied, soldiers scattered for any cover they could find as MJ reflexively made for the nearest solid object she could, that being the damaged BT. As the craft came in and slowed ever so slightly, the reporter was hit in the face with the jet wash as the back door dropped and five individuals leapt out before the jet streaked off.

At the front was someone Mary Jane recognized instantly; it was impossible not to. Standing there with his star adorned shield up and at the ready, was Captain America himself. "Avengers assemble!" he ordered as the others fell in, Thor with his hammer and flowing cape, Iron Man in his red and gold armored suit, Hawkeye with his bow scanning, and Black Widow with pistols drawn.

But the Earth's Mightiest Heroes got a very different reception than the one they had been expecting.

"Hey assholes!" yelled out the Punisher as he emerged from cover, arms out as they all turned to face the skull vested vigilante, "You're late!" he informed bluntly.

"Look at the bright side Frank," called out the Marauder with a laugh, "if we failed and had all been killed, at least those 'assholes' would have avenged us."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook - Vehicle: M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank_

_The stalwart centerpiece of the armored forces of the United States Army and Marine Corps, the venerable M1 Abrams has served faithfully since the 1980's. First seeing combat in the 1991 Gulf War, the M1 quickly gained a formidable reputation as none were destroyed by enemy fire while being responsible for destroying hundreds of Iraqi vehicles. But those were the older M1A1 and M1P models, the M1A2 and its subvariants feature improved armor, optics, fire control systems, and a remote mounting for the machine gun atop the turret. At its core, the Abrams' success comes from three factors, the armor, gun, and powertrain. _

_The armor is an advanced composite Chobham composite able to defeat both kinetic and chemical penetratos to an impressive degree. Instead of being integrated into the structure of the vehicle, this armor is merely 'bolted on' to the frame, meaning it can be easily replaced or upgraded without scrapping the entire vehicle. BT was constructed using the same principals as the armor on this vehcile, though it gets this armor from the British and their Challenger MBTs._

_It's gun on the other hand, the Abrams gets from the Germans. What the US calls the M256 120mm smoothbore gun was originally known as the Rheinmetall Rh-120 L/44 and is also fitted to early models of the Leopard 2 tank. What makes the Abrams so lethal is the ammunition, even if the Leopard has moved onto the improved L/55 gun, the American M829A4 Sabot round makes it a threat to any armored vehicle, even a Titan, and an impressive array of fire control systems and two axis stabilization means the vehicle has little issue landing those rounds at ranges in excess of 2km, even at speed. _

_But what makes the Abrams truly unique, other than its positively American weight of more than 70 tons, is the powerplant. The Honeywell AGT1500 is a multifuel gas turbine engine, more closely related to the engines of helicopters than the powerplant of something like Leopard 2 or Challenger 2. Able to push out 1,500 horsepower and over 27,000 foot pounds of torque at 30,000 RPM, it can push the M1A2 up to 42 miles an hour. Most incredible is the sound it makes, almost none at all, which is the reason the Abrams is called 'Whispering Death.' _

_None of that means that BT isn't capable of wrecking an entire troop of these tanks in short order, really puts things in perspective. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: Hopefully you don't all hate the way the Avengers showed up late to the party, but early attempts to have them merely arrive fashionably late were too busy and just didn't work. I already feel like there's a lot going on, so much that I wasn't able to put the transition in to have Frank magically teleport at the end, but I'm hoping that none of you noticed until now. The chapter is chalk full of nods and winks, the first bit was heavily inspired by one of my favorite films, the 1970 classic 'Patton' starring George C. Scott in the title role. Later on, you have the scene where they cross the field which came mostly from a movie I feel is underappreciated in 'Fury.' Not long after there is 'Blowtorch and Corkscrew' which isn't only the name of a World at War level, but an actual USMC strategy during the pacific campaign, though I had to adjust the meaning from it's original of Flamethrower and Satchel Charge. Obviously, at the end with Mary Jane was another bit that was heavily inspired by the ending of We Were Soldiers.**

**Obviously, a lot of time was spent on the final duel between Cooper and Blisk so I hope it was to everyone's satisfaction. I wanted to make it a real 'clash of the titans' for lack of a better phrase and it went through a few iterations. This is not only the last titan battle for a while, though I won't say the last forever, but also the end of the fighting of the IMC or '1648' arc. Next chapter is all wrapping up loose plot threads and cleaning up, along with a time jump before we move back into the events of the game. If you have any thoughts or feelings on this chapter, or any other one in the arc, then go ahead and please use that review button.**

**No seriously, I only average like 1 review per chapter, I still don't know why. **

**Young men have died, they've paid the price. Oh how they have suffered, so tell me what is The Price of a Mile.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	54. Chapter 54: The Price of a Mile

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners: Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

So I've learned a valuable lesson. You want reviews? Leave a snarky comment where you passive aggressively complain that you don't get reviews. Though, in all seriousness, thanks to everyone who left a review.

**Amir-015: You're about to find out what comes next. As far as the nuke eject, I'm going off of how the action is protrayed in gameplay rather than the literal meaning of it. **

**Flame Wolfe: Glad you've enjoyed it and that you like the OC, hopefully the coming chapters keep that trend up. **

**Theother1 gater: Sounds like I got what I was going for. I never liked how that works out in many stories and I wanted to do something different. Though I would add a fourth element to the ones you listed: Steel.**

**ScreamingStuka: First off, that's a cool name. Second off, I'm glad you enjoy the story. I will say I was worried about how that choice would play out and I'm glad you liked it. In super hero stories it is so easy to forget what regular humans can do, as General John 'Black Jack' Pershing said: "The deadliest weapon on Earth is a Marine and his rifle." You'll see some interactions to come, but there will be a few more in later ones, hopefully they satisfy. **

**Threll Ignis: It was fun to write them and develop those scenarios and reactions from the characters. I wish I could have done them better honestly, I don't think any words can accurately convey everything, but I do try. **

**Blaze1992: That obvious huh? The only thing I will say is don't expect there to be a quick turnaround time on that. Modern weapon development programs take years if not decades, though having samples will shorten that, you still have to come up with ways to actually make what you are trying to copy. I will shorten this down obviously, but it won't be instantaneous. Though having a very knowledgable individual who knows the hardware inside and out would be even more helpful than just samples, just a thought...**

**A fan: Welcome back. Actually, this _is _the last we will see of the IMC, at least as far as I can say. I haven't planned to bring them back at any point nor do I have any desire nor see a need to have them come back. As for the next arc, there will be some additions, mainly so Matt has something to do other than play third wheel. But the Avengers will not be a part of it, that arc was a well told personal story for Peter and I want to preserve that as best I can. **

Though it seems everyone liked the way the Avengers were handled, which is a relief. I did expect to see at least _some _displeasure at that turn of events, if you didn't like it then I do want to know. I'm not expecting anybody who doesn't like the story to have made it this far, but surely _everyone _can't like _everything _(excluding you Blaze, it's always interesting to see what errors you find) so feel free to talk shit, don't worry, I can take the hit.

As for the title today, I knew I wanted to end on Sabaton, and few of their songs are so grim and pessimistic as this _Art of War _track. This is track 11, corresponding to the chapter titled 'The Nine Situations' and about what the result is when the lessons in that chapter are ignored. The result is the Battle of Passchendaele, which was also covered by Iron Maiden in the song 'Passchendaele' off the _Dance of Death _album. That song was considered, but it's just too weird, which sums up the entirety of _Dance of Death. _Basically, when people talk about the senseless slaughter of World War 1, no battle sums it up quite like this one. Just paraphrasing Wikipedia, controversial decisions include choosing to attack Passchendaele, the area's climate, the selection of the general who led the assault, the nature of the Allied attack, the timing of the attack, the troubles the French army were experiencing, the effects of the godawful weather, and the choice to throw more men into the meat grinder.

It went about as well as you might expect considering that extensive but far from comprehensive list of problems. The whole ensemble of killers on the Western Front was at play, artillery, machine guns, snipers, barbed wire, booby traps, tanks, aircraft, and poison gas. In addition to all that, there was the legendary mud that would fill whole trenches, forcing men to cross them on slippery wooden foot bridges. Those who slipped and fell into the mud would be pulled down by the weight of their equipment and drown in it. Even past that, it would bog down advances, making men easy targets for artillery, mortars, and machine guns. Over the three month campaign, a grand total of a little under six miles of ground had been fought over at the cost of about half a million casualties on both sides. So to answer the question posed in the song, the price of a mile is about 80,000 human lives.

* * *

**Power Without Question - Chapter 54: The Price of a Mile**

_And as the men crawled the general called_

_And the killing carried on and on_

_What's the purpose of it all?_

_What's the price of a mile?_

_Thousands of feet march to the beat_

_It's an army on the march, Long way from home_

_Paying the price in young men's lives_

_Thousands of feet march to the beat_

_It's an army in despair, Knee-deep in mud_

_Stuck in the trench with no way out_

* * *

Walking through one of the massive and newly erected SHEILD tents in the park where the final engagement with the IMC took place, Captain Steve Rogers couldn't help but reflexively clench his fists at the sight before sighing in despair. Rows of neatly arranged body bags covered the floor, each one weighing heavily on the super soldiers conscience as he made his way through until he reached the exit that led into the medical section of the rapidly built temporary facility. Eager to leave behind this room full of the reminders of him not being here to do his duty, the World War 2 veteran pushed open the flap to leave the gruesome thoughts behind.

Only for the shield wielding Avenger to immediately have to step back as two orderlies rushed past, pushing a gurney with a wounded trooper on it. Slowly walking in, the First Avenger carefully made his way through the packed space, doing his best to ignore the moans and screams of the wounded while doctors and nurses worked furiously. One Marine currently being treated was still bleeding heavily, and his thrashing caused the crimson liquid to spill off the cot and onto the floor. Tired of being a mere spectator, Steve picked up a towel and set to work trying to clean the pool but only managed to smear it across the floor and making a bigger mess.

Sighing once again, Rogers stood back up and threw the towel away before resuming his exploration of the medical area. He wasn't wandering aimlessly, but rather with a purpose. Captain America held all of those who had faced down the IMC threat in high regard, but from what he had learned from asking around there were a few particular individuals who played significant roles in the battle. At the very least, Steve would find them and shake their hands, but that hadn't made actually finding them any easier. Still, asking around had yielded some results, and one of the people Rogers wanted to meet was somewhere in here. Searching high and low, Captain America soon found himself towards the most secluded and quietest corner of the tent and outside a curtained off section. Sliding a portion of the curtain aside, he was met with the back of a grey armored vest, blood splattered kill marks covering the scale like construction as a skull adorned striped helmet was slipped over the man's head. "I swear to god doc, if you wanna put any more shit in me you'd better have gotten Captain fucking America to hold me down…" began the Marauder as he turned around and froze at the sight of the Sentinel of Liberty, "aw shit."

Steve couldn't help but chuckle at that, "It's alright son, I came here alone," he assured as he offered a hand. "Captain Steve Rogers," he introduced as the Pilot shook firmly, "United States Army."

"I'm the Marauder, Major, SRS Marauder Corps," returned the Titan Jockey as the military discipline that Steve had drilled into him back in the 40's kicked in and he immediately snapped to attention and saluted the man who technically outranked him. The action only prompted the Marauder to chuckle as he gave a small salute back, "please don't do that shit with me Captain" he requested seriously. "After all, most of those promotions were awarded posthumously anyways," he informed dryly as he slipped an oversized pistol into the holster across his chest and affixed a small axe to his left leg. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get the fuck outta dodge before the good doctor comes back and _does _try to use you to hold me down."

With that, the Renegade Gunfighter slipped past the Super Solider and stuck his head outside to check that the coast was clear before making a hasty break for the exit. Without fully realizing it, Captain America had set off in pursuit, keeping his distance as he hung back and followed, watching the man as he walked towards whatever destination he had in mind. As he followed, Rogers couldn't help but recall the briefings Fury had given the Avengers about the Manhattan Marauder. According to those he was a capable combatant, but reckless, operated under no authority but his own and according to his rules, and held no guiding principles according to the psychological experts at Shield. At first, he had been willing to accept that, but now he was beginning to draw his own conclusions. A person with no principals didn't stand and fight against overwhelming odds like he had, and someone who only worked by his own rules didn't become a part of such a large group nor play such an integral part.

But there was something else Captain America noticed as he watched, but it wasn't anything the Marauder did, it was how the Marines and Troopers reacted to him. That instant respect that his presence garnered was something that Steve recognized because he was usually the one that caused such a reaction. Continuing after the Pilot, Rogers watched as he came to a stop where the Avengers had first landed and ran his hand along the arm of the massive fallen robot there like Stark going over one of his suits.

But before he could continue, a voice took him by surprise, "If this is your best attempt at spying," began Agent Romanov lightly as Steve jumped and spun around to face the Black Widow, "then it's a miracle you haven't been noticed yet."

"I wasn't spying," retorted the Brooklyn native as he crossed his arms defensively, the Russian born agent merely raising an eyebrow, "I was just following him to make sure he didn't need any more medical attention."

Laughing lightly, the redhead woman shook her head, "Sure you were Rogers," she deadpanned. "Well let's go ask and make sure," she suggested before promptly walking past the Super Soldier and making a beeline straight for the Marauder. The pilot either didn't notice them or didn't care until they came to a stop, Natasha giving Steve a look that clearly read 'play along' before she spoke up. "Sorry to bother you Marauder, but I need to have a few words with you," informed the Operative bluntly.

Steve watched the SRS Major go rigid before turning around and slumping his shoulders at the sight of the two Avengers. "If you want to debrief me, I'll give the same two words the other agents got," he informed, "Fuck. Off." Steve bristled at the harsh language, but he understood the animosity towards Shield and the Avengers at their late arrival.

"That's not why we're here, Director Fury wants to extend an offer for you to…"

"If It's an offer to join the Avengers, my answer hasn't changed," he informed bluntly, cutting off Romanov as he turned back around and drew his axe as he pried open a damaged panel to examine the internals of the machine. The First Avenger gave the redhead a curious look, unaware any attempts had been made to add the Marauder to the superhero team. "And you should be glad I said no the first time because then I wouldn't have been here either," he ground out with barely hidden vitriol as he continued his work.

Despite it being abundantly clear that the Major wanted to be left alone, the Black Widow was as determined as she was deadly, and so she pressed the issue. "No, Director Fury is looking to ensure that something like this doesn't happen again," she informed simply. "Our perception of events that were happening was faulty and he's looking for a reliable source of information."

"He smells a rat," translated the Marauder bluntly as he turned back to the Avengers, Natasha giving a simple, curt nod of affirmation without giving away anything else. "Well, well, well," he mused as he closed the panel and strode to the pair, "looks like you need my help as much as I need yours."

It wasn't hard for Steve to guess what he wanted help with, "You want us to help fix your robot," he stated, nodding towards the black machine.

"Titan," corrected the Marauder, "BT-7274 to be exact. And yes, I need help fixing him…I owe him that much for getting me through this shitshow alive." Though he spoke with a slight drawl, the filtered voice was low, underpinned by a certain steel that made it clear how much this Titan meant to him. "So here's the deal. You have Stark or someone fix up BT, and that's _all _they do. Then I'll do some digging, send whatever comes up your way," he explained in such a way that made it clear to the First Avenger that this wasn't up for debate as he extended a hand, "what do y'all say?"

Before Natasha could answer, Steve grasped the gloved hand and shook, "sounds like a deal son," he said with a small smile, "I owe you that much for protecting my home."

The Marauder nodded before Romanov shook the same hand in turn, "We'll be in touch," she informed brusquely before spinning on her heel and striding off, Steve only able to offer a consolatory smile before he did the same.

* * *

Cooper didn't know how long he slept after he eventually found his way back to the nearest safehouse he shared with Felicia the previous night, but it had been some of the soundest sleep he had gotten in a long time. The mix of exhaustion and content from knowing that it was over, though a hot shower, clean sheets, and supple curves of Felicia Hardy pressed against him all probably contributed to his peaceful rest as well. As soon as he was up however, his mind was already moving quickly as he pulled the covers back over his girlfriend and donned his mostly self repaired vest, jump kit, helmet, clean bodysuit, and a fresh set of fatigues before walking through the city back towards the park where the final engagement with the IMC had occurred.

Walking through the streets in the afternoon had revealed the rapidly occurring changes taking place. In the skies above, _Yorktown _had been joined by two of her sisters, the helicarriers _Hornet _and _Essex_ as Shield resources and personnel were poured into the city. Sable International had been assisting as well, using their expertise to clean out any remaining ordinance while at the same time gathering up examples of IMC tech. Cooper understood that it had to be done, but he didn't trust anyone with anything. Of course they weren't the only ones, Shield was grabbing anything and everything, it was clear that they were taking the entire IMC base apart as he arrived, and agents and technicians crawling all over the Gate to examine the incredible device.

Much to his relief however, as he arrived at the fallen body of BT-7274 there was only one person nearby, and he was floating in midair in a bright red suit of power armor, some tool shining brightly as he focused on some part of the Titan. Despite the pain that worked its way up his side through the painkillers, Cooper clambered up atop the Vanguard, "Don't mind me," he called out, uncaring if Stark heard him or not as he sat down on the cool metal. The hatch to the cockpit was still half open, the lower half fully so as the eye remained dim and lifeless.

"Well you're just in time," called back the billionaire, surprising Cooper, "not my best work admittedly, but considering this is a completely new set of tech from the distant future of an alternate dimension, I'd say it's pretty damn good," bragged the Armored Avenger as the tool he was using dimmed. Hovering up and coming down with a 'clang' on the top of BT next to Cooper, the MIT grad explained, "the reactor core was intact, thank god, but whatever that wave was did a number on the transistors. Swapped those out with some from here and made a few tweaks so they _should _work. Don't get your hopes up too high though, looks like there was a lot more damage, it'll take time to fix everything and I would need to take it to the compound upstate."

Cooper sighed as he looked down at the Vanguard sadly, "I understand, let's get him back on first. I need to make sure he'll be alright with that before you take him," he said, "Is that all?"

"Well…" began the Billionaire, "I am kinda curious as to what lovely lady you got painted on the side here." One of the red and gold gauntlets pointed down at the pinup on the side, despite the battle damage it was still clearly the woman he had just been in bed with.

"That's my girlfriend," he informed bluntly.

"Well good job kiddo, she is _smokin_" he complimented, "I've met some babes but let me tell you that she ranks up there with these two Playboy Playmates I knew back in college," recalled Iron Man fondly. "How'd you get her to pose for you though?"

Matt snorted, "I didn't," he admitted before continuing with a grin, "all I'll say is that she knows what she's got and don't mind showing it off."

The two shared a knowing chuckle at that as Cooper was thankful that Hardy had made it through hell, the Black Cat hadn't much more than a few scratches from the entire thing. After her shower she was as perfect as she had always been in his view while he had a few more scars to show for things. "Still, seeing it is making me want to find out what my armor would look like painted up like your Titan or gear. You mind doing one for me? I was thinking some stripe on the helmet like yours…maybe a Stark Industries logo on the chest here. What do you think?"

"I uh…" began Matt before trailing off at the memory of who was responsible for the artwork, "I didn't paint them, a friend of mind did," he explained, "and she died last year, Market got her."

There was an uncomfortable silence, "You were the one who went in there and killed them," recalled Stark, "well I owe you then. That Rawlins bastard was still selling old Stark Industries weapons from back when Stane was around. I'll fix up your machine here on the house. Now what do you say we switch this sucker on and bask in my genius?"

The Texan couldn't help but shake his head. "Do it," he ordered as Iron Man leaned into the partially open cockpit and flipped a switch. Much to Coopers relief, he heard that familiar whirl and hum of the reactor spooling back up as the Titan vibrated under his boots and he crouched down as the eye began to flicker and glow a soft blue. "BT?" he asked, "BT, you there, buddy?" he asked.

"Aaaaaa…" replied the machine faintly, the usual warbly monotone was weak and fluctuated before finally steadying, "Aaaa….aaaa…Aaaaffirmative Ma…major" answered the Vanguard, voice still shaky. "War…warning, sixty ei…eight percent of major sys…systems are offline" reported the machine before the eye flickered and focused on him. "Logs rep…report you sustained mul…multiple injuries, wha...what is your status?"

Before Cooper could answer, the silver tongued billionaire did for him. "He's in much better shape than you are you bucket o bolts. But don't worry about that, uncle Tony will fix you up good as new!" promised Iron Man as he crouched down and slapped the armor plate.

The singular blue eye turned and focused on the Avenger before the rebooted vocals came out once again, steadier than before. "Identify: Stark, Anthony Edward. Chi…Chief Executive Officer of Stark In…Industries. Avenger, designation: Iron Man," rattled off the Vanguard as Cooper could _feel _the smug radiating from the billionaire. However, Cooper had a sneaking suspicion of what was coming next and couldn't suppress a grin. "Vast personal wealth and personality flaws that are extensive and numerous. Alcoholism, hubris, narcissism, among many others," began the machine only to be silenced as said individual stomped his armored boot angrily into the hull.

Matthew couldn't help but laugh at the exchange before things took another turn as the air began to crackle in a way that caused the Marauder to stiffen and draw the CAR SMG on his back as he swung towards the center of the dish. To his horror he saw the blue light began to form and swirl about as it slowly grew in size, "Cover!" he barked as he jumped down and pressed himself against the leg of BT, weapon braced against the metal as he waited for whatever would come out of the Gate.

Slowly, the Gate stabilized despite the damaged emitters on this side. Iron Man was hovering above the Marauder, arms raised and palms glowing. "Whatever did this came from the other side, our people didn't activate this thing!" shouted Stark as his repulsors whined.

Tightening his grip on the weapon, Matthew strained to make out a shape slowly taking form in the center of the dish, _Titan _his mind recognized instantly. The size and bipedal stature couldn't be anything else, but as he saw the red color and more detail to the shape, he recognized exactly who's Titan it was. "Check fire!" he called out as he slung his SMG over his shoulder and emerged from cover to advance forwards towards the burgundy colored Vanguard, "Long time, no see Commander Briggs," he greeted.

* * *

CMDR Sarah Briggs, Commanding Officer of the Frontier Militias Special Recon Squadron: Marauder Corps, had seen a lot. She had been fighting for most of her adult life, she had been to dozens of planets across the Frontier and met just about every type of person they had to offer. From shady types dealing out of the backs of seedy bars, to IMC officers in opulent abodes, ruthless cutthroats to generous homesteaders, and everything in between. Even with all of that experience, the 39-year-old was still shocked at what she found on the other side of the IMCs latest creation, or rather, _who _she found. She had only been here about six hours, but in that time she had met a group of 'super heroes' including a guy with a bow of all things, a so called 'super soldier' with a shield, a 'god' with a hammer, among others and all under the command of the 'Director Fury' that had been a bit to interested in what the Frontier was like for her comfort.

However, she wasn't interested in satisfying the eyepatch wearing man's curiosity. Her sole purpose was to ensure her people that she had sent to help got home safe, Barker had truly gone above and beyond to make a near suicide run in the untested Stealth Raiding Corvette and used the IMCs own interdimensional device to come and help. Finding the leader of the Angel City Elites hadn't been much trouble, she simply asked for a list of bars and found him in one, downing shots of whiskey with his pilots as Gates watched the spectacle.

In a well-rehearsed routine, she accepted his offer for a drink and toasted the man they had lost before finally putting her foot down and ordering they move back to the ship. Which led to them being back where she had arrived, the _MCS Matthew Cooper _was stationary just a foot above the dish as the Titans that came through were loaded onto the starship along with the rest of their equipment.

As they wrapped up their tasks, yet more faces arrived to say their goodbyes, the sole member of the 6-4 to make the trip was speaking to a group that called themselves the 'X-Men' when the person Briggs was waiting for arrived, and in style. It seemed that the rifleman turned interim pilot and now M-COR officer was doing well for himself if the show-offy car he pulled up in was any indication. Cooper was dressed in his pilots gear, though the companion that joined him caused Briggs to raise an eyebrow as the catsuit wearing woman emerged from the car. "Hey Barker!" called out the Major as he moved to the front of the car, "I got a present for you!"

The old hand quickly made his way over to the younger Pilot, and Briggs not far behind as she heard what the Major was talking about. "I wasn't sure exactly what your poison was, so I grabbed one of everything, Tennessee whiskey, Kentucky bourbon, Russian vodka, and Mexican tequila" listed the Pilot only to have the woman alongside him elbow him, "Ah!" he exclaimed as the two shared a look. "Oh, and my lovely lady friend insisted on adding a Bordeaux wine or some such," he added, clearly as an afterthought as he reached into the compartment and came back with two canvas bags, the sound of bottles clinking carrying through the air.

"Well thanks kid," replied Barker as he eagerly took delivery of the alcohol, beaming all the while, giddy as he looked down at the bottles inside the bags, "Hey, I think the Commander wanted to talk to you. She should be around here somewhere…"

"Try right behind you," interjected Briggs in a flat deadpan as Barker, taken by surprise, fumbled the bags and barely held onto them. The actions drew a small round of laughter from the younger couple, "Major, a word," she commanded quietly as she turned away, hearing the still helmeted Pilot following her. Once they were out of earshot and the hero of Typhon was alongside her, she spoke up, "I'm going to need a straight answer Major, what are your plans?"

The Pilot sighed heavily, "If you're asking me to come back, I can't Commander," he explained flatly. "I've been here a year, got a life now" he continued.

"Playing superhero?" she returned with a raised eyebrow.

The Pilot merely shrugged, "Among other things," answered the SRS Commando evasively, "but there's nothing that could make me want to leave this place…its home." Briggs regarded him, able to hear the sincerity in his filtered tones as her determination faltered.

"The war isn't over Cooper" she reminded, "most of the ARES division was able to escape, even if we still have control of their base, we must destroy the gate" revealed the Commander bluntly. Narrowing her eyes, she scrutinized the Majors reaction to try and get a read on him, but he was eerily silent, both verbally and in his body language. "Would you rather stay?"

"Yes," he answered instantly, "I have nothing left on the other side of that Gate Commander. Everything I got…it's right here."

"I see," she replied evenly. For her, the Frontier was her home, but she could recognize the conviction in the young man's voice, "I won't hold it against you Major, it's your choice" she assured. "But Cooper, it was hard to walk ten meters around here without someone telling some story about you. Stuff about you taking down crime lords and human traffickers, making this world a better, safer place. Whatever your choice, know that you'll retain your commission," she added, "hell, they call you _The Marauder_ in these parts, if that's not a ringing endorsement then I don't know what is."

That seemingly gets his attention as he perks up instantly, "Thank you ma'am," he replied quietly as the pair finally finished their roundabout walk and reached the open ground again and made a beeline for the edge of the dish and the waiting ship at the center of it. "It's been an honor and a privilege to be a part of the Marauder Corps; you have my word that I'll do the name proud."

Briggs gave him a smile, "I know you will Major," she affirmed as they walked past the battered chassis of BT-7274, and even if she knew the answer, the Commander had to ask. "BT?" she began, even if the Vanguard couldn't physically turn to look at her, Briggs could see the 'eye' come to life.

"Commander Briggs," returned the machine flatly.

"The Major has decided to remain here," she informed as she placed her fists on her hips and looked up at the machine. "I need you to make your choice BT."

For the first time, Briggs heard a delay, ever so slightly, in the response from one of the Vanguards. She could guess what it was, BT was debating between his guiding protocols, the protocol to uphold the mission and the protocol to protect the Pilot. That was specifically why she hadn't issued an order. "The Major is my pilot; I will not lose another pilot," affirmed the titan stoically.

The Commander smiled as Cooper chuckled next to her, they had intentionally programmed the Vanguards to be loyal, but they had never expected one to be so loyal to their pilot. "Alright then, BT-7274, you are permanently assigned to Major Cooper. You made the right choice" she added. "I'll have the spare parts offloaded from the ship, and I have a few other things for you too Major. I want you to put them to use."

There was a wry chuckle in response, "Trust me Commander, never a dull moment 'round here."

She couldn't suppress a knowing smile as she turned to her Titan, "one last thing, even if you're staying, you're still officially a member of the Marauder Corps, so we need to make it official." Jumping up, she reached into a box on the side of the red Vanguard class and came back with a brown leather bomber jacket. On the back was the SRS Prowler logo and motto, while the M-COR eyepatch wearing skull was on the left breast along with the name of the garment's owner, M. COOPER. Handing it to the man, she gave him her last order, "your earned that Major, wear it with pride."

* * *

On the other side of the Gate, Silver Sablinova looked over the Militia Starship with a careful eye, noting the mounts for weapons intended to be used in both ship-to-ship and ship-to-surface combat. Despite its predatory look, the veteran mercenary could see the utilitarian construction, much like the Titan the Marauder operated. Lastly, she found herself at the nose and the name proudly emblazoned on the side, the _MCS Matthew Cooper_. Pursing her lips, the Symkarian searched her memory to try and place the name, she was certain she had heard it before she shook her head and stepped back. There was only one man who she would know that could possibly warrant the Militia naming a ship after, that would be the Marauder.

Pulling out her phone, she googled the name Matthew Cooper, and after a twitter profile, found a news headline dating back just over a year ago as she 'hmmed' while skimming through the article before pocketing the device. Already, her mind was moving on from that small thought to larger ones, seeing just this barest glimpse of the Militia, along with a much larger view of the IMC, caused her to decide that this was what Sable International should emulate. Despite all of their technology, the Private Security Force was lightweight for a true military force, and the lack of heavy vehicles and weapons cost her force in the lives of good men.

She swore to herself that those lives would not be lost in vain, she would learn and push to make Sable International even more formidable. With their sacrifice, she found herself in a position to make that vision a reality because of her employer, Osborn, and more specifically Oscorp, had the expertise and experience to develop the technology she wanted, and after repulsing the IMC she was now in a position to put that to use for her own ends. Already thinking about what projects she wanted developed, she hardly noticed Briggs approaching her until she heard her name. "Silver Sablinova?" said the M-COR Commander as the Symkarian turned to face the woman, "Commander Briggs, Militia SRS," she introduced as the two sized each other up. "I have it on good authority it was you and yours that took on the IMC," she began, Silver remaining stoic until she knew what she was getting at, "that's damn impressive. Holding off a group like them ain't an easy thing to do. I should know, being at war with them for the last six or seven years now."

_That long? _Thought Sablinova, their own little conflict, a skirmish really, had only lasted a few days. "The victory did not come for free Commander," returned the Symkarian evenly, "and if not for the support of your people, no doubt the cost would have been higher."

Briggs nodded, "They're a good bunch, even Barker," she replied dryly, "ever since we dragged him outta that bar in Angel City, he's been loyal, even if he hasn't been sober," quipped Briggs with a small grin. The remark even drew a small reaction from the stoic Mercenary before the SRS Pilot made a slight correction. "But it isn't me you should thank; I didn't order them to come. That was something they did all on their own" she explained.

"Why would they do such a thing?" risk their lives for strangers whom they had never met without being ordered to.

"They might be mercenaries, but they're fighting for the Frontier, for their home," elaborated Briggs, "and people should always be willing to do anything for home," finished the Commander with a small smile as she offered her hand.

Shaking it, Silver offered a salute, getting one in turn before the M-COR CO walked away, that being the last time the pair would ever meet.

* * *

In civilian clothes, Peter and MJ walked side by side through the crowd after Mayor Osborn finished his speech, the Bugle reporter was there to cover the event and had invited him along. For his part, the scientist was just happy to be around the redhead, in the week since end of the battle he had been worried about what she had seen and done. However, she was still Mary Jane, the diligent and hardworking journalist as she compiled her experiences along with other sources and had managed to publish her story on the 'Battle of Manhattan' the previous day. Already, Osborn had come out and already gotten a bill through the legislative system that had set aside a portion of the park for the cemetery that he had just opened. Inside the fenced area lay the fallen NYPD officers, Fisk Security, United States Marines, and the Sable International troopers who had no next of kin. Each grave neatly marked with a white marble headstone, the rows and rows of the pristine markers were visible even from where the crowd was gathered outside the gate.

"You still with me Tiger?" asked MJ, shaking Peter from his thoughts as those there began to disperse or make their way inside to pay their respects. "We don't have to go in if you don't want," she offered as he felt his hand tighten around hers before he calmed down and shook his head. "Alright," she affirmed, "we'll make it quick," conceded the redhead as she led him in.

He avoided things like this for a reason, after the death of Uncle Ben he swore he would never kill anyone because he knew that for everyone he did there would be people like him who would have to bury a father or loved one. All this reminded him of was that there were many out there who did not share his conviction, and he knew that these weren't even half the KIA from the whole deal. Each grave had a small bouquet of flowers resting on them noted Peter as they made their way through. The entire cemetery was centered on the same ground as the 'Gate' that had been the objective of the final shootout, the rectangular arrangement of the graves covering almost the same area as half a football field. "How many…" wondered Peter as they made their way past the seemingly endless rows of markers.

"825," answered MJ automatically, "of ours. Confirmed IMC dead was just over 1000…1062 I think." Peter couldn't even fathom that, for all the graves here, there were more bodies that had just been cremated and disposed of, and then there were more they would never find. The bodies of the wounded who died in IMC field hospitals and taken back through the Gate, the Sable International Troopers who requested that they be returned home or had remains collected by family members, and then there were the ones who were obliterated so completely they would never be found. "This is…it's a reminder that those figures are more than statistics, they _mean _something."

Peter couldn't agree more, unable to tear his eyes away from the headstones as they walked past, more than one had someone there, placing additional flowers or praying with bowed heads. With every row the couple passed, the Webhead couldn't help but wonder if anybody he knew was buried here, any cops he had come across in the past 8 years? What about a Fisk gunman he might have webbed up?

Though at the center of the graveyard was a monument that caught his eye, with an American flag raised at each corner of the square, all eyes were drawn to the monument at the center. Rectangular in shape, the longer two of the four sides featuring the names of those who lost their lives. A third featured the logos of the factions and individuals that took part, an odd mixture of the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor of the USMC alongside the stylized 'S' of Sable International just above the circumscribed X of the mutant team. His Spider emblem between the eyepatch wearing and long toothed skulls of the Marauder and Punisher respectively, and an NYPD badge juxtaposed beside the mask and ears of the Black Cat and emblem of Fisk Security. Cops and Criminals, Soldiers and Mercenaries, heroes of all types who had come together, and the fourth side featured a bronze plaque that explained what had driven such a collection.

_On October 26th, 2018, a new threat arrived on our world at this very spot. Without hesitation, brave men and women from different backgrounds and every conceivable corner of the globe came together and put aside their differences to face this threat. For three days, they battled with courage and dedication against impossible odds and through the darkest hours the city has ever seen. _

_Yet they emerged, battered but unbeaten, and forced the enemy to give up everything he had gained until their journey ended where this plaque now resides. This ground is a testament to the human will and spirt of victory that proved triumphant that day…and to the cost paid by those brave souls that now surround you._

"Helluva sentiment," drawled a familiar voice quietly next to Peter, "missed the mark though." Only then did the queens native the suited man holding a briefcase with aviator shades and a cowboy hat standing with a platinum blonde in a formal black dress, similar glasses concealing her eyes. But despite Cooper's appearance, there was a somber look on his features as he looked at the monument. His next words seemed to come out of nowhere and stood in stark contrast to the tales of heroism before them. "They went with songs to the battle, they were young, Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted, They fell with their faces to the foe. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them." The Marauder turned to see the wide eyes and gaping mouths on Peter and MJs faces, even Felicia seemed taken aback by the unexpected eloquence that came from the Pilot. He offered a small smile, "it's an old poem from the Great War," he explained, "_For the Fallen_."

There was a moment of silence as Peter and MJ stared, stunned, and mulled over the words written more than a century ago. It seemed that so little had changed in all that time and Peter could only nod in agreement. For those who heard about the events of those few days, the story on the plaque was the story that would be learned, but it wasn't the one he would remember. It was the Pilot's words that were closer to the mark for him, and all of those who had to live through those few days, he suspected. "Though I have a bit more for you than an old poem" he said as he offered his case.

Eyeing it suspiciously, Peter tilted his head and asked, "what is it?"

"Your medals, keys to the city, all those things," answered the Pilot easily. "Yuri asked me to pass 'em along since Osborn didn't want us special types included in his big ceremony the other day." Parker recalled being dragged to that event as well, many officers, including Captain Watanabe, and been given awards for valor by both Mayor Osborn and the President of the United States. Sable and some of her mercenaries received similar honors, but the 'special types' like Spider-Man, Marauder, Black Cat, Punisher, among many others, were excluded from the event. Oddly, even Mary Jane was left out, not even able to get a press pass to cover the ceremony. "Now here, take 'em," said the Marauder as he thrust the case into Peter's hand.

"Gee, thanks," deadpanned Peter as MJ gave him a warning nudge and sent a glare his way. "Hey uh…how're you holding up, both of you?"

"Good," answered Felicia tersely when Matthew hesitated.

"I heard you were given the chance to go back to the Frontier…" began Parker before Cooper cut him off.

"Never even considered it," said the Major, cutting off the webslinger, "and truthfully? I'm glad its all over and I've left the Frontier behind. Looks like I'm stuck here for the rest of my days, for better or worse."

* * *

That night, the same paths that had been quietly bustling in the day were barren as rain splashed on the concrete and marble, the barest illumination provided by the lamps as a solitary figure made his way through. Unlike Spider-Man, this individual was no stranger to death, he had seen a lot over his life, though the butcher's bill for this particular event still caused him to shake his head. Walking up and down the rows aimlessly, Frank Castle ignored the droplets trailing down his face and jacket as he came to a stop at a corner of the open square at the center.

"In-fucking-credible" mumbled the Punisher lowly as he looked at his watch, just over a week since the whole debacle came to an end and already things were quickly returning to the way they were. Citizens were returning to their homes, most of the ordnance and human remains had been removed along with any technology samples. Rebuilding would take much longer obviously, but the pace at things were moving stunned the Marine. As a result, the Punisher took a break, enabled by the fact that there wasn't hardly anyone else in the city and very little crime as a result. But he had seen reports of breaking and entering and some looting on the news earlier in the evening, so that vacation would be coming to an end in the morning.

In addition, the supplemental forces that had helped fight the IMC were now non factors. The ACEs had returned a week ago, the X-Men departed a day later, and Fisk's enforcers were nowhere to be found as their boss ordered them to return to their posts. The Marines had pulled out yesterday, their duties turned over to the SHIELD presence still operating in the city. All that left was the NYPD, Sable International, SHIELD, and the native vigilantes operating within the city.

"You're a hard man to find Mr. Castle," greeted a stoic voice flatly as the Marine turned around to be greeted with a figure barely silhouetted under the half-moon poking through the clouds. He was wearing a trench coat with an umbrella held up in one hand to shield his bald head form the rain. The Punisher was unable to help himself as he automatically sneered at the sight of the Shield Director while the eyepatch wearing man looked him up and down. "You going to hear me out this time or am I wasting my breath?"

A grunt escaped his pursed lips, "Two minutes," he growled lowly.

Fury smirked ever so slightly, "World's getting bigger Frank. Your little war has more fronts than just New York," he began lowly as the Punisher raised an eyebrow, "look around you, this is the price when people put their head down and ignore the bigger picture Frank."

"Like you?" spat the Marine, "You and yours sure took your sweet time. Is that what's going to happen if I sign up? I have to sit on my hands and watch more good people die?" sneered Castle. The utter gall of the Director really grated on him, "You can just count me out…Director."

"Good thing I had something else in mind for you then," said the Colonel as Frank was about to turn away, causing the Marine to stop and look back at the smirking Fury. "There are places the Avengers can't go and missions they aren't suited for," explained the trench coat wearing Director. "Dealing with the worst of the worst, eliminating them with extreme prejudice to make the world a safer place."

Castle snorted, he knew that Fury was trying to sell him on the idea, making it appealing to the vigilante. "And the benefits?"

"Access to top end resources and the intelligence needed to carry out the missions," began Fury as he slowly walked closer, "autonomy to carry them out as you see fit…as long as you get results, I don't really care how," added the Directory lowly. "Most people don't realize it, but we're at war Frank, have been for a long time. Just that most people don't realize it's a war until the end result looks like this," he said as he looked out at the rows of graves, "What do you say Castle?"

The Punisher offered a small grin as he looked down at his watch, "I think your two minutes are up," informed the Marine as Fury's face tightened and he pursed his lips ever so slightly. "I'll think about it" added Castle, "how do I reach you?"

"Don't bother," answered fury as his lips curled into a smirk, "we'll find you."

And with that, the spook spun on his heel and vanished into the rainy Manhattan night.

Across the city, at the top of Oscrop, Silver Sablinova had just finished briefing Osborn on the status of Sable International. Truth be told, the Symkarian felt her organization was in the best shape that it could be considering the losses taken, MOB Yankee was rebuilt and fully operational, reinforcements had been brought in to replace casualties, but these were not of the same quality. Many were less experienced with most of that experience coming on lesser assignments in poorer and underdeveloped countries. They weren't any lesser equipped however, still packing the same cutting edge technology as the rest of her forces, and with the threat of both the IMC and the Inner Demons having been seen off, she was confident these troopers were more than up to the task of policing against what was left.

"I must say Ms. Sablinova, I am impressed," complimented Osborn honestly, the man sipping from his glass of scotch, "you and your men have truly gone above and beyond, if there is anything I can do for you then please…don't hesitate to ask."

Even if Sable's discipline didn't waver, Osborn held her gaze knowingly as the Symkarian took a breath and made her request. "I wish for Sable International to enter a long-term partnership with Oscorp" she began as the CEO merely raised an eyebrow to indicate his interest. "I want to overhaul Sable International's arsenal, jointly developed by Sable International and Oscorp utilizing samples of captured IMC equipment."

The Mayor gave a knowing smile as he refilled his scotch glass took another sip, the mercenary remaining at ease, hands behind her back as she watched him like a hawk to try and get a read on Osborn. "I believe that would be agreeable," said the man with an easy smile, "but I want the prototypes rushed into services with your forces here in the city for field testing."

The Symkarian scrutinized the Mayor, trying to discern what he had in mind as she mulled over the proposal. "I'm merely thinking of the future Ms. Sablinova," provided the Chief Executive, "just as you are. Perhaps a return home?" Sable stiffened ever so slightly, those plans were just in the preliminary stage and the fact that he would surmise her intentions took her by surprise. "A noble goal, I'm willing to help."

With that, he poured a second glass as he moved around and offered his hand to shake, "Thank you Mayor Osborn," said the mercenary coolly as she shook his hand.

Offering a small smile, the CEO picked up both glasses and handed one to her as he raised his, "To a successful partnership," he said in toast as the two glasses clinked together and both downed the liquor, sealing the deal.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Vehicle: SHIELD _Saratoga-_class Helicarrier _

_The backbone of SHIELD's capability is this class of massive flying warships. Based on the hulls of the venerable waterborne _Nimitz_-class aircraft carriers, these ships carry not only the ability to move 20 5__th__ generation stealth fighter bombers, but large quantities of men and supplies anywhere in the world in good time. It is this mobility that makes them so effective in both combat and humanitarian duties. Capable of cruising at altitudes of up to 40,000 feet and speeds of 120 mph, there is no singular vehicle that can move as much as quickly as the _Saratogas_. _

_Six strong, the class all bear the names of World War 2 flattops. _Saratoga_, _Yorktown_, _Essex_, _Hornet_, _Reprisal_, and _Ticonderoga. _Despite being the first flying warships constructed, they have proven a surprisingly robust and reliable design, and a hallmark of SHIELD that is instantly recognized the world over. _

_All of that comes at an immense price, 25 billion dollars a piece with a further 68 billion going into R&D to develop them over the course of more than two decades. That doesn't include outfitting the craft either, nor does it include maintenance costs, nor the upkeep of the facilities used to maintain or service the craft. Indeed, the necessity of such maintenance means that only three such vessels are ever active at any given time, with two more usually undergoing some sort of refit and the sixth merely on alert or a shakedown period. _

_And all six fly the Stars and Stripes, all the ships were constructed in Newport News, Virginia, and their major servicing is done at Naval Station Norfolk, also in the state of Virginia. Their crews are pulled from both SHIELD and from all the armed forces, with a large portion coming from, unsurprisingly, the USN and USAF. The end result is the class a nickname that is good or bad, depending on who you ask, the _Saratogas _and their crews_ _are known as 'Team America: World Police.'_

* * *

**Closing Notes: So there were some clear references here, Black Hawk Down gave the idea of the medical tent, with Captain America filling in for Major General Garrison. Obviously, quite a few interactions with the Avengers, which people wanted, I know I didn't get everyone but I wanted to give the Titanfall characters a proper sendoff as well. The monument in the cemetery has some elements from other memorials, WWII and Vietnam mostly. The poem that Cooper rattles off is a real one by the way, or at least a part of one written by Laurence Binyon and was the source of the title of the documentary "They Shall Not Grow Old" which is excellent and highly recommended. I'm also laying the groundwork for things to come in the future and hopefully those seem interesting, I will caution that some events here will have a more immediate impact than others. **

**If you got something to say then feel free to do so in the usual place. I've learned more lesson, no more snark when asking for reviews. **

**It may be a kinda sudden shift, but there's a time skip before the next chapter when the focus is on a girl that likes to flirt and can do it in a mini skirt, because she is a Bad Girl.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	55. Chapter 55: Bad Girl

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Admittedly, I'm kind of pumping the breaks on the speed of the plot and slowing things down a bit. Doing something a bit lighter before getting stuck into the next arc.

**Theother1. gater: (I'm not intentionally doing your name wrong, whenever I type it correctly the stupid doc on the site just eats it completely.) Thanks for the feedback, good to hear it turned out well. Hopefully those plot threads seem interesting. **

**Blaze1992: Officially, Matt doesn't have the level of competence to do the extensive required repairs. I put him on the level of a tank crew, who can tension track and clean the guns and keep the fluids topped up, but if they need to replace the engine they send the tank to the mechanics. Unofficially, I want to give BT some new toys. **

**You're assuming they have spare ships (which I don't think I said they did), and that they can crew it, keep it fueled, maintained, and secure. It'd be a logistical nightmare and I still don't see the point. **

**As far as your points, of course, just because I don't write something doesn't mean it didn't happen. I had plans for a few suits, one iteration was two FBI guys, Agent Johnston and Special Agent Johnston, another nod to Die Hard, and the second was with Walter Peck, a nod to the original Ghostbusters. But both were too tedious and didn't offer anything special, they didn't fit the tone or mood I wanted, and we cut before the first draft. **

**He Who Devours The Suns: Very cool, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I can't wait to get to the next arc myself, I like how it looks so far. **

**Flame Wolfe: Excellent, here's the next chapter so let me know what you think.**

**DEF: Thanks for the kind words, I've got some ideas for upgrades for sure, but they'll take time to come to fruition. **

Fair disclaimer, there is **strong sexual content at the end of this chapter.** It has been a while since I've done one and these are still things I want feedback on. I do have a specific question regarding these scenes in the closing notes. If you care about these scenes, then please respond to it.

It really is a shame it's taken this long for me to get in a ZZ Top song, this one off what is their most successful album, and my favorite, that being 1983's _Eliminator. _The entire album is full of synthisizer groove with hits like 'Legs', 'Sharp Dressed Man', and 'Got Me Under Pressure.' But despite all of those songs, I've picked one that I think suits Felicia and it gets picked here because she is a bad girl in this chapter, and the one that drives you mad. This is just a really fun song for what I hope will be a fun chapter.

* * *

**Power Without Question - Chapter 55: Bad Girl**

_I know a girl with a GTO_

_She's the one that go cat go_

_She's a bad girl, she's a bad girl_

_See the girl dressed in green_

_She's the one that's a mean machine_

_She's a bad girl, she's a bad girl_

_Ain't it a shame when a girl goes bad_

_It's enough to drive you mad_

* * *

"How're we looking darling?" asked Cooper as he dropped down from the pullup bar in Felicia's hideout tucked away in the Freedom tunnel of the abandoned Hudson Yards. Surrounded by the items she had stolen ever since the Kingpin had been put away, paintings, statues, and most importantly, Maggia Financial records. This was where the differences between them showed, the Pilot was hopelessly out of his depth when it came to the smarts needed for this, so he used the time to get back into fighting shape after recovering from his wounds.

Setting down the three-inch-thick binder of said Maggia records, the Black Cat looked him over with an appreciative eye, "I'd say you're looking good cowboy", she replied tiredly. That binder joined several others that the heiress had been combing through on the desk. "Me? Well I always look good, but these books…sure you don't want to help?"

The Marauder had to stifle a laugh, "You'd be better off getting my sidearm to help you," he drawled as he nodded towards his gear, largely untouched for most of the last week and a half. "God knows that the Smart Pistol is better at number crunching than I ever will be," he deadpanned with a small smirk.

Hardy shook her head at the quip as she furrowed her brow and looked down at the notes she had taken with an inquisitive look. Matt would never admit it, but the look on her face as she concentrated and was thinking things over was something he found incredibly sexy. A different side of the thief from elegant and sometimes aloof one she usually projected, this laser focus Felicia had when she put her mind to task was not something many others saw, and he loved that he got to see it. Biting her lip, she looked up to catch him staring unapologetically, "I have all my clothes on and you're still ogling me, something you want to share?" Instead of answering, he merely gave her a grin and shrugged, causing her to shake her head in exasperation, "Well I do. These books are cooked Matt, no surprise there since they're for money laundering fronts, but there's something else to it," she said seriously as she stood up from her chair and opened all the binders. Matt's grin fell from his face, she wasn't sticking her ass out or playing anything up, that side was fully replaced by the cunning criminal she was as he came alongside. "Look at these here," she ordered in a no-nonsense tone, indicating certain columns as he hunched over, "Notice anything?"

It took him a second to go through all the numbers and compare, but even he spotted something that looked off to him. "They're identical," he answered confidently, though it still shocked him, "How is that possible? All those dates and amounts being the same like that?" he asked as he looked to the platinum blonde for answers.

But she had none, shaking her head in response. "They _shouldn't _be," she replied, "these are all for different business under the control of different families. Even stranger is that the money _isn't_ being laundered, it was cleaned already, this is more like…like the families are redistributing it or something." Cooper frowned; hearing Hardy sound unsure of herself didn't inspire confidence as he rubbed his chin in thought.

The Texan let out a sigh, "Alright, we need to think about this, and by 'we' I mean 'you,'" he said lightly, trying to ease the tension as they both relaxed. "We got money moving between families uniformly for…looks like years," he said as he glanced at the dates, "this money is going towards…" he prompted.

"Mundane things, business expenses," she answered as she flipped through one of the binders, "varies depending on the business, this Cicero owned arcade remodeled their bowling lanes for instance," provided the thief as she pointed towards the corresponding numbers.

"Okay then, so if the money isn't going towards anything suspicious, what about where it's coming from?" he supposed.

Shaking her head once again, Felicia explained, "No good. It all comes from the families respective offshore accounts. Going back from there it all comes from…wait a sec," she said as her face lit up and she compared the ledgers before turning back to him. "You ruggedly handsome bastard, I knew I didn't just keep you around because you're good in bed," she quipped.

"I'm more than good," he returned cockily as he shot her a smirk and crossed his arms, "but do feel free to enlighten me on what I helped you discover."

"I thought it was just a rumor," she began as she jotted some notes and moved onto the next ledger, repeating the process as she continued her explanation. "Way back, I think 10 or 11 years ago, there were rumors that the Maggia consolidated their wealth after the Police did a number on them," revealed the thief, "I thought they were just that: Rumors. But what if they weren't?" she prompted excitedly.

"Then we'll have to take more than just Hammerheads money," he answered as if it were obvious.

"Damn right cowboy," she returned, continuing to get more and more thrilled by her discovery. "We won't just be stealing a few million dollars of cash from one mob boss…this is a collection of every financial asset belonging to five of the largest crime families on the eastern seaboard," she revealed with a gleam in her eye. "Cash, stocks, bonds, securities, _everything,_" emphasized the thief, "Total value? _Six hundred and forty million dollars_."

Cooper could only manage two words. "Holy shit."

Hardy merely gave him a predatory grin, wicked gleam in her eye shining bright, "Yeah, 'holy shit' is right stud…and the best part? You're going to help me steal it."

* * *

Yuri downed the rest of her coffee and let out a sigh of relief as she tossed the last of the paperwork she had to do onto the massive stacks that took up a third of her desk and flicked the empty pen across the room, bouncing it off the wall and into a trashcan. "Thank fucking Christ that's over," she groaned as the Captain stretched her arms, popping her shoulders and fingers, prompting a wave of relief to wash over her.

The door to her office swung open to reveal the grinning form of Acting Commissioner DeWolff as the blonde strolled in and closed the door behind her. "Enjoying the cathartic nature of police paperwork?" she asked wryly, Yuri simply flipped her the bird with a lighthearted grin as the two women shared a laugh. "I'm surprised there isn't more to be honest," began the blonde as she lifted a hand to begin listing them off, "Kingpin, City Hall, the shit with Li, Grand Central, the IMC," rattled off DeWolff, "you've been busy Watanabe."

"That doesn't mean I want a damn vacation," retorted Yuri, "a raise would be nice though," she amended quickly.

"Alright 'Captain Wraith,' point taken" jabbed Jean lightly, the callsign she had taken due to the name of the gear sound really goddamn stupid now that she heard it. She simply hadn't bothered to come up with a better one at the time and she now immensely regretted her decision. "What did you end up doing with the Marauder's stuff anyway?"

The Police Captain shrugged casually, "Gave it back to him," she lied simply, her foot resting on the duffel bag stashed under her desk containing the entire set of gear. She _had _tried to give the suit, jumpkit, and goggles back to the SRS Major but he had insisted she keep it _'Just in case.' _Yuri had absolutely no clue what he meant by that, but she figured that if he wouldn't take it back then it would be best in her hands.

That being said, the mere sight of the suit brought up bad memories of the fighting. Even worse were the feelings that came with those memories. Yuri didn't feel bad about the things she had done, she felt the opposite. The Captain knew she _shouldn't _feel good about the fighting and the killing, but it felt…right. Yuri had done her duty and made the world a safer place, she had no guilt or shame about it. That was what unsettled her.

"Good, that's another loose end taken care of," said DeWolff, knocking Yuri from her internal conundrums as the Acting Commissioner tapped the stacks of paper and let out a whistle. "Shit, well…this was a lot more than I was expecting" admitted the blonde, "I'll go grab a cart, I want you to take the rest of today off," ordered the woman. "I'm serious Watanabe, I don't want to see you here when I get back."

Before Yuri could attempt to argue, Jean turned and walked out, leaving the Captain with no choice but to comply. Shutting down her desktop, she then sent out a quick set of texts to Spider-Man and the Marauder letting them know she was out of the office for the night and then officially clocked out. Pulling the duffel bag out, she stuffed her gun back into its holster and grabbed a few other papers about newer cases, smaller time looting and updates on her precinct. There was, however, one other sheet, the only things scrawled out on it in the Marauder's sloppy handwriting were _In case of Emergencies – Frank Castle: 646-809-7734_. Even more baffling than insisting that she keep the Pilot's gear was that he forced her to take this too, taking the sheet, she looked to the shredder next to her desk before deciding to ultimately respect the SRS Pilot's wishes and lumping it in with the other papers before making her way out of her office and towards her apartment.

* * *

Swinging through the streets as the sun set over New York City, Spider-Man was enjoying the relative peace and normalcy that had set in. With his newfound free time as the city got back on its feet, the Webslinger had been slowly but surely working his way through the backlog of smaller tasks that required his attention. Smaller time crime in the various districts like break-ins and car jackings, helping Howard recover his pigeons, getting back to being a 'Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.'

Dropping down onto a rooftop, the spandex clad superhero approached one of the many Oscorp branded research station that dotted the city. This time, just like all the rest, he thought back to his old friend who had set them up and who had asked for his help, Harry Osborn. Peter's best friend all through junior high and high school and the son of Oscorp's CEO. Compared to the unrelenting force that was his father, Harry was much mellower and detested conflict. His father always thought he lacked backbone, but the fact of the matter was that Harry simply preferred to find other ways to solve problems.

Peter never told him about his alter ego before he left on an extended trip/retreat in Europe more than 14 months ago. He had always wondered how that conversation would go with the aspiring Environmental Attorney. Even stranger would have been a meeting between Harry and Matt, the bold and brash Texan would have probably made quite an impression on the reserved New Yorker. Chuckling at that mental image as he walked inside the high tech research station, the Wallcrawler opened the files and his friends voice filled the small room. _"Pete, my Mom was a big believer in the city's steam heating…" _began Harry. While Harry was simply expecting Peter to simply work the controls and follow the instructions he had left, the Queens native always went above and beyond with his superpowers. _"It's better for the environment than fossil fuels. But high pressure can lead to deadly explosions. This station was designed to monitor the pressure in specific buildings. Help me show Oscorp its worth the cost…please…" _he said in an almost begging tone.

Peter understood his friend's desperation, Norman was a ruthless businessman, and if the stations couldn't prove their worth then they would be shut down, implemented by his son to carry on the legacy of his late wife or not. "Harry's really invested in preserving his mother's legacy…and who can blame him?" mused the webslinger as he worked the controls, following the precise instructions left for him to run the diagnostic. "There's been a sharp rise in pressure in some nearby buildings," observed the webhead, "the problem seems to be caused by some faulty regulators. I've got to break them off before the pressure gets to high…and the building explodes," he finished ominously, recalling Harry's words.

Leaping off the rooftops and firing a webline at the next building as he swung elegantly thorough the air towards the faulty regulators, their positions uploaded to the AR overlay on the HUD inside his mask. "The city will replace the regulators I break…there's no time to do this the polite way." Getting closer, he soon had eyes on the buildings in question, letting out a sigh of relief as he got a closer look. "Luckily the regulators are on the exterior…a well placed web shot should take them out" he figured as he took aim and fired three for good measure, the force of the impact cracking the vents and causing them to be blown out with a puff of high pressure steam. Repeating the process, he chuckled to himself, "What do you want to bet Jameson's going to be leading his show tomorrow with a 'Spider-Man vandalizes building' story?" he wondered. Sticking fast to the corner, he leapt away and raised his arms, pointing one at each of the two regulators he could see before firing a pair of lines that pulled him skywards. While the sync of the station had shown him the locations of pressure buildup, it also gave Peter a countdown until that pressure reached a critical point, and that little square clock counting down in the corner of his vision was not helping with his heart rate or anxiety.

The one saving grace was that relieving the pressure in one place lowered the pressure across the entire system, buying him a few more seconds with each regulator he destroyed. Swinging around one corner of the second affected building, he gave the last vent both webshooters, his superhuman reflexes and dexterity allowing him to place the two shots of synthetic silk with pinpoint precision. Letting out a sigh as he backflipped and let another line loose, he resumed his swing, "Okay…better head up to the roof and make sure the pressure's vented properly" he figured, deciding it best to be thorough. Landing on the rooftop, he didn't need long to find the regulatory valve on a pipe with the associated warning labels for high pressure steam and gave it a few spins with the aid of his superhuman strength. "Nary a peep from my Spider-Sense" he said happily, "Everyone's safe. Now I better get out of here before someone asks me to pay for all this…"

* * *

"Do I want to know where this van came from?" asked Cooper as he placed another box inside the back of the nondescript white van Hardy had procured. Felicia was just happy that the Texan had complied with her request to pack up their belongings at the Hudson Yards hideout while she double checked that everything was in place. While the thief wasn't thrilled at having to give up this hideout, she knew that it could be reclaimed later, and the payoff was more than worth it. So far, barring the unforeseen interruptions, her scheme was proceeding smoothly. While stealing the Maggia financial data had been her primary goal for this first phase, getting the opportunity to stretch her legs and revert to her bad old days by stealing from the wealthy regardless of their criminality or lack thereof had been fun. She even got to play with Spider again and got to watch him go from setup to setup; actually thinking he was helping by finding the cats she had left for him.

Well, he was helping, but he was helping her.

Thoughts of that brought her back to her current flame, though something had been nagging at her for some time about Matthew Cooper. Their relationship had always been unconventional, he had gone from being another guy she toyed with to a partner with benefits, then a lover, and now a steady boyfriend. But none of those labels really described how she felt about him, Matt was special, and she had only come figure out why quite recently. Felicia Hardy, weather in a short skirt or skintight outfit, was used to being a subject of desire, but in the Marauders stone cold blue eyes, she was also the subject of his respect.

That didn't mean she was above having a bit of fun with him.

"Why do you ask?" she returned as she sauntered up to him, running a hand over the thin shirt that clung to his chiseled pecs and abs that she loved so much, "Want to punish me for being a naughty girl?" she purred flirtatiously.

"Would a 'no' have been that hard?" deadpanned the Texan as he shook his head, the only downside of having him around for so long was that he was able to resist her more than most, but the way his eyes roamed over her dispelled the notion that she held no sway over him. Indeed, he turned his head to look at her again, and she caught him smirking at her, knowing the kind of reaction his seeming disinterest would incite in the platinum blonde. Indeed, being so close to the cocky bastard after he had worked up a sweat meant she got a whiff of musk, not overwhelming, but just enough to conjure memories of other times she had gotten him to work up a sweat. Those memories turned her on even more as she watched him flex his considerable muscles to heft the last of their stuff to the van and close the doors.

Oh yes, she would definitely be having him tonight.

But as much as she was looking forward to that, there were a few other things to take care of first. "It wouldn't've," she admitted with a smirk, "but it would have been a lot less fun."

Matthew gave her an incredulous look for a second before chuckling lightly, "Crazy cat…" he muttered under his breath.

"You know how crazy I can be cowboy," she reminded as she retrieved a package from the passenger seat of the van. "Spider picked up the last of my babies half an hour ago, so everything is set for the contingency…and we're going to have to go through with it," she revealed calmly. At the end of phase one, if the Maggia records she had stolen didn't reveal enough about Hammerhead, then the plan had been to use the cat statues Spider had recovered to disrupt the security of whatever police precinct had them so she could get into their secure server room and downloaded whatever they had on the mob boss. "With this kinda job I'm not leaving anything up to chance," she explained.

With the discovery of the joint fund the families shared, Felicia was flat out unwilling to not have every piece of data available to plan for phase 2. Cooper had already given his contact a chance to play ball and had been turned down, this was their only option. Indeed, Cooper seemed to understand, only asking the important questions, "Which precinct?" No dumb arguments about 'it being right' or 'I thought you were going straight Felicia' like she might get from someone _else_, just seeing the practicality of her plans and asking how to help.

"Chinatown," she said simply as she laid out the contents of the package on the workbench, ensuring they were neatly folded.

Behind her, not everything was as well. "Aw shit," grunted the Marauder as the Black Cat turned and leveled a look that clearly said 'explain.' "That's Yuri's precinct…figures he contacted her to have them picked up." Felicia frowned, she had come to begrudgingly respect the NYPD Captain and agreed that crossing her might not be the best idea. "Hang on a sec," began Cooper, tapping away at his smart phone, "Got a text here from her, says she clocked out earlier this afternoon, DeWolff made her," he said with a grin, "we might just get lucky."

Felicia smiled wider, "Don't worry stud, no matter what happens…you're getting lucky tonight," she promised.

* * *

For the first time since the 'Battle of Manhattan,' the Marauder donned his iconic gear, brand new set of green fatigues over an equally new black undersuit. Over that was his faithful grey dragon scale vest, but between its self-repair functionality and more time than he cared to admit spent repainting the damaged artwork on the back as well as adding a few more kill marks to accurately reflect his new tally. Similarly repainted was his helmet, the paint detailing was now pristine, free of the battle scars from the last year of use, the deep green almost shined, the singular white stripe was darkened ever so slightly to avoid being too reflective during night ops, the eyepatch wearing skull logo Mathilda had created and the script of his moniker got a similar treatment. Also changed was the addition of a pair of golden oak leaves on the shoulder straps of his armor, officially signifying his rank in the SRS.

Like his armor, his arsenal had received some TLC too, the entire space below his hideout reeked of gun oil emanating from the racks of spotless weapons. While he hadn't been able to get around to _every _gun he owned, those he hadn't worked on were mostly in the various other safehouses and hadn't been touched since they had been put there. However, the absence of BT was one he could feel, the Titan was still upstate and the latest estimate from Tony Stark was that it would take at least another full month before the repairs were complete.

Still, last report from the Vanguard was that he would be back and better than ever, so Matthew was content to wait, and things had been quiet enough. That led to him getting back into the plan to take down Hammerhead since he didn't want BT around when he took down the crime boss, Cooper wanted that one to be done up close and personal. Working so closely with Felicia again, minus the distractions of being but small cogs in a larger war machine, had reminded him of everything he had come to love about the woman. She had cared about him when he was wounded, but didn't dote over him, just as he didn't dote over her about any lasting effects of their shared experiences. In fact, he felt that Felicia having gone through the whole ordeal had given her some perspective.

The weeks since had seen the couple settle into a comfortable mutual understanding as a result, and cemented Matthew's belief that he had made the right choice in staying. Felicia gave Cooper something he thought he would never get, a hint of peace. All the crazy shit he did, everyone he had fought and killed, all his nightmares and his fucked-up schedule, everything that was wrong with him was, in her eyes, a non-issue. The Marauder knew he would never lead a 'normal' life, but Hardy wasn't looking for one and their relationship felt natural as a result, it felt _right_.

Looking over his shoulder to see the burglar undergoing her own preparations, zipping up one of her knee-high boots as she caught him staring past her and off into space. "Hey cowboy," she called out, knocking him from his thoughts as she sauntered over towards him, "you ready to get going?"

Pushing his internal musings aside in favor of the imminent issues, Cooper snapped back to focus on loading the last of his ammunition, "Just about," he drawled. A living personification of the mantra 'Slow is smooth, smooth is fast' as he stocked ammo pouches with magazines for the Longbow DMR before slinging the scoped rifle over his shoulder and securing the MK6 Smart Pistol in the tanker holster across his chest. For this trip, he had a mix of lethal and non-lethal ammunition, but at the end of the day, he didn't want to have to fire a shot. Black Cat should be in and out with his role simply being to chauffer her there and back. Picking up that freshly repainted helmet, he flipped it around and slipped it on, taking a deep breath, the replaced liner making it feel like a new helmet, he turned to the Thief and said, "Let's roll."

Sliding into the low slung _Widowmaker _and firing up the Hybrid Hypercar, the pair closed the butterfly doors before Cooper carefully guided the car out of the underground garage and snaked through the tunnels until the car emerged onto the streetlamp lit surface. While the few others out on the streets of Manhattan just before midnight openly stared and gawked at the infamous dark green machine, the scene inside was quite different. The Marauder and Black Cat both sat casually and hummed along to the Eagles _Life in the Fast Lane _while the 1977 track played on the radio. The irony of them of all people listening to that song was not lost on them in the slightest.

These were the moments that the Pilot had come to cherish, it wasn't normal, but it was peace. Still, that peace came to its inevitable end as they approached their destination and Matthew sought out a place to park the million-dollar McLaren P1 where it wouldn't be tampered with. Finding a suitable spot in the back of a parking garage, the pair exited the car and made their way to the rooftops to cover the last half mile or so to their final destination on foot. Working only by the light of the moon and the green glow of their respective NVGs, the duo soon laid eyes on the Chinatown precinct. With Felicia leading the way, the pair arrived at a water tower across the street and came to a stop, "I want you to cover me from here cowboy."

Grunting in acknowledgement, Cooper set to work, laying prone on the catwalk as setting up the Longbow, finding in the range and cycling through the vision modes on the scope. "All good here babe," he reported as he loaded the first magazine into the marksman rifle and chambered a round before looking back up at the catsuit clad thief. "Don't worry, I'll be on you tighter than that outfit, anything goes wrong and I got your ass covered."

Felicia let out a feminine giggle, "That's what makes you special, you always keep your eyes on what's important." Her tone had gone back to her seductive purr, and she was smirking as she turned around and got moving, swinging one shapely leg over the railing and pausing as she straddled the metal just long enough to arch her back, sticking her ass out for him to get an eyeful. Grinning as she saw the glowing blue visor fixate on her voluptuous curves, the Black Cat used her cell phone to activate the dozen or so cats she knew to be inside, causing them to link up and use their combined power to spoof or jam every security system the building had. Following that, she drew her grapple gun and launched the hook, swinging into the night as the Marauder settled back in behind his scope and tracked her.

With feline grace befitting her moniker, the black clad burglar landed on the roof of the police building and set up her rappelling gear, hooking the line to the harness integrated into her suit before she descended rapidly. Nearing her entry point, the burglar's freefall came to an end as her feet kissed the side of the building lightly and she walked down the last two floors on the exterior of the precinct. Arriving at the window she intended to enter through, Felicia planted the balls of her feet on the edge of the upper side of the cutout with the window and 'stood' on that small surface, hanging inverted as she extended the claws in her gloves and began cutting a hole in the window. _"Tight fit, but I'm in," _reported the Black Cat over the radio as she slipped inside.

Matt chuckled inside his helmet and grinned, "Like you'd want it any other way," he quipped. Relaxing, the Marauder observed that no alarms had been raised and the entire building remained quiet and dark. Panning his scope over the building to keep watch, he soon worked his way down to street level where he saw a police cruiser come to a stop before a familiar figure emerged and made for the precinct. "Aw hell," muttered the Pilot as he keyed his radio and raised his girlfriend, "Heads up darlin, you got trouble heading your way."

* * *

Foot tapping idly as her arms were crossed over her chest, betraying her perturbed disposition, Yuri Watanabe ascended her precinct in the annoyingly slow elevator despite orders from DeWolff to stay home. The Captain found that after a nap she was restless and wound up back at work with lack of anything else to do. She knew that with it being past 2 in the morning there would be a skeleton crew at best at the offices and more than likely none at all. That didn't bother her, since the peace and quiet was something Yuri found conducive to productivity.

So, when the elevator sounded with a soft 'ping' before opening to reveal a dim and silent floor that she stepped onto. Striding with calm poise and purpose, the cop weaved her way through the cubicles on her way to her corner office. Stepping inside, she set down her coat and files she brought, she unholstered her piece to place it in her desk when she looked up and cocked her head when she noticed an odd light from one of the hallways. Revolver still in hand, the Captain went to investigate, some sixth sense telling her that _something _was off. Moving with much lighter and measured steps towards the source of the unusual light.

Arriving at the corner, the Captain paused, pressing herself against the wall before taking a breath and deciding to ere on the side of caution, calling out, "Hey, it's Yuri, who's there?" When she got no reply, she checked to make sure the cylinder had its full complement of six .357 magnum rounds before rounding the corner, weapon up. She wasn't surprised to see that nothing was amiss, the rational part of her mind telling her that some janitor had left the light on by accident, but there was an insuppressible nagging feeling telling her that wasn't the case.

Narrowing her eyes, the Cop lowered her weapon and slowly walked down the well-lit hall and focused, trying to tell what else was off. Turning her head, she realized that there was more noise here, compared to the dead silence in her office, here she could make out the sounds of the City That Never Sleeps. The label on the door next to her read 'Case records' and she tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. Now alarm bells were ringing loudly in her head, something like this room should have been locked up, and when Watanabe through the door open those alarms were joined by bright flashing lights as she saw the section of the window that had been cut out, "Oh shit," cursed the Captain as she snapped her handgun up and scanned the room, looking for any sign of who was responsible.

Working her way forwards, Watanabe determined the room was clear as she looked down at the desktop, jaw dropping as she read what was on the monitor. It was the location of evidence for an ongoing case, and as soon as she read which case, she knew who was responsible as she darted out of the room and down the hall to one of the evidence rooms. Not even bothering to slow down because she was so sure the door would be unlocked, Yuri barged straight into the evidence room and slammed the door shut behind her, not surprised that every light was on and that some of the lockers were open. "Black Cat!" called out the Captain with authoritative calm, Rhino up and at the ready as Yuri moved deeper into the room and its rows of shelves and lockers, "I know you're in here!"

The sound of what Yuri thought was foot steps behind her caused her to whip around to find nothing out of the ordinary, but Watanabe could sense that the burglar was here. "I also know why you're here!" called out the cop, remembering what the Marauder told her about the pairs plans. "It's the Maggia, right? Hammerhead?" continued the Cop as she methodically cleared out every nook and cranny in the room. "I'll tell you the same thing I told your boyfriend: We…will…_handle it,_" ground out Yuri.

"Do you really believe that Captain?" called out the smooth voice of the criminal from her right, Yuri immediately turning and moving towards the source. When she got close, she heard Black Cat again, only this time from her left, "Your precious laws only matter when we all agree to abide by them, Hammerhead doesn't," reminded the Black Cat.

"My 'precious laws' will still be what brings him to justice" asserted the Captain coolly, though her patience was beginning to grow thin. "You think merely killing him will solve the problem? You must not be as smart as he thinks."

It was a cheap shot to try and get under her skin, but Watanabe didn't want to play the woman's games. But it seemed that her attempt was unsuccessful, since she only got an airy laugh in reply that seemed to echo all around her before the Thief gave her answer. "You have it all wrong Captain, we're not going to merely kill Hammerhead, where's the fun in that?" she asked rhetorically as they continued their Cat and Mouse game, but for the life of her, Yuri couldn't tell which she was as she found she had gone full circle and was now back by the only door in or out. "We're going to _destroy _him. Pick him and the Maggia apart piece by itty bitty little piece until there's nothing left," revealed the Black Cat. "Besides, isn't that what you _really _want?"

Before Yuri could respond, there was a _Snap-Crack! _As the room descended into pitch blackness due to the EMP. Seizing the opening, the Black Cat charged forwards, only the dim green glow of her eye lenses for Yuri to train her gun on. Only the Thief was much too fast, her Olympic level athletic ability allowed her to close the distance and smack the gun away before Yuri felt a leg wrap around hers as she was shoved back. As Watanabe felt weightlessness she realized that the Thief had tripped her up, but before she could contemplate that fact, the wind was knocked out of her as her back slammed into the wall. A spike of pain surged through her shoulder as something dug into her flesh there, giving her a hint of hope. Taking a desperate gamble, Yuri through an elbow out, knowing that the thief would easily dodge, but the move gave the Cop the opening she needed to leant to the side and toggle the light switch off and back on again, resetting the lights as the EMP resistant circuits came back to life.

If she wasn't so pissed off, Yuri would have laughed at the gobsmacked expression on the Burglars face, or at least the part she could see as Watanabe brought the revolver up, pulling the hammer back for added effect. The Captain maintained a straight face, and after a split second, the Black Cats few exposed features also returned to neutrality despite the fact both her hands were in the air and the two were breathing heavily after the short but brutal duel. "Here's what's gonna happen…" began Yuri, her tone carrying the hard edge of authority, "you're going to put back whatever you took and then you and I are going to have a nice long chat."

Only the corners of the Thief's mouth turned up at the ultimatum before the hood covered head shook slowly. "Why would you do that Captain? After all, we both want the same thing," added the burglar coyly, sending a flare of anger up from Yuri's chest. "Hammerhead has it coming, you know that more than anyone," began the Black Cat, her tone was all knowing and she slowly lowered her hands in a gesture of confidence and defiance. "I shouldn't have to remind you that the Maggia bribed your father, or that when he wanted to sever ties they were the ones who exposed him and had him sent to Rykers, or that Hammerhead was the one who killed him in Prison…" rattled off the Black Cat with knowing calm. Each reminder only caused Yuri's anger to rise until she was simmering, but her rage was directed at a singular target, and it wasn't the one right in front of her. "You don't want Hammerhead brought to justice; you want him _gone_. And all you have to do to have that happen…is to let me walk out that door."

Yuri's face became a sneer as she tightened her grip on the gun, keeping it level and steady on the thief's torso, noting the bag of presumably stolen police evidence on Maggia activities before making her decision. "Only once," she murmured lowly as she flicked the safety on and lowered the gun, "I'm only letting you pull this shit once. You're on your own from here," she said lowly, "make it count."

With a simple and curt nod, the Burglar opened the door and glided from the room, Yuri unable to hear any sound of steps despite the fact she saw that the Black Cat was wearing heels. Taking a few more deep breaths, Watanabe walked out 10 seconds after the thief and saw that she was nowhere to be found. The door to the room she had entered from was locked once more and the lights turned off, "she's good," admitted the Captain as she returned to her office.

Settling back in behind her desk, Watanabe began dutifully typing up a report of events somewhat altered from those that had actually occurred. While doing that, she called up a certain Wallcrawler she knew, deciding to keep him in the loop in the hope that he could talk some sense into his vigilante friends. When he answered after the first ring, she began without preamble, "Spider-Man, the Black Cat just robbed the Police Department's evidence lock up…"

* * *

Before he received that phone call, the webslinger thought he had been hot on the heels of the Thief as he swung towards the location his algorithm had spat back out. Working backwards from the location and timing of her burglaries he had been shocked to find the source was all from the same area, not spread out amongst her numerous safehouses around the city. Closing in on the epicenter of that location, he found his feet hitting the ground in a surprising location. "Freedom tunnel," he said aloud as he looked at the old rail tunnel in the middle of Hudson Rail Yards. "Before F.E.A.S.T started, this was a haven for New York City's homeless…" he recalled as he began to walk inside, "mostly abandoned now. Good hiding spot…" he acknowledged.

He looked around at the graffiti covered walls and overgrown railroad tracks, trying to find anything obviously out of the ordinary. "Must be a hidden entrance or something…" he realized as he began to examine the walls more closely until he saw a crease in the wall, obscured by the artwork on it, almost as if the artwork was placed there deliberately…

"Bingo!" he said as he pushed the door open to reveal the room on the other side. Moving in, he looked over the massive collection of items inside, "this looks like everything she stole. But no sign of Felicia…or Matt," he realized as he walked through the space. In fact, other than the stolen items, there was nothing there. No food, water, weapons, or any other kind of equipment that either of them might need, all of it felt off. Looking closer, he began to examine what exactly Felicia had stolen. "Financial data on the Maggia crime families…are they trying to blackmail them?" he wondered. That seemed too subtle for Cooper, but it might be something he would go along with perhaps. There was also a painting he recognized, "Fisk reported this stolen a few years back…" he recalled with a shake of his head before turning to see something much more in line with the Cat Burglar's tastes. "Wine from a Maggia vineyard…"

At the back of the room were dozens more of those cat statues on a shelf, but it was the three pictures above that which caught his eye. On the left was one of the Black Cat and Marauder, both in full costume, sitting on the hood of the green McLaren, pressed closely to each other. Peter couldn't help but think that the pair made a nice couple. Looking to the one on the far right, he realized that it wasn't a photo, but a sheet of scorch marked metal. On it was a bit of red and a familiar logo bearing the letters I M C. Below it was a plaque that read _Proof that the Black Cat is a Titan Killer_. Lastly, Spider-Man focused on the image in the middle. "I remember when that photo was taken," recalled Peter, it had been less than two weeks prior, but it felt like it was from a different lifetime. In it was all the main players who would take part in the Battle of Manhattan when they got together the night before the fighting really began.

Pushing those memories aside, he turned and made his way back through the hideout and saw another familiar sight, "First time I caught Felicia, she was trying to steal this. Looks like she finally went back to finish the job" he mused. The old statue must have been a pain to move, but it was far from the most interesting the superhero found, that was the folded black suit sitting on the table. "What's this?" he asked. Noting a voice recorder like the ones he sometimes found at her stakeouts sitting next to it, he picked it up and pressed 'play.'

"_Spider," _greeted Felicia over the recording, _"You raced here to redeem me, didn't you? You're adorable." _

"_I'm right here you know," _grumbled another voice that Spidey recognized, _"anyway, listen buddy, I know I've been cagey when it comes to what Cat's been up to, but it's just something that's gotta be done," _explained the Marauder sincerely. _"But you're still like a brother to me, and I can't thank you enough for your help with the IMC, so when you told me the Spider-Armor was a total loss I went ahead and put together a replacement." _Peter's eyes then went back to the black suit, noting the red spider logo on the front. It was a simple, more angular design, the boy almost hourglass shaped and the legs were long, bent at almost right angles. _"I didn't design it; Mathilda did last year. All it is, really, is one of the undersuits I have, temp regulating, tear proof, and fire resistant. Added a few patches of Dragon Scale to protect vital areas, gave you some pockets since you always bitch about not having them" _added the Marauder with a dry chuckle that Peter couldn't help but echo as he unfolded the suit and looked through it. Indeed, it resemble the high-tech garment Cooper wore, but featuring the modifications the Pilot mentioned. _"Don't blame me for the styling though, Cat overruled me on that…"_

"_If you've got it," _interjected the thief, not sounding perturbed at all about Matt's remark, _"flaunt it." _That caused Peter to let out an involuntary bark of laughter, since he knew very well that Felicia thought exactly the same thing when designing her own costumes. _"Trust me, your lady friend will appreciate it."_

There was a slight pause on the recording before Cooper spoke back up, _"I know this doesn't make us square, but I think we both know you don't really understand the way I work, and I'm not asking you to. All I'm asking is that you find it in you to forgive me for putting you through all this shit. Take care pal and see you soon." _After that, there was a 'click' as the recording came to an end.

Peter thought that was an odd request, Felicia had already proven that she was on their side, and if she wanted to play a game with him then he could forgive her for that easily. Still, he wasn't about to turn down his friends kindness as he folded the gifted suit back up and turned to leave when his mask phone rang. Seeing Yuri on the caller ID, he answered immediately. _"Spider-Man, the Black Cat just robbed the police departments evidence lockup."_

"What?" he exclaimed, "how? That place is like Fort Knox."

"_All those cats you found? When they were all together in the evidence room, they got a signal, linked up, and boosted their individual signals, and deactivated all the alarms. No one even saw her sneak in," _revealed the Captain simply, though Peter could hear a tinge of underlying anger in her voice.

"She knew I'd find the cats and report them to you," realized Spider-Man as he suppressed a groan at his own stupidity. "She played me…again. What'd she take?"

Yuri seemed to be anticipating this exact question and gave her reply quickly. _"She copied all our info and evidence on cases regarding the Maggia crime families…though in doing so she invalidated everything we'd gathered."_

_The Maggia again_ noted Peter, that seemed to be a common theme he encountered more than a few times, was there a connection? "She let me find fifty million worth of loot just for what you had on the Maggia…" he realized, "that means she has something even bigger planned."

"_Wow, gotta give her credit" _conceded the Captain, _"She played you good."_

"Are you smiling?" asked Peter, "cause you sound like you're smiling."

"—_Gotta go"_ said Yuri quickly before the line went dead. Shaking his head, he made his way out with his new suit, he might have gotten played, but he also knew that the game was only just beginning.

* * *

Savoring the burn of the whiskey as the alcohol went down his throat, Cooper looked out the floor to ceiling window of Hardy's penthouse at the City That Never Sleeps. He had taken a shower first while Felicia stowed the items she had taken from the police station, when he had been leaving the shower he came across the vixen on her way to freshen up herself, and had been told to not head to bed just yet. He smiled at that, knowing what was likely coming, Felicia had a formidable sexual appetite, not that Matt minded taking care of her needs. Indeed, as the Texan looked around the living room, he couldn't see one piece of furniture that the couple hadn't fucked on at some point.

He left his musings behind when he heard the shower turn off in the other room and quickly downed the rest of his liquor, knowing it would quickly be forgotten and not wanting it to go to waste. Tapping his fingers idly on the bar and with a cocky smirk on his face, Cooper waited, though he was understandably impatient as the seconds crawled past. Suddenly stopping his tapping, he strained to make out the sound of the Black Cats impossibly light footfalls that indicated her approach and turned to the doorway.

Waiting for him was a sight he had seen many times and still never failed to thrill. While he was wearing only a pair of boxers as per his usual sleepwear, his girlfriend's choice offered even less modesty. Shapely toned legs were on full display, immaculate porcelain skin drawn over toned muscle that led to the gorgeous curve of her hips that flared out, the barest hint of her full ass peeking out from behind. Against the background of that pale skin, a deep red G-string stood out, the thin lacey material covering her sex only teasing what was behind it. Above that, her body continued to curve into her thin waist, her flat toned stomach showed the first signs of the considerable muscle beneath, but much more notable were her full breasts, bare for him to feast his eyes on. But her face was still even more stunning, symmetrical and elegant, with piercing green eyes that appraised him in the same way he was her, a coy smirk of her own, and a devilishness that made her who she was barely hidden just beneath the surface.

His staring hadn't gone unnoticed however, biting her lip; the woman began to stride forward, sway in her hips as her tits bounced with each stride. "How bad do you want me?" she asked seductively as he turned around and leaned back against the bar. With a smoldering look in her emerald eyes, she trailed her hands up her body, coming to a stop as she squeezed her creamy breasts, "Do you want my tits?" she asked before she lay a hand on his chest and trailed it down until it was caressing his quickly hardening shaft. "Do you want me to suck your cock? Take it all the way down my throat?" she asked huskily, "I will stud, just for you."

But Cooper merely let out a low guttural groan, entranced by her performance as she continued her routine. From her continuously hardening nipples, now standing tall, he could tell her arousal was rising as fast as his own, and he had no intention of stopping her…for as long as he could bear that is. Smiling wickedly, Felicia turned up the heat, pressing her body against him to let him get a whiff of her sweet vanilla scent and standing up on her toes to whisper into his ear. "Would you rather my cunt? Want to feel it squeeze you and milk you dry as you shove that big dick into me?" The words sent a chill down his spine, but he held on, but only just. Pulling back, Felicia turned around and pressed her heavenly rear into his groin, grinding her buttocks against the bulge in his boxers. "This is what you really want, isn't it?"

Of their own accord, his hands grabbed hold of her hips to pull her closer as she gasped ever so slightly at the aggressive action. But after a split second, she pressed her ass further back and continued her teasing, "Oh you like that, don't you stud?" she purred, just as he was about to lose it, she pulled away and spun back around, causing him to groan. "Then I have something you'll like even more" she purred as she turned to the bookshelf on the wall next to the windows. The heiress bent over at the waist, putting her ass on full display as she reached behind the books and retrieved a hidden bottle before throwing a devilish grin over her shoulder.

Matt looked down and caught a glimpse of the label as his eyes lit up with a lustful gleam as he strode towards her with singular intent. "How long have you had that hidden there?"

"Remember when we went after the Maggia the first time? Looking for dirt on Osborn so you could blackmail him? Our first night together?" she asked fondly.

Matt wrapped his arms around her, bringing a hand up to fondle a breast as he suckled on her neck, leaving a mark on her otherwise flawless skin, "How could I forget?" Indeed, that had been one incredible night with an even more incredible woman, and it didn't disappoint.

He could feel the woman smile as her face shifted against his own, "I'm always prepared, so I stashed guns and lube in every room," she revealed as she turned and kissed his lower jaw lightly, "That way I would be ready for however the night went."

Cooper chuckled lowly, a deep rumble in the back of his chest at the admission as he slipped his thumb under the waistband around her hips and began to ease it down slowly. "And how do you want tonight to go?" he whispered huskily as he worked his hand around to her front and extended a finger down to feel the arousal and heat emanating from her sex.

The platinum blonde shuddered and moaned from the touch, placing the bottle down as she brought a hand up to knead her other breast as Cooper kept up his ministrations, gently caressing her swollen lower lips before carefully easing a finger inside her dripping slit. "Oh…_fuck_…" moaned Felicia as she whimpered from his slow touches before his hand slowly drew away and went back to getting her sole garment off. While his right hand was working on her lingerie, Matt brought his left back to free his erection from its own confines, kicking his boxers away as he simultaneously felt Felicia's G-string fall to the floor. Eagerly, he ran his hand over her smooth ass down towards her pussy until his finger came across a bit of unexpected cold metal amidst the vixens warm buttocks. Quirking an eyebrow, Felicia reminded him, saying "I'm _always_ prepared cowboy."

Coopers breath hitched, he had been expecting a titfuck or something similar, but the prospect of getting to fuck this beauty in the ass once again supplanted all other desires. "You sure darlin'?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm and steady, but there was little hope of that. Hardy nodded in return, swaying her hips for added effect as his eyes fixed on the metal plug inserted into her tight ass. "Tell me _exactly _what you want," he commanded firmly, before adding "as only the Black Cat can."

"What I want from you stud," she began as she picked up the bottle of lubricant and turned to face him, "is to make the last half hour I've spent stretching my asshole worth it by taking out the plug," she began as she squeezed out some of the liquid onto her hand. As the lube glistened on her fingers, she stared down hungrily at his manhood before grasping it, "and shoving this…_long…hard…thick…cock…_" she purred with measured slowness, stroking his erection in time. At the same time, she added yet more lube over his manhood as her finely manicured fingers struggled to wrap around his impressive girth, repeating until his dick throbbed in need and was glistening with the cool liquid. "All the way up my ass, as deep as it will go, and stretching me as wide as you can." Matt swallowed as she finally let go of his dick and turned to present herself to him, setting the bottle down on the shelf as she prepared herself. Spreading her legs and planting her feet as she bent forwards, thrusting her bottom out, and finished by saying "Before you sodomize the _ever-living fuck _outta me."

Cooper stepped up and grabbed the bottle, "with pleasure," he answered, because what would any other self-respecting red-blooded man say to such a request? He quickly poured out more of the clear lube onto her ass, spreading over her cheeks before spreading them and using his finger to lubricate the plug. Carefully, he eased the metal intrusion out of her, Felicia's sphincter slowly releasing the metal until it was fully out. Setting the plug aside, Matt squeezed even more lube directly onto the ring of flesh before slowly working two fingers in up past his first knuckle, savoring the reflections of Felicia's face staring back at him from the massive glass windows.

Satisfied that she was ready, he added a bit more to his own dick before lining it up with the sloppy back entrance of the Thief. All the lube meant it glided easily between her shapely rear cheeks before Cooper could wait no longer and pressed it against his wildly erect cock against her tightly puckered asshole. Slowly, the head parted the pink ring of flesh, easing in as he placed both hands on her hips to hold her steady as more and more pressure was slowly applied. When his cockhead was fully inside, he let out a breath as Felicia moaned, her anal passage clenching at the intrusion before relaxing a moment later. Only then did he continue, pressing in further and further as the burglar was panting and crying out the whole way in an erotic mix of pain and pleasure that spurred him on further. Once he was halfway in he could wait no longer, with a quick, brutal thrust, he rammed his cock the rest of the way in as Felicia _screamed_ as he roared in triumph at their accomplishment. Her tight tunnel squeezed him like a vice, the heat of it in contrast to her slick pussy as he savored the sensations, her moans full of arousal and the delicious quiver of her body around his cock as he couldn't help but deliver a spank to the beautiful piece of ass he had just claimed. Leaning forward, he whispered huskily in her ear, "look at you, taking my cock all the way up your ass like a filthy slut..." he could hear her breathing quicken as she clenched around him before he added "that's my girl…" and lowly as leaned forwards to plant a chaste kiss on her lips.

"I'm all yours," she confirmed as he pulled back, "Take me! Take my ass!" she cried, almost demandingly. Unable to deny the platinum blonde seductress, Cooper placed his hands back on her hips and slowly eased out until only his head was still nestled safely inside of her before thrusting all the way back in, Felicia crying out again as he slowly repeated the process to her screams of "Harder! Fuck me, fuck me harder Matthew!" Again, he complied, using his commanding position to control the pace with his hands on her hips as well as his own, all the while his eyes were glued to the spectacular sight of her asshole spread around, and enveloping, his cock.

The only thing that could distract him was her reflection, a mix of agony and bliss as her screams continued until they devolved into incoherence while he continued to pound at her. His strokes were fast, hard, and _brutal_. Even better? Felicia was savoring each and every one of them. But she wanted more, one hand coming off the glass to reach back to her sopping wet cunt, stroking her wildly erect clitoris with desperate need. Removing one hand caused the only arm still bracing herself against the glass to falter and soon it was her elbow and forearm pressed against the cool surface. Both merely took a step forward, so lost in their fucking they barely noticed what had happened. The sensation of her senses overwhelmed the Thief, the heat of the cock in her ass while the chill of the windows against her bare breasts made for a delicious contrast, though it paled compared to her fingers that filled her pussy as her lovers manhood was buried up to the hilt in her ass. Her orgasm was spectacular, her cries filling the room as she gushed all over her legs, his legs, and the floor as he felt her whole body tremble and shake both in his hands and around his manhood.

Cooper paused to let her catch her breath, but her first words were "Don't stop! Keep fucking me!" They came out in a snarl, and he immediately resumed despite the fact that her legs had failed her and he was now holding up her limp form, thrusting into it as she goaded him on. "C'mon stud, faster! _Ohhhhh…fuck_, harder! Cum in me! Fill my asshole with your cum," she moaned out as she clenched around him.

It was too much for Matthew as he felt his balls begin to tighten, "I'm cumming,"he grunted just before rope after rope of hot cum shooting out into the depths of her ass as it squeezed down on him again as he buried is hock to the hilt one last time until it was fully drained. The unexpected sensation caused Felicia to orgasm again, her hot breath fogging the windows as her lust gnarled face stared back at him from the hazy reflection. Waiting until Felicia had her feet under her again before he slowly removed his softening dick from the hot cum filled hole.

While she had the strength to maintain her position, she was still breathing heavily, panting as her tits rubbed up and down the windows while Cooper smirked with satisfaction at his handywork. Felicia's ass was still out on display, full and round cheeks coated in lubricant and sweat glistened as her violated asshole oozed with cum. With a cocky grin, he asked "satisfied sweetheart?"

Felicia gave a content and purr like "Mhmmm," as she stood back to her full height and gave her ass a shake, shuddering at the feel of his thick cum trailing down her ass and legs before she turned around and flashed him a wicked grin, "don't think this means you're done just stud." Matt could already feel his erection begin to form once again when he heard her husky tone, nevermind seeing the gleam in her eye as she sauntered past him towards the sofa. "I'm not done with you yet," she purred, "not while I have two more holes that need to be filled…" she explained as she turned to face him.

His cock was already at an impressive length as he shook his head and took a deliberate step towards her, "you got it all wrong darlin," he drawled as he placed his hands on her shoulders and began to trail light kisses down her collarbone towards her left breast. "You don't get to be done with me," he told her before placing a ring of kisses around her erect nipple, breathing on it before slowly moving to her other breast and said "the way this will work," he began before he kissed around her right nipple, "is that I'm going to fuck your every hole until _I _am through with _you_." His words were firm, not a suggestion, but stating the fact of how things would go before he let out a breath on her right nipple and asked her "do you understand?"

Felicia shuddered deliciously, but proudly refused to submit to him as he decided to turn up the pressure, extending his tongue to give her breast a teasing touch, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from her before Matt pressed his tongue to her nipple. That got a long moan that quickly turned into the vixen beginning to answer "ye…yes…yeaaaa!" she screamed when Matt bit down on erect nipple, putting that little bit of pressure that he knew drove her absolutely crazy.

With his hands still on her shoulders, he applied a bit of guiding pressure, "sit down," he instructed as she complied, setting her sculpted and lube covered bottom down on the expensive leather sofa. Moving faster now, Matt wrapped a hand around each of her calves, lifting them and causing Hardy to fall on her back as he placed her legs on his shoulders and letting his erect cock rest on her dripping cunt.

With his muscular arms wrapped around her powerful legs, Cooper began to gently thrust his hips, teasing her entrance as she whimpered, "just fuck me already!" she begged as she tried to open her legs wider, but found them constrained by the Texan's arms. "Shove that cock in my pussy stud, fuck me like the needy cockhungry slut I am," she purred, trying to gain control by making him lose it. "I need it, I need your dick in me, give it all to me…" she begged.

Finally, Matt relented and drew his hips back, letting his cockhead come to rest at the entrance of her sopping wet cunt before telling her "be careful what you wish for darlin," in his cocky drawl before thrusting all the way in until his entire manhood was surrounded by hot, wet pussy. Even better, with her legs held straight up, she was even tighter than usual and absolutely gushing wet, making the sensation of penetration absolutely heavenly. Cooper grunted, holding back from cumming right then while Felicia did no such thing, screaming to the heavens as she gushed all over him before she found herself looking up into the predatory look of Matt and shuddered as he told her, "you might just get it."

And Cooper was more than happy to give it to her all night long.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook - Organization: SHIELD_

_The Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division is a paramilitary law enforcement agency of the United States of America, they bridge the gap between the domestic focused Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the foreign focused Central Intelligence Agency. Originally formed to counter concentrated efforts by Soviet intelligence to infiltrate both the United States and its NATO allies immediately after World War 2. With their dominant position, SHIELD's ability to operate abroad was made a part of the NATO charter, though this has since been modified to include a council of five 'overseers' from various countries, though the Executive Director technically reports to the United States Director of National Intelligence and then the President of the United States. _

_Currently, that Executive Director is Colonel Nicholas Fury, a former Army Ranger, wounded in Panama and being honorably discharged, found his way into intelligence work through the 90's and early 2000's before being promoted to his current office in 2007. He was key in the formation of the Avengers in 2012, and they still operate under his direction to this day. Don't let that heroic image fool you, he is a cunning and vicious individual, willing to utilize any option available to him to do what he wants._

_From their 'Triskelion' Headquarters on Roosevelt Island, SHIELD maintains tight connections with the rest of the US Government, though their mission has expanded to include liaison with the armed forces, sometimes providing direct support with their Helicarriers. This versatile nature, wide reach, and unilateral direction means that SHIELD, and by consequence, Nick Fury, have vast amounts of power and are a force to be reckoned with. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: Okay, so question for all of you who like the lemons (or whatever they're called), do you like them more detailed and explicit like this one or more like the one back in chapter 12 that is distinctly less so? **

**I want to know for future reference, and I've had someone ask for me to go back and take another pass at the one in chapter 12, but that is the most viewed one so I'm curious if some like that style. I do want more feedback on them because I'm still anxious about them, their inclusion, the spacing between them, their actual content, among others, but those are the main ones. This story won't become a harem or anything absurd like that, but if people want more of them then I'll see about making that happen. Review or PM me and give me your thoughts. **

**But any feedback regarding that or anything else is, of course, welcome. **

**Next week will be a prologue to the next arc, which sees everyone feel Safe in New York City.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	56. Chapter 56: Safe in New York City

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Since it is mid July, I just want to say, God bless Willis Carrier, the man who invented Air Conditioning.

**Thatguythere95: Thanks for the feedback, it's safe to say there is quite a bit I've got planned for him.**

**Threll Ignis: Thanks for the feedback. As for Yuri, I'm not trying to end up at a different place, but I want that progression to feel more natural is all. In the game it came out of nowhere and I don't want that. **

**Blaze1992: The good thing about Peter, at least for Felicia and Matt, is that at least he's consistently a naive idiot, meaning they can plan around him. I also would be really hesitant to call the suit they gave him an 'upgrade' because I intended it as more of a 'sidegrade.' It may not have come off that way, but if it seems odd, I did it because it's what happened in the game and I need him to have it for a specific reason later on. I wanted it to be belivable and natural at least from a character perspective, but maybe didn't do as good a job as I had hoped. **

Thank you to those who answered the question regardng the lemons, I'll be sure to take your responses into account in the future when I write another one. Which will probably be in...*checks notes*...chapter 72. That's a long time, and I'll be considering any feedback up until that chapter is released. That's what the planning I've done says, maybe that'll change, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

As for the title, this is the obligatory AC/DC song that I always knew would get put here at some point, it was just a matter of when exactly that would be. It's a groovy hard rock song off of 2000's _Stiff Upper Lip_, a decent enough album, but this song is remembered more so for the incredibly inopportune timing of it's release. Written about then mayor Rudi Guiliani's efforts to clean up Manhattan, it took on a deeply, and darkly, ironic meaning less than two years after it came out, doubly so since the art for the single prominently featured the Twin Towers. It is probably that sense of irony that is the reason that it is the title of this chapter specifically, not due to anything that happens in this chapter, but more so what will happen in the next...

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 56: Safe in New York City**

_All over the city and all of the dives_

_Don't mess with this place, it will eat you alive_

_Got a lip smacking honey to suck off the jam_

_I'm on top of the world now, ready to slam_

_I feel safe in New York City_

* * *

Narrowing her eyes, Silver Sablinova inspected the formation in the parade ground of the fully operational MOB Yankee. These men were among the last replacements she would be bringing into Manhattan to bring the garrison here back up to an acceptable strength of just over 1,100 troopers. In addition, this unit had also received some of the first experimental technology from Sable International's joint venture with Oscorp. On the back of each of these 80 troopers was a large pack, twin nozzles at the bottom of the cutting-edge equipment. This was the newly formed 1st Experimental Air Assault Company – Counter Terror, or ExAACCT. Comprised solely of airborne troops and intended for high risk urban operations against the most dangerous enemies, they were the only unit of their type anywhere in the world and Sablinova hoped they would shape the future of urban warfare.

The Jet Packs were a potent blend of Oscorp's scientific prowess and Sable International practical engineering when it came to making something an effective combat system. Despite their size and bulk, the Packs were ergonomic and intuitive, after a mere week the entire unit was performing basic maneuvers with the devices. Their otherwise standard issue armor had been retrofitted to incorporate an oxygen supply and their weapons had been integrated into their gauntlets. Silver almost couldn't help but smile slightly, proud that it was her men who were the first to follow the template of Titan Pilots in becoming the soldiers of the future.

Finishing her loop of the unit, she found herself face to facemask with the officer in charge of the Company. Returning his salute, Silver wiped her face clean of emotion despite the pride in her chest, "Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss" she addressed calmly, "I hereby activate the Sable International 1st Experimental Air Assault Company – Counter Terror and place them under your command as part of Sable Internationals 4th Security Battalion and are assigned to MOB Islander in New York City," she announced.

"Yes ma'am," returned the Lieutenant Colonel smartly.

"Do me proud," she said as she saluted him one last time, "Dismissed."

* * *

"Romanov," greeted the agent as she pressed her phone to her ear, her red hair hidden under a winter beanie and eyes covered by sunglasses as she sipped on her coffee from her table at a Starbucks overlooking Central Park. She had been on the ground here in Manhattan for most of the week, looking into some of the claims the Marauder had made to Fury.

Sure enough, the voice that filled her ear was that of the eyepatch wearing director. _"Report," _he ordered curtly as she swallowed her coffee and pulled out her notepad that had her findings.

They were incredibly preliminary, but they were enough to convince the veteran operative and Avenger that _something _was up. "Our man was right; security is heavy and Sable presence hasn't wound down in the slightest," she began as she looked up at MOB Yankee and the formation of troops inside. "Oscorp especially," she added, one of assignments was to show up at the corporation and use her SHIELD credentials to see what they were up to, "I was stopped cold at the door."

"_Hmmm," _murmured Director Fury, _"seems the Marauder might be onto something then. You find anything about this 'Devil's Breath'?" _asked the Colonel. That had been the most outrageous claim made by the SRS Pilot and the one the Black Widow had spent the most time investigating.

"I can't find anything concrete…" she began, though her teeth were on edge as she took a breath, "but eyewitnesses at GCT did say the Demons were interested in the aerosol dispersal device, the NYPD Captain, Watanabe, couldn't say anything concrete but she definitely believed it if her body language was anything to go by…"

"_Osborn probably forced all the city workers to sign NDAs…" _mused the Director with a sigh.

"That was my read too," agreed the Agent before continuing. "The reporter I found, I didn't believe her at first but the she had a file of official Oscorp documents, it all looked legit, couldn't keep it to check," she continued. "Did some digging into her, this is the reporter who got the Marauder's first interview and she might have connections to Spider-Man as well, chances are one of them is the source of that file," she added. Even in the short time they interacted and meeting her under another identity, the Russian could tell that this Mary Jane Watson was sharp. The Bugle reporter was scrutinizing her for any slip ups, even slipping in a few questions about Shield's interest in the situation, which she deflected easily enough, but it did convince Romanov she wasn't dealing with a complete amateur. "And our suspicions that Oscrop was collecting IMC technology to reverse engineer it was correct; I've seen multiple Sable transport convoys coming and going from Osborn advanced research facilities around the city."

There was a brief bout of silence from the usually decisive Fury, _"Aw hell…" _grumbled the Director. _"Alright Romanov, good work," _he began, _"but I'm giving you a direct order…pack your bags and pull out of Manhattan. Even the light digging you and my other agents have been doing has gotten me more phone calls than I'm comfortable with _and _the President wants the Avengers and _Yorktown _to get back in action against those suspected Hydra cells in Serbia."_

As soon as he said that, the Agent stood and began making her way to the exit, discarding the coffee cup along the way. "Those same cells they pulled us off of just to come back here and miss the party?" she asked, unable to suppress the smirk that came up on her face.

"_Yes…" _ground out the eyepatch wearing man through grit teeth. _"Goddamn politicians," _he cursed as she made her way over to the nearest major street and hailed a cab. _"That also means that if Osborn makes any moves then Shield can't handle him. So, before you go, I want you to make contact with our non-agency assets on the ground in Manhattan and let 'em know they might have to take up the slack."_

As he said that, the redhead slipped into the backseat of the cab and rattled off an address near a certain refurbished warehouse on the west side, "Understood sir, I'm on my way now."

* * *

Frank Castle downed his glass of coffee as he looked over the holomap in the basement of the Marauder's hideout. "We're running out of options kid," grunted out the Marine, "Wherever this 'Devil's Breath' is hidden, none of Fisk's guys have a clue." He had been coming up on the end of his list of sources and potential hiding spots, killing the thugs that were guarding them to try and find the Oscorp created bioweapon.

"Cops don't know either," muttered the Marauder, his helmet sitting on the holotable as he went through the map of the city. The Pilot grimaced as he flicked through settings, the images switching as the two killers tried to find something they had missed, "I wish Cat were here," murmured the younger man. "It could simply be that Osborn finally came to his senses and destroyed it…"

"Or he has it stashed at an Oscorp lab surrounded by Sable's people," finished the Punisher. He watched closely as the other vigilante nodded slowly and let out a breath, the younger man's cold blue eyes still staring intently at the information on display. "Mind if I ask you something kid?" began the Marine, the SRS Commando looked up and nodded, "why you so dead set on this?"

"Because it's my fuck up to fix." he answered simply.

Frank let out a short laugh, "Just 'cause you made a deal with Osborn don't mean you gotta clean up his company's messes," he pointed out.

At that, the table turned off as the Marauder let out a deep sigh, "I don't know for sure, but something in the back of my mind has been telling me there's more to this, Osborn wouldn't try to kill me for no reason," he began. When he turned and saw Castle's expression, the SRS Pilot elaborated. "Back when Li stole Devil's Breath and I brought out BT to stop him, someone, probably Osborn, got Sable's people to break ranks and try to kill me." Thinking back, the Punisher recalled seeing that whole shitshow on the news and didn't think much of it, but it did strike him as odd. "I was always trying to think of _why_, and I have a hunch that it's because Devil's Breath is based on the tech that _I gave them_."

Narrowing his eyes, the Punisher scrutinized the Texan, but the younger man's face was stoic, "I thought you just gave them medical tech…" he began lowly, ominously, the unspoken threat clear as day.

"I _did,_" returned the Marauder, "but Cat told me something interesting that she gleaned from the computer in Osborn's office; that 'Devil's Breath' was initially developed as a medical treatment that they fucked up so badly it's a WMD" he revealed. "I don't think Oscorp is so incompetent as to create a biological weapon by complete _accident_, unless they were messing with technology and science they didn't understand."

Realization dawned on Frank as he mulled the information over, "Like the science in the shit you gave 'em," he provided gruffly. The Marauder nodded calmly, clearly taking this better than he was, "You sure all you want to do is destroy Devil's Breath?"

"No," admitted the Major lowly, "but I'm looking at the big picture. Shield is shaking the Oscorp tree to see what falls out. I don't want to get in their way." Both men knew why Fury had a vested interest in keeping the CEO around, Oscorp was second only to Stark Industries in fulfilling Shield contracts and after Stark Industries moved out of the defense sector that meant Oscorp was who the agency turned to first. Castle growled lowly, it was shit like that which he fought to rectify, but it seemed that the eyepatch wearing Director had both of them by the balls. "On top of that…" began the Pilot before the table beeped an alert as the Marauder flipped a switch on it. "Perimeter breach," he began as he swapped through camera feeds covering every entrance into his hideout, "Single contact coming towards the door on the east side, ground floor, moving with purpose," he rattled off before slipping his helmet on.

Both men drew their respective sidearms and chambered a round before hitting the stairs up to the first floor. Pressing themselves into walls, they took aim at the door when a polite knock echoed through the room, Frank shot a glance at the owner of the property, who simply gestured with his weapon for the Marine to answer the door. When he didn't immediately comply, the Marauder voiced his reasoning, "I can't exactly answer the door like _this_."

Conceding that the Kid did have a point, Castle slipped out of cover, hiding his M1911 behind his back as he undid the lock on the door, chain still on as he slowly opened it and looked through the slit. "Who the hell are you?" he asked in his gravelly tones.

The woman removed her sunglasses to reveal green eyes as she reached into her coat and slowly produced an ID, "Agent Romanov, Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division," she informed as Frank looked at the credentials before she surprised him by adding, "Nice to meet you Mr. Castle, I need to speak with you as well as the Marauder, so if you would please let me in, we can get down to business."

Raising an eyebrow, the Punisher turned to look back at his host, the striped helmet nodding as Frank paused before complying with the Major's wishes. Holstering his weapon and undoing the locks, Castle opened the door and stepped back to allow the woman into the refurbished warehouse, "Black Widow," greeted the Marauder as he crossed his arms.

But the Agent was unfazed, "Matthew," returned the redhead coolly as she pulled down her hood, the Marauder stiffened slightly at the use of his given name but chose not to comment.

"Welcome to my humble abode Agent Romanov, both of you, feel free to take I seat while I grab us some drinks" he instructed as he made his way over to the fridge before adding "I have a feeling we'll need 'em…" under his breath. Sitting down on the sofa, Frank kept his eye on the Black Widow, he never trusted spooks, and even less so after Kandahar, so his hand hovered near his holstered .45. For her part, the Shield Agent seemed relaxed, idly picking up and flipping through a book the vigilante kept on the coffee table about various French military service rifles. Though the Marine could tell she had at least one pistol in the small of her back and he would be damned if she didn't have a clutch piece under her pant leg, maybe a knife too. When the Marauder returned sans helmet, he did so with a bourbon for Frank, a whiskey for himself, and a glass of water for their guest. "Since you're on duty," provided the Marauder in a flat deadpan.

Castle couldn't help but let out a sputter of laughter that earned him a glare from the Black Widow that he promptly ignored as he sipped on his drink and the Operative began. "I'm here at the behest of Directory Fury to give you both a message." The mention of Fury caused Frank to cock an eyebrow; nothing was ever simple with spooks. "Shield is withdrawing from Manhattan, completely, as of 1500 hours this afternoon all operations will be terminated," she revealed, "but Fury doesn't think this is all over, which is where you two come in. We need you to keep an eye on things, report anything worth knowing, and, if required, act on behalf of Shield."

The Punisher snorted at that last bit, "Why us? Cause we give your boss 'plausible deniability'?" he guessed. "The way I see this, if we got a problem then we should just take care of it, why the fuck should we get spooks involved?"

But the Avenger was unamused, "Consider this a trial run," she returned evenly, "if you want to accept Fury's offer to make a bigger difference, you'll have to show some restraint Castle." Frank didn't falter, holding her gaze until she swung to the younger man, "I don't need to remind you that BT-7274 is still in the Avengers compound, Shield will seize him if you are deemed a threat."

Instead of replying right away, the Marauder finished his drink and set his glass down carefully, "I'm with Frank, that last part…it a'int gonna happen. I agreed to tell you the truth about what the fuck was going on because people died, and that could have been prevented," he began, "but I did not, and _will not_, agree to do your wet work. Osborn may be as crooked as a barrel of fishhooks but he's holding this shithole together by sheer willpower."

"And his checkbook," added Frank gruffly.

"And his checkbook," repeated the Marauder, "Point is, if you're worried about us killing him, don't be. More civilians died to the Inner Demons after the fall of the Kingpin than to the IMC. If Osborn goes, then an even more corrupt politician takes his place and then the shit really hits the fan."

"Really pouring on the optimism," deadpanned the Spy as she got up, "still, I'm convinced that you two won't do something rash and that's good enough. Good day," she finished before donning her sunglasses and hat once more before marching out the door.

As soon as she left, Frank had only one thing to say, "what a bitch."

* * *

After he had put this off for far too long, Peter finished fine tuning the frequency of the last crime tower in the city that had been put out of commission. Shutting the panel and cracking his fingers, he leapt from the roof and began swinging through the city. Right on cue, the phone in his mask rang in his ear as the caller ID identified the caller as his favorite cop. _"And that's it – every crime tower in the city is now repaired." _she confirmed. He could hear the understandable relief in her voice, the system would have been incredibly useful when trying to find Li or find the IMC before they build up their forces.

If only he had gotten around to it sooner…

Moving on from that train of thought before it devolved into self-loathing, Peter mustered a chipper tone to answer. "Pretty good work, right?"

"_Pretty good, yeah" _agreed the Captain, her positive mood putting a smile on the webheads face and prompting him to be a bit bolder.

Swinging around a corner, he asked "Good enough that _maybe _you'd let a certain someone celebrate with us?"

There was an inevitable sigh in response, and even though her mood was dampened somewhat, her response made him to a fistpump while he backflipped through the air. _"Fine. But make it quick."_

Coming to a stop on a rooftop that gave him a commanding view of Times Square, he cleared his throat to make this one count. "The odds were long; the danger close" he began in an exaggerated gravely tone, mentally channeling what Frank Castle sounded like, or rather, an older and _more _grizzled Frank Castle. "But between Spider-Cop's reckless intuition, and the chief's determined planning, they got the job done." He quickly realized his voice lacked all of the gruff intimidation of the Punisher.

Still, Yuri didn't seem to care, _"Aw, that's kinda sweet." _

Feeling confident, he boldly pushed his luck. "A pairing of opposites; like peanut butter and chocolate, or breakfast for dinner, the two worked together…"

"_Annnnnd we're done," _cut off Watanabe, the Webslinger having exceeded her tolerance for his shenanigans. _"Talk to you later, Spider-Cop" _she finished before summarily hanging up on him.

"She's coming around," he decided, "Right?" She had to be, she even said the name, sure it was mockingly but she had said it. "Yeah…definitely," he finally decided before leaping off the roof and diving down, the sensation of the air rushing past him as the ground flew up at him. At the last moment, he raised his arm and blindly fired off a webline and braced as his whole body was ripped to another direction and he was swinging through the air, his superhuman strength the only thing keeping his arm in its socket. Swinging low through the city, he took some delight in buzzing pedestrians and taxis alike.

Making his way through the city streets, he saw a man sweeping outside a shop who shouted "Hey, Spider-Man!"

Taken by surprise, the webhead backflipped in midair to kill his momentum before falling to the sidewalk. "Heh, stuck the landing" he quipped, chuckling at his own joke before he approached the older man, Is something wrong?"

"No, no," assured the shopkeeper as he leaned against his broom, "I just had to thank you for saving my daughter from those muggers" he explained.

That only left the hero with more questions than answers as he was thankful his mask concealed his shock and confusion. "Uh…when did this happen?" he inquired, trying to sound cool and collected about it.

"Just now" returned the owner as Peter fought to keep his mouth shut, "Busy guy like you, I guess it all just blurs together, huh?" supposed the owner. "Near the theater on 126th and Powell? She just called and told me," he provided helpfully as he tried to jog the webslinger's memory.

"Right…sorry" answered the webhead apologetically, "Happy to help, I'm glad your daughter's safe." With a jaunty wave he took two long strides and fired a line, surging skywards as he processed the whole thing, "Okay, I wasn't anywhere near there. I should swing by and see what's going on."

Thankfully, it wasn't far to the scene of the crime, the police perimeter under one of the el train lines was easy to spot as he strolled up. "There's the theater…and the crime scene." The man's directions had been accurate, and it was recent for sure. "I'd better find out what happened" he decided quickly as he caught the attention of one of the beat cops. "Excuse me, officer, everything alright here?"

"Sure is" he returned quickly, "Sorry I missed the action. Thanks for keeping her safe Spider-Man" finished the officer sincerely.

Nodding, he crouched down to examine the two men, they were clearly still breathing, their chests rising and falling rhythmically. "Still alive" he whispered to himself with some relief, "So whoever did this isn't a lethal protector. That's promising" he mused, the city didn't need another Punisher.

He was jarred from his thoughts by the victim as she stepped away from the other cop and approached him. "You're back already?" she asked with surprise, "I thought you were checking out that fire."

"Right…" he returned as the wallcrawler stumbled over his words, "on my way now. Uh, which way was it again?"

The woman clearly was just as confused as he was at his apparently awful short term memory. "Last time you went that way…" she said, pointing, "South."

"Thanks" replied the webslinger chipperly, "I got a little turned around" he explained weakly before he jumped up and launched himself off the building and onto the side of the el train track and using that as a springboard to propel himself even higher. Once clear of the major obstacles, he fired off a webline with the telltale 'twhip' and got moving, eyes wide for any sign of a fire. "Someone's impersonating me…could be the Chameleon again. I've got to pick up his trail."

With practiced ease, Spidey traversed his home turf and it didn't take long for his enhanced senses to pick up something amiss. "It does smell like there was a fire in this direction" he realized, but there weren't any of the usual visual signs, no licks of flame or puffs of black smoke. However, he soon spied the distinct bright red of the fire truck that was stopped next to the curb. "There's the fire damage. Looks like it got put out quickly."

As he looked around, one of the firefighters called out to him, "Hey Spidey! What'd you do with that fire extinguisher?" he asked. Legitimately not having an answer, the webhead shrugged as both men went back to their investigations.

"Fire extinguisher, huh?" mused the hero as he kept moving, "Wonder where he left it…" That train of thought was temporarily derailed as he almost ran face first into an unexpected ladder, pausing, Peter realized what had happened. "He used the fire escape…guess he couldn't copy my webshooters." Continuing his search, the webhead spied a distinctly shaped red cylinder laying on the ground. "There you are…" he mused as he knelt next to the empty extinguisher and examined it closely. "What kind of suppressant is this?" he wondered as he turned the device over and examined the charred label closely. "ADP, pretty standard, and easy to track."

A plan began to form in the wallcrawlers head. "He got fire suppressant on him. If I key my lenses to track its chemical signature, it should lead me right to Spider-Man 2.0" he recited as he did just that. No sooner was the command keyed in than a trail of blue footprints glowed on the ground in front of him. "He's walking normally, no webs, no powers…" he observed easily, "Which makes what he's doing suicidal."

Even the normal humans he worked with had skills and gadgets to close the gap, but he saw no signs of that here. Whoever his impersonator was, he was brave, foolhardy, or crazy. Following the trail for several blocks, he concluded that this guy moved fast, and there was one odd sight on the path. "That guy looks like he's been in a fight" noted the wallcrawler as a cop fixed handcuffs to a masked man, "Maybe he knows something."

His hunch was proven right, walking up, the restrained man turned and flinched at the sight of his red and blue spandex. "C'mon man, lay off! I told you everything…" he exclaimed before helpfully repeating what he had told the Spider-Impressionist. "The deal's going down on the roof! No lie!"

"Right, just…you…stay out of trouble" commanded the webhead, but one look at the gang signs on his clothes and Peter assumed that his wishes were unlikely before quickly moving on. And by on, he meant up, firing a line from each shooter and pulling himself up and making a beeline for the roof along the vertical surface.

Flipping up over the edge of the rooftop, Spidey was met with quite a scene as bodies were strewn about, an odd bag or two of drugs and cash flipped upside down and the contents spilled out onto the rooftop. He couldn't help but let out an appreciative whistle, "My doppelganger's got some skills." Approaching the nearest criminal, the wallcrawler turned him over, getting a groan from the mostly unconscious body. "This one will need painkillers for a few days, but should be fine" he concluded before looking up at the bail of recognizable white powder, neatly packaged on the table, "and he left the drugs. At least his intentions are good…even if his methods are nuts."

Sending a text to Yuri, since he figured she didn't want to talk to him after their earlier conversation, he picked up his pace, "The police will handle the cleanup. Counterfeit Spidey must've gone down the other fire escape." Using his webs, he yanked himself up to the railing and perched atop it, scanning the streets below before the eyes of his mask narrowed on a familiar patterned suit, "That's him." He was talking to a small group of civilians, his hands waving about animatedly and high fiving one of them. "People seem to like him…I mean me. I mean – ugh, this is weird."

Moving stealthily, the webslinger swung across the street and clung to the building above them, staying in the shadows and eavesdropping on what they were saying. "My pleasure citizens. Excuse me…" began the fake Spidey, "I hear someone in need!" he declared before turning and sprinting off into the Fisk Construction yard.

Peter pouted behind his mask and couldn't help but take umbrage at the behavior. "Okay, I do not talk like that. Nobody talks like that!" he exclaimed, unable to prevent himself from being seriously peeved at the fake Spidey. Watching him, he saw him run up to a trio of men in the familiar purple shirts who were standing over a civilian lying on the ground. Even if Spider-Man had fought along the enforces a few weeks prior against the IMC, a few run ins since had made it quite clear that things were back to normal. They weren't friends.

Something his doppelganger was about to find out the hard way.

"Let him go!" demanded the faux superhero as the three men regarded him, the leader smirking as he removed his foot from the civilians back, stepping away to allow the noncombatant to scamper away to safety.

"Yeah, right," grunted the head enforcer as he reached back and drew a pistol. "We'll get even more from Mr. Fisk when we bring him your head" he finished darkly as the safety was thumbed off and weapon leveled at the masked man that didn't have any powers. To make things even worse for the vigilante, more armored and purple shirted men emerged and surrounded him.

The man raised his hands instantly, voice rising a few octaves as he tried to explain. "Whoa, hey guys…I'm not the real Spider-Man," he tried to explain.

But his pleas fell on deaf ears, "Not anymore you're not," replied the Fisk gunman darkly as he pulled the hammer back.

Before he could make good on his threat, the one and only Webhead made his presence known. Firing a webline at a crane, he swung through the air and planted both feet in the back of the man with the pistol, throwing him off his feet and sending him sliding across the dirt as Spidey launched himself off his line and somersaulted through the air before coming down on the ground as everyone turned to face him. "If that's how many guys you need for a fake, how many would you bring if you had to deal with the genuine article?" he quipped before his voice took on a harder edge and he raised his fists, "Time to even the odds."

The goons shared a look as they shifted their eyes from the fake to him before one growled and wrapped the faux superhero in a headlock, producing a handgun and pressing the muzzle to the man's head. While the purple clad man opened his mouth to shout some sort of threat, Peter acted faster, snapping off a pair of perfectly aimed weblines, one hitting the gun and pulling it off target a millisecond before the second slammed into his face. With his enhanced strength, the webhead yanked the man towards him as the faux webhead scrambled away just as Peter planted his fist in the man's web covered face. His head snapped to the side and he fell limply to the ground.

Coming up, his Spider-Sense rang in warning, prompting the Webhead to dive away as the sound of gunshots assaulted his ears and he launched himself up, firing a webline at a bag of cement and slinging it around and into the gunman. Following up, he webbed up the stunned syndicate gunman and kicked him into a stack of pallets, the webbing holding him fast before he was forced to dodge away again and into cover as bullets ripped through the air. Catching his breath and waiting for his Spider-Sense to die down, he looked to see his doppleganger try to jump out and get in the fray. Before he could, Peter stuck out and arm and blocked his path, "I've got this, go" he ordered, nodding towards the open gate that would be an easy exit.

The fake looked at him, "And miss a chance to team up with the _real _Spider-Man?" he returned with incredulity, "No way!"

The webslinger paused as the bullets continued to hammer their concrete cover before coming to his decision. Pulling a web bomb out, he offered the device to his imitator, "Okay then. When I say, push that and throw it at the bad guys, should allow you to get close enough to use some of the moves you did on that rooftop."

Taking the bomb without hesitation, he replied "You got it," before crouching down, waiting for the signal. He was confident, which Peter took as a good sign. Feeling his sixth sense beginning to die down along with the gunfire, the webheads body tensed in anticipation until the shooting stopped.

"Now!" he barked out as he surged forwards, seeing the web bomb arc gracefully towards one group before he pulled himself into another group. Planting both feet in one's gut, he pushed himself off and rolled right into a leaping uppercut that sent a second skywards as Peter joined him, throwing more punches and kicks before slamming him back into the ground and using his webs to pull himself to a third enforcer. Looking over, he was still somewhat surprised to see that the other spider adorned man was holding his own. He was strafing around, not planting his feet and sidestepping and redirecting the attacks the enforcers tried to land. While Peter's superhuman abilities allowed him to be proactive, it was clear this guy was a reactive fighter, and it was working well for him. "You know how to fight," called out the webslinger as he flipped up and over the top of another gunman and kicking him into a post, ringing his bell long enough for Peter to web him down.

"I'm a black belt," provided the less acrobatic of the pair, "Teach at the Chikara Dojo. I just wanted to help…spread the legend, y'know?" he asked before unleashed a palm strike that staggered one goon before quickly switching to a second, grabbing an arm and throwing the goon over his shoulder.

Peter couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "Well, when you dress like me, you inherit my enemies," he informed, pausing as they both refocused on the pertinent proof to that statement. "And I have a _lot _of enemies," he added unnecessarily.

As if God, or Lady Luck, or Fisk, or whoever hated him most that day, was listening, two cars of enforcers rolled up, four men dismounting from each. "I'll take the ones with guns, you get the rest" he called out quickly before setting to work, ripping off a door and using it to quickly dispatch three rifle wielding men. His imitator set to work on a driver, kicking him against the car and keeping him on the ropes…or rather the fender. While the wallcrawler took care of two more, knocking both out quickly and wondering where the eight had gone.

Before he could answer that, his six sense hammered the base of his skull as he dove away just as a rocket streaked through the space he had just been occupying. While he raised a web shooter to pull himself to the last man, but there was no need. The other Spider-Man was upon him, ripping the spent launcher away before dodging a punch and then, in a move he had seen the Black Cat use before, grabbed the man's arm and hyper extended it, drawing cry of pain before he was flipped over and landed flat on his back. Peter's eyebrow quirked up, he was impressed, the guy had skills and bravery, that was for sure. "Y'know" he began as he walked up and began to web up the enforcer for good measure, "If you want to help your community, there's a F.E.A.S.T. shelter nearby. And I'm sure folks would appreciate free self defense classes," he hinted.

At least it would be better than Cooper advising people to get a gun, _"and not some peashooter .22. Those are for protecting yourself from squirrels, not people."_

Thankfully, the fake seemed receptive to the suggestion. "Good idea" he agreed as he caught his breath and the gunman glared up at them with anger. "Gotta admit, I'm starting to see the downside of the suit." Peter couldn't help but nod as the fake Spidey looked down at his bruised hands and shook them out in an effort to ease the pain he must've felt. "Man that was intense. How do you do it?" he asked.

"One bruise at a time" he replied dryly, at least until he finally wised up and added padding to the knuckles of his gloves. "Listen" he began seriously, "Your heart's in the right place, but if you keep this up, you're gonna get killed."

Thankfully, the imitator didn't try and argue, "Yeah, I see that now," he agreed. "Don't worry, I'm hanging up the suit," he assured, "Spider-Man no more."

"Good call," agreed the Webslinger as he cracked a lopsided grin, "Besides; you don't need a costume to make a difference."

"Hey, that's a good line, I'll remember that."

* * *

Mary Jane felt very much out of place in the high-end tea shop, in particular, the journalist felt quite underdressed in her usual jacket and jeans. While the establishment was going for a trendy feel, the clientele was all wearing designer brands and she lost count of the estimated value of all of the purses the women carried. The redhead couldn't help but feel that everyone else was looking down at her as she perused the menu.

Though judging by the exhaust and supercharger whine of the Jag that had just parked outside, her reason for being here had just arrived. Striding through the door as if she owned the place, Felicia Hardy took a seat opposite the journalist as one of the waiters immediately dashed over to the platinum blonde. Without even asking her, the heiress placed orders for the both of them before the server left them, "Hope you don't mind, but you looked lost," apologized the burglar with a hint of mirth.

So much for Mary Jane Watson, confident and accomplished journalist, undone by the menu of a tea shop. "That obvious huh?" she asked with a small laugh, the heiress merely nodding before their drinks were delivered. "So why'd you call? Got a story?" she asked as it was the blonde's turn to laugh.

"I can see why Spi…Peter likes you so much Red," she began as she sipped on her drink, "You're both workaholics." MJ rolled her eyes and tried her own beverage, finding it interesting, but good. "This is where I come to get away from it all, not even Matt knows about this place" she revealed simply. "Not that he would want to, he likes his tea iced and considers being fashionable a chore, not something he'd do to relax."

That prompted a rather obvious question from the journalist. "What _does _he do to relax?"

"Me," replied the thief without missing a beat as MJ fought to not choke on her drink and looked at the woman's mischievous grin, "Otherwise? His cars and guns mostly," she answered as she continued to drink her tea, "Boys and their toys."

The redhead nodded knowingly, Peter was the same way, she had lost count of the number of times he was tinkering with his webshooters or some other gadget. That caused her deductive mind to shift into overdrive until she arrived at quite a question, "So is this just…girl time?" she asked in stark amazement.

"It's something I never got very much of," admitted the heiress with a shrug, "It was hard to talk about my 'jobs' or whatever I got up to last night," she explained unsurprisingly. She then turned serious, "But _you_ Red" began the platinum blonde, "You and I _can _talk about what I get up to, vent about what our crazy boyfriends do, you know…girl stuff…I think."

Instead of responding immediately, Mary Jane stared at Felicia incredulously and processed what she had just heard. "So let me get this straight…" began the journalist as her thoughts began to arrange themselves in a comprehensible fashion, "You want to just…chat? Like about whatever?" she continued as the heiress continued to sip her tea, "As…_friends_?"

"Well when you put it like that," began Hardy dryly as she lowered her glass, "Yes."

Pausing, Watson was forced to seriously consider the proposition, she had to remember that this was no longer the catsuit wearing woman prancing around with her ex that she still had some feelings for. Not only that, this was the one person, besides Peter, and that option had many, _many_ issues, who had been through and knew about the same sort of things she had. She couldn't talk to Betty or Glory about what the Battle of Manhattan had been like, or the numerous villains that populated the city, but she could talk to Felicia about them. So with those thoughts at the forefront of her mind, the redhead decided to take a risk. "Alright then" she said finally, So tell me, friend, what exactly is in this tea?"

* * *

"…Alright Captain, I'll head that way. See ya' in about an hour" said Cooper before hanging up and letting out a deep sigh. It seemed that Felicia's infiltration of the Chinatown precinct hadn't been as clean as she had led him to believe. Watanabe sounded none too pleased about whatever had gone down and practically demanded he show himself, probably so she could chew him out. Sighing, he was thankful he was planning to head out anyways, Peter was taking the night off to head over and volunteer at F.E.A.S.T. and check up on his Aunt, so Cooper agreed to patrol around for the Webslinger. Going over his loadout, he had the Mastiff and CAR ready to go and mostly Arc rounds for the types of criminals he was likely to deal with.

Just about ready to go, he decided that it would be prudent to give Felicia a call and try to get to the bottom of this. So, calling his girlfriend and switching his phone to speaker, he began to load up his gear while waiting for the seductively purred innuendo that would inevitably greet him when she answered. But instead of that, he got her voicemail instead. Cocking an eyebrow in concern, he looked up and stared into space, trying to recall if she told him something earlier that might explain her lack of an answer. After nearly a minute, he finally actually looked at the wall he had been staring at, one that had many of his weapons on display. His eyes weren't drawn to the weapons that were there however, they were drawn to the one that was absent.

His PSG1.

The 1980's vintage German sharpshooters' rifle was one of the few that he had trained Felicia on seriously. Felicia was generally averse to most firearms, in her line of work they were weapons of last resort, but he still made sure that she could handle herself in a gunfight. So he had only trained her in the use of one precision rifle, the PSG, since long range wasn't something she really needed, and that gun could only fire lethal ammo.

If she had taken it, she was planning on killing somebody, and after the conversation he had with Castle and Romanov earlier, it wasn't hard to guess who would be in the sniper's sight.

* * *

Norman Osborn downed the rest of his scotch before scanning over the draft of the mayoral executive order on his computer. It was often said that one should never let a good crisis go to waste, and the CEO had let two pass him by without pulling out the thorns in his side that were Spider-Man and the Marauder. The two figures had always commanded a certain level of controversy, but after taking leading roles in beating both the Inner Demons and the IMC, those two, not him, were seen as the keys to ensuring the safety of the city.

That thought angered Osborn, the very notion that those two arrogant vigilantes could have a bigger impact than _him_ got under his skin to no end. He had, perhaps naively, believed that he could simply sit back and let his enemies do job for him, but both the Demons and the IMC had failed to kill either of them. In addition, the CEO had attempted to isolate them, removing those who helped the pair only for those plans to fall through as well. He had tried to tilt the odds even, adding in a few turncoat Sable operators on one occasion and serving up the Marauder and his leather clad harlot on a silver platter for the IMC to take out on another, but it seemed that they were even more incompetent.

At least he still had one plan, because the Avengers had been late, the mood had been shifting away from superheroes somewhat as people woke up and realized they couldn't be everywhere. While the two Manhattan based heroes had high approval, they were the outliers. With that in mind, Osborn had prepared this order in secret, disavowing his connections with the Marauder and declaring them both wanted criminals for interference with the authorities. Osborn was confident he could spin it just so and that he would reap the rewards of a seat in the US Senate or even the oval office. To stack the deck, he was receiving word that Sable International was now bringing the new gear Oscorp had developed into frontline service, if anyone could take them down, it would be them, and all they needed was for him to say the word.

Even with all the preparation, he couldn't act _completely _without cause, so he just needed one more crisis to enact his plans.

* * *

A few hundred yards away, a singular emerald eye was watching Osborn through the telescopic optic atop the PSG. Off to the side were a handful of other gadgets, laser rangefinders, ballistic computers, and one handy device that measured wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, and air temperature plus a dozen other things that would all affect her shot. With all the numbers crunched, the Black Cat had set up the bi pod of the precision rifle and was carefully adjusting her aim, the crosshair now resting well above and off to the side of her target.

She was so focused on lining up the shot, the Thief failed to notice the hiss of a jump kit as another figure landed on the roof behind her. "Tricky shot," drawled a filtered voice as she flinched in surprise before relaxing, "Looks like you accounted for range and wind here," began the Marauder as the pilot knelt down next to her and examined the equipment. "But there's more to it than that, all those buildings between here and there? That'll affect the wind at each of those points. Then there's the glass" he continued as Felicia gave up trying to ignore him. "If you don't have Armor Piercing then even if you do hit the glass it won't have the energy left to actually do anything…and that's if the impact doesn't knock the bullet off path anyways."

His persistence was beginning to annoy her as she reluctantly set the rifle down and sat on her heels, "Is there a particular reason you're deciding to give me another lesson _now _or are you just trying to annoy me into letting you take the shot?" she asked with a bit more venom than she intended.

But the Texan didn't seem to mind her standoffish tone as he just shrugged. "That's not the point darlin,'" he drawled calmly, "I'm just trying to gauge if this is something you really want to do. I mean really, _seriously_, want to do." She was about to answer, "Because this isn't you Felicia. You are a lot of things…but rash isn't one of them," he continued as she turned to look at him, "You can talk to me, I _want _you to talk to me," he said as he removed his helmet, "Please," he finished, almost begging.

Hanging her head in shame as she clenched her fist, "That _bastard_ tried to kill _you,_" she reminded, "Get _us _killed all because we were loose ends, pawns in his game," hissed the burglar, "And I am _nobody's _pawn." She hadn't even realized that was now standing over him, more fired up than she had been in a long time as he simply listened and digested the words. "And for what he did to you…I had to watch you drop out of BT half dead and I thought I was going to watch you die in front of me cowboy." The memory replayed itself in her mind, far too real for comfort, even now and even with him alive and well next to her.

"It'll take a bit more than that to kill me," deadpanned her lover with a cocky smirk.

But while his confidence and disregard for the machinations of others would usually be endearing, his lack of care for his own safety got on her nerves. "I thought you cared about yourself…" _about me _she wanted to add, but couldn't find the will to do it.

"I do," he assured as she pursed her lips, "But I don't go back after the fact and kill everyone who almost got me killed. And I'm glad I don't, you know why?" he asked sincerely. Felicia shook her head, "Because about a year ago that would have caused me to kill a platinum blonde bombshell who called herself 'Black Cat' since she had me walk into an ambush and I got the shit shot outta me," he answered mirthfully. There was no malice in his tone as he pulled her close and gave her a small kiss.

"Hopefully she apologized," began Felicia lightly as she held him tightly and realized she wasn't doing this for him, she was going to kill Osborn for herself, because he dared try to take Matt from her, "Maybe with a blowjob." He laughed at the suggestive comment, causing her to let out a sigh of relief. When the Texan was being stoic was a dead giveaway he was angry, so she decided to continue to lighten his mood as hers did the same. "Maybe if she was really sorry…and you had a nice dick…she'd let you fuck her in the ass."

That got a full bark of laugher from him as he gave her a full kiss that she happily melted into. Him being there meant more to her than she realized it might, and the fiercely independent woman was okay with that. "A gentleman would never tell," he began with a smug grin, "but since I'm not, I can say that she had the tightest, sexiest ass I've ever seen" he drawled, the slight accent and husky tone only making his voice more attractive.

As for what he was saying? Felicia had no issue admitting that she wanted to be wanted. She would wear something other than a form fitting catsuit if she didn't after all. The fact that he seemed to know this meant he could push her buttons with an ease she was all too comfortable with. "Sounds like you lucked out then."

He 'hmmed' an agreement, "Oh, I did," he answered, "A breathtaking beauty with an intellect to match" he continued, "Kept me where I needed to be, had my back, and is an absolute force between the sheets" he finished with a sly grin. "And since she means so much…I don't want her to do something stupid."

The burglar could hear the seriousness and sincerity in his tone as he placed his hands on her shoulders and had her look at him before she nodded, "Okay," she finally replied, "I'll pack all this up, take it back to your place. Do your thing for Spider and then hurry back, wouldn't want to keep the woman who means so much to you waiting."

The Marauder laughed again, "Actually, that woman is the reason I'm about to get chewed out by Yuri," he revealed as he slipped his helmet on. "And yes, I know, you'll make it up to me later," he continued as he made his way to the edge of the rooftop. "Don't worry about me sweetheart, I can take care of myself," he reminded before jumping off the roof, vanishing into the night.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Organizations: Oscorp_

_One of the largest scientific research and development companies, Oscorp has expertise in a wide range of fields, from agriculture to defense and medicine to information technology. Largely thanks to it's founder, Norman Osborn, and his shrewd business acumen, the company has seen an astronomic level of growth into these fields and more, cementing itself as a major player in these spaces. Equally as important is the top scientific minds employed by the company, these men and women give Oscorp and edge, and this yielded dividends early in the company's existence. Winning several government contracts in the late 90's and being a major part of the start of the information age gave them capital. Unlike, say Google, Oscorp diversified it's expertise outside of those initial successes ensuring that their influence is wide reaching. _

_But there have been allegations of shady business practices over the years, corporate espionage, blackmail, and experiments that skirt the boundaries of what is ethically acceptable have cropped up from time to time before being quickly squashed. But with Osborn's successful forays in politics and the company's continued success, these reports haven't done much to dent the momentum Oscorp enjoyed. With their heavy involvement in infrastructure development, their share price has gone up after the IMC, since they have contracts to provide the city with vital infrastructure, meaning they are the ones who are being paid to replace what was damaged and destroyed in the fight against the IMC. _

_You might not like that agreement because it seems like Osborn gaming the system, even if he signed the papers as CEO of Oscorp 2 years before he was elected. Me? Well I own 5,000 shares of Oscorp stock, so I don't mind quite as much._

* * *

**Closing Notes: So next chapter is when things kick off with the next arc, I know there are people who have been looking forward to it and I have too. Hopefully I can do it justice, especially with the few extra bits I've added, most of which I tried to set up in this chapter. I also wanted to do another one of the side missions and so the fake Spider-Man mission got the nod because...well there aren't many other decent ones to choose from. **

**There isn't a whole lot else to say, but if you have something to say, then the 'review' button is there for a reason. But I think next chapter is a good one.**

**That's because there's going to be a Jailbreak.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	57. Chapter 57: Jailbreak

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respctive owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

So _Starship Troopers_ is on Netflix at the time of release of this chapter, if you haven't seen it then do yourself a favor and give it a watch. Me? I finally got around to _Demolition_ _Man_, which, considering the current trajectory of society, almost feels prophetic.

**Blaze1992: I, honestly, am not sure where you're going with this. SHIELD is not in the business of being good guys, at least to my mind, Fury wants to be in control, weather it's via a velvet glove or iron fist makes no difference to him. He has his own motives, maybe he wants Cooper to be completely under SHIELD's control, and that would have been his price to fix BT. Romanov, who is also a spook, would have wanted this to be the case when she approached him after the battle, but she didn't make the deal, Cap did. He, obviously, is a decent and upstanding guy who felt he was making a fair deal, but Fury doesn't like fair deals. As for why SHIELD has withdrawn completely, one of the bits that sadly got trimmed revealed that Osborn was pulling strings to have Fury's superiors lean on him to pull out prematurely. Ultimately it came off as clunky and it was a few throwaway lines effectively, if Osborn was a more central villain then maybe I'd have kept them, but he isn't. **

**Guest: Thank you for an honest assessment, I generally agree that those early plots are...not the best, I probably took a bit _too _much inspiration from 90s action movies when writing those early story arcs, but my goal was to have fun action sequences and good characters. The plots were there and constructed in such a way to allow for those to happen, by having conflict and action and allowing the characters to interact and play off each other, it's why solo segments have been rare after that first arc. This is something I've tried to work on and would like to improve even more, particularly in wanting to have better villains. **

Unsurprisingly, I almost used the AC/DC song of the same name for the title but went with Thin Lizzy instead. Off of their 1976 album of the same name, 'Jailbreak' is the Irish band doing what they do best, playing the role of 'tough guys' in the same way as the album's other single, 'The Boys are Back in Town.' I don't use enough of these classic rock tracks, but whenever I hear this I associate it with movies like 'The Warriors' and that was what prompted me to pick it. That, and the ending of the AC/DC track where the escapee is shot in the back as he escapes really doesn't fit.

* * *

**Power Without Question - Chapter 57: Jailbreak**

_Tonight there's gonna be trouble, Some of us won't survive_

_See the boys and me mean business, Bustin' out dead or alive_

_I can hear the hound dogs on my trail_

_All hell breaks loose, alarm and sirens wail_

_Like the game if you lose, Go to jail_

_Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak_

_Somewhere in the town_

_Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak_

_So don't you be around_

* * *

While she considered herself to be a calm and collected woman, Yuriko Watanabe was having a really difficult time keeping that after she had spent the last quarter of an hour berating the man standing in her office. "Marauder," she addressed coolly, her initial anger having passed and her rational mind guiding her to get down to brass tacks. The green and grey armored man remained motionless except for his head, the blue x shaped visor glowing as it tracked her while she paced behind her desk, "I want to know what possessed you to make you think it was okay to send your girlfriend into _my _station to steal evidence in an active case."

"Captain, whatever it is you're looking for…" he began slowly, deliberately, "I'm afraid I can't give it to you." The pair met eyes, the Captain's brown eyes narrowing, demanding a further explanation. He seemed to know better than to try and defy her, "This is something that means too much to us and coming in here was not a decision we made lightly," he assured, at least it sounded that way through the voice filter. "What I can give you is my word that we will use what we got to tear the maggia apart," he continued, "and I think you know that I'm not lying to you."

The Captain held his gaze for a moment before taking a deep breath, "I know you better than that Major," she agreed, "I just needed to hear it again…to make sure." Placing her hands on her hips, she looked up to try and take a moment to clear her head, "but this is personal for me too Major" she admitted quietly. "The Maggia…it's not a case I'd normally entrust to anybody else…but it's not like I have a choice at this point, now do I?" asked the oriental woman rhetorically.

It was now the Pilot's turn to sigh, "If there was a way for us to go after them together…I'd take it in a heartbeat," he admitted truthfully. "I…I didn't know," he added softly, "that this meant anything to you Captain."

"Your girlfriend did," spat out Yuri bitterly, "even longer than Fisk," revealed the Captain. "It's a long story, one I'm not keen on sharing," she continued, "but you will promise me that when you're through…I'll never hear about these guys again. I don't care what you do or how…just so long as it's _final_."

The Marauder noticeably stiffened at her words, clearly not expecting the venom in her voice, "I know better than to ask questions," he finally said, understanding that this was a sensitive topic, "but I can promise you that it will be the last you ever hear of them."

Nodding, the room fell into an agreeable silence that was broken by the sound of her door being thrown open as another officer burst inside. "Captain! Sable just sent word…they lost Devil's Breath!"

"Son of a Bitch!" shouted both Yuri and the Marauder simultaneously.

Knowing what was coming, the Pilot shuffled off to the side as Watanabe went into full 'captain mode' and grabbed her gun. "Details Burke," she barked, "when and where? Where is it now?"

"From a truck on the upper east side, unknown perpetrators, no survivors" rattled off the cop. "No leads either…at least not any that they're sharing." _Of course they weren't, _groused the Captain internally, _why should they change anything? _

"Well that's gotta change" she ground out, "keep trying them and issue a BOLO for Devil's Breath. We _cannot _allow it to be on the loose," she added as she stuffed the gun in its holster. "Marauder, with me, you have your car?" she asked, getting a negative shake of the head in response, "Then we'll take an interceptor, come on" ordered Yuri as the pair made their way out into the station.

They barely made it 15 feet before there was another wrinkle. "Captain! Report from Rikers! They say they're experiencing technical difficulties, the Warden has raised the alert level and locked down the island," reported an officer manning the radios.

"Shit," she cursed, "New plan. Have the heliport get a chopper ready in 10 minutes" she barked before stepping into the elevator, the Marauder falling in as she pressed the button for the garage. "We're going to need eyes in the sky to find and run down whoever did this. Once we do, you take 'em out," she explained. It was a simple plan, but the constraints of the rapidly changing situations didn't allow for much more. "Hope you brought your wings Pilot."

"As long as I don't have to fly," he deadpanned.

Yuri was unable to stifle a chuckle at that, "You won't," she assured, "Because _I _will."

The elevator 'pinged' as the doors opened to let them out and the Marauder replied in a flat deadpan, "I feel better already."

* * *

Going up the steps into F.E.A.S.T., Peter Parker couldn't help but feel sorry about what happened to Martin Li. At the very least, the homeless shelter that represented the good in the philanthropist had survived the recent events almost unscathed. And it was a good thing too, there were a lot of people in need of a bit of help after the IMC had wrecked their homes. That also meant that those volunteering were putting in overtime to take care of everyone, so it was a very weary looking Miles Morales that staggered out the door as Peter reached it. "Hey Pete," he greeted tiredly, though managing to muster a smile nonetheless.

"Hi Miles," returned the Queens Native, "how're you doing with the news about Li?" he asked. When the teen didn't answer right away, Peter pulled him aside and spoke lowly, "Look, if you don't want to work here anymore, May and I would understand."

"I did want to quit when I heard," began Morales, unable to meet the scientists eyes, "Then I remember what my dad used to say… 'a hero's just a guy who doesn't give up,'" he answered.

Peter couldn't help but smile, the kid had no idea just how true those words were. "That's true…assuming he's doing the right thing," he added, because then he would have to call Frank Castle a 'hero' instead of a 'nutjob' like Peter thought he was. "I got you that job, I'd hate for you to keep doing it if you think it's wrong."

"The people here…" he began as he finally looked up, "nothing Martin Li did is their fault. They need help, and I'm helping them" he finally answered, steadfast in his resolve this time. "I think dad would want me to stay. I think he'd be proud."

Now the Queens native was beaming, Miles was a good kid and he was proud to know him. "I know he would. And Miles…I'm proud of you too" he added sincerely. "Anytime you wanna talk, just call."

The teen nodded, "Thanks Pete," he answered sincerely, "I gotta go, May just gave me a list of office supplies to get," he said, holding up said list, "later."

"Later," he replied as the kid went down the steps and Peter made his way inside. Making his way through, the wallcrawler was met with a lot of familiar faces, all enjoying a bit of company and what comforts they could get. Soon enough, Parker found himself in the kitchen as his Aunt May was rifling through the fridge.

She soon came out with a bottle of mustard, face lighting up as she saw him, "Peter!" she greeted happily.

"You okay?" he asked, and not without reason, the woman looked worn out. And, even if she didn't want to admit it, she wasn't as young as she once was.

She let out a sigh, "I'm getting by," answered the older woman as she went back to making the meal she had been working on.

"I don't know how I feel about you running this place by yourself," he admitted.

May looked at him apologetically, "These people need my help," she returned, "If I lose a few hours of sleep, so be it."

There was little dissuading the woman when she set her mind to mind to something, it seemed she had been infected by the 'Parker Pride' when she married Uncle Ben. Still, he had to breach an uncomfortable subject, even after weeks and an IMC invasion attempt, the former head of the shelter still cast a shadow over it, "So…have you heard from Mr. Li since -?"

A tired sigh escaped May as she finished her task, "no," she revealed, "But the Martin I know couldn't have done that," she insisted. And how Peter wished that was true, but he had come to terms with the fact that it wasn't. "Whatever's become of him, that's not the one I want to remember" she finished, and on that, Peter agreed wholeheartedly. He was so in agreement that he was caught off guard when the subject changed, though in hindsight he should have expected what it changed to. "So, how are things with MJ?"

"Oh, it uh…" he began dumbly as his mind scrambled to try to explain the current state of limbo their relationship was in, "Well, y'know, she's, uh…" he rambled before finally deciding to just say the honest truth, "It's, uh…it's complicated," he finally managed. They were talking, he was helping her with her stories, even managed to convince her to let him make dinner again. But he was taking things slowly; he could see that she wasn't exactly the same woman after everything. She didn't know, but he noticed when she looked out the window with that all too familiar 'Thousand yard stare' that Cooper sometimes had. Not able to weather the withering gaze May was giving him, he turned and went to wash up so he could help.

As he turned on the water, his Aunts sagely tones came at him from behind, "Honesty," she called out. "That's what got me and Ben through the rough patches" she added sincerely.

"You guys had rough patches?" he asked dumbly.

"Oh sure," she replied, "Especially when we were your age." Peter considered her words as he made his way back, "So, are you honest with her?" she asked, "Does she know the real you?"

Before he could answer, or really even consider the question, another voice cut through the tension. "Hey, turn it up!" he shouted, "I wanna hear this!"

Peter couldn't help but pay attention to the small TV, his superhuman senses enabling to make out the news bulletin with ease.

"…_a spokesperson for the police has confirmed that this truck was carrying the device used in the Grand Central Terminal attack…" _

Peter didn't even hear his aunt sigh and say "It never ends." He was already out the door and on his way to the roof to suit up.

* * *

"…_And when you ask them, "How much should we give?" Ooh, they only answer "More! More! More!" yoh. It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no military son, son. It ain't me, it ain't me, I ain't no fortunate one, one..."_

"_Are you seriously playing 'Fortunate Son'?" _asked the half annoyed, half amused voice of Captain Watanabe as she remained focused on controlling the Police Helicopter as it tore along at rooftop level, the rotor wash kicking up all kinds of debris as they went north.

Instead of being inside the enclosed Cockpit, the Marauder was standing on one of the skids, back resting against the door and completely exposed to the elements. "It fits," he replied dryly as the Creedence Clearwater Revival tune played out in their headsets and they approached their destination. Readying his SMG, the Marauder prepared to leap into action, literally, at a moment's notice.

But the situation was still incredibly fluid, _"Marauder," _called Yuri, _"We have officers on the scene, they confirmed that Devil's Breath isn't there." _Before the Pilot could begin to form a response or simply curse in anger, things went from bad, to worse. _"And Rikers Island is reporting that they're losing systems and are in trouble. If we don't act fast, we could be looking at a breakout."_

Down below, he could see the rapidly advancing flashing lights of the NYPD Perimeter around a wrecked Sable convoy as Yuri deftly brought the chopper around, flaring the nose as she lowered the bird and circled around the waterfront by the ring road as they both got a good look at the scene.

The vehicles were trashed, but Cooper couldn't begin to guess the cause of the destruction, and the bodies of the men manning them were strewn about the area, twisted, broken, and clearly dead. But the Pilot could see another familiar figure down below, the red and blue spandex outfit standing out against the dark street. Instantly, he connected Spidey to their radio channel as Yuri cut in, relaying the situation to the Webhead. _"The devil's breath is gone, but we got even bigger problems…" _began the Captain as fate obliged, a series of deep rumbles and the matching fireballs erupted from the island prison just offshore.

"_Rikers?" _guessed the webslinger.

"_We _have _to hurry" _insisted Yuri as she spun the chopper around and held it steady, _"Hop on!" _

Cooper could feel a 'thunk' as Spidey slammed into the opposite and latched on with his superpowers. _"What happened?" _he asked as he helicopter banked away.

"_Latest reports say it was a coordinated attack. Must've been planned from the outside," _she revealed as more explosions ripped through the facility, deep rumbling explosions that sent shockwaves reverberating through his chest. Already, the Pilot could see fires raging across the island as the chopper got closer. But that was the least of their issues, _"Every cell block is breached," _reported the cop, _"We're _minutes _away from every prisoner in Riker's walking right up Fifth Avenue."_

It didn't take a genius to figure out how bad that could be, while a lot of the occupants of the Prison were just guys doing a night or two for possession, there were a lot more that weren't. Gang members, drug dealers, and plenty of other scum occupied the cells on the island. Spider-Man knew that more than Matt did, he had been putting people in there for eight years, and many that he did were still there, serving their time. But the Queens Native was also more cognizant of the larger threat right next door. _"What about the R.A.F.T.?" _he asked, almost frantically.

Thankfully, it seemed like Yuri was the bearer of good news for once. _"Should be okay. It's a supermax facility – better security, and a separate power grid," _she reminded, but even the veteran lawwoman didn't sound completely convinced.

Cooper checked his SMG once more, chambering the first ARC round and flicking the fire selector from 'safe' to 'full' and began to scan the ground below to get a lay of the land before jumping into the fray. _"Good. What about Devil's Breath?" _

"_Sable's handling it," _ground out the Captain.

Spider-Man bristled at that news. _"Do you trust them?"_

Before Yuri could answer, Cooper cut him. _"We don't have a choice" _he returned shortly, and truth be told, the Marauder did. As long as Osborn let the feisty Symkarian Mercenary off the leash, Matt had no doubt she was more than capable of hunting down and ripping apart whoever was responsible. The only question that remained is what Osborn would order her to do afterwards.

But that was in the future, for now, the Renegade Gunfighter's eyes were drawn to a wildly out of control prison van that was charging headlong towards the gate, men in orange jumpsuits hanging off the sides. Without slowing, it slammed into the gate, going straight through despite the now wrecked front end. Seeing the escaping prisoners, Spider-Man leapt towards it, sticking to the truck and reaching through the window. _"Shoulda worn your seat belt," _quipped the wallcrawler before Cooper saw a man in a prison jumpsuit get tossed out and webbed to a lamppost. But while the van easily handled the gate, the spike strip on the other side was a different matter, blowing out one of the tires and causing it to veer sharply towards a fuel tank as the Webhead fired a web and pulled himself away.

And not a moment too soon either, the van slammed into the tank, coming to a dead stop as there was a brief pause before the stored chemicals ignited, the shockwave shaking the chopper as Cooper fought to hang on and muttered "holy shit…" under his breath. Looking down, he saw some of the vans passengers get back up and decided now was the time to get stuck in. "Thanks for the lift," he said before jumping from the skid and plummeting towards the pavement. Just as Spider-Man landed and squared up to the group of convicts, the Marauder landed next to him.

From her overhead vantage as the helicopter began to circle, Yuri cut back in over the comms. _"Take 'em out! Hurry!" _she ordered as Matt moved to comply, flicking the fire selector to burst fire to save ammunition as he sighted up the SMG. The CAR spat out rounds with the rhythmic consistency of a drum, each two round burst found its mark as the Marauder cut down the inmates that challenged him with cold efficiency.

Spider-Man barely had the chance to act as the Pilot moved forwards, undaunted by the twitching forms of the prisoners still under the effects of the arc rounds. Still, Matt knew those were temporary, they had 20 or 30 minutes until all that was for naught. At least they weren't the only ones trying to contain the situation as the intercom crackled to life with the voice of one of the guards. _"Attention all CO's, institute lockdown procedures," _ordered a man on the intercom, trying his best to sound cool and collected as the two vigilantes pushed deeper into the facility. _"All inmates return to your cells. Repeat; return to your cells. This is your last warning."_

Matt's eyes were drawn to a distinct flash on the upper levels as he leapt to his right, jump kit igniting to throw him further out of the path of the incoming rocket as Spider-Man did the same and the RPG shot slammed into the ground, throwing up shards of asphalt. _"Damnit! They got into the armory!" _called Yuri.

"What was your first clue?" asked the Webslinger sarcastically as another rocket streaked overhead and the duo resumed their advance into the courtyard.

Cooper had another question, however, "Why the fuck are there rocket launchers in the prison armory?" asked the Pilot as Spider-Man fired a webline and shot skywards to take down the lucky, now unlucky, inmate who had claimed the weapon. While the webhead dealt with him, the Marauder took care of the rabble on the ground level.

"_In case Li tried to use another one of those APCs to break his followers out," _returned the Captain flatly as Cooper merely grunted in acknowledgement. He could tell that Watanabe felt about the same as he did about that idea and how dumb it was, Mr. Negative didn't care about his 'followers' because they were brainwashed minions, and he could get more from almost anywhere.

But those thoughts were pushed aside as Cooper leapt up and ran along a wall, SMG chattering as fired on the mix of armed and unarmed prisoners with near impunity. The Marauder ended his wall run and fired his jump kit, causing him to sail through the air until he came to ground and took cover behind two bullet ridden police cruisers to reload. While the inmates were focused on him, Spider-Man rejoined the fray and drove an inmate into the concrete before leaping to the next and throwing a powerful punch. While the two vigilantes were making quick work of the inmates, the situation elsewhere was dire. _"Abandon stations!" _shouted the man on the intercom frantically. _"Repeat, abandon stations. Arm yourself and get the hell off the island!"_

But neither the Marauder nor Spider-Man had any such intentions, even as another group of inmates charged into the courtyard, stolen weapons blasting away. Instead, the pair leapt into the middle of the group, the Marauder sliding as his sub gun chattered, the staccato and rhythmic gunfire was contrasted by sound of Spider-Man punching anyone who tried to get behind the Pilot, punctuated by the pneumatic hiss of his webshooters. Bravely, though foolishly, many of the prisoners rushed the Marauder only to get arc rounds to the torso for their trouble, but they did have the numbers and for every one Cooper took down a replacement took his place until the bolt of his CAR locked open, magazine empty.

Thankfully, there were only three inmates left to his front and the first got the buttstock of the gun across his face, sending a tooth flying as he spun around, and Matt moved onto the next. Instead of letting them come to him, the SRS Pilot pressed the attack, lowering his shoulder to plant his shoulder pad under the nearest prisoner's chin to knock him back before throwing a knockout uppercut that sent him flying back as the third and final jump suit threw a punch right into his armor as Cooper threw an elbow into his head before following it up with a cross that caused him to stagger back before the Pilot fired his grapple, ensnaring his leg as he ripped him back the other way and off his feet. Having dealt with the guys behind the Gunfighter, the Webslinger jumped and flipped over his head before coming down on the inmate, foot driving the head into the asphalt and knocking him out. _"Nice," _complimented Yuri, _"there are more on the west side." _

"I'll take the lead on this one," called the Wallcrawler as he fired his weblines to charge ahead, the Titan Jockey activating his STIM as he took off after him, leaping up onto the concrete walls to run forwards over the barbed wire below. Jumping from that vantage, he drew his axe and buried it into a wall to hang from it, three stories up as he watched Spider-Man use his superhuman abilities and sixth sense to run rings around the guys foolish enough to take him on.

As the spectacle played out, a transmission broke in over the emergency frequency. _"Come in, this is Sergeant Hanson – anyone on this channel?"_

"_This is Captain Watanabe, where are you?" _asked the cop as the helo she was piloting continued to circle overhead.

"_Electrical access…rooftop near cellblock D," _reported Hanson as the spotlight on the chopper shifted to the called out location, Cooper's visor following it as Hanson explained what he was doing. _"I'm trying to restore power. That you in the chopper?"_

"_Affirmative," _replied the Captain crisply, _"what happened here?"_

Down below, Spider-Man continued slugging it out as more and more inmates emerged from the holes blown in the facility by the RPGs. _"No idea. First the power went out – then all hell broke loose."_

"_Hold tight," _ordered Watanabe, _"we'll get you as soon as we can. Marauder? I need you to get over there and help that officer. How copy?"_

"Solid copy Captain," returned the Marauder as he mentally charted out his route, "I'm on the way, Spidey? Can you hold down the fort?"

"_What's left of it," _quipped the webhead in reply as Cooper fired his grapple at a watchtower and used his jump kit to 'slingshot' himself around before chaining that move into another wall run that he ended as he made a final leap for his destination. But if the orange clad figures weren't enough of a giveaway that he was coming in hot, the gunfire coming up at him certainly was. Pulling an arc grenade form his belt, he tossed the ordinance to stun the gunmen on the roof before planting his boots in the nearest one.

As that prisoner slid across the rooftop, the Pilot wheeled around and leapt at the second, an arc charged punch slammed into the second rifleman manning the railing before placing a hand on the back of his head and slamming it into said railing, knocking the inmate out cold. The three at the door turned to face him, the cluster of men packed tightly together as Cooper pushed his CAR aside and whipped out the Mastiff, firing the scattergun once as the blue energy bolts got all three with a single shot. "And stay down," growled the Marauder as he pressed a fresh shell into the bottom of the gun. "Hanson, it's the Marauder, all clear out here," he called as he heard the door unlock.

"Holy hell, it is you," said the man in awe as he looked down at the knocked-out prisoners with wide eyes. "We gotta get outta here. The whole grid is fried."

But as the two moved to descend the ladders to ground level, the guard's walkie talkie crackled to life. _"Where is everybody?" _cried a voice frantically, _"They're attacking my car!"_

"My god, that's the warden," exclaimed Hanson as Cooper saw a police cruiser, swerving frantically as two inmates clung to it as it hit a spike strip, the tires popping loudly as it spun out and crashed as more prisoners descended on it like a pack of hyenas. "Go help, I'll be fine" assured the Sergeant as Cooper tore off, firing a wild burst to try and dissuade the attackers but to no avail as they forced a door open and ripped the Warden out before they began brutally beating the man with stones, pipes, and stolen batons.

At the same time he tossed an arc grenade, a web bomb went off amidst the group, stalling them before the ordnance stunned them and the webhead set to work, picking one up with his weblines and spinning him around to knock the others off the feet before throwing the ensnared inmate into a wall, the webbing holding him fast.

While Spider-Man took care of that group, the Marauder focused on the second that just burst out of a door, hosing them down with his CAR until the last one left knocked the gun away and swung at him with a Baton. But the Titan Jockey held his forearm up to block it, the exo absorbing the blow as he drew his axe and swung, slicing the weapon through cleanly through before pressing the muzzle of the SMG into his assailants gut and emptying the last three rounds into it, putting him down. "Shit," he muttered as he turned around, seeing the warden lying dead on the ground with a shank shoved through his throat, bloody hands that had been trying in vain to remove the makeshift blade hanging limply off to the side.

But there was no time to process that as the situation continued to deteriorate rapidly. "Look out!" cried Spider-Man as a rocket streaked up and slammed into a guard tower, causing debris to rain down on the pair as Cooper reflexively activated his phase shift and dove away.

When he came back, he reloaded his CAR as the situation continued to deteriorate around them as the walls were looking like swiss cheese with all of the holes blasted in them with the stolen rocket launchers. Fires had broken out as more and more prisoners spilled out of the prison as if it were a sieve. From her vantage above the scene, Yuri could see the full extent of the chaos. _"Could this get any worse?" _she asked.

"It can always get worse," returned the two vigilantes simultaneously.

"_Why do I even ask?" _grumbled the Captain, _"They're stealing a chopper." _

Sure enough, the two saw a helicopter begin to slowly lift off and appear over one of the cell blocks. "Don't worr,y" called out spidey as he raised his arms, "I have a plan."

"Like the last one you had when we had to take down a helicopter?" deadpanned the stunned Texan. Instead of retorting, the Webslinger fired two weblines that latched onto the escaping chopper as Spidey dug in his heels and grit his teeth. In an incredible display of his superhuman strength, he held against over 2,000 shaft horsepower as the engines whined under the immense strain. Seizing the opportunity, the Marauder jumped up, firing his grapple once to slingshot over the rooftop before retracting the hook and firing it a second time into the thin aluminum skin of the helicopter, feeling it latch as he shot up at the commandeered chopper.

As he did, the side door flew open and he saw the distinct tubular outline of an RPG emerge from the door before a rocket streaked out. Unable to stop the shot as he reached the bird, the Marauder buried his axe as he hung on the outside of the craft, just as he did, a red and blue blur shot by, kicking the two men out of the back while Matthew wrenched open the cockpit door to reveal a thoroughly distraught inmate at the controls. Reaching out with is free hand, the SRS Pilot grabbed him by the collar and slammed his head into the controls as the helo lurched precariously before Cooper looked into the man's bloody face. "Can you fly, Bobby?" he sneered before ripping the man from his seat and forcibly ejecting him from the helicopter as a webline snatched him from the sky and secured him to the side of a cell block.

On his way out, the man had knocked the controls as the Chopper began to spin as the Marauder leapt from the stricken craft before it flipped over and slammed into the courtyard, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. "Well…at least it didn't destroy half the city this time" conceded the Major dryly.

Much better was the convoy of flashing red and blue lights on the horizon. Indeed, Yuri came over the comms with the first good news the Texan had heard all night. _"Okay, looks like things are somewhat under control…" _she began only for the situation to nosedive once more as the sky erupted with yellow lightning arcing through the clouds, and the source was much too close for comfort.

"I thought you said the RAFT was secure?" asked Spider-Man.

"_It was," _returned Watanabe, no nonsense demeanor back in control, _"let's go" _she ordered as both men raised their left hands and fired their respective devices to pull them to the hovering helicopter. _"Maybe it's not as bad as it looks," _said Yuri as the craft banked away, trying to be the voice of optimism.

"_Love the optimism," _returned Spidey over the rotor wash. _"But in my experience" _he began, _"when it looks bad…"_

The Pilot finished his thought for him. "It's probably worse."

* * *

Peter couldn't help agree with his friend's wisdom, and while his Spider sense was humming lowly, it was a nagging feeling deep in the pit of his stomach, a 'gut feeling' as Cooper would say, that was giving him worry. Unlike the Marauder, the Webhead knew exactly who was in the supermax prison, nearly every superpowered villain he had bested in the last eight years was confined to the RAFT, and if the situation was half as bad as Rikers…

No, he wouldn't think like that. Yuri was right, this was a supermax facility, separate power grid, far more numerous and more intricate security systems, and far more redundant systems in place to prevent a breakout, even with outside assistance.

But all of those positive thoughts went away as the chopper rose to give the three a view of the source of the odd visual spectacle: Electro.

The Webhead's sixth sense kicked into overdrive at the sight of the grinning superpowered criminal charging up a potent electrical attack. "Look out!" he cried as he felt the helicopter shift, but the big bird could never hope to respond in time as Max Dillion unleashed a fury of yellow energy. When Yuri cranked the chopper over, she had done so in such a way as to use the bulk of the craft to shield the two passengers from the blast, but the helicopter took the brunt as the result. The effects were instant, the whole craft sparked as smoke belched from the engines, but most pressingly, the craft spun violently as both men lost their grip, the Marauder having to fire his grapple hook to keep him along for the ride as the chopper began to list. "Yuri!" called out the Webslinger as he yanked the door of the stricken chopper open.

Inside, he found the Captain struggling to undo her harness, and when she did she was instantly tossed into the opposite door. "I'm slipping!" she cried as he dropped down and wrapped his arms around her.

"I gotcha" he assured as he reached back to yank on the stick. "Hold on" he ordered as he pulled, only for nothing to happen as the controls sparked angrily at his attempts to wrestle some sort of controlled flight from the wounded bird.

Suddenly, a green shape appeared under the door at his feet as the Marauder wrenched it open and both Spidey and Yuri fell threw the newly created gap and Peter fired a webline as the ground flew up at them and he clung onto the captain with his other hand. He could hear the horrific sound of twisting and shearing metal from the helicopter crashing beneath them. As he took a second to gather his bearings, he slowly lowered them until they were on the ground next to the crash site. While they booth took in deep breaths, there was a hiss as the Marauder landed next to them. "New rule," began the Pilot as he looked down sadly at his bent submachine gun before tossing it on the ground, "no more helicopters," he said as he looked towards the wreckage, "ever."

"Seconded," added Spider-Man as he cycled fresh cartridges into his webshooters.

"Good," added Yuri through haggard breaths as she drew her revolver, "consider it a standing fucking order." The trio shared grim looks, Yuri pulling the hammer back on her pistol, Matt unsling his SMG, and the distinct hisses of new cartridges of webbing being chambered said everything that they were thinking when a yellow blur flew overhead and slammed into the door behind them.

Everyone rounded on Maxwell Dillion, the Supervillain still sporting the same twisted grin as they trained their weapons on him. "Welcome to the party…" he greeted, "just in time for the fireworks." With that, he fired another string of lightning off to his right before disappearing deeper into the prison.

The purpose of that blast was revealed as another voice yelled "Looks like we made parole boys!"

"Electro…why is he letting everyone out?" said a thoroughly confused Wallcrawler as he turned to look at his compatriots.

Inside, the released inmates were growing rowdier by the second before Yuri gave orders. "I'll head for the main control station and see how bad the situation is," announced the Captain firmly as she turned to the two men.

"Got it," returned the Webslinger with a nod before turning to the entrance made by Electro, "I'll go join the party" he finished as he saw the Marauder unsling his shotgun. "Matt…go with her," he suggested.

Thankfully, neither of them argued. "You got it," replied the Titan Jockey as he cycled the action of his weapon, the bolt dropping with a solid metallic sound. "You take care of yourself out there, I'll make sure Cap gets where she needs to go. Kick ass."

"You too," replied Spidey before they all exchanged nods and gun toting crime fighters moved out, weapons up and in step with one another. After they rounded the corner and were out of sight, Peter sprinted into the first cell block, orange jumpsuited men with high tech electrical sensor collars around their necks milling about the wrecked space. "Everyone just quietly go back to cell and lock your door behind you!" he shouted out as he came to a stop and the inmates turned to face him, snarls and sneers on their faces, "okay?" The first one came at him as he leapt up and flipped over him, firing a webline to pull him to one inmate and planted his feet in his chest, sending him across the room and into an open cell, knocking him out. "Like that!" he called before his sixth sense warbled and he leapt up and stuck to the wall, "please?"

"I'm gonna gut you Spider!" called out one, dashing that faint hope as Peter merely double tapped his webshooter button to loose and impact web that slammed into him, knocking into a column and webbing him in place. Firing a webline at the opposite wall, the Webhead swung through the space like Tarzan, grabbing one man by the oversized collar and tossing him into another cell before spring boarding off the floor and into another, backflipping before delivering a knockout blow as he came back to ground.

But just as it seemed he was getting a handle on things, more collar burdened men charged in, causing the Wallcrawler to hang his head in despair as he pulled out a web bomb and threw it in amongst the crowd, stopping them dead in their tracks. With the opening, he used a webline to yank one off his feet and spin him around, knocking all his buddies down before throwing the ensnared man into a third cell. _"Power failure in cellblock C…Catastrophic failure detected," _intoned the intercom as the superhero made his way up to the reinforced door that led deeper into the facility.

"That doesn't sound good…" murmured the Webslinger as he began to force the doors open only for his spider sense to ring out and his eyes widen at the sight of 10 feet of concrete pillar come flying right at him and slam into the door. Leaping away just as the door failed, he looked up to see a familiar face…or horn. "Oh…hi Rhino" said an exasperated Spidey as he saw the armored man hoist another pillar and toss it aside.

Turning to face him, the glowing blue eyes of the suit bored into him as the thick Russian accent of the man inside, Aleksei Sytsevich, to call out to him. "Hope you like surprise Spider," he taunted before he and Electro took off, the latter cackling all the way.

"Surprise?" questioned the hero, not particularly liking the sound of that, "What is he talking about?" Doggedly, the Webslinger kept up the pursuit through the ruined cell block when his comm beeped.

"_Hey, what's your status?" _asked Yuri in a no-nonsense tone, clearly not concerned by the gunfire Peter could make out on the line.

The Webhead came to a stop and perched on a railing on the opposite side of yet another ruined door. "Me?" he began sarcastically, "Just trapped in a prison with every criminal I've put away in the last…" he began to quip before his sixth sense sounded loudly and he tried to leap up out of the way, but a familiar and tight gripping tail wrapped around his neck and lifted him up until he was staring at the red visor of Mac Gargan, still in the suit of stylized green power armor that gave him the moniker of 'Scorpion.'

The deranged mercenary chuckled darkly, "This is too good to be true," he gloated as the grip tightened and Spidey chocked a bit as his hands tried to pry the tail off.

"Scorpion – can you hold on a minute?" he asked as he forced breath into his lungs to finish his quip, "I was in the middle of a phone call and it was business." Before he could act further, an explosion went off right behind the villain, loosening his grip and sending the arachnid themed hero flying. When he got back to his feet, he caught one last glimpse of that stinger tipped tail retreating through the newly made hole in the concrete. Shaking the haze from his mind, the Webslinger turned around to face the prisoners gathering behind him, this bunch being armed with a variety of shields and batons undoubtedly taken from the guards lying on the floor on the far side of the room. Charging at the lead shield wielder, Peter agilely slid under the shield and spun around the knock the man up into the air, sending the shield flying as the Webhead shot out a line to grab the man and slam him back into the floor.

At the same time, his built in mask phone beeped again, _"Lost you for a second there," _said Yuri calmly before the thunderous report of her magnum revolver filled the airwaves, _"You okay?" _she asked before the even more thunderous report of the Marauder's shotgun came through.

Meanwhile, Spider-Man dodge away from a shock baton, throwing a blast of webbing into the man's face for his troubles before grabbing a chunk of concrete with another webline and swinging it over his head to bring down on the top of the blinded man's skull. "Not really," he replied honestly, "Electro, Rhino, and now Scorpion are all on the loose. What's going on in the rest of the prison?" he asked, really hoping they were having a better go of it.

"_We're almost to the…left side! Left side!" _she shouted suddenly as there was a furious exchange of gunshots before all was silent once more. _"We're almost to the secondary security station," _she reported far too calmly considering what had just happened. Though it wasn't like Spidey could do any talking, he was acrobatically flipping between three different inmates, firing a web at two different ones to slam them into one another as he also carried on a conversation. _"Should have camera's up inside two minutes, I'll give you a sitrep soon."_

"Okay, I'll keep tracking Electro," he replied before cutting the link and looking around him, the last four prisoners surrounding him. Picking one, he rushed the lucky winner, drawing a trip mine. "Think fast!" called out the Webhead, sidearming the device at him and sticking it to his chest. Leaping over the top, he gave the man a kick in the back of the head, sending him forwards as the other three prisoners charged after the vigilante, so when the mine activated and dragged two goons together, webbing up both as Spider-Man added an electric web blast, stunning all four as he quickly finished those who weren't webbed up.

Continuing, he went through the next set of doors as his sixth sense kicked back into overdrive and he leapt up for the ceiling as a blast of familiar yellow lighting surged through the space he had just been occupying. "C'mon Spider-Man" taunted electro, "I thought this was a _chase!"_

With that, the eclectically enhanced villain shot up the shaft as Spider-Man dropped to the floor. "Gotta stop this guy…"

* * *

Gritting his teeth, the Marauder watched as Yuri swiped a security card over the scanner outside the door into the security station. As soon as she did, the light turned green and the door slid open to let the pair in. Cooper was in front, shotgun up as he took in the sights of three inmates trying to break into an arms locker and fired, the Mastiff spitting out the last of its shells, catching two in the blast as the third tried to rush him, but it was a futile effort as the Marauder stepped forwards and rammed the muzzle into his gut. The man stopped dead in his tracks and doubled over, clutching his stomach until swung the butt of the gun up in a brutal uppercat that sent him sprawling back against the locker he had just tried to break into before the stock slammed into his face again, breaking his nose before he crumpled to the floor. "Clear!" he called out.

Yuri, who had been covering his back, came into the room before closing and locking the door behind her. "They shouldn't have been able to get in here even with the power outages…" she ground out before shaking her head and beginning to flip through the cameras, grimacing at what she saw. "Camera's are still up, but nearly every other security system is totally fried. Even the backups on isolated systems," she reported, "there isn't a single secure cell left in the main holding blocks and the connection Enhanced Containment Block is severed. Hell, even the main gate is locked in the open position."

"Electro did all that?" asked the Marauder as he cuffed the knocked out inmates to a post.

"Couldn't've" returned the Captain, "Logs report the outages started before he got out of his cell." Cooper raised an eyebrow at that, something was wrong with this whole picture. As she continued furiously working the controls, she keyed her earpiece again as the connection with Spider-Man was reestablished, it was obvious she was looking for the hero on the feeds. "Okay, I got the security cameras back online," she reported tersely.

"_How does it look?" _came the strained reply as the Pilot turned his attention to the electronically locked locker.

"Well…" began the Cop, "it looks like the entire population of the Raft has escaped" she reported without changing her tone in the slightest. Then, things got even worse, "Including Martin Li. That makes FIVE of your worst enemies on the loose."

"_Hehe…" _chuckled the webslinger weakly, _"for a second there I thought you were serious."_

That tore it, drawing his Data Knife, the Marauder jammed it into the lock and waited for it to unlock for him before almost tearing the door off its hinges. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Yuri staring at him, "Do you mind?" he asked.

"Help yourself," replied the lawwoman as Cooper did just that, perusing the stock as the Captain continued to update the Webslinger. "I _am _serious" said the woman tersely, "I have to go – some of them are heading into the city. I'm sending the Marauder to assist you" she finished before cutting the connection.

As she was relaying that to Spider-Man, the Marauder was rearming, selecting a SPAS-15 shotgun and was about to reach for rubber buckshot when Yuri appeared at his side, "Don't bother with those," she ordered tersely as she grabbed an assault rifle from the stock. "If it comes down to you or them, make sure it's them" she ordered as Cooper nodded and began stowing 8 round magazine packed with lethal ammunition. "If we can't contain the escapees then it's going to take a miracle to stop them," she asserted grimly.

"Understood," replied the Pilot tersely as the two moved to the doors. After Yuri opened them and they swept the hall immediately outside, they prepared to go their separate ways.

He was really missing having BT available to feed him real time intel and guidance, but the veteran LEO was more than capable of getting him through the labyrinth. "Down there, left, then the third right should put you at Electro's last known position, the only way out of there is up." With that, the Pilot turned when he heard the Captain call out "Good luck Marauder!"

"You too."

* * *

Allowing himself to breathe after threading the needle of the mess of shipping containers behind him, Spider-Man looked up to the smug grin of Electro staring right back at him. But instead of standing to fight, Dillion tore off skywards, leaving a trail of scorched cement in his wake. "Keep chasing!" he called out as Spider-Man did just that, determined to take down who he felt was the most dangerous of the escaped convicts, "Party's almost over!" Running up the sheer vertical surface, he saw a familiar lick of blue flame as the Marauder jumped into the shaft, bouncing off a wall and ascending as well, joining the pursuit. Even as the villain began throwing waves of electricity down at them, both easily avoided the deadly energy as their superpowered foe shot out of a hole in the ceiling and onto the roof, both vigilantes in hot pursuit.

"_Thanks for waiting for me," _drawled the Marauder dryly as a way of greeting.

"No problem," returned Spider-Man as he shot through the same hole and the two landed next to one another, "I don't mind sharing the fun" he quipped as both scanned for any sign of their quarry. Seeing a stray bolt of yellow lightning, Spidey's lenses narrowed as he fired a webline and shot up in pursuit, a grapple following close behind.

Landing atop the roof, the pair was met with the sight of Electro leaning against an antenna as Spider-Man got his first good look at him, and it didn't take long to notice something was different. "How do you like my new suit?" asked the supervillain with a grin. Said suit was little more than a rudimentary harness, but the plethora of wires that interconnected the conductive panels indicated it served a greater purpose, and was probably the source of the man's enhanced capabilities.

"Dashing," quipped the Webslinger as he stepped forwards, able to feel Cooper strafe to the left to not bunch up, weapon up and trained on Electro. His finger was poised over the trigger as Spidey got closer, ready to pull it at the slightest provocation. "Where'd you get it?"

Maxwell's grin tightened into a wolfish smirk, "It's an exclusive club." As soon as he said it, the back of his head was beat like a drum by his sixth sense as a familiar streak of green shot up over the edge and the Marauder's weapon fired as the Vulture rolled away.

As soon as one threat was driven off, another replaced it as the colossal bulk of the Rhino vaulted up onto the rooftop, lowering his horn and charging the Pilot. Instead of fighting the armored behemoth, the Major phase shifted away as Spidey leapt up to dodge the horn, coming down behind just in time to look up and see the Vulture diving on him. But a crackle off to his left indicated he wasn't alone as the Marauder fired again, buckshot slamming into the mechanical wing as the man in the harness, Adrian Toomes, tried to regain control but Spidey had no intention of letting him. With a flick of his wrist, a webline snatched him out of the sky and redirected him into the armored bulk of the Rhino just as a helicopter pulled in, door opening to reveal the glowing suit clad Mr. Negative charging up an energy blast.

The Wallcrawler leapt up and flipped back onto the head of the Scorpion before he was thrown off and he scrambled to get back to his feet as Li stepped off the chopper and onto the rooftop. The Marauder had come out of his roll and fired a shot at the closest enemy, who happened to be the Rhino, the buckshot bouncing off the heavy armor before the Pilot was backhanded and landed next to the Webslinger, his Jump Kit keeping him upright as he settled down, cracking his neck. The two heroes were back to back, surveying the odds stacked against them, five superpowered villains that were out for blood. "Remember," called out the head of the Inner Demons as he cracked his knuckles, "he said not to kill them."

"Good idea," returned Spider-Man lightly, "In fact we don't have to do this at all if you don't want to…" he offered.

"We _definitely _want to," returned the Rhino as he dragged his foot across the rooftop, preparing to charge.

"You want it?" called out the Marauder before working the pump on his shotgun, "Then come get some!" The Vulture lead the charge, coming in from Spider-Man's side to avoid the Marauder's weapon, with Rhino coming in right behind the flyer. Dodging the Vulture just as the Marauder whipped around and snapped off a shot, drawing first blood on the Vulture as the Rhino's massive fist came down and two red covered hands went up to stop it dead in its tracks.

Behind him, the Marauder swung the shotgun back to Scorpion, firing twice in quick succession to little effect before finally jumping up and kicking the man in his exposed jaw, causing him to stagger. But Mr. Negative was there to support, hitting the Pilot with a beam of black and white energy and opening up Spider-Man as Scorpions tail slammed into his back, sending the two in opposite directions. Now unable to support each other, they found themselves under more pressure, while Rhino and the Vulture turned for the Pilot, Electro, Scorpion, and Li came for Spidey.

Electro fired a wave of lighting as Spidey leapt up, firing a web at the antenna behind him to swing around and come back on the attack, planting both feet in the Scorpion's chest and sending him back. Looking up, he saw that the Marauder had given up on his shotgun, having jumped up atop Rhino, blood soaked knife being pulled out of the exposed skin on the man's arm. But before Spidey could shout a warning, Vulture swooped down with talons out and ripped the Pilot off his perch, digging into his arm as the Pilot roared in pain over the comms. Peter's last glimpse of his friend was of him kicking his feet up to ram the still bloody blade into Toome's side.

A ringing of his sixth sense as Li fired another blast at him forced him to dodge away, right into the waiting tail of the Scorpion as the poison tipped stinger was driven deep into his back. As he fell to the ground he saw the Marauder slam onto the rooftop next to him, one arm bloody as the other hand still held the knife. As Spidey tried to turn over, a glowing shoe kicked him in the face, snapping his head over to see Cooper try and get up but have the Scorpion's tail trip him up as Gargan took the knife from the Pilot's hands and drove it into his leg with a laugh. The Major tried to throw a punch with his one good arm, but a blast of energy from Electro caused him to convulse and hiss in pain.

Neither of them could keep fighting, they had to leave now, mustering what little strength he had left, Peter got to his hands and knees, with only a punch from the Rhino slowing him as he pushed through the pain, reaching back to grab the Marauder and drag him to the edge of the rooftop. His friend was terrifyingly limp as the villains watched the pitiful sight, not even bothering to continue to attack the pair. A trail of blood marked their path, the drips of Spider-Man as he crawled distinguishable from the smear of the dragged Marauder until they reached the edge and Electro sent one last blast of electricity into both of them. Unable to stop himself, Peter cried out in pain as the Marauder remained silent, both convulsing from the shocks with wisps of smoke rising from their battered forms. But he had made it, the Webslinger was almost home free, if he could just get off this rooftop then there was a chance to escape and fight another day.

It was not to be, a terrifyingly familiar black and yellow claw slammed down into his hand as the Webslinger could feel his webshooters get crushed and bones crack from the impact as another claw emerged and came down around the Marauder's torso, digging into the armor as a third slammed into the rooftop and then a fourth did the same. As Peter craned his neck up, he saw the man at the center of the four arms emerge and look down at him with a familiar goggled face. "Do…Doctor Octavius?" rasped the Webslinger in shock as his mentor just sneered down at him.

His spider sense went off, but he was unable to prevent another claw from wrapping around his thigh, spikes digging into his skin as he his hand was released and he was lifted aloft alongside the limp form of the Marauder. "First and final warning" threatened Octavius calmly as he cast an uninterested glance at the Pilot's body before bringing the inverted Spider-Man closer, looking the younger man eye to eye. "Stay out of our way," he ordered calmly before both men were carelessly tossed off the rooftop, plummeting towards the ground below.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Locations: The RAFT_

_Originally planed to replace Rikers Island, the RAFT was retooled during construction to be a supermax facility with a special capability to intern enhanced individuals that supplemented the legacy facility. The original intended person the prison was designed around was, in fact, Spider-Man, though it soon became known as where his most formidable foes served their time. A man made fortress of steel and concrete situated between Rikers Island and Roosevelt Island, with the latter providing logistical support, the prison is as capable of keeping people out as it is in. _

_The exact details of the security systems are a closely guarded secret, but people have figured out that the guard towers around the central facility are arranged in such a way as to use the tides and waves in the east river to provide electric power, aided by solar panels. Supplies are brought to the facility by transfer lines in the same way resupply at sea is done to offer as few opportunities for escape as possible. Guards and other personnel are brought in and out by boat, usually from Roosevelt Island._

_While it's most famous occupants are metahumans, the RAFT is among the most secure internment facilities on the east coast, and so it is the home to prisoners from more than a dozen states, with a majority of those lacking powers. This is a matter of justifying the more than billion dollar investment the state of New York made, but seeing as there have been no successful breakouts thus far, it seems to have been money well spent. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: I know people have been looking forward to this, and I have too honestly, this was a great sequence in game and I hope I did it justice. This was one of the sequences shown pre release when it was one of the highlights of E3 2018, probably even more so than the helicopter chase shown the year prior, at least for me. Obviously, like the game, this was a rather abrupt kickstarting of the Sinister Six story arc and I wanted to keep that feel regarding the events that took place. I will be trying something different this time around, a sort of twin story arc, one based on the game, the other original, I've gone down this path because this entire arc felt kind of rushed in game, and since I have even more characters to juggle and smaller arcs to progress along with them, I needed to expand it some way. Instead of stretching the story arc out I took the approach of adding another layer.**

**This layer will not be related to SHIELD or the Avengers in any way, shape, or form. I know that will probably disappoint some of you, but I just could not come up with a good 'story' reason to include them. The best part of the game was how it was a personal story for Peter and I don't want that to change, having the Avengers show up would only hurt that in my eyes. Matt, in all honesty, kind of does the same thing, which is why he's going to be off on his own most of the time. I think it's good stuff and I think y'all will enjoy it. **

**Leave a review if you have something to say, either about this chapter or something else that you might be looking forward to. **

**Next week, we focus on the guys who are behind the scenes and pulling the strings, making your life burn faster, so obey your master, the Master of Puppets.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	58. Chapter 58: Master of Puppets

Author's note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

As a die hard fan of the Bungie Halo games I was excited about Halo Infinite. After seeing the demo I am substantially less excited.

On another note, where would be a good place to put a bit of historical fiction? I'm starting to form another idea and it might actually lead somewhere.

**Blaze1992: Hacks on what exactly? As far as what Startship Troopers is on Netflix, the live action 1997 film. **

**A fan: I did actually have a plan for Larae Barret, she was going to be Frank's baddie for the arc, but that got cut because Frank is a side character. I still have my notes for that and could plausibly spin that off into a side story if that would be the sort of thing people would like to see. You're half right about Matt, he won't be hunting Division Bosses, plurl, but just one in particular. He was briefly introduced last chapter if memory serves and he will play a larger role coming up soon. It's not the Division story, this is based very much on the Spider-Man game, but I've just lifted a few elements, it's more of a reference than a crossover type deal. **

This is a very short chapter, I needed to set things up and since all of the setup I needed to do didn't fit into the chapter either before or after this so it became its own chapter. One of the things the game does is have a 24 hour time skip and I am going to take advantage of that, add in the fact that I need to give a second protagonist a story arc and I need to have more things set up so I need to take advantage of that window to do it. That's why this is the first of three chapters that will not really have Peter or Matthew doing much of anything.

And this one is mostly centered around the bad guys, and for that I needed a song fitting the bad guys, and with the two main forces at play being men that pull strings rather than triggers, this 1986 Metallica track off the album of the same name fits that bill perfectly. It is about drug abuse, but it's too befitting of a criminal mastermind to not use. The whole album was about manipulation and that is one of the overarching ideas, manipulators, though some other characters are easier to manipulate than others. The song itself is an intense thrash rock track, Metallica at their very best to be sure, though I will always remember as radio host Michael Savage's intro song.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 58: Master of Puppets**

_Master of puppets, I'm pulling your strings_

_Twisting your mind and smashing your dreams_

_Blinded by me, you can't see a thing_

_Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream_

_Master, Master!_

_Just call my name, 'cause I'll hear you scream_

_Master, Master!_

* * *

Looking back, Octavius took a second to watch the bodies of his two vanquished foes tumble through the night before turning back to the collection of men assembled before him. This was the moment he had been dreaming of for weeks, all of his planning and preparation had led to this moment. Even better, his plan had gone off without a hitch and he was standing on the precipice of success and Otto had assembled the group that could ensure it.

The most vital man after himself was the head of the Inner Demons, Martin Li was the most familiar with Devil's Breath, and it was him who had given Octavius the inspiration for his own plot. Additionally, the Inner Demons at his disposal would prove an effective way to bolster their numbers, and the man was the best at obtaining information from…uncooperative individuals because of his unique skillset. Both of them were working towards the same goal, and it had taking no convincing for Li to agree to help Octavius.

Then there was Adrian Toomes, the 'Vulture' had the most experience of all them, having battled Spider-Man more than two dozen times over his years long criminal career. Few knew the webhead like the 74-year-old electrical engineer, nor did any of them understand how best to take the city apart. His price? The man truly needed Octavius' help, the spinal cancer he had would kill him and Otto had been asked to develop a way to help him. A more than fair price considering Otto was asking him to risk life and limb to help him, and considering his winged harness was already stained with his own blood from the wounds he had sustained at the hands of the Marauder? Toomes had proven that he was someone worth helping.

While the frail, wrinkled, and balding Toomes was the least imposing, the man next to him towered over the rest of the group. As the 'Rhino,' Aleksei Sytsevich had garnered quite the reputation, exceeding his already formidable standing as a top enforcer for the old Russian Mob before the Italians forced them out of New York several years ago. He was a relic of a bygone era, those responsible for his transformation had fled back to their homeland, leaving the super powered villain to fend for himself in Manhattan. While not endowed with an abundance of intelligence, Sytsevich was under no illusions he was a criminal mastermind and was more than willing to follow orders. His price was one that took Octavius by surprise, since the Doctor could not understand why one would willingly give up a position over others, but if Aleksei desired to be free of his armored suit then Octavius would make it so.

Unlike the Rhino, MacDonald 'Mac' Gargan had no such desire to give up his supervillain for hire lifestyle for something more mundane. Instead, the Scorpion had negotiated his price to be a cleaning of his criminal record and paying off of financial debts occurred by an extravagant lifestyle and an unfortunate gambling habit. Octavius had done the later already as a show of good faith and his ability to help Gargan, the other half of his terms would be made good once the mercenary had completed his assignments.

But the most confounding of them was the youngest, Maxwell Dillion, who preferred to be called 'Electro.' He was absolutely mad, Octavius was sure of it, a desire to become 'Pure living energy' was absurd, but Otto had explored the possibility nonetheless, understanding the desire to eschew his mortal body and become something greater. The psychopath was teetering on the edge of stability, but when Octavius had presented him with the harness he was now sporting along with records of a bogus experiment that seemed to make his mad dream seem possible he had joined his group with earnest. If his power wasn't so extraordinary then Otto would have sought a more stable individual to round out the group.

They were an odd bunch to be sure, but they were just who Otto needed and they would do magnificently, of that, he had no doubt. Already they had proven themselves capable, enacting his plans to the letter, escaping their cells and making their way to the roof. They had worked together splendidly to dispatch the two men most capable of stopping them in short order. If the combined might of Spider-Man and the Marauder couldn't stop them, then who else would dare oppose them?

These were who he needed, not an army, but a handful of men, a Sinister Six

"Each of you has a job," he began as they all looked up at him, grinning after their victory, "your debts will be payed when we're done. Go!" he barked out as they all turned and stalked off to do their jobs. He would monitor them after his own machinations were complete, this was not the end of the beginning, but rather would be the beginning of the end.

* * *

Grimacing, Yuri's eyes followed the searchlight scanning the water ahead of them, in the hour since she had last contacted either the Marauder or Spider-Man, the city had fallen to shit. Any attempts they had of containing the breakout went down the drain when the Rhino or Electro smashed through the roadblocks they had erected. Sable International was doing no better, having been caught completely flat footed, the larger and more potent force had yet to respond to the new threat. That likely had as much to do with the Mayor, who had been dragging his feet according to DeWolff, but the Commissioner had been quite clear when she told Yuri to go find the two vigilantes and get them out of public sight quickly.

A quick check through the feeds at the Raft had turned up empty, and so now she was on the water with the harbor patrol, desperately looking for any sign of the two in the pitch blackness. As the searchlight on the bow swept across, the Captain spied a spot of red and blue on the water for the briefest of moments, but it was enough. "There he is!" she barked out as the operator brought the light back and settled it on the form of the Websinger as he lay sprawled out on a barrel. "Bring us in" she ordered as the boat edged closer and she could see the sorry state he was in, outfit torn, and blood caked around the gashes in his body. To her immense relief, he groaned as she and another officer fished him out of the water and got him inside the boat, but that was the only sing of life he emanated. "Get him a blanket," she ordered as she set him down. "God damnit," she muttered, she had never seen him in such a bad way before, and there was still no sign of the Marauder.

The other officer came back with a blanket which was quickly wrapped around the Webslinger. "Captain, we're being hailed," informed the officer, "they're ordering us off the water, Sable is coming in to do a full sweep of the Raft and Rikers."

Internally, Yuri cursed, she wanted to stay out here and find the Pilot, orders be damned. But she couldn't risk it, even for the Marauder. "Take us to the shore, but be slow about it, keep up the search," she ordered as the other officer went back to the pilot house and an exhausted Captain sat down next to the covered and unmoving Wallcrawler. Part of her wanted him to spit out some awful quip so she knew he was okay, hell, even if he rasped out some lame 'Spider-Cop' joke it would be better than the awful silence. When the silence was broken however, it was due to the ringing of her phone as she answered it tiredly, "Watanabe."

"_Did you find them?" _said the voice of a woman that just a few hours ago Yuri had hoped to never hear from again, worry was the dominant motion in the thief's tone.

With a sigh of despair, Yuri looked down at the singular man they had recovered, "we found Spider-Man" she revealed, knowing that it wasn't the answer the woman wanted. "He's in bad shape, he needs a hospital" she revealed.

"_That's not an option," _replied the Black Cat tersely, _"check the news." _Quirking her brow, the Captain looked down at her phone as an emergency news bulletin popped up. 'Mayor Osborn enacts Executive Order branding Spider-Man and the Marauder outlaws. More to follow…' it read as Yuri's jaw dropped and she pressed the phone back to her ear.

"I don't suppose you have a suggestion?"

"_As a matter of fact, I do…" _returned the burglar before rattling off an address not that far from the docks. _"It's one of our safehouses, I'll send a doctor to put him back together," _she said before adding, _"take care of him Captain."  
_

The line went dead as Watanabe heard the faint buzzing of helicopters closing in from the distance and the boat pulled into the harbor just as the stark white helicopters passed by overhead on their way to the Raft.

* * *

Features placid, Silver Sablinova looked out the open door of the helicopter at the burning prisons off their nose. But behind her calm face, the Symkarian housed a blizzard of conflicting emotions, some new threat had emerged, killed her men, stolen the Devil's Breath once again. The tracking device that had been fitted had been found on Staten Island, superglued to the bottom of a taxi. Precious time had been lost as the Breakout occurred, and now there was no containing it with the most dangerous criminals housed in both facilities loose and worse, seemingly coordinating.

When Mayor Osborn had finally called her and issued orders, she couldn't believe it, the top priority was not Devil's Breath or these escaped super criminals, but the men who had saved her life and the lives of her men, Spider-Man and the Marauder.

"_You are to go and hunt down these vigilantes who undermine law and order and take them into custody immediately. With the jailbreak we cannot stand idly by and condone more lawlessness with our inaction. That is why I am calling on all public defenders of the City of New York to bring Spider-Man and the Marauder to justice." _

"_Rules of engagement?" _

"_Capture if you can. If they resist? Kill them."_

That did not sit well with Sablinova, these were not criminals or outlaws like so many others, these were honorable warriors who had stood and fought beside her and proven their mettle despite her initial misgivings. Which was why, as they neared their insertion point, the Mercenary engaged her radio and addressed the handpicked troops she had brought with her for this mission. "I want a clean sweep when we hit the ground. Hard and fast, leave no stone unturned," she ordered, "if we find the targets, take them alive. I say again: Hold your fire if we encounter our primaries."

"_But ma'am," _began one of the Troopers uncomfortably as the ones in the same chopper as the Symkarian, _"doesn't that contradict the orders given by Mayor Osborn?"_

"It does," she agreed, "but those are _my _orders. I expect them to be followed," she said with finality, getting a round of nods and acknowledgements as the pilots of their helicopters flared the noses of the machines and brought them to a hover, "ropes!" she called out. At once, the lines were pushed over the side and the Symkarian slid down, her boots being the first to hit the ground as she drew her twin pistols. With the platoon rapidly disembarked, the ropes were disconnected and fell to the ground before the choppers peeled away, circling the island to provide air cover. "On me! Three meter spread!" she barked out as the Troopers did just that and the group advanced forwards.

Everywhere around them, the ruin of the Supermax Facility showed some sign of what had happened here mere hours prior. Guards had been gutted and left for dead on the floor if they were lucky, many more had been strung up by their assailants, dangling from the ceiling by the rope wrapped around their feet. One or two were displayed as some sort of gruesome warning that went unheeded. But the halls and passageways remained eerily silent, what few lights remained flickered at random, the mercenary's eyes struggling to keep up with the constantly changing light levels.

Coming across a laundry room, the space held more horrors as guards had been stuffed into dryers, bones broken to make them fit while others had been drowned in the washing machines. When one of them was pulled out it was clear from the state of his face that the machine had been run with him held in it.

And so the pattern continued, each room holding new horrific displays of brutality, and a part of Sablinova wanted to strike back at those responsible for such heinous acts, but instead she had been sent to carry out the personal vendettas of an egotistical man. _"Ghost Eye to Silver Bird, possible sighting on a rooftop, southwest corner of the facility," _called out one of the helicopter pilots.

Moving that way immediately, Silver led a squad onto the rooftop and saw the armored form of the Major laying still. "Cover me" she ordered as she stepped out onto the roof alone, braving the wind and rain as she crouched down next to the Pilot. As lightning lit up the night, she could see there was blood, a lot of blood, but as she pressed a finger to his neck, she got a faint pulse, miraculously, the Marauder was still alive. "Medic," she called out over the radio, "I need a stretcher at my location."

Soon enough, one arrived along with a medic. "Tend to his wounds," she ordered, and the man complied after a mere moment of hesitation. His helmet removed to reveal a face far too young for the fate that had been decided for him, and his armor taken off to show a body that had already endured more than most. With him stabilized, he was carefully placed on the folding stretcher and it was with a tinge of regret that she slipped a pair of cuffs on his broken wrist before one of the helicopters circling overhead landed to take him away. The Marauder should have been carried off and his destination was supposed to be the medical wing of the base that had been built to contain Li. Once there, he would be taken care of, but confined inside of a high-tech holding area. One of _her _high-tech holding areas, but that, sadly, was business.

Only to the Symkarian it didn't feel like business, it felt _wrong_.

And so she had secretly ensured that such a thing would not happen. She would not carry out an order she believed to be so wrong, so dishonorable, as the one she had been given. With that on her mind, Sablinova approached the helicopter and climbed inside along with the stretcher, "pilot!" she barked, yelling over the sound of the rotorwash, "take us directly to the Queens Tunnel Camp, have my safehouse prepared and the 1st's trauma surgeon sent there!" she ordered as the crew stared at her blankly.

But as she held their gazes, the Copilot answered, "understood ma'am, altering our flight plan," he reported crisply.

Sablinova nodded and took a seat in the back as the chopper lifted off, looking down at the wounded body of the Marauder. She had not forgotten how his actions had saved the lives of her men, and she was going to see that debt paid, no matter what her employer ordered.

* * *

Times Square was packed, that in and of itself was far from unusual, even for the late hour. Norman Osborn had held a rally in the iconic location earlier in the evening, packing the entire square with his supporters and keeping them there after he had left and been replaced by a musical act that only appeared to the ignorant masses of sheep that would follow such a man. Staring down at those sheep that put such a manipulative fraudulent rat in power, he felt no pity or remorse for them, they were not worth either in the eyes of Doctor Otto Octavius. Using his arms, Octavius descended the electronic billboard, taking care to smash a claw into Osborn's sickening mug as he steadied himself on a lower rooftop. In his hand, the scientist held the key to his scheme.

The hellishly red substance seemed to move with a life of its own, a pulse and desire of its own within the confines of the Oscorp branded containment vessel. Octavius felt its weight in his hand, despite his fraying nerves he could feel the chill of the metal and glass as he steeled himself once more. With the benefit of having observed two other forces try to topple the burgeoning Osborn Empire that gripped the city like cancer, he could evaluate where their strategies failed and what he had to do to succeed.

From the IMC, he learned the value of surprise, striking a critical and decisive blow early, and not allowing those who would dare oppose him come together and prepare. He was under no illusions about the potential strength of his enemies, even with the numbers and inherent violence the escapees from Rikers Island and the Raft possessed, they could not hope to match the IMC, even with the superpowered support they had. So Octavius had struck without warning, and in one night alone he had managed to obtain Devil's Breath, release the prisoners, assemble the Sinister Six, neutralize two of the largest potential threats, and now he stood on the precipice of his greatest achievement of what had already been a productive night.

The idea had come from the other group to ravage Manhattan, Martin Li's Inner Demons. They had proven that Osborn was weak, he didn't have the stomach for a war of attrition. His calling for reinforcements in the form of a PMC was testament to that, and Li had even shown how the Sable International protections could be circumvented, and now that they were weakened after their losses at the hands of the IMC? It would be even easier. As proof, the rally below was completely free of the white armored troopers, a show of arrogance that Osborn would pay dearly for. The compassion he had for his precious constituents would be what Octavius would use to twist the knife, taking the inspiration on how to do that from Li, only unlike Mr. Negative he would be less theatrical about it. The idea had been sound, but the theatrics had been Li's ultimate undoing.

Otto would make no such mistake.

Taking a breath, the scientist couldn't help but imagine that the ruined face on the screen behind him was the man himself. "All these years…all these lies" he sneered as he gripped the Devil's Breath tighter, "it's over Norman!" he declared. Looking back down at the throng of people before them, Otto finally decided to stop delaying the inevitable, "time to give them the truth." Extending his hand, he guided one of his mechanical arms to take it as his organic ones were used to fit a mask to his face as the artificial limbs continued to extend.

When they had reached their full length, a second arm lined up, yellow tipped claws open and poised before all four buried themselves into the containment vessel. Even the reinforced glass failed to resist, cracking and spiderwebbing as the heat of ambient air along with the rapidly dropping pressure caused the chemical compound to expand rapidly. But stubbornly, the container still held its shape, remedied when the claw initially holding it with a gentle touch began to pierce into the glass as well. Octavius got the feedback from his arms, feeling the way the structural integrity of the container faulted and failed completely as Otto ripped it apart. The Devil's Breath, now lacking the pressure or controlled temperature to keep it in liquid form, shifted into a demonically colored cloud before Otto's eyes, a grim portent of doom if he had ever seen one.

It only continued to expand, dropping slowly as wisps went out in all directions, covering not only those at the rally below, but pedestrians, passersby, those in cabs or stores, and anyone else for blocks. Watching, Octavius noted the reactions of those down below, the fools utterly failed to recognize what had happened, still cheering at the concert like that had been part of the act while the rest looked up in mere annoyance.

Overcome with a feeling of satisfaction, Otto gave an approving nod to his handiwork as he dropped the container of the chemical and retreated back up the building. Now all he had to do was wait for Osborn's work to take its toll as he always knew it would.

* * *

Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Norman Osborn tried in vain to stem the fast approaching migraine he felt. He had not expected to find himself back in his office after his rally earlier in the evening. But it was now approaching 2 o clock in the morning and exhaustion was beginning to set in as reports continued to come in, and each one was seemingly worse than the last. The notification that GR-27 had been taken by an unknown party had been what kicked it all off, that had been what he was greeted with as soon as his rally ended.

His initial, foolish in retrospect, thought had been that the Marauder had simply decided to take it to destroy it as he believed should have been done long ago, but to his surprise, neither him nor Spider-Man was responsible for the theft. That had only become apparent when he had arrived at his office and was met with Commissioner DeWolff, who promptly informed him that Rikers Island was on the precipice of a breakout of potentially catastrophic proportions and that both vigilantes were on the scene at the behest of the NYPD. That was when he felt that his rotten luck was beginning to turn.

A calculated amount of dragging his feet on a response on the grounds of not instilling panic amongst the populace of more dire reports rolled in ensured that no substantial NYPD support would arrive at Rikers, and Sable had been ordered to solely focus on the recovery of GR-27 and termination of those responsible for its theft. For a brief moment in time, his risks looked like they would pay off. Rikers was teetering on the verge of failure, but the NYPD had a response ready and could easily contain an outbreak as soon as he allowed it. All that needed to happen was for the two vigilantes to falter, a number of inmates to escape, and the CEO would have been set. Give an executive order to bring the two men to justice, order the NYPD to round up the inmates, and he was all but a shoe in for reelection.

But that was only a brief moment as word that the Raft was under threat came in, the paradigm shifting once more as the Supermax facility was quickly overrun. Only now, it was too late to course correct, with the now overwhelming number of criminals escaping confinement, the NYPD resources would be strained, and it was now clear that something more sinister was afoot. When word that the first supervillains had escaped arrived Osborn had felt his blood go cold, and when contact was lost with both Spider-Man and the Marauder Norman knew there was little chance for a clean resolution.

At that point, Osborn had reached into his desk and decided that if this was going to become a crisis, he should not let it go to waste. The Mayor then produced the executive order he had drafted and signed it then and there despite the protests of DeWolff. At least some good would come of it and Osborn could probably weather the storm long enough to limp across the finish line come election day.

But in the last 10 minutes, he had felt that slip through his fingers when reports of a red mist at the rally he had left mere hours ago caused the color drain from his face. When the police arrived on the scene, they found the concert had ended and the crowd had left, only serving to spread the contagion further. But Norman, despite his distress, didn't panic. He ordered emergency stockpiles of medical supplies to be opened up and made available to hospitals and pulled out the quarantine plans that had been drawn up for a worst-case scenario when Li was at large. Already, orders were being disseminated for a total lockdown of Manhattan Island to contain the outbreak that was sure to ensue from the release from the release of the Devil's Breath. Even still, he needed a win, something he could present to the populace that he was still in control.

When the doors to his office were thrown open and the stern faced Symkarian mercenary strode through, Osborn greeted the interruption with a smile. "Ms. Sablinova" he greeted as the woman ignored everything else going on and came to attention right in front of him, "I expect you have good news as to apprehending the wanted vigilantes?"

There was a momentary pause, and Osborn swore he almost saw a flicker of indecision on Sablinova's features before they steadied once more, "both Rikers Island and the Raft are secure. What prisoners remained have been transferred to other holding facilities," she began, "however, several thousand, including both principle targets, remain unaccounted for at this time." The room fell silent as the news was digested; Osborn able to feel the color draining from his face as he waited for the head of Sable International to continue. "My men are searching the surrounding areas as we speak for any signs of them," she assured, "but I am not concerned with what we are doing, what I want to know is what we are _going_ to do?"

Osborn was taken aback, stunned into silence for a second at the woman's brashness before recomposing himself and standing to reassert control of the situation. "We are going to lockdown the city" he announced, "Sable International will take control of the bridges, docks, airports, and train stations within the next four hours as outlined in contingency E-13." He then turned his attention to DeWolff, who had been mostly fuming in a corner before addressing the Police Commissioner. "DeWolff," he began, causing the blonde's head to snap up with a small scowl, "I want your people to hit the streets. Find the sick and get them to hospitals and find those escaped inmates and put them back in a cell or put them in a morgue." When he didn't get an instant response, he narrowed his eyes. "Well? What are you waiting for?"

"Mr. Mayor…" began DeWolff, "I…I don't have the authority…"

"I'm giving you the authority," snapped Osborn, "Sable, does your company have the ability to enact martial law?"

There was a heavy silence in the room, and for the second time, the Symkarian noticeably hesitated. "Theoretically…" she began, and before she could continue, Osborn swiftly cut back in and regained what control he could over the situation.

"Then I am authorizing your company and the NYPD both to enact martial law, effective immediately." There was no response as he was met with wide eyes and gaping mouths from those gathered. "I expect your compliance or your resignations," he added calmly as he swept his eyes across the room, seeing if anyone was willing to challenge him so he could fire them on the spot. When nobody did, he straightened his jacket and brought proceedings to a close. "Then, all of you, get out of here and get to work." After a moment of quiet tension, the doors opened and those inside began to slowly file out before Osborn had a thought, "Sablinova, stay," he ordered curtly.

When it was just the two of them, the CEO scrutinized the mercenary, sure that she was hiding something from him. But that didn't matter, all that mattered was that she remained loyal and carried out his orders, and there were other ways he could ensure that. "I want you to deploy the ExAACCT immediately with the express intent of apprehending the fugitives known as Spider-Man and the Marauder," he ordered firmly.

"Mayor Osborn," began the Symkarian as she bristled, and by that, the stoic woman furrowed her brow ever so slightly, "that unit is intended for counter terror operations. To use them to apprehend two men when the city is about to be overrun with criminals backed up by several enhanced individuals is a gross misallocation of vital resources…"

"Irrelevant," snapped Osborn, "that lawlessness cannot be allowed to continue, and an example must be made. A show of strength," he added as he fixed her with a glare. "In case you forgot, _I'm_ the reason you are here, _I'm_ the one signing your paycheck, _I'm _the one who created the technology for ExAACCT, and now _I'm _the one who is giving _you_ a _direct order _of how to use them." Commendably, she held her ground, still meeting Osborn's gaze, but offered no rebuttal to him. Smirking in victory, Norman grinned wolfishly, twisting the knife by reminding her what was at stake if she defied him. "I know you have begun to plan your return to your home" he revealed flatly, "a horrible tragedy, Symkaria," he continued in a tone of almost mocking sympathy, "and it is commendable that you aim to help your people just as I aim to help mine. So, I take no pleasure in making it clear that if you do not fulfill this contract…then there will be no Oscorp systems going with you when you leave this city. They will be placed on the open market…and you never know who might purchase them." He watched her slowly lower her chin, as much an act of submission as he was going to get, and the executive smirked in satisfaction. "Am I clear?"

Her head remained lowered, and she no longer could meet his eyes, "crystal."

Content, he dismissed her with a simple "you may go."

* * *

Working from within the confines of his hideout, Doctor Octavius merely listened to the police networks he had tapped into as he finalized his plans for the next phase after taking into account the information delivered to him by the rest of the Six. Rhino and Electro were continuing to harass the NYPD and Sable, slowing their response as the virus began to take hold and spread even if it was confined to the Island. Scorpion, Vulture, and Mr. Negative were scouting out the next set of targets that would fall to Octavius in the coming days.

Those scouting missions were completed without the villains being molested in the slightest, not only due to the superb job being done by Rhino and Electro, but also due to the continued mayhem being caused by those who escaped Rikers and the Raft. Their distraction was unexpected, but Octavius was not so proud as to look this gift horse in the mouth, they were, after all, another problem that Osborn had to deal with. The Doctor was drawn from his work by the timely arrival of the winged villain who descended into the hideout with a grace befitting a man half his age, such was the mastery of his wing apparatus. "Ah, Mr. Toomes," greeted Octavius as he turned his attention to former electric engineer, "I trust your evening was productive?"

As he asked that, his arms were already beginning to assist the man in removing the wings as the weary older man sat down, breathing deeply from his oxygen mask before removing that to answer. "It was Doctor" he assured, "Oscorp outfitted all public utilities in the city with standardized systems. I believe with my direction and Electro's powers, they could all be disabled in short order," he revealed as he took the glass of water Octavius offered him, drinking greedily from it. "The city could be entirely without power for days if not weeks."

"Excellent work Adrian," complimented Octavius with a sadistic grin, "I will see to it that Electro assists you as soon as you are able to begin the work." With his real hand, the Doctor lifted one of Toomes' arms to see the bloody bandages underneath from the wound he had sustained at the hands of the Marauder. "For now, Mr. Toomes, you need to rest, I'll change your bandages." Toomes merely grunted as Octavius went to work, his mechanical arms enabling him to complete the task in a fraction of a time even a well-trained individual could before reaching over and retrieving a syringe. "If you are ready, I have the first step in the treatment plan we discussed right here," he explained, holding the small syringe up for the man to see.

Toomes stared at it curiously. "So fast?" he said in awe. The truth was that Octavius had used his short time with Devil's Breath to examine it and was fascinated at what he found. What made this latest iteration of the GR project so volatile was a new compound that had been unceremoniously bolted onto his work. Isolating that, he had a way to repay Toomes more quickly than even he had anticipated. "What will it do exactly?"

"On its own? Not much," admitted Octavius, "but it will make your body more…receptive of future treatments, increasing their chance of success significantly," he assured, not revealing the source of the compound. And with Octavius considering using the substance as the basis for a treatment of his own condition he wanted to trial it on someone else first, lest it have any unexpected side effects.

"Agh, go ahead Doctor…just make it quick, don't like needles," returned Toomes grouchily.

Not hesitating, Octavius used his prosthesis to guide the syringe into place, "you may feel a slight pinch," he warned before unceremoniously driving the syringe home and depressing the plunger with one of the claws on his arm. Toomes hissed a bit before Otto removed and disposed of the spent syringe, "rest now Mr. Toomes, you have performed splendidly so far," said Otto flatly, directing the aging man to a sleeping area in the back before resuming his own work.

His plans were not just to strike the precious civilians that Osborn pretended to care for, but to make Osborn utterly unable to help them in their time of need, to show them how much of a fraud he truly was. He would do this in three ways, Toomes was in charge of destroying one, the city utilities, and he was about to check in on another. Using his arms, he picked his phone up from the table and dialed another one of his subordinates. "Report Mr. Gargan," ordered Octavius coolly over the phone as soon as his call was connected.

The Criminal for Hire responded quickly, _"not much to report Doc,"_ drawled the Scorpion, Octavius suppressing a scowl at the shorthand of his title. _"Sable's still getting their act together. My guess? It'll 12 hours _at least _before any sort of real supply line get established." _There was a pause as Octavius clenched a fist, every moment was precious to him. As far as he was concerned, there was a limited window early on that would determine success or failure for his crusade. Spider-Man and the Marauder both had shown themselves to be stubborn and tenacious in the past, despite his warnings it was only a matter of time before they reappeared. Sadly, Gargan took Otto's silence as an opportunity to interject his own opinion. _"If you want my professional opinion; it would be best to let them get their legs under them before we rip them back out," _suggested the Scorpion sadistically.

Octavius sighed lightly, "very well," he conceded, "12 hours, but no more. Any further delays and we put too much at risk," he asserted firmly, not allowing that armored imbecile to think he had some sort of sway over his decision making. To further that goal, he decided to punish the Scorpion for daring to speak out of line, "and to make up for lost time you will have the Rhino assist in the destruction of Oscorp's supply chains."

"_But Doc…"_

"And that's final," cut off Octavius before the argument could materialize. "Do not push me Mr. Gargan, or our agreement might be put at risk," he threatened coldly.

That cowed the Scorpion as he grumbled incoherently before finally replying. _"Got it Doc," _he answered before ending the call, causing Octavius to glare at the phone in his claw as if it were the man himself.

Still, Octavius had little doubt that the Scorpion would do as he was told, if not, then Octavius could remind him what was at stake. Unlike Gargan, there was another who had the resolve that Otto did to bring true justice down upon the one who truly deserved it, and it was Martin Li who had been tasked with seeking out and destroying the long term hope that Norman could offer to the people when the lights went out and food could no longer be put on the table. Unlike Gargan, Octavius saw no need to oversee Li's mission to locate and destroy the antidote that Osborn was no doubt having rushed through development.

Octavius would crush everything Osborn claimed he could offer the sheep that held him in high regard and then, and only then, would he finally exact his revenge on the man himself.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Location: Rikers Island Penitentiary _

_The main internment facility for conventional criminals caught in New York City, Rikers Island is considered the city's most famous prison, and until the RAFT it was the most expensive to operate. An annual budget as close as makes no difference to $900 Million pays for a 400 acre island to house around 10,000 inmates a day. A previous mayor put forward a bill to have the prison closed, but those plans were shelved when Cinderblock happened, the massive influx of inmates proving that organized crime was alive and well, despite what the previous Mayor would have led you to believe as he let violent criminals walk the streets in an effort to make the city feel safer because it had lower prison populations. _

_Fisk, the Maggia Dons, and all the other groups vying for power in New York's criminal underworld took advantage of that generosity to pack their ranks with people who should have been locked up. And so with Osborn changing that course along with the efforts of the NYPD, Spider-Man, yours truly, and a few others, the population of Rikers has shot back up since then, since most people seem to actually be in favor of putting criminals in jail._

_Except for Frank Castle of course. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: Writing this chapter somewhat proved how insanely rushed the final act of the game is. It is quite contrived, and I'm starting to realize I may have bitten off _slightly _more than I might be able to chew, so we'll see how this goes. Hence why I needed this entire chapter just to set stuff up and provide some semblance of context for things that are yet to come, even still this was the best I could manage, and it still isn't what I would call my best work. I still have trouble making any of these unhinged supervillains be believable, at least to me. I like the supporting cast much better, and they are the ones who are picking up the slack in the meantime. **

**Hopefully y'all are okay with that, because I've already written those chapters and am too lazy to change them. Also, thoughts here on Sable starting her own arc? I never liked how she seemed to change so abruptly in game so I'm going to start that now. **

**But with the heavy hitters out of action, the burden lies upon the others, they must hold the flank. If they break then the city crumbles. They must Hold at All Costs. **

**Stay frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	59. Chapter 59: Hold at All Costs

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respecitve owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

If you find yourself with a spare hour or two today, there are worse ways to spend it than watching Drachinifel's excellent series on the Battle of Jutland, part 2 just came out today.

One more thing, I want to make something very clear at the start. I originally planned out this chapter's basic plotline way back in March of 2020 and wrote it in late June I think. The reason I am saying that is that some of the events are a bit too close to real life ones and might give the wrong impression. This is a piece of fanfiction I write for fun, not because I feel the need to use it to offer some sort of commentary on current events. I also think the chapter is good and that you are all capable of distinguishing fiction from reality, so there is no need to change it. In short, events and actions depicted here are not meant to be reflective of any current events or offer a recommended course of action, this is purely a work of fiction. Got it? Good.

**A fan: I might do that Castle spin off if there is more demand for it, and it could allow me to do some more of Frank's adventures later on. I would not agree that the Division bosses parallel the Spidey ones, they lack that personal connection to the player character, and few of them are really sympathetic in the same way that Otto or Li are, at least up to a point. There will be no Green Goblin, at least not yet, but both Peter and Matt will be busy for sure. I don't think adding more villains is a good idea (we already have the Sinister Six, plus Bliss) so don't hold your breath. As for Yuri, her arc is very much inspired by what happens in the DLC so if you can't stand to wait then go give those a look up online. **

**Blaze1992: Recall that when Matt loaded up that night he did so expecting a normal patrol and not a prison break. As for why there was no help, you can understand that Osborn was delaying that for as long as he could, too long as it turned out. He didn't truly realize the scope of what was happening and took a gamble, one he lost. I felt the need to try to come up with some reason there would be no additional help and it was the best I could come up with. **

**Mendoza249: I know you reviewed something like 47 chapters ago, but I'm glad you seem to be enjoying the story, hopefully that's stayed the same up through now too. **

**DD-returns101: Osborn still has a lot of power and a lot of powerful friends, Fury went perhaps too far in threatening Matt so he won't do that. That, and with how hard he was teased for the sequel I don't want to waste all that build up. **

While I said I didn't want to reference current events, I will reference historical ones. This chapter was originally going to be 'Rorke's Drift', named after the battle featured in the classic film 'Zulu' but I went with another historical metal song. Some of you may know it, but I'd wager many of you don't, and to those, I would suggest listening to not just it, but the entire trilogy it is a part of.

You read that right, this is a part of the legendary Iced Earth _Gettysburg Trilogy _from their awesome 2004 album _The Glorious Burden_. All three songs should ideally first be heard back to back to back as they were originally intended, since each one covers a day of the Battle of Gettysburg from the US Civil War. As a whole, 'The Devil to Pay', 'Hold at All Costs', and 'High Water Mark' is a thirty minute long epic retelling one of the most critical battles in American History. Each song corresponds to a day of the battle, and while part of me wanted to have all three songs appear in order, this chapter is too fitting of day 2, and the song about the far left of the Union line. A small hill defended by the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment known to history as Little Round Top.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 59: Hold at All Costs**

_Wave after wave they're coming_

_Their power must be waning_

_We're out of ammo, we can't fall back, no_

_One desperate measure, a means to end_

_On their next wave we charge them, There is no other option, _

_Disconcert them, force submission, On my command, fix bayonets_

_We know what we're made of_

_When up against all odds we hold our line_

_For the cause that we so love_

_We must hold at all costs_

* * *

Storming out of the Mayor's office, Silver Sablinova turned to the fire team of troopers waiting in the hallway who snapped to attention. "Sergeant, report" she ground out as she led the men back to their vehicle outside. Her hands seemed to find their own way down to her pistols as the woman simmered at what a waste of time this whole excursion to City Hall had been. No matter what boneheaded decisions her employer made, she would do what she had always done. She would go find a fight and put herself square in the middle of it.

The Sergeant understood that and cleared his throat before updating her. "Our forces are heavily engaged throughout the city ma'am. Checkpoints Alpha-4, Charlie-11, Foxtrot-1, and Golf-6 have been completely overrun, no survivors," he began, each one having been manned by a squad of ten men. "A troop convoy moving from MOB Yankee to FOB Liberty was ambushed, no survivors. The weapons, ammunition, and equipment being transported have all been stolen," relayed the Trooper as the group arrived at the MRAP and mounted up.

"_Pizdets," _cursed the Symkarian lowly. "What about what is going on right now?" she demanded, "any developing situations?"

There was a brief pause as the NCO looked down at his datapad, "Multiple hostile contacts across the city…data from the NYPD crime network is showing a large group of hostiles approaching FOB Albany," rattled off the Sergeant. He didn't need to remind her what that was; Albany was just outside a Sable Communications Uplink on the east side, in the northern part of Chinatown. While small, it handled radio traffic for all Sable forces in a quarter of the city. But it was a newly erected construction along with its defenses and so Albany was barely an FOB with only a force barely above platoon strength, 25-30 men, stationed there. Still it was a position that they could not afford to lose, the odds were quickly turning against them and the bleeding had to be stopped. "Estimated enemy strength is 250."

The numbers did not deter her in the slightest, leaning into the cab to get the drivers attention she ordered "Get us to FOB Albany, double time."

* * *

Yuri found herself somewhere she rarely came, the dispatch floor of her precinct, where NYPD officers coordinated those out on the streets with the aid of high tech Osborn equipment and related information from 911 controllers. However, the staff was overwhelmed, working as fast as they could in the wake of the jailbreak and ensuing mass of calls from officers and civilians alike it barely seemed to stem the oncoming tide. Watanabe was there to try and keep things moving efficiently and make executive decisions, the hard ones that she hated, but had to be made regardless because it was obvious that they didn't have enough manpower for this crisis. Part of her wanted nothing more than to don the Wraith kit stowed in her office a few floors up and get into the field to help out her men directly, but she was effectively confined to the cramped room.

Still, she couldn't help but overhear some of the traffic being sent out by the seemingly unflappable handful of men and women on the radios. "All units, we have a possible ten-thirteen. Be on the lookout for car five-five. Over" said one as Yuri looked at the bank of screens showing car dash cams on one wall, the one for that car blank, which didn't bode well.

Yuri found herself looking over the various camera views from the patrolling cars, in silent awe at the sights staring back at her. Looted storefronts and burning cars lined the streets as one of the cruisers turned down a narrow alley with the label '24' on the overlay of the feed. In the frame there was a police car with shattered windows and spray painted graffiti tags all over it. _"Dispatch, this is car two-four. We have a visual on car five-five. It looks abandoned, over" _called in the officer riding shotgun in car 24 as Yuri grit her teeth.

"Copy that, proceed with caution. Over," returned the controller as Yuri watched when a blur dropped down and something slammed into the hood of the car, causing the Captain to noticeably flinch at the sudden impact that cracked the windshield and crumpled the hood.

"_Mother of Christ!" _shouted the cop on the radio in shock, not realizing he was still transmitting as Watanabe's eyes focused and realized that it was a human body that had slammed into the car, even more shocking was the 'NYPD' patch on the dead man's shoulder. The driver threw the car into reverse and tried to back up only to stop again just as quickly. _"Shit! They're behind us! Forget it, go! Just go, now!" _yelled out the passenger as the car shot forwards, the cops body slipping off the side as the passenger spoke back up. _"Dispatch, this is car two-four, we are…" _called the cop frantically before trailing off for some unknown reason.

Yuri had already spun around, "Get them out of there, now!" she yelled before she resumed watching, enthralled despite her best efforts.

The car rounded a corner in the alleyway and came to a stop as the two cops found themselves face to face with at least ten men in dirty Rikers jumpsuits supplemented by a mix of bandoliers, armored vests, helmets, and jackets. Some had facemasks or weapons, and all had a white 'X' scribbled on their chests or sleeves. They were all around the other captured cop, who was hanging from his feet limply with his head bashed in before they turned to face the newly arrived cop car. "Car two-four, what's going on out there?" asked the controller.

"_Fuck," _muttered the cop shakily as the lead prisoner placed his hands on the hood and stared into the cop car. _"Dispatch, this is, uh, car two-four. We are…" _he was cut off when the inmate leaning on the hood stepped back with a malice filled grin while those behind him readied their weapons. _"Back up! Back up! BACK UP!" _cried the cop desperately, but it was too late as rounds tore through the glass, killing the officer on the radio before one knocked out the camera and the scene went to static.

* * *

"You shit stains want some!" yelled out Castle as he dropped the bolt on his reloaded Benelli shotgun, "Come and get it!" Down the hallway, the Punisher could hear the sound of escaped convicts rushing him just as he came out and raised the M1014, planting a load of buckshot in the first guy's chest that stopped him, quite literally, dead in his tracks. Without hesitation, the Marine brought the weapon to bear on the next in the narrow corridor, blasting his head apart with a single blast before the semi-automatic 12 gauge was turned on the third and fourth enemies coming at him. Now standing at the other end of the gore filled hallway, he swept the muzzle of the gun around the corner only to have two meaty hands wrap around the muzzle.

"Surprise motherfucker!" snarled the inmate as he tried to wrench the gun from the Punisher's grasp, only the Marine didn't try to fight the man, using the gun to slam the man into the wall, pinning him there with the length of the scattergun as he reached down with his left hand and drew his K-Bar. With a growl, he plunged the blade into the man's stomach and carved through his guts, ignoring the man's cries as the inmate let go of the shotgun and Frank yanked it away before slashing the knife across the man's throat and watching blood spurt across the wall as he crumpled to the floor. Sheathing the blade, Castle shouldered the scattergun once again as he resumed fighting his way out of the drug den he was in the middle of raiding when the first inmates arrived.

Finally exiting the building, he was grateful to see the Battle Van where he had left it, seemingly untouched by the escaped prisoners as he opened the door and got settled down inside. Starting the Van, he got moving quickly because he knew that more were likely coming to get some attempt at payback for killing their buddies. As he drove through the streets of the city, he pulled out his phone and dialed one of the few numbers in it. "Pick up," he growled to himself as he guided the Battle Van through the streets, "Pick up damnit!" demanded the Punisher before the call went to the Marauder's voicemail.

Snapping the flip phone shut and dropping it in the passenger seat, Frank thought things through as he tried to think of a course of action. If the Marauder wasn't answering then the kid would have had a damn good reason for it, he could reach out to his girl, but chances are she wouldn't be in much of a position to help him either. Flipping on the radio, he listened to the repeated messages on all channels for listeners to stay in their homes and lock their doors. Castle had no intention of doing that, instead deciding to continue dishing out punishment to those who crossed his path.

Stopping at a stoplight, he looked to either side and his attention was grabbed by the sight of a group of burning cars down the road and then the orange jump suited men that surrounded them. Bringing the van around, he slowly went down the street until he saw one of the thugs notice him and approach him. "Well look what we have here boys!" yelled out one, "Looks like somebody is lost, let's give him directions." Pulling out his M1911, Frank watched the unfortunate punk approach and rolled down his window, thankful the tint in the windscreen meant they couldn't see him inside. The inmate tapped on his window as Frank took aim with the gun across his chest and rolled the window down slowly. "Hey man, how are you – what the FU…"

Frank winced at the thunderous sound of the .45 going off in the confined space of the Van as the criminal's head snapped back and he fell on the asphalt. Taking advantage of their brief stunned state, Castle slammed down on the accelerator and charged straight into the nearest group of criminals and slamming into three, their bodies flying from the impact as a fourth was crushed under the weight of his modified vehicle as bullets came in. The armored panels and glass on the van were paying dividends as the rounds pinged uselessly off the titanium reinforced sides while Castle wheeled the vehicle around, pausing long enough to stick the gun out the window and plant two rounds into the wounded man writhing on the ground. Charging forwards, he slammed into two more and stopped just before he slammed into a wall, pinning them in place as he engaged the parking brake to keep them there as he clambered into the back as round peppered his Van while he grabbed an AA-12 and slammed a drum magazine into place.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled the pin on a smoke grenade before opening the back door just enough to toss the cylinder out as a cloud of thick white smoke was thrown up, obscuring the van as Frank slipped out and darted to his left, taking cover behind one of the burning cars. He could hear the continued chatter of gunfire as the smoke began to dissipate and he poked his head out as the convicts began to emerge. "You missed assholes!" he roared as he brought the Assault Shotgun up and cut loose, the steady beat of the automatic fire echoing through the street as the inmates were cut down from the fusillade of fire until the scene was eerily quiet.

Grunting in satisfaction, the Punisher returned to the driver's side of the Battle Van and planted a shot into each of the two men pinned by the vehicle before getting back inside and resuming his drive.

* * *

Across the city, Silver Sablinova grit her teeth as their destination neared and she could hear the reports coming in over the radio. FOB Albany was under heavy attack and Sable with her small team of six other troopers would be getting stuck right into the middle of it. Each man prepared in his own way in the dimly illuminated troop bay before the driver's voice came over the intercom. _"Thirty seconds" _he alerted as Silver holstered her pair of energy pistols and moved to the door as the first incoming rounds began to beat the outside of the armored vehicle like a drum before the trooper riding shotgun retaliated with the roof mounted weapons, the echoing _thunk thunk _of the belt fed Mark 19 automatic grenade launcher as it merrily churned its way through the belt of 40mm grenades.

As soon as the vehicle screeched to a halt, Sable threw the back door open and jumped down, staying low as she dashed into cover alongside the other four troopers as they all pressed themselves into walls or sandbags. Bullets snapped past as Sable poked her head out for a split second to get a lay of the land. The other troopers originally stationed here were manning the perimeter nearest the side where the attack was coming from; the Sable International transport was in the middle, automatic grenade launcher firing over all of their heads, round splashing down amongst the sources of gunfire coming at them. But the defenders were giving as good as they got, a flurry of red energy bolts flying back at the twinkle of muzzle flashes.

Not content with being this far back, Sablinova smoothly exited her cover and rushed forwards, raising both weapons and firing them one after the other with the other four troopers at her back doing the same as they moved to the front lines. Above them, the lone observation tower at FOB Albany was alight with a searchlight and Directed Energy Machine Gun being brought to bear against the inmates that Sable could see start to grow bolder, moving into the open before they were illuminated by the searchlight and then the DEMG. But there were more that were moving intelligently, using what cover was available to slowly advance until Sable stood and loosed a stream of pistol shots, watching one get in the stomach and spin to the ground before she arrived at the perimeter. Her presence did not go unnoticed either as she noticed the troopers defending Albany turned to her, almost gawking as she remembered these men were new. "SITREP," she barked loudly, having to shout over the cacophony of fire. When nobody answers, she grabbed the nearest man by his armored vest, "You! Where is your CO?" she demanded.

He finally gained his senses, "dead," he replied, pointing to a pulverized red and white corpse just beyond the perimeter. "There must be hundreds of them out there, they keep hitting us from different sides and ammo will start to become a problem soon," he added, voice verging on frantic, "We need more support."

"Did you forget?" she asked, "We _are _the support" retorted the Symkarian with a straight face, her eyes focusing on something in the darkness beyond the well lit position, a hint of movement before she thought she saw a glimpse of orange. "Contact! Right side!" she yelled out just as an ignited Molotov cocktail flew lazily through the air and came down next to a power generator powering the lights illuminating Albany. The fire quickly spreads and the gasoline soon went up in a fireball that reached up to the lights that now sat dimmed. With the lights gone, there was a chorus of cheers and cries as a salvo of shotgun shells fired and a group of men surged forwards in an attempt to break the perimeter.

Without hesitation, the Symkarian moved to counter this new threat, ignoring the rounds coming in as she brought both side arms to bear on the first man she saw, clad in an orange jumpsuit and blue NYPD jacket. Squeezing both triggers simultaneously, the man's head snapped back as he fell forwards, slumping over the white perimeter blocks as she switched to the second and third rushers, putting one pistol's laser sight on each. While one went down quickly, the second rounded on her and leveled his scattergun as the Mercenary hit the deck, rolling to throw off his aim before coming to a crouch, putting two shots in his chest and third in his head, leaving a smoking hole between his eyes as he dropped. But two more took their place as Silver was forced to backpedal, regulating her shots so she didn't overheat her weapons. Forced to grit her teeth as she watched more of the rushing Rikers and Raft escapees came over the wall and had to duck into cover, giving her weapons precious seconds to vent heat before she resumed firing.

When she did, she was joined by the 40mm grenade launcher on the MRAP, the energy grenades going off with a brilliant red flash that left black scorch marks on whomever or whatever was caught in the blast radius. Looking back over her shoulder, she saw that the rest of her men were still occupied on the other side, leaving it to her to single handedly hold this position. But the sight of another Molotov cocktail arcing through the air towards her caused Sablinova to have to react. With haste, she vacated her position as the bottle came down, covering the ground in fire as she moved to the opposite corner and came around only to find a nasty surprise waiting for her.

A monster of a man with a heavy ballistic vest marked with the seemingly ubiquitous white x spray painted on it threw a punch that hit her square in the chest, sending her staggering back as she fought to get air back in her lungs. The mercenary barely had time to gather her wits before he was in her face again and she brought a pistol up, firing once into his Kevlar vest to no effect before he grabbed her around the wrist, overpowering her as she changed tactics, planting a kick in the man's knee that did pitifully little. His free hand rammed into her stomach, causing her to double over she fought to not wretch on the spot before planting her second pistol on the man's thigh and firing, the red bolt cutting through the flesh with ease as he roared in pain.

But he didn't take the abuse without retribution as he ripped the pistol from her right hand before tossing the lighter woman like a rag doll as she rolled across the ground, coming to a stop as she brought her singular sidearm up only for the man's massive black boot to slam it back down to the ground as it was Sablinova's turn to roar in anger and pain as her fingers released their grip on the gun of their own accord. But at the same time, Silver rammed her fist into the man's wounded leg, causing him to yank his boot away with her weapon, but allowing her to reach for her fallback. Rolling away, she seamlessly pulled out the NRS-2 survival knife from its sheath on her leg and flipped it around, for it wasn't the blade she wanted. Flicking the safety off, she gripped the handle with both hands, right index finger finding its way to the trigger as the inmate charged her and she pulled the trigger. The 7.62x42mm round buried itself in his neck, severing some artery as blood shot out in a geyser that he tried desperately to curtail. Coldly, the Symkarian gave him no chance as she flipped the blade back around and went on the offensive, grabbing him by the collar of his vest as she planted a foot on his good leg and pulled herself up to get a good angle as she drove the knife into the other side of his neck, slicing it across his throat as he toppled over onto his back. Yanking the bloody blade from the man and got back to her feet as she realized that the area had fallen deathly silent, eerily so. Snapping up her handguns, she rounded the corner to see the other Troopers stand amongst the dead Rikers that had gotten inside the perimeter, kicking away the weapons in case the still bodies weren't as dead as they seemed.

One of them separated from the pack and made their way over, "Ma'am, MRAP took a hit, it isn't moving" he said as Sable turned to see steam emanating from the engine of the armored vehicle, "We might be able to egress on foot before the enemy regroups…"

"No," interjected the Mercenary, "we'd just be cut down," she asserted firmly. There was no real choice in their course of action as she grimaced and looked around at the barely lit Sable Base, shaking her head at how familiar this all felt to their last stand against the IMC. But that was contrasted by rapidly the situation had deteriorated, the lack of a cohesive plan, and the absence of superheroes or super soldiers to tilt the odds. All they could do was dig in their heels, fight back with everything they had, and stubbornly refuse to die. "We must remain here and hold at all costs."

* * *

"Captain!" called out an officer, out of breath as he appeared in the doorway of the dispatch room, Yuri spun around as he made his way in, "We have a problem. Crime towers have lots of inmates all converging…"

"Where?" snapped Watanabe as the man stumbled in his speech, "How many?" she asked. But he continued to do his best impression of a fish out of water. "Spit it out, come on," she barked.

"Here," he finally managed, "Over a hundred converging on this precinct." Her eyes widened before an alarm blared throughout the station and she pulled her revolver from her shoulder holster. Pushing past the officer, she made her way to a window and looked outside at the mob below, all clad in orange jumpsuits, wielding whatever makeshift or actual weapons they could get their hands on.

For a brief moment, she considered heading up to her office to grab the Wraith kit, but that thought was abruptly cut short as the glass shattered from a long burst of gunfire that caused everyone to duck. "Controllers, get every patrol back here!" she ordered, "everyone else follow me!" called out the Captain as she ran for the stairs. In the aftermath of the breakout, dozens of civilians had come to the precinct for shelter, thinking it one of the safest places in the city. Usually, they would have been right, but it seemed that the Rikers escapees were hell bent on exacting their brutal strain of revenge on Law Enforcement. Bursting out of the stairwell towards the main lobby, she could see the convicts beating on the entrance as police and civilians alike desperately tried to barricade the same space. "Listen up!" she barked, "If you aren't a cop, you need to move in an orderly fashion upstairs. Murphy, Bressler, Gonzalez! You three take them up to the break rooms on the twelfth floor" she ordered. "Everyone else, we're going to stop those bastards _here _and _now_!" she called out, "You're cleared to use lethal force, the rulebook doesn't apply and damn the paperwork. Get to it!"

The response was instantaneous as the near panic-stricken crowd quickly vacated the waiting area and took any possible way out. Sadly, the inmates weren't keen on giving any quarter as they continued to beat mercilessly on the glass and doors. Yuri could do little but watch and pray that the doors held long enough to get the civilians out of the line of fire before all hell broke loose. With each minute that passed, the sporadic and furious bashing seemed to grow more intense as the chatter from the throng of people evaporated as they were moved upstairs. "Captain!" yelled out someone as she whipped her head around to the source, "We have a breach!"

It wasn't hard to see exactly what the 'breach' was; a hole had been bashed in the bullet proof glass as the man responsible stuck his head inside. "I'm gonna gut all you pigs!" he screamed, "Just wait until we get inside. We'll kill every single…"

Yuri didn't allow him to finish, leveling the .357 and firing once, the magnum revolver echoing loudly in the confined space, and that was only slightly less frightening that the way the man's head exploded from the impact of the jacketed hollow point blew his brains out all over the other prisoners behind him. The other cops stared at her in shock as she calmly swung the cylinder out and fished a fresh cartridge from her holster, "If you expect to survive tonight," she began as she replaced the spent one and slammed the cylinder back into place, "then you better be prepared to do _that_." Panning across the other officers, Yuri saw hesitancy at first, then replaced by resolve as they slowly came around to understand the situation they were confronted with, their backs were well and truly against the wall.

As she made her way back to the central lobby, she heard a tremendous crash as the lights flickered. A moment of gathering her bearings soon lead to her thoughts being drowned out by a furious exchange of gunfire as she upped her pace, sprinting towards the source until she was about to round the corner and a cop staggered around, falling into her arms. The policeman's shirt was soaked with blood as he fell to the ground, eyes glazed over, and a knife driven into his chest. "I wasn't done with yo…" yelled an unfamiliar voice as an orange jump suited man rounded the corner as Watanabe planted her Rhino in his chest and pulled the trigger, ending his life instantly before throwing the corpse to the ground. Stepping over the body without a second thought, she rounded the corner to see a Rikers Island prison van had been driven through the front of her precinct and the inmates responsible poured through the hole. Instinctively, the cop raised her gun at the nearest and fired before smoothly transitioning to the next, then a third, fourth, and fifth inmates as other officers joined in with their side arms.

The bodies began to cover the floor as Yuri dumped the spent cartridges down to join the rest of the brass that covered the tile, the scent of cordite filling the air as Watanabe slammed a speed loader into the gun to have six new rounds on tap. Raising the gun again, she waited for the next wave to pour in when what came through the gaps weren't men, but the NYPDs own tear gas bombs. Gritting her teeth, the Captain squinted as tears began to well up, distorting her vision as she began to cough, trying to cover her mouth in a vain attempt to keep the gas out of her burning throat as her gun wavered when the first Ryker inmate came in and she fired, her shot going wide. The gas mask wearing inmate began waving a shotgun and fired it into the air before Yuri wrestled the gun onto the target and fired, taking satisfaction in the way he spun and dropped before two more took his place.

Yuri tried to call out, but instead of words got a hacking cough as tears welled up in her eyes. Compounding the issues, a commotion from behind her as a handful of cops ran towards her, more gunshots behind them. "Up…up the stairs!" she ordered hoarsely, "Get clear of the gas!" She wasn't sure if anyone heard her, she could barely hear herself, but it seemed that the message got across as the first officers began to turn tail and run. Turning, she emptied the cylinder into the inmates coming up the hall until she had to dash across the lobby to the stairs she had descended half an hour prior.

As soon as she was through, the door was slammed shut and jammed with a fire axe in a move to buy them a little more time. Yuri had doubts about how much as the inmates began to bang on the door and the last of New York's finest began to make haste up the stairs and Yuri dug a folded piece of paper from her jacket pocket that read _'In case of emergency…'_

The current situation definitely met that criteria.

* * *

At FOB Albany, Silver Sablinova was moving from man to man on the line, offering a word of encouragement as they kept up their watch. The near silence as everyone kept their ears open for any sign of movement in the blackness beyond the white barricades at the perimeter; the sole light came from the spotlight on the watchtower that panned back and forth, looking for anything that wasn't as it should be. She could tell that nerves were fraying, even her own body was twitchy at any unexpected sound, the stress of the tactical and strategic situation, lack of sleep, and earlier fighting all coupled to make the veteran mercenary anxious, despite her placid external features.

When the silence dragging on, her nerves did not calm, rather, it only made her wearier. She expected the inmates to charge headlong into the outnumbered group and try to overwhelm them, the fact that they weren't showed an intelligence and planning that made Sablinova concerned. She had to do something to try and disrupt their plan before it was brought fully to fruition, so with her now at one end of the line she began making her way back down and issuing the same order to every group of men. "On my shot, each man will fire three rounds at whatever looks suspicious to him," she whispered to each group before the word was spread. Taking a deep breath, the Symkarian stood and raised her weapons, taking aim at a garbage truck that would be where she would have troops wait to attack this position. Squeezing the triggers of her pistols, bright red bolts lashed out, soon joined as more leapt from the muzzle of the PMCs guns towards cars, windows, and alleyways as her orders were carried out.

The move garnered a response as rounds flew back at them, flying errantly overhead or landing well short as the unskilled gunmen sprayed and prayed. "Check fire! Only shoot at what you can hit!" she barked out, holding her own fire instead of blazing away at vague shapes in windows. The fire coming back began to slow, but it wasn't directed at the defenders as Sable tried to deduce their strategy. Only when she looked up to see sparks form rounds pinging off the watchtower did she understand. "They're shooting at the light" she said in realization, "Turn that light off!" she ordered over the radio. Only it was too late as a high-powered rifle sounded and the light erupted in a shower of sparks before the entire street was plunged into total darkness.

But the tactical acumen of her foe, or rather the lack of it, soon became apparent. Instead of bounding from cover to cover with over watch to close the distance, the sounds of a full sprint from the dozens of inmates filled the street, mixed with an intermittent shotgun blast as one yelled out "We're gonna leave you in pieces!"

But Sable wasn't about to lay down and let that happen, "Illumination!" she ordered as the grenade launcher came to life, firing bright white burning flare rounds into the streets, lighting up the rushing inmates, "Open fire!" The response was instant as red bolts cut down the charging rushers on the two sides they came from, the DEMG tried to suppress the group, but they came headlong and with reckless abandon through the hail of directed energy bolts.

As the oncoming charge began to subside, it was replaced by another wave of Molotov cocktails, though while one or two came down around the dug in troopers, it was clear they had another target in mind. "Target the throwers!" commanded the Symkarian as she shifted her own fire as burning bottles smashed against the legs of the watch tower, but the gun atop it kept firing, prompting yet another wave to come in as some of the throwers were cut down by accurate Sable International rifle fire. But not all of them, and the inmates had the range as the second wave of flaming cocktails hit the sides of the watchtower until one went through the open gun port and caused the interior to be consumed by fire, the gunner covered in the burning gasoline as he flailed before tumbling down, slamming into the ground with a 'thud' and lying still.

With their defenses slowly being chipped down, the inmates decided to make another headlong charge, but not with shot gunners. This time, the chatter of machine guns filled the air as more massive men emerged from the darkness, their silhouettes illuminated by the muzzle flash of their machine guns as they blazed away at the white clad troopers. But the PMC returned fire, red rounds slamming into the slowly advancing group, singing the white 'X' marks on their chests, but that was all the effect they had. The heavy armor effectively able to withstand the advanced weapons as the streams of fire were raked across the barriers as the defenders were forced to duck into cover.

But they couldn't withstand everything, and it was the grenade launcher on the MRAP that opened fire once more, grenades breaking up the attack as even the heavily armored men couldn't withstand the vehicle mounted weapon. Seizing the opening the troopers resumed the barrage of laser fire, trying to finish off the wounded inmates as the gap between them continued to close. "Say your prayers pussies!" yelled out one of the inmates. Snarling in offense, Sable raised one of her weapons and put a bolt through his kneecap, causing him to stumble before she followed up with a shot to the head that burrowed through the riot helmet he wore and into his skull as he dropped dead.

"They got JD!" cried out another as Silver was forced to duck back down from the concentrated fire directed at her, meaning shit could only grit her teeth as rounds pounded on the barrier she had her back to. "Have a taste of this shit!" shouted the same man as Sablinova looked up to see another Molotov cocktail fly overhead and land on the top of the MRAP. While normally the armored vehicle would have shrugged the improvised weapon off like it was nothing, except the flames reached the ammunition belt for the remote controlled 40mm grenade, detonating the grenades like popcorn in a cooker, the rapid pops utterly wrecking the weapons on the immobile vehicle.

That was the last heavy weapon the defenders had, and with it now out of commission, there was little way to hold back the oncoming storm as the Rikers rallied, trampling over their fallen allies on their way to Albany's perimeter. Pushing their weapons to their breaking point, the Sable Troopers poured fire out into the streets on both fronts as the Rikers returned fire and both the white and orange clad combatants fell from the barrages. But the outnumbered Sable International defenders couldn't sustain the attrition that the seemingly unending waves of prisoners could. "Fall back!" she ordered as she opened fire, hosing down a group with her energy pistols, "bounding retreat!"

Despite the overwhelming odds, Sable International discipline held strong, every other fire team broke ranks and dashed back to the next available cover while those remaining covered their backs. A bounding retreat under fire was one of the most difficult maneuvers to execute, but the Troopers performed it flawlessly, if Sable wasn't so busy fighting for her life she would have beamed with pride. As it was, she was firing one pistol and then the other into the onslaught as the first rushers reached the wall, the man nearest to her smashing his face with the butt of his rifle, staggering him before Sablinova planted a pair of shots in his chest. "2nd unit fall back! Covering fire!" she ordered tersely as the men backpedaled, keeping their weapons up and singing as more and more enemies came over the walls.

"No mercy! No prisoners!" proclaimed one of the inmates as they stormed forwards into the teeth of the hastily reformed defenses. As they kept coming, Sable switched her weapons to fully automatic, forgoing any sense of fire discipline in the hope that a constant stream of fire would offer a veil of safety. For a few brief moments, it did, until one of the pistols beeped angrily, steam venting from it and scorching the mercenaries hand as the useless weapon refused to fire with a crowbar wielding Riker bearing down on her. Bringing the other pistol up, her eyes widened at the appearance of a rifle wielding man as she fired a burst of bolts at the new threat until that gun too overheated. Desperate, she reached back and slung the gun in her right hand like a big league pitcher, the gun flying straight and true and into the man's nose with such force it drove the cartilage into his brain as he fell dead.

No sooner than he had then another Molotov blazed a deadly trail through the night air and landed amongst the retreating Troopers, consuming two as their armor caught fire and, despite their best efforts through erratic moves and rolling across the ground, cooked them alive. The split second Sable spent watching in mute horror was enough for another inmate with a baseball bat to get the drop on her as the weapon was slammed into her back and sent her to the ground as her other pistol was knocked from her grasp. Rolling on her back as she made to defend herself, she saw the bat come down towards her face and instinctively brought her left arm up as her right foot lashed out. Her boot slammed into his groin, causing him to howl in pain and let up on his swing just before it made contact with her arm.

Now it was Sable's turn to cry out in agony as spike of pain shot up her arm, but she quickly grit her teeth and fought on, reaching out with her free hand to grab hold of the bat and try to wrest it from the Riker. But he was naturally stronger and in the better position, easily able to lean down and yank it away, but he was close enough for her to throw a punch with her left. When it connected with his jaw, a fresh spike of anguish flared to life from her previous injury. "It's time to finish this!" snarled the rusher as he smashed the bat into her left shoulder before kicking her ribs. Wincing, she was unable to stop him as he planted a leg across her stomach, restricting her breathing as he jabbed the end of the bat in her chest, knocking her breath from her as she looked desperately for a solution in the seconds she had left. Unable to reach her knife, her hand went for something far less elegant, a fist sized chunk of debris, and slammed the bit of concrete into the man's head, knocking it to the side and ripping a gash down his face, stunning him. But he stubbornly remained planted atop her, and so she hit him again and again, each blow drawing more blood and deforming the point of impact. Even if his face was a bruised and bloody mess, he still had her pinned, and so she rammed her improvised weapon into his throat, crushing his windpipe as he finally dropped the bat and clutched the bloody impact point desperately.

But Sable had more pressing matters than watching, turning over; she crawled with her one good arm towards her sidearm, grabbing it before snapping it up and planting a round through his head, ending his misery prematurely.

"Retreat!" yelled someone, "We'll finish 'em at dawn!" Sablinova watched as the inmates on the outside of the Albany perimeter came to a halt and turned tail, abandoning those that had made it in to be cut down by the remaining defenders. Breathing heavily, the battle weary Symkarian was helped to her feet by one of the dozen remaining fighting troopers, surveying the corpse covered ground with a shake of her head.

Realizing that her men were looking to her for orders, Silver took a deep breath and calmed her nerves, pushing the gruesome sight that surrounded them aside unless she wanted it to become her grave too. "Treat our wounded and strip the dead of supplies," she ordered as she tested her wounded arm, fighting to hold back the pain filled wince that wanted to manifest on her face, "We are not yet finished."

* * *

Closing the doors of the Battle Van, Frank hefted the AAC Honey Badger PDW, extending the collapsible stock before chambering the first .300 Blackout cartridges into the integrally suppressed AR-15 derivative. With the AA-12 on his back and M1911 in the holster on his hip, the Punisher reached over and pulled the police radio mounted to his skull adorned vest up to his face, "Captain? Captain Watanabe, are you receiving me?" he asked as he moved up to the corner of the alleyway, PDW up and at the ready.

"_Castle? How in the hell…you know what? I don't wanna know," _replied Yuriko as Castle began moving down the road towards the Chinatown precinct. Getting closer, he could see the burning wrecks of squad cars out front, along with more than a few dead men in Rikers livery sprawled out on the concrete. _"Here's the situation, Rikers inmates have overrun the bottom three floors, four and five are mostly theirs but I have pockets of officers still holding out. What civvies are in here are up on the twelfth floor and most of us are holding out on the seventh floor." _

"Understood," he replied gruffly as he poked his head inside the main lobby, seeing one prisoner beating on the corpse of a Cop with a baton before planting three rounds in his back that sent him to the floor before the Punisher put a fourth through his skull. Treading carefully between the bodies, the Marine made his way to a stairwell, nudging the heavily damaged door open with the muzzle of his gun, "I'm inside now, on my way up. I'll try to lend a hand to your men as I see them," he promised before turning on the flashlight attached to the pica tinny rail of his weapon to pierce the darkness before him. "Any idea how many of these assholes we're dealing with?"

"_At least 25" _replied the Cop tiredly as Castle began to ascend the steps, scanning for any sign of movement or hostile action. _"But that's just a guess, could be twice that." _Castle grunted at that, if there were that many still left after the slaughterhouse he had just walked through, then somebody had to have been pulling the strings behind the scenes, even if those were thoughts for later. _"Don't dawdle Castle, Watanabe out." _As the radio went to static, he saw a burning desk blocking his way up the stairway, the impromptu obstacle forcing him to find a different route.

Pressing his ear to the door that led the fourth floor, he heard voices on the other side and promptly kicked the door open and brought the light attached to his gun up to see two shocked inmates standing before him in bloody police jackets before both were cut down by a burst of automatic fire. Moving swiftly, the Punisher put a .300 round through the head of another who rounded the corner ahead of him to investigate before pausing at the corner. "You fucking hear that?" asked a voice as Castle let his rifle fall by his side and slipped a M67 from its pouch. "I swear it came from over there" continued the unknown as the Marine heard footsteps approaching him and pulled the pin. Crouching down, Frank released the spoon to start the fuse before rolling the baseball sized explosive down the darkened hallway as he readied the Honey Badger. A few seconds later he heard "Shit! It's a grenade!" before it detonated, eliciting a few screams before the floor fell silent again and he moved to the next corner, still scanning for any sign of an alternate route upwards.

As he did, there was the distinct chatter of a tinny sounding sub gun as bullets ripped through the wall behind Castle and he dove to the floor, crawling to the nearest cubicle. "You can't hide forever!" taunted one of the Ryker inmates as more gunshots echoed throughout the police station and ripped through the floor, tearing apart anything in their path as Frank kept low, crawling to keep his foes off balance. "Get that fucker outta' cover!" barked one of them as Castle came to a crouch facing the source of the voice.

"You can try," snarled the Scourge of the Underworld as he stood and cut loose with a long burst, dumping the rest of the magazine into the group caught in the harsh glow of the tactical light until the bullets were all spent and he sidestepped behind a wall to reload as rounds peppered his position. "Quit trying to hit me and _hit me!_" he called out gamely as the rounds poured in until, one by one, all their guns fell silent.

Frank poked his head out, keeping his gun down for this quick peek, "Crap, need more ammo. Cover me!" asked one of the inmates, but the others were similarly afflicted and unable to retaliate as Castle emerged with his weapon up. One by one, each of the men in orange was illuminated by the tac light and felled with cold efficiency. The last one managed to reload and spray off the entire magazine of his MAC-11 in two seconds, nearly every round streaking off errantly as the Punisher merely shrugged off the two that hit the skull on his Kevlar vest and smashed the butt of the gun into his face, driving him to the floor. "Castle!" he exclaimed, "I'm gonna fucking…"

He never got to finish as the Marine fired a round through his head, splattering brain matter across the carpet as the empty magazine dropped from the Honey Badger. "Gonna what?" asked Castle, pausing like he was waiting for the corpse to answer, "Nothing?" A fresh magazine went in and the bolt dropped, "Sounds about right."

Getting back on track, he saw a fire escape outside, and, without any other readily available options, moved towards it. Smashing the glass with his rifle, the Punisher made his way out into the chilly night air and slowly made his way up the metal steps, dousing his tac light to keep a low profile. Looking inside, the lights on this floor worked better, and he could make out a cop's body hanging upside down from the ceiling, arms hacked off as blood pooled on the ground beneath. Slowly drawing his K-Bar, the Marine worked the window open and slowly lifted it, "feels good to have a gun again," rumbled a deep voice as Castle couched down to peer inside.

"Yeah," agreed a second as the first striped a second corpse of gear, "but god, I missed coffee." There was an odd silence between them before the second one spoke up again. "Hey man, you gotta do that _right now_? I know it's just some pig, but it's fucked up."

"You don't like it then you can fuck off," spat the first angrily, still helping himself to the officers equipment and prompting the second to slink off, stolen police rifle resting on his shoulder as Castle carefully continued raising the window. When it was open enough, he slowly slipped his armored bulk through the gap before pressing his hand over the inmate's mouth and plunging the knife into his neck and tearing it out before gently easing the body to the ground. Sheathing the bloody blade, the Marine took a moment to close the dead cop's eyes before unslinging the Honey Badger and making his way back to where he knew the stairwell was, not surprised the sounds of echoing gunfire got louder the closer he got.

Another change was that, compared to the lobby, there were fewer dead inmates the higher he went and more dead police. He was here to even those scores, starting with the bunch he noted going through one of the desks and snapped the PDW up, the suppressed weapon hissed as it angrily spat out .30 caliber slugs that tore through the assembled men. When the mag ran dry, he dropped it and reached for a replacement only to find the pouches empty. Tossing the weapon that was now as useful as a paperweight aside, he saw movement ahead of him as an orange clad man scampered behind the desk. "It's the fucking Punisher!" he shouted, Castle presumed, into a radio, "The Punisher is here!"

_So much for the element of surprise _groused Frank internally as he drew his Colt .45 and planted a round in the man's head before holstering the pistol and unslinging the Atchisson Assault Shotgun, the same weapon he had used earlier in the night. Pulling the charging handle back, the first buckshot packed shell seating into the firing chamber as he advanced towards the stairwell. But the door swung open as inmates poured out, hosing down the entire floor with lead as the Marine ducked into a supply closet while the gunfire pounded his eardrums and the office equally. "We're going to kill your ass Castle!" shouted one of them as the fire subsided.

Looking out, he saw a few officers gruesomely arranged at desks, pens and scissors buried in their eyes and throats as Castle's rage burned in his belly. "I'm not afraid of death assholes!" he shouted back, "Death is a weakness of _men_. I am the _Punisher_!" roared Castle as he leaned out with the automatic shotgun up as it thundered out his second response, throwing up spent red shells as the weapon kicked at his shoulder and the small pellets tore through the flesh and bone arrayed against him, cutting down those in front with little issue. Not letting off the trigger, the Punisher emerged, snarling face illuminated only by the muzzle flashes from the AA-12 as he advanced, throwing out walls of buckshot and smoke to exact vengeance on the slain officers until the 20 round drum was empty.

Discarding it, he slammed a fresh one in, grimly noting that he hadn't encountered any pockets of cops that were still alive as he shook that thought from his head as he moved into the stairwell. Shotgun scanning, he saw a handful of bodies, inmates this time as he came to a stop at the sixth floor, noticing how the door had been beaten off its hinges as he poked his head around the corner. "I'm takin you down!" shouted the giant man hefting an equally large machine gun and police riot shield he got from god knows where as rounds tore through the wall and one clipped his armored vest as he dropped to the floor, reaching back to pull out a smoke grenade.

Knowing his shotgun couldn't punch through the shield, Castle yanked the pin and tossed the cylinder in, waiting with grit teeth as rounds passed overhead until he felt confident enough to crouch run through the doorway. Making it through unscathed as he threw his body behind a toppled over soda machine, the only vaguely solid cover he could make out through the smoke. Raising his shotgun, he fired a few rounds blindly into the smoke to try and force the Riker to let up.

When he did, the Punisher rolled out of his cover, smoothly coming to his feet as he cut loose with the scattergun on full auto, chewing up cubicles as the buckshot shredded the Kevlar vest the Gunner was wearing, but not making it through to the man inside. That didn't mean the inmate didn't feel the assault, he staggered and tried to bring his shield around, but his arm took a round and was only attached by a few strands of surviving flesh as his gun clattered to the floor. What finally did the prisoner in was a few pellets that went into the ammo can on his back, managing to ignite whatever was inside as the contents cooked off, cracking like firecracker packed in bubble wrap. Soon, his entire backpack was in flames as he screamed frantically and tried to get it off, but with only one arm it was neigh impossible, and Frank watched unsympathetically as the fire spread and the inmate succumbed to the heat.

Looking down at the empty shotgun, he slung it back over his shoulder and retrieved the fallen man's M249 SAW, seating the partially loaded belt of 5.56 into the tray before pulling back the charging handle. With his new weapon, he made his way back to the staircase and ascended to the seventh floor. He brought his radio to his face, "Watanabe" he said, "I'm on the seventh floor and coming in, check your fire."

"_Copy that, come in nice and easy Castle" _she urged before asking, _"Are you alone?"_

"Yeah," he answered sadly, "I didn't find anyone, sorry" he said honestly before slowly twisting the doorknob and pushing the door open. Weapon down, he stepped in to be met by no less than four cops pointing their service weapons at him.

"Weapons down!" barked Captain Watanabe as the LEO emerged with her Magnum in hand, "He's the source of all the noise down below." That seemed to get the other officers calmed down, pistols lowering as they visibly relaxed. "What's the situation down there?"

"Floors four, five, and six are mostly cleared out" he reported, "Might be a few left on the lower levels."

"Ozaki, go take a few guys down and check it out, be careful" ordered Yuri as some of the cops went forwards towards the stairwell and Castle was lead back. "Thanks for the help," continued the Captain, though she seemed none too pleased to have to say it, Frank didn't care however, he was there to punish the prisoners, and he had done just that. "Don't expect this to become a regular thing, but…"

"Shouldn't you have called in the kid?" he asked suddenly as she looked away, "Where is he?"

"I don't know," admitted Watanabe, "he went missing right when the breakout happened, still haven't been able to raise him." The Punisher frowned; he would have to put in overtime then with all the scum now roaming the streets. Coming to a stop inside a room that had become an impromptu supply room with ammo, food, water, and other necessities to be distributed to various cops. "If you need something then help yourself" she said as Frank grabbed one of the water bottles and downed a third of it in one gulp.

"Thanks," he grunted as he noticed some odd items that didn't seem to fit in. "What's with those masks?" he asked.

"Oh, there was a chemical attack at Times Square" answered Yuri lowly, "We don't know who or how, but somebody got their hands on Devil's Breath and released it. No demands, no warnings, first cases are starting to show up at hospitals and it's spreading as we speak, Sable's been ordered to lock down the island to try and contain it. But…it's only a matter of time until everyone is infected."

Castle was silent, his grip tightening on his SAW and trigger finger beginning to itch once again. "There a connection?" he asked.

"Maybe," said the cop tiredly, "been a lot of more pressing issues for me to deal with."

The Marine grunted in understanding, but now there was a bit less now. "You should suit up in that fancy tech the kid gave you. Get out on the streets; help get things under control out there."

But she shook her head, "No" she said firmly, "Someone needs to enforce law and order, keep the system running if we're going to get through this, this isn't the time to go off on a crusade," she retorted. "I can't abandon my station, my officers, and the civilians I've got here."

Frank understood, respected, and accepted that reasoning, but he couldn't go along with it. "Well I can do more out there," he said as he turned away.

"More punishing?" asked Yuri skeptically.

Frank shrugged, "Yeah," he answered gruffly as he moved to get back to work.

* * *

Looking up, Silver Sable could see the first hints of the rising sun peek over the buildings surrounding FOB Albany, knowing that the inmates would come any moment now. Truthfully, the dozen or so Sable International troopers still standing were in no position to ward off another assault, many were wounded, and all were tired. Silver's arm ached as she clutched at a replacement pistol, fresh energy cartridges loaded, but those were a precious resource. And that prompted a question, "Sergeant," she said lowly as the Trooper next to her turned, "What is the ammunition status of the men?"

"Low ma'am" he replied, "We're all on our last power cells, most of those are around half charge or lower" revealed the trooper. Indeed, there was little good news that was forthcoming, "Maybe a handful of grenades between us all, no heavy weapons either," he reminded. Even if they were outnumbered and outgunned, Silver Sablinova had no intention of letting this position fall.

"_Tally ho!" _called out the lookout over the radio, the trooper posted in the burned-out ruins of the watchtower, giving a commanding view of the surrounding area. _"Enemy formation, estimate company strength, to the west!" _he reported _"Range is 50 meters. No other contacts." _

The attack was imminent, and once it began it would steamroll the Troopers under the immense weight of such an onslaught. But despite their disadvantages in terms of firepower, numbers, and position, there was one thing the white clad men had over their foes: Discipline. Sablinova had always been told by her men that they would follow her to the gates of hell, and it was time to put that to the test. "Fix bayonets!" called out the Symkarian, provoking every man on the line to swing their helmets to look at her in shock and confusion. "Do you wish to die hiding, or die fighting?" she asked, giving them a moment to ponder the question before repeating her earlier command, "Fix bayonets!"

One by one, each Trooper reached into his kit and retrieved a handle shaped object before locking it in place on the lug of his rifle, the handle remaining fixed under the elongated muzzle of the energy weapons. "Arm bayonets!" she ordered once they were all affixed, and as one, the handles came to life, projecting 8-inch-long energy blades that glowed a sickly, demonic red that reflected off the white armor worn by their wielders. The blades hummed with anticipation, like they couldn't wait to be used and taste flesh as heat radiated from the gruesome melee weapons. "Stay low and out of sight!" she ordered, "We will draw them in before we crush them!" Looking out, Sable could see the first inmates emerge from the morning mist, standing proudly and without fear, confident in an easy victory. Sablinova couldn't suppress a small smile at the prospect of proving them wrong.

They came closer, the Sable men staying down behind the ruined barricades as Silver felt the adrenaline begin to flow, her heart beating faster as she held her nerve, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Slowly, she watched the escaped prisoners weave their way through the ruined cars until they emerged into the open ground just beyond the perimeter and let out a breath, knowing that it was now or never. "Over the top!" called out the Symkarian, "Charge!"

With a unifying roar, the Sable International troopers stood, leveling their weapons as they fired, unleashing a barrage of red bolts into the unsuspecting inmates, cutting down the front rank of men with their opening shots. In the critical second that followed, the undisciplined prisoners choose neither fight nor flight, but froze in the face of Sable aggression. That moment of hesitation would prove costly as Silver triggered her twin pistols, ignoring the spike of pain in her left arm as she charged forwards, leading her men into the teeth of the enemy. Before the inmates could fully react, the charging mercenaries were upon them, one tried to bring his gun up to fire at Silver, but she merely kicked it away before planting one of her pistols on his forehead and pulling the trigger. All around her, energy bayonets sliced through Kevlar, prison jumpsuits, flesh, and bone with little difficulty, impaling the inmates before the blades were ripped back out leaving gaping and hemorrhaging wounds in their wake.

As a collective, the inmates folded like cheap suits as they broke whatever semblance of ranks they had and turned to flee. "Get after them!" cried Sable as she planted a shot in one's back, watching him fall face first on the concrete as the other were drive back. In their terror, the inmates pushed and shoved each other aside, those that fell either tried to surrender and got a rifle stock or made a vain effort to fight back and got a bayonet until they were driven back past the burned out cars, some tried to stand there and were cut down against the vehicles. "Platoon halt!" ordered Sablinova as the attack let up, even if the inmates kept running away from the bloody and filthy white armored soldiers and the rising sun at their back.

Taking a breath, Sable looked back at the battlefield, saddened by the loss of life before steeling herself, she was one of the lucky ones, she had survived.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Shotgun: Atchison AA-12_

_Also known as the Atchisson Assault Shotgun or Auto Assault shotgun, this later one, plus the 12-gauge shell it fires gives it the name 'AA-12', is one of the most formidable handheld weapons in the world. Developed and refined over a period of more than 20 years and featuring more than 188 small changes and improvements over the original design that was patented in 1972, the result is an ergonomic, reliable, and formidable weapon. Gas operated with a proprietary gas system that absorbs 80% of the recoil, with a further 10% getting syphoned off by the recoil spring, the shooter only feels about 10% of the recoil of each shot. This, when combined with the rather low 300 rounds per minute cyclic rate, means that even a fairly novice shooter can accurately direct the fusillade of 12-gauge fire wherever they please. _

_And make no mistake about how much firepower that is, with 8 round box mags, or preferably 20 or 32 round drums, the AA-12 can sling a lot of lead. Using that big 32 round drum and flechette ammunition, the Atchisson can send 800 potentially life threatening projectiles downrange in about six seconds. If that isn't enough firepower, or if you need more range, you can load in FRAG-12 rounds, each of which has just about three and a half grams of A5 explosive, or RDX. This means your fully automatic shotgun can now beat up light vehicles, soft cover, and make even more noise. _

_Unlike most auto shotguns, the AA-12 works from an open bolt, but the weapon is designed to limit stoppages with its rugged stainless steel frame. Clocking in at just over 10 pounds, which isn't that bad all things considered, and a reasonably handy 38 inches in length (not too far under a meter), the weapon is bulky, but for that bulk you get a weapon that doesn't require much fuss or cleaning and brings unparalleled firepower to the table. It is no surprise it has found its way into the armories of several groups and individuals that favor raw firepower over efficiency. _

* * *

**Closing Notes: I'll admit, I really enjoyed this one, but it was also a surprise to learn just how hard it is to write a good bayonet charge. Sablinova's Last Stand was inspired just as much by the Battle of Rorke's Drift as Little Round Top, and I actually had this chapter in my notes as titled 'Rorke's Drift', the Sabaton song. But it was my decision to have that last countercharge that swung it to the Iced Earth classic. Hopefully that desperation came through in this chapter, since the game always alluded to it but I wanted to show it, or at least part of what happened in that 24 hour timeskip and to show that, yes, while elected leaders my have their thumbs up their asses, there will always be brave men and women who step up to the plate to do the right thing. **

**I feel the need to reiterate that I'm not trying to offer any commentary about any events that have happened, are happening, or might happen in the future. **

**Though, as always, feel free to leave a review on how you liked seeing these supporting characters get forcibly shoved to the forefront, I can't say that I'll be doing a lot of it, but I think it was a good change of pace. Next chapter will continue this trend, albeit with those we haven't caught up with yet. If you like this slight detour from the events of the game then let me know.**

**Next chapter, the grey sky, it weeps over the fading glow. Are we The Lucky Ones?**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	60. Chapter 60: The Lucky Ones

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

If you are even slightly into cars, then you should go look up the just unveiled T.50, designed by the great Gordon Murray. If you don't recognize that name, you still might know what he created because he was the man responsible for the legendary McLaren F1.

**ThatGuyThere95: I'm actually surprised someone reads them to be honest. They started as a way for me to dump exposition without having to kill the pacing of the story itself and I've actually been thinking of cutting the Logbook entries because I've been struggling to come up with topics. If you have anything you want to see, shoot me a PM. **

**DD-Returns101: I admit, Osborn presents a tough problem, though mostly it's because I had to try and add context to the events of the game that made him come off worse. I do not know how much you know about him in the game, but that will affect what happens, and how Cooper sees Osborn, significantly. The balance I want to strike is keeping everyone's character correct while not deviating too far off course set by the game and the eventual sequel. **

**Blaze1992: The basis for the Rikers and their actions was, well, the Rikers from the Division. I even went so far as to try and use voice lines from that game in their dialogue and I will admit I did not think outside the box to come up with something like that. Even if I had, the result would have been an Indiana Jones style escape sequence rather than a shootout with the Punisher. Fire isn't their thing, that's the Cleaners, which is a really lame excuse, but that's my fault. As for the explosives, where would they get them? Weapons and ammo make sense from the Police armories or the ones at Rikers, but demolition charges? Nevermind the expertise to actually use them correctly. This way, I got to have the Punisher fight Slider, which I just wanted to do. **

**charly22salazar: The basis for Cooper was partly Jeremy Renner's character from _The Hurt Locker_, which is exactly that basically. Another dynamic that I always struggled with was having Matt be decisively violent, but not really...mean. He is very much meant to be a nice guy, and generally forgiving if he can be, though part of his behavior is that he is more forgiving of a pretty girl. **

**A fan: Matt won't be busy for some time yet, but once he gets to work he'll leave his mark. As for my favorite? I do like them all, but Matthew Cooper would be who I would pick. Though I don't view all of those as 'main' characters, to me those are Matt, Pete, MJ, and Felicia, at least at this point. Outside of that core four, I like Yuri and she's going to be more interesting later, but at the moment I really like Silver Sable and what is coming up for her in the shorter term.**

**The big chihuahu: I'm glad you found it to, hope you enjoy.**

Are you guys sick of me referencing Tom Clancy's: The Division yet? If so, too damn bad, because this chapter has even more references to that game. Chief among them is the title, which is another track by Gavin Dunne or Miracle of Sound. This song is about the original Division, but unlike most of his music that is written from the perspective of a game's protagonist, this song is written from the perspective of an unnamed civilian NPC living in that game's brilliantly realized open world. It's somber, chilling, and haunting, it does capture that sort of feeling the game's world offers, and that was the atmosphere that caused me to pick it for this chapter where there is no action, I wanted this one to be dark and reflective before the good guys start to claw their way back in coming chapters.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 60: The Lucky Ones**

_State of the dead empire, submit to the grip_

_Of all these bred vampires, a grim leadership_

_Unstable cells in concrete veins still surge_

_All of us bear the scars of nature's purge_

_Are we the lucky ones clinging on to life?_

_Are we the lucky ones ducking out of the lines of sight?_

_Dividing one by one, Finding favor on the edge of the knife_

_Are we the lucky ones, Clinging on, clinging on to life?_

* * *

When Miles arrived at FEAST, he knew the situation would be bad after the events of the previous night, but he was still shocked at just _how _bad the situation was. While the escaped inmates that had wrought havoc at night, the morning had seen them almost vanish from view as Sable International Troopers had finally regrouped and were beginning to patrol the streets again. The downside was that it meant their quarantine perimeter had been well and truly established, locking down all ways into and out of Manhattan and trapping everyone on the island inside the armed troops and defensive emplacements. Now, their stark white armor was omnipresent, their soldiers, vehicles, and checkpoints were heavily armed and seemingly looking for trouble with Miles able to feel their eyes on him from behind their impenetrable black visors as he made the short walk from the subway to the shelter.

Of course, strictly speaking, he wasn't supposed to be here, his mother had given him strict instructions to stay home when she had been called into work earlier in the morning, but after a few hours sitting on his sofa watching news reports about the deteriorating situation outside, he couldn't remain idle. And from the moment he entered the shelter, it was clear that his help was needed, "oh Miles," greeted an exhausted sounding May Parker, the older woman's usually calming presence was noticeably absent, "thank goodness you're safe," she said truthfully.

"I'm fine Mrs. Parker," he assured, "I'm here to help," he added. Instead of replying, May merely nodded and turned to lead the teen into shelter, though he was shocked at what he saw. Many of the bunkbeds had been arrayed in a corner and the recreational areas were gone, in their place was a makeshift hospital, complete with disassembled bunkbeds filled with coughing men and women with nowhere else to go. IVs were set up next to most and curtains separated them from one another as well as the rest of the shelter, between them were dozens if not hundreds of boxes of supplies. "Where did all of this come from?" asked the high school sophomore.

"Mr. Li had it all in storage…" revealed the elderly woman slowly, "probably so we would be ready for what he planned to unleash." The woman was clearly still coming to terms with everything, but she shook off her thoughts and pulled the lid off a box, "Here Miles," she said as she handed him a mask and instructing, "put this on." Watching as the woman placed it over her nose and mouth, the teen did the same, looping the straps around his ears to hold in in place. The older woman inspected it and nodded in approval. "I don't know what this infection that got everyone sick is…but keep that on at all times and wash your hands frequently. Do you understand me?" she asked, taking that same tone his mother always did. He nodded, "Then go down to the basement and take an inventory of what we have left in storage down there. Find out what else Mr. Li left for us and then we'll start putting it to use."

Miles could hear the sorrow in her voice, it had been hard for him to reconcile that the shelter was the passion project of a domestic terrorist and he had only been there for a few weeks. For May, who had been there for years and was very good friends with Li, it had been an incredibly difficult pill to swallow. "You got it," he replied calmly, his voice muffled slightly by the mask.

As he turned away, Mrs. Parker spoke up again, "and Miles?" she asked, "Have you heard from Peter?"

The question caught the teen off guard as he turned around with a raised eyebrow. "Not since yesterday when I saw him here…" he answered, seeing the woman deflate. "I'm sure he's okay, the phone lines are probably overloaded and that's why he can't call," offered Morales in an attempt at sound assuring, but it didn't quite land.

When she didn't reply, Miles tried to offer a reassuring smile despite the fact it went unseen before turning away and heading for the lower levels, pulling out his phone and dialing the younger Parker. "C'mon Pete, pick up," he encouraged, only for the ringer to continue in his ear.

* * *

Felicia's focus was disrupted by the sudden ringing of a phone that wasn't hers as she picked up the older model, complete with cracked screen and Spider-Man case that betrayed its owner, and looked at who was calling with a burst of hope in her heart. But that hope was dashed as quickly as it appeared as she stared down at the unfamiliar name on the screen and she gripped the vial she held in her left hand tighter while scowling as she growled angrily at the screen. As loathe as she was to admit it, her lover's disappearance was taking its toll, even more so than when he had been wounded a few weeks back. For one of the few times in recent memory, Felicia was genuinely worried about someone, but the Thief was not the type to just sit on her sculpted bottom and wait for news to come to her. She had spent of the early morning scouring the city for any sign of the Marauder, checking his home and other safehouses, his preferred resting points, and the whole area around Rikers Island, even if there was little chance she would be able to get on the islands herself.

When that had failed to yield results, she decided to talk to the last person that had seen the Texan, even if he had been unconscious when she showed up at one of Dr. Benson's clandestine practices. With the doctor needing to see others, the Thief had agreed to keep an eye on the webslinger as he recovered from the surgeries performed on him while he was out. The doctor had left specific instructions to give him the contents of the vial when he woke up. "Who…was…it?" croaked an unexpected voice as the burglar's eyes widened at the sight of Spider having turned his masked head ever so slightly to look towards her.

"A Miles Morales," answered the Thief as she turned the 'missed call' message so he could see before setting the phone down. "Who is he?" she asked genuinely.

"Fr…From…FEAST" he managed before trying to reach out for a glass of water on the table, only for his still healing arms to fail to make it. Seeing his plight, the platinum blonde lent him a hand, giving him the drink as he eased his mask up and downed the water greedily, despite the IV intended to keep him hydrated. "Thanks Felicia," he said genuinely before looking around the small room, one of many that Benson kept for treating those who worked…on the fringes of legality…so to speak. But his next words hit her the hardest, "where's Matt?" he asked innocently.

"I…I was hoping you could tell me Spider," replied the Black Cat, trying desperately to maintain her composure as she turned away and tried to gather herself. "Where did you last see him?" she asked, only to get no response, "Spider? Peter…please tell me."

He swallowed before answering, "On top of the RAFT," he said, though the clipped response was a dead giveaway that there was more too it. "There was…everyone…every superpowered criminal I've put away, from Toomes to Li, broke out and came at us on that rooftop." Felicia didn't answer, staying silent and merely staring at the masked man, waiting for him to continued, "It gets a little fuzzy after that," he said, half a lie, he probably didn't want to remember and Hardy wasn't going to force the issue. "But I think Electro got him and when I tried to get him off that rooftop…"

"What happened?" asked Felicia firmly.

"Not what, _who,_" corrected the wallcrawler with a sigh, "Doctor Octavius was behind it." Felicia knew the significance of that name as she heard a sniffle from behind the bug-eyed mask. His mentor through college, even during their brief stint as a couple he would happily go on about the Doctor if given half a chance. Even if she still didn't care for Spider-Man like she once did, seeing him betrayed, and like this, was hard for even her to stomach. "I need to find him," managed the superhero with a newfound resolved as he tried to get up, only for a manicured hand to push him back down.

Felicia shook her head, "not so fast Spider," returned the Thief sternly. "You're in no shape to be doing much of anything" she informed bluntly as she relieved him of the empty glass. "Even if you _were _any better, the situation out there…it isn't pretty, it's practically a warzone."

The white eye lenses narrowed, "I don't believe you…" he retorted angrily, his emotion clouding his good judgement, she noted.

While Felicia opened her mouth to counter, she didn't have to. "Then believe me," said a firm voice from a redhead at the door, "we're partners after all, we should trust each other," she informed bluntly, though there was a hint of a playful smile on her lips.

"MJ!" said a shocked Spider-Man, though there was unmistakable relief in his voice as the Bugle reporter came across the room and the two embraced gingerly, bringing a ghost of a smile to the Thief's features, even as she still hoped for her own reunion. "What are you two talking about?"

Felicia listened as Mary Jane recounted the events of the previous night, the release of Devil's Breath by Octavius, the quarantine that was now in place, the bitter fighting on the streets, the calls put out by Mayor Osborn for both Spider-Man and the Marauder to be brought to justice. All the while, Hardy refilled the glass of water, delicately slipping in a bit of a colorless, tasteless liquid into it. When she turned back, it was clear that Spider was still processing what he had been told, staring straight ahead blankly as he took the offered glass. "Thanks Felicia," he intoned lifelessly before downing the whole glass again and promptly passing out.

"What the…" began MJ as she fixed Hardy with a glare, "What the hell did you do?"

"Prevent him from doing something stupid," she replied coolly, with a hint of honest remorse. "He was_ this _close from getting up and doing something he might not have survived. Would you rather _that _happen?"

The redhead, thankfully, saw reason. "Damn that Parker Pride," she grumbled after a second, "But you're right, I don't want that." There was a moment of tense silence, "thank you Felicia" said the journalist sincerely as she nodded towards the wounded superhero, "for helping him." The platinum blonde just stared blankly at the mask, "Any word from Matt?" She shook her head before a hand was placed on his shoulder, "I'll check around with my sources" offered Mary Jane. "Somebody has to know something. Osborn would have announced if he had been captured or…"

Felicia nodded quickly, not letting her mention the other option as a tear finally manifested and rolled down her cheek that was quickly wiped away. "I'll help" said the Black Cat, tone allowing no argument as she spun quickly on her heel, tired of being idle, "let's go, I'll drive." And with that, the two women left, closing the door behind them and letting the Webslinger get his rest.

* * *

"So this is your place?" asked the heiress as Mary Jane led the way into her recently renovated apartment. The redhead was fairly certain her landlord had gotten it fixed under the program set up by the Department of Damage Control to fix spaces damaged during the 'Battle of Manhattan.' Either way, the bullet holes that had littered her walls after the attempt on her life were gone, and a new table replaced the one Peter had inadvertently turned to firewood. Like she was the one that owned the place, Felicia strode past and snooped around. "I kinda like it, nice and homey," mused the Thief as she finished a circle of the living room while MJ sat down on the couch, cracking open her laptop while her guest ended back up in the small kitchen, somehow making straight for her liquor cabinet.

"No sticky fingers!" warned Mary Jane lightly as she opened up her email, the icon blinking angrily at her from the taskbar.

"Wouldn't dream of it Red," called back the Thief, though MJ looked to see her seemingly helping herself to several bottles. Looking up, Felicia noticed her gaze and smirked, "That's why I'm mixing you a drink too." After a moment of thought, MJ deemed that acceptable and began reading through the emails, most of it was from the Bugle, though a full third of their staff was infected and self-isolating, causing them to close the office and all suddenly work from home. Needless to say, that alone had complicated things.

Skimming through that, she eagerly went down to the ones from her sources, both named and anonymous. It turned out that having the Marauder's number, or at least the _perception _that she did made people much more likely to come to her, for whatever reason. She had contacts in every major city department, a few state ones as well, and even one in the FBI's New York Office. Most had sent emails, though as she made her way through them slowly, there was nothing on the whereabouts of her friend. Her focus was interrupted by the appearance of a colorful mixed drink on the table. "Thanks," she said tersely as she took a sip without thinking, surprised at the unique mix, sweet at first with a tart aftertaste that didn't overpower, "it's good," she complimented genuinely.

The Thief shrugged modestly, or what counted as modesty for the vixen, before replying, "don't sound too impressed, it was the best I could do with the bottom shelf booze you had." MJ fixed her with a glare that flowed impotently past the aloof platinum blonde as she sat down in the armchair to the reporter's right, crossing her legs and smirking as she tapped impatiently on the armrest while sipping her own cocktail. "But next time we're doing this at my place."

Watson grinned, "deal," she agreed readily as she went back to her correspondence, flipping through emails from her sources, Mary Jane saw one email that grabbed her attention. From Glory Grant, the subject line read 'IS THIS TRUE?!' and she immediately opened it up. Felicia was trying to tell a story to keep her mind off of things, but MJ ignored her as she focused on the words. _'Yo Mary J, my crazy uncle (yes, that one) sent me this. Wanted to know if there was anything to it. Stay safe girl' _it read, and there was an attached file titled 'wouldn't you know it.' "What's this?" mused Watson as she opened the attachment.

"_Welcome back. I'm Rick Valassi and you're listening to 'Wouldn't you know it,' the best, if not only, paranoid pirate radio podcast in the tri-state area. So, you got that going for you, which is nice." _Rick spoke in a heavy Bronx accent, dry and sarcastic, though clearly weary. Mary Jane had heard of him, his name was no doubt a pseudonym, and he had been putting out small podcasts for years in a similar format to JJJ, but had always been viewed as a conspiracy nut who talked about rumors and hearsay instead of facts. For those who preferred their podcasts hosts to be 'one of them' instead of the condescending angry rants of Jameson, they listened to 'Uncle Ricky.'

"_I take no pride in being right, New York," _he declared, _"I've been saying that we've been cutting it too close these last couple months. First we got these 'Inner Demons' and then this 'IMC' invasion that had us calling in the goddamn Marines? It was only a matter of time until our luck ran out, and, as of last night, it did." _There was a pregnant pause as Mary Jane saw Felicia staring intently at her laptop, green eyes blazing as she turned up the volume as the podcast resumed. _"Now I can already hear you sayin' 'but Rick, my man, we got through that because we got our own bonafide superhoeroes, the Spectacular Webslinging Spider-Man and the Menacing Gunfighting Marauder.' But that's the thing New York, they ain't showin up, and I don't think it's cause our duly elected public servants declared them outlaws, big man upstairs knows that's never stopped 'em before." _

"_No, I'll tell you what happened, one of the screws on the jail at Rikers Island reached out to me, told me that both parts of that gruesome twosome were there during the shitshow last night, poppin mooks left, right, and center trying to get the whole thing under control. They both went onto that island…and neither of them came off it." _There was a deadly silence as the picture took shape for the two women, only one of them _had _come off of the island. _"Now do I think they're dead? No I do not," _he said emphatically, _"Otherwise, the sleazebag sitting atop his ivory tower and being paid by our tax dollars would be parading their corpses through the streets. So, to all you young ladies who want to get into their pants, don't worry."_

Once again, the two exchanged looks, but this time there was a shared amusement that eased the tension somewhat, both chuckling at the cranky old host's joke before he resumed. _"But that then raises the question, where are they? Well, I suspect they ain't sittin around and eating bon bons during our current state of post biological terrorism apocalypse, what do I suspect? Let me tell you, and it's farfetched, even for me."_

"_A buddy of mine on the east side had a front row seat to the fiasco at Rikers, and he passed along an interesting occurrence a few hours after the breakout. Apparently, Sable International, the ones with fatigues and the ninja turtle gear, showed up in a bunch of helicopters. A while later, he says a different helicopter landed and, he claims, picked up a stretcher before going hell for leather somewhere. My theory? Sable found one of 'em and snuck 'em somewhere without Osborn knowing about it. Only question is…why?" _There was a frantic moment as Mary Jane pulled out a notepad and began scribbling down notes with one hand while her other grabbed her phone, composing a text to an NYPD contact who could get her security footage, or at least might be willing to go through it and corroborate the story. _"I really don't know, but it could be anything! Maybe Sablinova wants to put them in a set of fatigues and Ninja Turtle gear, or test out those new toys they've been getting, or maybe, just maybe, she wants to get in their pants too. And yeah, I know it's crazy, but right now…crazy's all we got left."_

By the time the crackling that signaled the end of the episode fell silent, Felicia was already on her feet. "Find out if he's telling the truth and call me when you have something. I'll check it out, no matter how minor and insignificant it may seem," she said evenly, moving with newfound purpose and resolve before adding, "And if you dare try anymore heroics then you're going to find out if you have a kink for being tied up, understood?" The woman's words brokered no argument, and Mary Jane found herself nodding in agreement before the platinum blonde turned on her high heel and strode out the apartment, leaving MJ blinking at the shut door.

Had she just become the Black Cat's sidekick?

* * *

After finishing stacking boxes on the handcart, Miles began pushing it back towards the elevator to take it back upstairs. As the day wore on, the situation was only getting worse for the beleaguered shelter as more and more sick came in after being turned away from overcrowded hospitals. Those working were being run ragged trying to stay ahead of the influx of people coming into FEAST, setting up beds, preparing IVs, distributing antibiotics, preparing meals, and so much more. Six straight hours was beginning to take its toll on the teen and, as he emerged from the elevator to the raggedly breathing form of May Parker, it was clear he was far from the only one. "I got those antibiotics you asked for Mrs. Parker," he reported as he pushed the trolly out onto the ground floor.

"Thank you, Miles," she returned tiredly, bending over to catch her breath, rubbing her eyes to try and ward off the drowsiness that was beginning to beset the FEAST volunteer staff from all sides. "Take those over there to Mr. Boulton if you would. Help get those passed out to those who need them," instructed the older woman wearily as Miles nodded and moved past her, "Oh, and would you kindly bring me a glass of water?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure thing," he replied as he moved swiftly through the shelter, trying to avert his eyes from the sick but still guide the cart through the narrow corridors between beds until arriving at the destination. Mr. Boulton was a paramedic who volunteered at FEAST, Miles wasn't sure why he was here now instead of at his actual job but was grateful for the man's skill and experience as he treated the sick and wounded that came into the shelter. Boulton was working furiously to help one of the homeless the teen recognized, knowing that the man on the bed had suffered heart problems and had caught pneumonia the prior week. Leaving quietly, the high schooler weaved his way through the cluttered central floor and into the kitchen, getting the requested glass of water for May Parker before retracing his steps. On his way back, he heard a string of curses and saw Mr. Boulton trying to do CPR on the man he had been tending to before giving up and closing the man's eyes.

Gulping, Miles stalked off, trying to push past the thoughts and memories that the scene had dredged up as he found May, looking out over the floor and trying to discern what had happened. "Miles, what's going on in there?" she asked as she pulled her mask aside and drank.

"The uh…the man Mr. Boulton was helping, he um…didn't make it," managed the teen weakly, rubbing his hands nervously as the woman's shoulders drooped sadly. It was another body blow for the head of the shelter as they seemed to pile on one after the other.

Miles watched carefully as the woman slowly steadied herself as her shaky hand raised the glass once more and finished it off, "I'd better make some calls…have the body picked up…try to notify next of kin," she said lowly before fixing the mask back over her face and heading off to her office. Miles considered following her for a moment before realizing he had nothing to offer and instead slinked back towards the main floor, wandering aimlessly through the beds and sitting areas wondering if there was anything that could make the day worse.

At the center of one group, a speaker was set up that came to life, catching his attention. _"Rick Valassi, constant listener, comin' at you once again with 'Wouldn't You Know It.'" _Began a man with a heavy Bronx accent, one of the men around the speaker shushing the others as they all listened intently._ "Hope folks are holding up okay in your neighborhood or containment zone or whatever they're calling it now. Only chance we got is if we all come together on this, help each other out. We're New Yorkers, that's what we do. Remember that, 'cause we're gonna be tested." _Miles' mouth formed into a thin line; did he not see what was going on? Were they not already being tested? _"Bad enough some idiot thinks a time like this is nothing but a golden opportunity to steal shit. And I don't mean food or medicine, I'm talking about stuff they don't even use. I mean, who in the fuck needs a goddamn flatscreen right now?" _

There was a tense pause as those gathered around nodded in agreement, _"But, it's about to get worse," _cautioned the podcast host.

"_In case you didn't notice, the screws on the jail of Rikers Island are dead and the doors are open. The inmates are loose, and as of last night, are in the city. Those firecrackers you all heard? No, my friends, those were shootouts between them and everyone else, cops, Sable, the Punisher, you name it." _

"_Now, don't misunderstand, I'm not saying everyone in there is an axe murderer, or that they were making noise last night. Most of them were waiting on trial for possession. Hell, even __**I **__spent a night or two in there in my youth," _admitted the man with a mixture of mirth and exasperation that had most of those sharing knowing smiles. _"But look, the harmless ones are gonna head for home. It's the hard time hardcore we gotta worry about. Those cats? They're gonna take some serious advantage of things. So, stay safe out there New York. Keep your doors locked. And if you see any of those Rikers people? Steer clear of 'em, you hear me?"_

"_Be smart," _he implored before taking a breath and closing out the podcast, _"__**Be smart**__." _

Meandering away, the teen pulled out his phone, hoping to see some spark to give him hope he could pass along to Mrs. Parker about her nephew. His absence was definitely felt, a calm and understanding ear with an odd knack for making something out of practically nothing. But Miles realized someone else was missing too, Matt hadn't been around to deadpan at Peter's rambling or show Miles how to use some kind of power tools or something else with his hands, skills the tech inclined teen lacked. But if Miles didn't know where Peter was, then surely Matt would? Figuring it was worth a shot; he put in a quick set of words and sent them off to the Texan, hoping that he would hear from him soon.

* * *

Felicia Hardy was willing to do much more than merely hope that she could hear from her boyfriend soon. With Mary Jane digging into leads to save her time, the Black Cat had driven to the Marauder's hideout and parked her Jag in the underground armory. The space felt eerily empty without the mechanical monotone and overbearing presence of BT or the cocky grin and chiseled form of Cooper there to greet her. Pushing those thoughts aside, she found her Black Cat gear where she had left it the previous day, freshly cleaned after she had come back from her last time speaking with Matthew. Stripping down, Felicia donned the catsuit with her usual mantra, _Slow is smooth, smooth is fast_.

First came the jet black catsuit, a few white accents breaking up the lines and enabling her to carry the various bits of equipment she might need. Next were her boots, soft soled with high heels, surprisingly comfortable and supportive with a few other tricks built in, After that were the custom gloves, the white wrist bracers offered some protection in a hand to hand fight and, with a flick of the wrist, the concealed ML 390 Chromium Steel claws extended and locked into place with a barely audible _click_, the razor sharp edges glinting under the harsh lights of the armory. With the same movement, they retreated into the fingers of the black hand covering as she stowed her preferred blade, a Karambit made from the same high strength Chromium Steel as her claws. That was a weapon of last resort; preferably, she would rely on this next tool, her trusty grapple gun, to keep her out of trouble. Holstering it low down on her right thigh like an old fashioned gun slinger, the Thief made sure she had enough rappelling gear packed, either on her person or a saddle bag, line, carabiner clips, an ascender, and spare grapple hooks. Rounding out the equipment stored in the pouches around her waist were a few EMP grenades and devices for gathering RFID, radio, and other electronic signals, all in far more discreet casings than cutesy cat ones she had left for Spider to find.

The piece of equipment she went for last was the one given to her by Cooper, an FN Five-Seven pistol with suppressor in case she got herself in serious trouble with one of the many unsavory groups roaming the streets. With the weapon strapped into the cross-draw holster with a few spare mags, she was truly as armed and dangerous as she would be for this trip. Reaching back, she did her hair up into a tight bun to keep it out of the way during any of the night's activities. With that done, her domino mask with green lenses covered her eyes, the HUD booting to life as the Thief slipped the throat mic and earpiece into place before pulling the hood up to cover her head and turning to the mirror she kept in her little corner of the space. Striking a sexy pose, Felicia was satisfied that she had everything and equally satisfied with her appearance, because what was the point of being bad if she couldn't look good?

A beeping in her ear signified she had an incoming call, "Hey Red, got something for me?" she asked, trying to sound cool and playful, but her tone carried an unmistakable underlying edge to it. She was prepared to do everything within her power to find her Marauder, but despite that she was going to do this properly. Hardy would not be rash, taking after the man she was after by going in all guns blazing, she would do this like a Cat: with patience, quiet, and cunning, waiting and setting up the perfect time to strike.

"_Something, but I'll warn you now it isn't much," _began the Daily Bugle reporter, _"Okay, so video showed the suspicious helicopter heading south-southwest. We know it didn't go to Brooklyn, and a friend in the Mayor's office gave me a list of properties Sable is using so going through that and narrowing it down by ones that can handle a helicopter and there is only one option. The camp at the exit of the Queens-Midtown tunnel," _she revealed. With that being on the opposite side of town and not wanting to waste time, even if she wanted to be careful, Felicia turned and headed for her trusty ride. _"It's not likely he's in the camp itself, but they couldn't have taken him far, it's as good a place as any to start looking."_

Parked alongside the _Widowmaker, _the matte black Ducati Super Sports was one of the few things on wheels that could keep up with the custom McLaren. While she usually preferred to prowl on rooftops and enjoy the trek, there would be none of that this time. Strapping the saddlebag of extra gear on the opposite side as the holster that held her P90, just in case. "I'll head that way" she assured as she straddled the 160 horsepower superbike, "thanks for the help Red" she said sincerely as she started the bike.

The 1100 CC motor flared to life, purring happily as Felicia settled down in the custom seat, _"No problem Felicia," _returned the redhead, _"After all…what are friends for?"_ Felicia was about to give a suggestive answer before thinking better of it as MJ hung up. Bearing down, the Thief gave the bike a rev before it shot forwards, out and up onto the dimming streets of a city under siege.

* * *

Blue eyes snapped open; a dreamless sleep did not put them at ease as they scanned the room quickly. As Matthew Cooper took in the stark white walls and sleek equipment around him and realized he was in unfamiliar territory, "What the hell have you gotten yourself into this time Matt?" he grunted lowly. His senses slowly returning, he recognized the 'S' logo on the medical machines around him and let out a sigh of relief, his mind slowly piecing together a likely chain of events. Slowly pulling himself into a sitting position, he hissed in pain as he brought a hand up to his chest, "Oh yeah…definitely bruised some ribs," he muttered. As he did, the door into the room opened and a familiar face entered, but it was at that moment he realized he wasn't in his gear but an undershirt and boxers, his face totally uncovered as he looked up at Silver Sablinova. "Nice to meet you, your highness," he began, his throat burning up as he managed an attempt at a cocky grin to finish his joke, "sorry I'm underdressed," he deadpanned.

To his relief, the woman didn't look like she was about to put a laser bolt through his head, instead quirking up the corner of her mouth in what passed as a smile for the stoic woman. Despite the clean duster and jumpsuit underneath, the overall smartness of her gear and clean appearance, Matthew could see weariness there; her usually piercing gaze lacked the laser focus he had gotten used to seeing from the Mercenary. "It can be forgiven in these circumstances," she assured as she extended her hand and he shook it gingerly, "Nice to meet you properly Major Cooper." The Texan stiffened, but the Symkarian continued undaunted, despite Matt's narrowing eyes. "I am sorry it had to be under such circumstances, but you seem to be recovering from the injuries you sustained quite well," she mused before picking up a clipboard from the desk next to the bed, she listed off those injuries, "bruised ribs, concussion, dislocated left shoulder, multiple contusions, internal bleeding, and numerous first- and second-degree electrical burns."

In all honesty, the Pilot was surprised he felt as good as he did…even if he still felt like absolute hell. "Well, thanks for the patch job," he said sincerely, as he tried to get off the bed, only for a hand to come down on his shoulder, forcefully holding him where he was as he looked up at the Mercenary, "Sable…?"

Whatever was troubling her, it came back full force as she stepped back and took a breath; "It would be unwise for you to leave," she managed evenly, though he could tell it was a struggle.

"Why the fuck is that?" asked the Marauder bluntly, all pretenses at decorum going out the window as he clenched his fists in case it came down to it.

"You did right by me and my men," began Silver stoically, "I cannot and will not forget that, so when you were found at the Raft after the breakout I brought you here to recover" revealed the Mercenary. "But in the 18 hours since then…the situation has deteriorated. Escaped Prisoners have engaging my men almost continuously; I lost four platoons last night and two more today." There was a slight grimace and weight in her eyes before she continued, "And the NYPD has lost over 200 officers. The precinct in Chinatown was nearly overrun," she revealed before adding, "It was not, and Captain Watanabe is still alive."

There was a moment of stunned silence as Matthew took in what he had just been told, hardly able to fathom the picture the Symkarian was painting. But she wasn't done yet, "I cannot bring my forces to bear because most of them are tied down maintaining a quarantine of the Island with the release of Devil's Breath." Cooper's mouth dropped open as he looked at the woman, making a note to never play poker against her because, holy shit, could she drop a bomb without so much as flinching.

When he finally collected himself again, he could feel a fire in his belly as rage boiled up in him. He had been taken off guard and beaten, but now he wanted payback, especially with the chaos enveloping the city. "All the more reason you should give me my gear at let me at 'em," he argued, "I can do a lot more good out there than in here."

"I want to," she admitted with a slight grimace, "I won't deny it, we could use you. But there are others who do not see it that way."

Cooper only needed a few moments and one guess, "Osborn." It wasn't a question.

There was a barely perceptible nod in reply, but it was enough. "He has issued kill/capture orders for both you and Spider-Man and authorized lethal force. I have tried to convince him otherwise, but his orders still stand," she revealed. Cooper muttered under his breath, part of him wishing he had let Felicia kill Osborn before squashing that thought; it was no use thinking about the past. "It is best for you and my Company if you stay out of sight, hence why I brought you here. You will be safe, and your identity is unknown to the men I have guarding you," she revealed in an attempt at placating him. "You are _not _permitted to leave however…" she began, but Cooper had heard enough.

"It's not your goddamn choice!" he roared, "it's mine!" he shouted, jamming a finger into his chest. "Could you really put up with knowing that you could make a difference but being forced to sit on the fucking sidelines?" he asked steadily, though he was barely able to control his temper. Taking a breath, he tried to calm himself down, "Sable, listen," he began, "I'm grateful for the help, honestly, I am. But I'm not the type to sit idly by and let the world fall to shit around me," he asserted.

The Mercenary nodded grimly, "I know," she admitted before throwing a punch that slammed into his face, sending his head spinning again as he tried to lash back out in retaliation. But he didn't even get close, his arm getting caught in a hold before a needle was jammed into it, the contents flooding his veins as he went lightheaded and slumped back onto the bed, staring up blankly at the ceiling before he passed back out.

* * *

Pocketing his phone once again, Miles shook his head at the continued lack of response from either Peter or Matthew as day was turning into evening. He was busy collecting leftovers and trash from the recently served dinner to those taking shelter at FEAST with even the most stubborn of Manhattan's homeless seeking refuge from the coming darkness and the inevitable conflict that would flare up as the sun went down. Already, Miles could hear what sounded like distant fireworks, but he knew were gunshots that echoed off the skyscrapers and through the streets. Pushing the mostly full garbage can through the tightly packed groups of people, he had to pass by an area devoid of the chatter or crowds, an area where half a dozen body bags had been neatly arranged, with space for dozens more. Some had personal effects, notes, photos, or other mementos alongside them, family and friends trying to not let the recently deceased become a faceless sack and a statistic.

Pushing the trashcan alongside the others, he washed his hands and made his way back out towards the floor, rejoining some others around a television that was running the news and not much else. Looking over his shoulder across the room, he saw May Parker carrying another box of supplies, but the woman was clearly struggling, looking beat after the long day on her feet and the toll that each additional death caused. He quickly sprung up and went over to try and help as the reporter began her bulletin. _"This is Mary Jane Watson with a Daily Bugle special report on the bio-terror attack…" _May had removed her mask, looking down in it with some concern as Miles walked up, totally unnoticed by the older woman. _"As of this hour, the estimated number of cases is approaching half a million…"_

"May," said Miles, startling the older woman as she looked at him with weary eyes, "you okay?"

"Yeah…fine" she assured quickly, but her hoarse voice and forced smile made Miles pause. "Can you…" she began, pointing with her mask folded between her hands, "can you pass those…out for me?" she asked kindly.

The Teen nodded quickly, "sure," he replied as he picked up the box and the older woman turned away.

As she tossed the mask in the trashcan, the splotches of red that stained the inside didn't go unnoticed by Miles. A spike of worry surged through his gut at what that could mean, and it seemed the news bulletin only served to emphasize his fear. _"There is still no timetable from the CDC on the timetable for an antiserum, but they are working around the clock on a cure for this deadly disease…"_

* * *

"_The City-wide quarantine is being heavily enforced by Sable International, who maintains tight security over all transit points," _droned the talking head on the Television behind Norman Osborn, even if the woman's name did sound familiar. From his executive office atop Oscorp tower, the Mayor looked out over the city, his city, as it slowly tore itself apart. _"Throughout the city, Police and Sable Agents continue to battle with Rikers and Raft escapees…" _Only Osborn knew better, calling it a 'battle' wasn't truly accurate, by all accounts it was an all-out, no holds barred brawl. Even worse, judging from the reports he was getting, Sable International and the Police were losing. The death toll was staggering, and it was clear that the fugitives were out for blood, putting the death toll in the hundreds already, thus pushing the already depleted NYPD and Sable forces to the brink.

"_Mayor Osborn has gone on record blaming Spider-Man and the Marauder for the prison break and city wide sickness, branding both as fugitives." _Osborn couldn't help but tense at hearing that, which wasn't meant to be made public, unsurprisingly, there were leaks. For as much as he wanted to plug them, that was of secondary concern when the boilers of the metaphorical ship had already been blown to hell and she was dead in the water. _"But, he has yet to provide evidence…" _continued Watson, the CEO turning around, sneering at her image as the words registered, _"and many believe the Mayor is merely deflecting blame, since an exclusive report by the Bugle revealed that this disease originated in a secret, unregulated Oscorp Laboratory here in Manhattan." _Now Norman recognized the name, she was the reporter who was likely in league with the Marauder and hadn't been eliminated before the IMC arrival put a hold on any further attempts to silence her. The reminder of that failure prompted him to down the rest of his scotch in a single go as she continued, _"Mayor Osborn insists that Oscorp is working with the CDC on an antiserum…" _

He had heard enough, "Turn it off," he barked and, mercifully, the smart TV fell silent a moment later, powered down by his assistant. Turning back to the window, he looked out at the brilliant orange glow of the distant sunset, contrasted by the criss crossing patrol patterns of spotlight equipped Sable International helicopters that dotted the sky. Now was not the time to doubt himself or his company, he had many of the best and brightest working on that antiserum and the quarantine perimeter was holding. Barring any unforeseen efforts from certain…troublesome sources, he was confident the capsizing ship could be saved in short order. To ensure this, his instructions to Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss had been clear. With Silver Sable focused on maintaining the Quarantine and confronting escapees, it was up to Bliss and the men of ExAACCT to bring those troublesome sources into custody…by any means necessary.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Pistol: FN Five-seveN MK2_

_This has become Felicia's favorite handgun, and it's fitting. It's sleek, modern, and quite sexy as far as pistols go, and since she wants her weapons to also be good fashion accessories all of those things matter to her. Me? This is Sam Fisher's gun, particularly when fitted with a sound suppressor, and that is enough for me to suggest it. _

_That, and it is also a serious handgun, developed by Fabrique National Herstal in Belgium, proving that they can make more than waffles. Developed in the 1990s in response to a NATO requirement, this weapon was created in response to Kevlar armor. Kevlar provides a substantial amount of protection against traditional pistol calibers such as 9mm parabellum and .45 ACP, and so a new breed of bullet had to be made. To counter the possibility of NATO having to fight Soviet Paratroopers in their rear areas, they needed a weapon for drivers, artillerymen, signalmen, and others to fight off Kevlar equipped enemies. FN created a new round from scratch, the FN 5.7x28mm SS90 and later SS190. Felicia carries subsonic SB193s to keep the gun quieter, but that still gives her a 60 grain projectile, double the 30 grain ball of the regular FMJ, making up for the fact it only has half the velocity. If she did use that AP FMJ round, she has a steel penetrator in an aluminum core, and spitzer point with higher relative charge when compared to a 9x19mm parabellum. The end result is this pistol being able to defeat 1.6mm of titanium plate plus 20 layers of Kevlar out past 100 yards. Actually hitting a target at that range is much more difficult, but if you miss then that's okay, you have 19 more chances thanks to the deep, 20+1 capacity of the gun. _

_All of that explains why the caliber is so important to the Five-seveN that the pistol is named after it. Even if the round was developed for what is now known as the P90, it works wonders in a normal handgun. It is this modern polymer construction, ambidextrous controls, and armor piercing power that saw the FN handgun get adopted by military and police in more than 40 countries, including the United States Secret Service. A few ergonomic upgrades such as a Picatinny rail and tritium night sights round out the upgrades that went into the MK2, because Felicia wouldn't accept anything less than the best. _

_It's also priced like the best at 1200 bucks, which is a hell of a lot when you can get a good Glock 21 in .45 ACP for half that. Of course, to Felicia, that price tag only makes it more appealing._

* * *

**Closing Notes: Hopefully everyone has enjoyed these last few chapters before we get back to the events of the game. They were a fun detour that I enjoyed, but I'm pretty sure if I put off the game's events any longer then I'm probably going to have a few nasty reviews to answer to. So you all can look forward to that next week.**

**I'm also curious as to people's thoughts on Rick Valassi, doesn't matter if you're familiar with him or not. I don't have a problem with Jameson, but I do have a problem with the writing done for his shows, they are all incredibly similar and come off as either lazy, amateurish, or rushed. The only problem with Rick was that you couldn't shut him up, which I'm sure some of you may want after having to read two of his broadcasts.**

**As always, leave a review if you have something to say. I know this chapter was mostly filler, but I promise that next time will not be.**

**In these desperate times it is time to break out the Battle Axe.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	61. Chapter 61: Battle Axe

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

For the first time in a long time, I have no reviews to respond to. Since it worked so well last time, imagine there is some snark here, and remember to review if you have something to say.

In all seriousness though, I forgot to mention it, but this story is now over a year old and I am grateful for all of the support, despite my incessant sarcasm and admittedly prickly disposition. Hopefully you all stick around and continue to enjoy what's coming up.

For those of you who pay attention to the closing notes, you may be somewhat surprised that this chapter is titled Battle-Axe, and that's me screwing up because I can't read numbers apparently. As for the song, I have nothing to say except that it's another one I got from Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2. It will always be associated, for me, with Captain Scott Mitchell sneaking around Mexico at night with a suppressed MRC with a guncam. It's grim, dark, and haunting, which was the mood I wanted for this chapter. I can never understand the words, don't get the title, but I used it anyway.

Not sure what that says about how I choose chapter titles, but let's get on with things anyway.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 61: Battle-Axe**

_And if you don't believe I think you should_

_You make me so proud_

_Still you love to think you have always been this way_

_But you're all wrong_

_And you only sleep_

_When you've lost cause_

_Well I still believe_

_That the cause was always me_

* * *

Usually, for Peter Parker, swinging through the darkened streets of Manhattan was relaxing and cathartic for the one and only Webslinger. But now, with his battered body aching in protest with each swing and the city around him being so unnaturally silent except for the distant wail of a siren or passing helicopter, Spider-Man felt his heart fall further into his stomach with each passing second, and that hurt more than any other injury. "Doctor Octavius…why…?" he asked as he came to a stop on the side of a skyscraper, taking a moment to truly take in the scope and scale of the devastation that surrounded him, "How could I let this happen?"

Before he let himself fall too fall into the pit of despair that would inevitably follow if he pondered that question for too long, the Wallcrawler raised his hand and fired a webline, ignoring the spike of pain that went up his still sore wrist as he did so when his mask phone rang as he flipped up and over the edge of the building and came down on the ceiling. _"Just got a call from Dr. Benson - she said you went AWOL…" _began Captain Watanabe, tone a mix of disbelief and chastising, like a much scarier Aunt May.

"Need to get back to work…" he answered honestly as he looked out at the pillars of pitch-black smoke that rose as high as the tallest towers in Midtown.

But while Yuri was no doubt aware of the situation, she clearly was also aware of his situation too. _"Doctor Benson told me you still have fourteen broken bones," _she informed bluntly, her tone one of her being fed up with all the shit going on and wasn't going to even feign attempting to put up with his.

Still, some part of him demanded that he try and play it off with a quip, and so before he could think better of it, his mind, on autopilot, replied "Which means I have one hundred and ninety-two _non _broken ones." Letting out a breath, he realized he shouldn't try to be like that, not forgetting what the woman had done for him according to the Doctor, "thanks for taking care of me by the way" he added sincerely. Squeezing the button on the palm of his glove, another webeline pulled up to a neighboring building as he swung up and came to a crouch atop a radio tower atop it.

"_The hard part was keeping you hidden from Sable, hence the…idiosyncratic care you got," _replied Yuri, putting a small smile on his face at the thought of the straight laced cop taking him to a grey market doctor who's contact was given to her by a thief who dated one of the other vigilantes she worked with, desperate times indeed. _"You've been branded a 'Priority Target' you know," _she informed, almost as if it was an afterthought.

Peter knew that already of course, and the likely _actual _source of that designation, but it wasn't important right now. "I humbly accept the honor," he replied, the levity that he would usually inject into the joke missing, his voice was hoarse and tired in a way he couldn't hide. "What is happening to our city Yuri?"

"_I don't know," _admitted the Captain, _"feels like the end of the world. Maybe it is." _The unmitigated despair in the woman's voice was draining to hear. He had heard what had happened after Octavius had thrown him off that rooftop, everything the city in general, and Yuri in particular, had been through.

But he was still up, and it was his responsibility to right the wrongs of his mentor. "I'm here to help," he assured with all the determination he could muster, and that showed through all the pain, physical and emotional, he was dealing with.

"_Good," _said the policewoman, seemingly flipping a switch as she pushed all of that aside and was ready to get back to business. _"There are gangs of escaped prisoners banding together and taking over entire city blocks, calling themselves 'Rikers.' Looting, strong-arming local residents, you name it," _she informed as his link with the crime towers finally refreshed and active groups of 'Rikers' were shown on his HUD.

"I'll take care of 'em," assured the Webslinger as he jumped off the roof and went into a screaming power dive before firing a webline off with his good, or rather better, arm. Suppressing a wince, he asked "What else you got?"

"_The mayor ordered Silver Sable to find you, the Marauder, Octavius, and Li, whatever it takes. So, she's just rounding people up indiscriminately, holding them captive in bases around the city." _Spider-Man grimaced at that, something like that was right up Matt's alley, and he was starting to miss his friend, _"I've even heard rumors of 'enhanced' interrogation tactics."_

Peter clenched his teeth, his face clenched at the words. "You mean torture?" he spat, uncaring for the sugar-coating terms given to the action. But that wasn't the end of it, even with everything going wrong the city still had its defenders, him among them, and it was his responsibility to pull it back from the brink. "Don't worry, I'm on it," he assured her, "this is our city Yuri – it's time we take it back."

His pledge of assistance, despite the wounds and betrayal he had suffered, was clearly a relief for the Captain to hear. _"Great. My men are tracking the supervillains," _she notified, which was good to hear. Admittedly, he wasn't in any condition to go after them, but knowing where they were would be a load off his mind. That didn't mean that Yuri didn't have anything for him to do, _"For now, do your best to stabilize the city," _ordered the cop as the call came to an abrupt end and Spider-Man swung into action.

* * *

The Black Cat was doing quite the opposite, silently staking out the formidable Queens-Midtown Tunnel checkpoint and associated camp from the shadows on the rooftops above the brightly illuminated base. Towers lined the perimeter and sat atop adjacent buildings, searchlights sweeping the streets as squads walked patrol patterns inside the wire while two of the large and imposing MRAPs guarding the main gate, their missile batteries poised and at the ready. After an hour of observation, the burglar felt confident enough to get in closer. Waiting for the helicopter taking off from the helipad to clear the immediate area, Felicia prepped her grapple gun as she watched the spotlight beams sweep by before springing into action.

Swinging through the air, the Thief felt her heeled boots impact the side of the building as the spotlight swept back overhead, the Black Cat clipped the line to the harness built into her suit as she walked down the building until she was just above one of the guard towers and she dropped down on top of it, landing softly, Felicia reeled in the grapple hook, completely unnoticed by the guard inside as she watched a single unescorted ROVR enter the camp and park right in front of the main command and control center as none other than Silver Sablinova emerged from the low slung vehicle and strode inside.

Extending her claws, the platinum blonde used them to dig into the brick, slowing her descent before landing on the ground and rolling into cover behind a container, easily evading detection as she moved towards the command center. Now that she was well inside the wire, the alertness of the men seemed to relax somewhat as Hardy neared the objective only for another odd vehicle to arrive. This was a white and grey camouflage HMWWV, better known as the Humvee, was an unusual sight, not being a vehicle that Sable International regularly employed. As it slowly drove by, Felicia could make out a strange emblem of the white skull of a bird against a black shield was painted on the side before it came to a halt right behind Sable's ROVR. The man that emerged had a commanding aura in his Sable International armor, but with the same bird skull emblem on his upper arm, his head covered not by a helmet, but by a soft cap was embroidered with the silver oak leaf of Lieutenant Colonel that allowed Felicia to see his white beard and pair of eyeglasses as he scanned the area and his personal escort emerged from the Humvee, each with the same emblem on their shoulders.

Unable to contain her curiosity, Felicia waited for the group to move inside before she moved. Waiting for a patrol to pass before she dashed to the all-wheel drive off-roader and went prone, rolling under it as she pulled out a few small bugs, hiding them amongst the underlying machinery of the vehicle. Crawling along the vehicle's length until she reached the front, she waited until the spotlights had swept over her location once again before the crawled out of cover, quickly planting a similar package of tracking and sensory bugs under Sable's vehicle, helpfully marked with the Sablinova family coat of arms before the Thief rolled away and pressed herself to a helpfully located refueling station, working her way around until she could dash to the side of the main command station.

Extending her claws, the heiress scampered up the vertical surface and onto the roof, moving quickly and quietly to a ventilation shaft, prying the cover off and shimmying inside. Usually, she wasn't one for crawling through air vents, it was bad for her manicure, but even she was willing to make sacrifices for what she loved.

Still, Felicia didn't find herself shying away from that thought like she might have in the past as she pressed further on until the Black Cat heard a very familiar accented voice. Coming to a halt, the Thief drew a snake cam, using it to peek ahead and through the vent, the visual and audio feed showing up on her HUD to show not only the Symkarian Mercenary, but also the man in the soft cap who had arrived in his own Humvee. His hat was removed and held in his hand, revealing a bald head as he stood at attention behind the desk of what Felicia was now assuming was his office. "…I'm merely using every resource at my disposal ma'am," assured the man.

Sable, with irritation radiating off of her in waves, stopped her pacing as she turned to glare at the man. "Lieutenant Colonel Bliss," began Silver with poised and dangerous calm, only her considerable reserves of discipline containing the clear anger she felt, "You know that you have violated Sable International rules of engagement with your actions, yes?" she asked, the newly identified 'Bliss' merely held a steady gaze. "These reports I am receiving, civilian arrests? Unauthorized searches and property seizures? Are you incapable of adhering to your given rules of engagement or unable to control your battalion?"

The accusation caused the man to recoil ever so slightly before regaining his composure. "I acted under orders from Mayor Osborn, our employer, to take whatever actions I deem fit to apprehend the High Value Targets given to us," answered Bliss coolly, his tone unwavering and professional despite the withering glare from his commanding officer. "Those 'civilians' we detained were violating the curfew in place, prompting reasonable suspicion from our Agents and were arrested for the safety of our men as well as their own. Homes were searched for potential insurgent threats and several examples of contraband were confiscated. Including, but not limited to, firearms, chemicals for making IEDs, and illegal narcotics…"

"I care not for a few handguns and bags of marijuana Lieutenant Colonel!" rebuked Sablinova harshly. It seemed all was not well within the Sable International camp as Felicia found herself silently cheering for the silver haired woman. "I do, however, care that your hostile actions have prompted more civilians to attempt to escape the Island, putting more strain on our forces maintaining the quarantine. Your men acting like an occupying force does not instill a sense of security within the population. Their actions only encourage more to flee," she argued, "your objective is to keep Manhattan secure, not to treat those who live here as your enemies."

"My objective is clear," returned Bliss evenly, "neutralize those who pose a threat to our employer. But the reality is not so simple, my men are constantly harassed by these 'Rikers' and my infirmaries are overflowing with the sick and wounded. We are vastly outnumbered by a ruthless enemy with access to advanced weapons and knows the terrain." There was a tense moment as Bliss took a breath, considering his next words carefully, "With all due respect, it's better to shoot someone innocent than let someone guilty get away. And it's better to shoot first than to risk getting shot, even if you're not 100% sure. That is how we will win this! _That _is how we will save this city!" The Thief let out a breath from her concealed position, double checking that she was recording this. Her own mind swirled, Bliss was treating this like war, like this was the IMC all over again…but it wasn't. Even the _Punisher _would object to what he was saying. Almost as an afterthought, he added, "Collateral damage is to be expected."

Wither her back to Felicia, Sable's emotions were unreadable, but she made her feelings known in short order. "Your dedication to the mission is why I gave you command of the 4th Lieutenant Colonel, but you walk a fine line with your actions." The tension in the air from the underlying threat was thick as the two officers stared each other down before Sable continued. "Your actions will be discussed with Mayor Osborn. Pending his decision, you will receive new orders, and you _will _comply with these orders…no matter what they entail" stated Sablinova firmly, her voice carrying as much weight as it could.

At this, Bliss did not argue, though Felicia could swear she saw the slightest beginning of a smile on his craggy old features. "Yes ma'am," he answered simply.

At this, the Symkarian seemed satisfied, "Very good," confirmed Silver, "The fight ahead will be difficult, but we shall fight, and we _will _prevail," assured the Mercenary.

"Rest assured that the men and women of the 4th Security Battalion will fight," promised Bliss, "And we will fight to the last man." Seemingly satisfied, Silver brought her hand to her brow in a textbook salute, which was returned by the Lieutenant Colonel smartly before Sablinova spun on her heel and strode from the man's office, leaving him alone as he sat down behind his desk. Remarkably, despite the dressing down he just received at the hands of his superior, Bliss appeared remarkably calm, picking up a mug of coffee and drinking from it as he began typing away at his desktop impassively as Felicia waited patiently.

It didn't take long for her patience to be rewarded as the door to Bliss' office swung open and one of his subordinates came in, lacking the armor, wearing white and grey camouflaged fatigues instead. The man saluted, "Lieutenant Colonel, sir, OP Juliet Four has reported a code SM-One," reported the enlisted man with a bit of trepidation.

Felicia's eyes widened behind her mask, it not taking a genius to realize what that code meant as Bliss reacted instantly, coming to his feet immediately. Of course when Spider woke up again he would find away to escape and he had already been located by a man who was not into taking prisoners. "Do we have a position and bearing?" he asked as he strode forwards, already out the door and closing it behind him before she could hear the other man's answer.

Waiting another thirty seconds, Felicia then got to work unlocking the vent she had been spying through before she emerged from her confined hiding space and into the office. Making her way to the desk, quickly pulling out a USB to upload a spyware program onto the good Lieutenant Colonels terminal. While that little device worked its magic, Felicia made a quick look around, noting the case of medals on the wall, but it was a bare and minimalist space, definitely that of a soldier. She wasn't just sightseeing however, despite the studiously clean space; the Thief was looking for any sign of dust that signaled an ignored crevice where a bug could be planted. Behind the bookshelf and filing cabinet, under the desk, tucked in between the wall and coffee maker, everywhere she could, doubling and even tripling up on some of the small sensors for good measure so that if anything of note happened transpired in this office, she would know about it.

Satisfied with her work, Felicia checked that her upload was complete before removing the small data drive and pulling herself back up into the ventilation system. Reattaching the vent cover into place, the Black Cat left one last bug behind, a 'Cat's Eye' camera was left to peek through the grate as she continued to crawl through the ventilation system. Every so often, she would leave a few listening devices behind, just in case anything else of note could be picked up. In the relatively small headquarters, it wasn't difficult to find what she was looking for, what the sign on the wall aptly labeled as 'The War Room.' This was the nerve center of the building, and from her perch, the burglar set up another small camera and set of bugs to record the happenings in the Sable Command Center. Knowing that she would learn everything that happened inside the room, the Black Cat began to make her way out of the compound, but not before taking one glance at the main screen as a symbol for Spider-Man was tracked across the city.

* * *

"_Peter!" _said a thoroughly tired sounding Aunt May as the Webhead swung away from a collection of webbed up Rikers that he had just handled. _"I've been trying to reach you all day – are you okay?" _asked the woman. In his defense, he had sent a few texts out as he was suiting up to those who had tried to text or call him while he was out, and his last living relative had been the first one he replied to. _"The prison break turned the city upside down overnight."_

"I'm fine May." he assured, suppressing a hiss of pain to not give away his actual state, "Staying safe. I'm more worried about you," he admitted as he came to a stop on a rooftop, pausing to both catch his breath and focus on this call.

Despite his attempts to be concerned, the stubborn woman wouldn't have it. _"Oh no – don't you do that," _she insisted, _"FEAST is the safest place in the city right now. Our sister locations uptown? Not so much," _admitted the woman. _"But we're safe and secure down here." _

"Let's hope it stays that way" he added honestly, he didn't want to have to worry about his Aunt in addition to everything else going on. "I'll stop by when I can, May" he promised, "Love you."

"_You too, Peter"_ replied the woman before hanging up.

Setting off again, the Webslinger moved lazily through the air, not wanting to push himself too far as his mind wandered with equal aimlessness. The task of being the whole city back under control was a daunting one, even for him, hordes of escaped criminals, six supervillains, an aggressive paramilitary contractor, and against the backdrop of a biological weapon ravaging everything it came across. But his anxiety was quickly dashed by a ringing and the commanding tones of Yuri Watanabe. _"Spider-Man: the RAFT MVPs are back on the grid, laying siege to our police precincts. My men need help…__**now,**__" _informed the Captain bluntly. For his part, the Wallcrawler perked up, feeling a bit of adrenaline entering his veins as he cracked his neck without even realizing it. _"Get to a vantage point in Midtown and I'll explain." _

"On my way," answered Spidey as he webzipped to a traffic light and launched himself off it, ignoring the aches of protest from his arm as he pushed himself to get there faster. "Is it Octavius?" he asked with a mix of hope and trepidation.

"_No, two of his flunkies," _replied Watanabe, _"still searching for the Doctor." _Peter let out a sigh, weather it was of relief or despair, he wasn't entirely sure. _"I'll be honest…that one scares me," _admitted the Captain. _"Might be the smartest Super Villain I've ever encountered."_

_If only you knew Captain_ thought Peter as he shook his head. "Yeah…" he agreed, "That's what I'm worried about. Hold tight, Captain." He swung through the city at best possible speed, slowly working out the kinks that had settled in during his bedrest until he felt he was going to be as good as he was going to be for the time being. Feet connecting with the side of a building, he ran straight up in a dead sprint, wind whipping past his mask as he ignored the pull of gravity and ascended past the windows towards the lightning rod atop the skyscraper. Upon reaching the top, he looked out and surveyed the sprawling metropolis beneath him. Redialing Watanabe, he wasn't surprised to hear her pick up after the first ring, "Okay Captain. Got eyes on – fill me in."

"_Rhino's assaulting the upper west precinct, Electro's at the upper east." _rattled off the policewoman coolly, _"We need you to turn the tide." _The overlay on his HUD quickly placed a pair of waypoints on the respective structures. As soon as he was about to ask which needed his help more, Watanabe gave an answer to his unspoken question. _"Head to either, they're both equally screwed," _she informed before hanging up.

"Well…that solves that issue," he replied to thin air as he dove from the rooftop before beginning to swing, deciding to head for the nearest besieged precinct, that being the one on the east side. Unfortunately, not long into his journey, he got another call, only the ID wasn't that of Yuri, it was May.

Alarm bells were already starting to go off as he accepted the call. If May sounded tired before, she was downright exhausted now, something had really taken a toll on her. _"Peter, are you available?" _she asked, _"We need help at FEAST's sister site uptown." _

"The veterans center in Harlem?" he asked, knowing that the area was among the ones with the heaviest fighting, "What's wrong?"

"_Men from Rikers are demanding food and supplies" _replied the woman. _"The staff are barricaded inside, but they need help. Miles and I are headed there to evacuate the staff." _

Peter wanted to protest in the strongest possible terms, he had seen what these guys were doing…it wasn't pretty. "Don't do anything till I get there, May," he urged, bordering on frantic. "I'll meet you in Harlem." Hanging up, he continued his beeline charge north, "May sounds exhausted, hope she isn't sick" he murmured quietly. "Need to help Yuri, then get to Harlem."

He just hoped he could get there in time.

* * *

"Where's the nearest ExAACCT team?" asked Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss as he looked at the big screen at the head of the war room, which was focused in on upper Manhattan. Through narrowed eyes and the pair of eyeglasses that rested on his nose, the officer was considering his options to quickly take a major threat, and large prize, off the board.

"Putting active teams on screen now sir," responded one of the men as the logo of the new experimental unit appeared on screen, a narrowed black hexagon with a black rectangle on either side. "Gosshawk, Quarterback, and Devil teams are the closest to potential intercept points."

As Bliss weighed his options, a lieutenant cleared his throat, "Sir? Are we sure it's best to deploy ExAACCT? They're a new unit…untested." Bliss turned, fixing the younger officer with a withering glare, "Perhaps it would be better to send a more experienced unit. Lieutenant Krieg and his heavy platoon are in the area…"

"That's enough out of you Lieutenant," said an irritated Bliss, silencing the junior officer instantly. "ExAACCT was formed precisely to carry out missions like these," he reminded him, "and the time has come for them to prove their worth. If they cannot do this, then they do not deserve the honor of being a part of this Battalion, the program will have been a waste." His voice was firm and commanding, as an officer ought to be, and silence filled the War Room as he turned back to the screen, before coming to a decision. "Corporal Kelce…"

"Yes sir?"

"Contact, Gosshawk, Quarterback, _and _Devil teams. Inform them they have a priority one target to apprehend. I want them _all _of them to take Spider Man down," he ordered firmly, "We're bagging this SOB tonight."

* * *

Once Peter had gotten closer to that upper east precinct, the waypoint had become somewhat redundant, a harsh yellow light that lit up the night revealed his destination. Coming to a stop on the side of a neighboring building, his eye lenses blinked furiously as Electro himself fled in a flurry of lightning bolts without even taking note of him, but one thing was clear: the setup was, as Yuri had said, 'complicated.' "This isn't good, the transformers are charging the building, trapping the Police inside." To make matters more interesting, some of said transformers were suspended beneath circling Demon controlled helicopters, the occasional black and white contrail as a rocket launcher was fired into the precinct only sweetening the deal. Dialing, he opened by saying, "Yuri. 'Complicated' was an understatement" after she had answered. "I'm going to have to disable some of these transformers to free your men."

"_Even if you manage that, they'll still need your help with the Demons," _she reminded.

"That's…why I'm here," he replied as he looked down at the closest one, prepping an impact web as the heavy duty attack shattered the delicate electronic equipment with only two blasts, "Ready to serve all of your electricity and Demon related needs." With that, the Captain hung up as he got to work on the Demons plinking away from the rooftop, who were quite peeved at the loss of the transformer. Their sour mood was rectified with a few quick kicks, part of Spider-Man almost appreciating the mask wearing men, not having to see their faces from the smackdown he was laying on them was a nice change of pace. "One down, four to go" he said as he surveyed the scene around him.

Deciding to stick with the easier targets, he spotted another stationary transformer on a nearby rooftop, arcing angrily with yellow electricity as he swung over to the side of that building, quickly running straight up until he reached the edge. Leaping up and over it, he flipped through the air, dropping a web bomb amongst the Demon guards before coming to a stop on top of the rectangular electronic. "Come on! Let's see if your aim has gotten any better!" he challenged chipperly, it not taking long for the unbound Demons to bring their guns to bear. As his sixth sense rang, he rolled off the top of the Transformer, unable to stop a smile as the Demons helped him conserve webbing by pouring rounds into the delicate device in an attempt to get at him, but only doing his job for him. "Can't believe that worked," admitted the Webslinger to himself as he leapt out from behind the smoking wreck, planting his feet into the first man's chest and sending him back before attaching a webline to the nearest bound Demon and swinging him around like a wrecking ball, sending the others to the ground and out of the fight. "Man, I did not miss dealing with Electro's elaborate Super Villain antics while he was in the RAFT" admitted Spider-Man. "Trapping the police with a network of energy transformers…who does that?" he wondered aloud as he swung towards his next target.

But on his way to that one, he saw the fourth sitting on the back of a tractor trailer in the parking lot and was unable to simply bypass such a tempting target as he cut his webline and entered a screaming power-dive. As he did, his Spidey sense hummed as he looked over his shoulder to see a rocket streak at him from the circling chopper. A plan quickly formed, and if it was funny once then it was funny every time. Waiting until the last possible second and with his sixth sense beating in the back of his head like a jackhammer, Peter fired a webline and dashed towards a nearby street lamp, the guided missile unable to match his sudden lateral move as it carried on straight ahead and plowed into the transformer full force. The resulting explosion was an almost beautiful mix of yellow electricity and black and white negative energy from the imbued warhead as Spider-Man ascended towards the rooftops once again.

As he shot skywards, he saw a black and white face mask peek out from the rooftop with a rifle in hand, almost by reflex, he shot out a webline, grabbing the man by the chest and yanking him over the side as he pushed off the building and threw a punch as the demon past. His body slammed into the brick before an impact web followed that up, pinning him there before Spider-Man fired another webline at the building's edge. As he streaked towards the precipice, another Demon showed his face, and a singular massive uppercut sent him skywards as the Webhead went up after him, following it up with more punches and kicks until he let go of his weapon and was kicked away, slamming back down into the rooftop and rolling across it like a ragdoll. A third Demon, this one with a sword, announced his presence with an energy wave that sent Spider-Man dodging to the side before he leapt and fired a webline to a pipe, using it to do a u turn, coming back in from an unexpected angle as his feet connected and sent the Demon tumbling back. When he tried to stagger to his feet, the Wallcrawler followed it up with three more punches to deliver the knockout. With the rooftop clear, he had all the time he needed to causally throw webs into the Transformer, watching the machine smoke before the casing cracked and it fell apart into a smoking wreck.

"Just one more," he reminded as he saw it circle back around into view. "Last transformer trapping the police is hanging from that helicopter" said the Webslinger before his head cocked with a thought and he watched his target get closer. "Wow," he said with a bit of genuine astonishment, "bet you that's the first time anyone has said those particular words in that particular order." With a faint hiss-click, his webshooters had cycled fresh cartridges into place as his eyes tracked the incoming transformer. For some reason, he reflexively found himself calling back on Matt's shooting lessons as he spread his feet and squared his shoulders, bringing his arms up to take aim at the dangling transformer. Tapping the buttons on the palm of his glove, Spider-Man unleashed a barrage of webs at the device, taking satisfaction at the cracks beginning to appear on the casing. Still, his mind couldn't help but wander. "How did they even get that thing attached?" he wondered, "And it can't be easy to fly like that. Did they train for this exact scenario?"

Even if they had, they had failed, the precious cargo under the helicopter falling apart with a burst of angry yellow bolts before the scorched and singed helicopter pulled up and peeled away as the electricity arcing along the precinct fizzled to nothing. Eager for retribution, the entire station was alight with muzzle flashes as bullets shot out in all directions; any Demons unlucky enough to be in the open were quickly cut down as those who weren't turned tail and fled. With the situation more or less under control, he turned west and called Watanabe. "Yuri: your men are safe. What's next?"

"_Get to the upper west side," _she ordered in her most no-nonsense captain tone, _"we're trying to shelter civilians, but Rhino isn't making it easy."_

"He never does. On my way," reported the Webslinger before the call ended as quickly as it started. But his earpiece beeped again, not with a call this time though. "Huh, Miles left a voicemail…"

"_Pete!" _exclaimed the teen, clearly out of breath, _"Hey, Pete. Hey, May wanted me to call you. Things at the veteran's center are not good. Convicts are trying to break down the doors. Mary Jane's here but we're getting people out through the basement; we need more help." _Inside his mask, Peter's jaw dropped,the situation, and Miles' tone, sounded desperate. _"I hope you can get here soon." _

As the message ended, Spider-Man found himself at the edge of Central Park. "I need to finish with the precincts fast and get to Harlem" he said with a grimace, passing by the bustling and illuminated MOB Yankee in the middle of the park, "And if Sable wants to help with the Precincts, even I would be okay with that…"

* * *

"Motherfucker…" groaned Matt as his eyes opened just a crack, only to clench shut at the unexpected light filling the room. Through a mix of will and a desire to figure out just how far up shit creek he was, the Texan forced his eyes, or rather, just his right eye open as he looked around his surroundings. In doing so, he half fell out of the twin bed, barely getting a leg under himself as he came down on one knee, his head spinning. Whether that was from the concussion or whatever he had been drugged with, he wasn't sure. "Probably 50/50 on that," he grumbled as he slowly got to his feet, holding onto the dresser next to the bed to steady himself.

The small bedroom was simple and clean, the bed and dresser were the only things in it, and quick look through the drawers revealed a few changes of men's clothing, nothing extravagant though. Taking a few careful steps, the Pilot made his way out of the bedroom, noting a small bathroom across the hall before turning towards the only other room, a small central room with smaller kitchen in one corner. The whole place reeked of 'stock safehouse' as he wondered what else was hear. Sadly, after a quick first inspection, he realized that there were no electronics, no TV, computer, or even a phone. No way to contact the outside world or get any sort of news. Even the windows had been locked shut, curtains and shutters over them concealed the view from the city that lay on the other side. At least there were clocks, displaying the time as just before midnight, and the date, which meant he had only spoken with Sable a few hours ago.

Opening up the cupboards, he managed to find a few microwavable meals and heated one up just as his stomach rumbled. Scooping the heated pasta with a plastic fork up into his mouth, he began walking around idly, looking both for any surveillance gear or something he could use to escape. He did spot a pair of cameras, one watching the main space while the other kept its eye on the small side hallway, but neither made an attempt at hiding, again suggesting this was a safehouse for someone the company had to protect. But his eye was soon drawn to a small collection of books, a sticky note on them that read _'I suggest you use this time to do some reading Major…in case you do ever make it back into the field. – S.S.'_

The 'reading' she had left for him included 'Infantry Attacks' and 'Tank Attacks' which were both by the legendary Erwin Rommel, various US Army and Marine Crops Field Manuals as well as German 'Mission Type Tactics' equivalents. Rounding out the stack were Alfred Thayer Mahan's 'The Influence of Sea Power upon History,' T.E. Lawrence's 'The Seven Pillars of Wisdom,' and 'The Utility of Force' by Rupert Smith. Unable to help himself, he snorted at the 'gifts' given to him by the Mercenary, but with little else to do while he came up with a way out of here and recovered from his wounds, he picked one at random and settled down on the couch before cracking it open.

* * *

Peter watched as the police cruisers forming the improvised roadblock get split open like tin cans by the massive bulk of the Rhino as the 3500-pound cars were tossed up into the air like toys by the Russian. But after he had made a mess of the blockade, Aleksei didn't stick around, instead dashing off around the corner and out of sight as a horde of the orange jumpsuit wearing Rikers followed up the supervillain, guns blazing. The remaining cops tried to reform their perimeter, pitching their sidearms against assault rifles, but only displaying just how badly they were outgunned. Dialing Yuri, Peter sat atop a fire escape, watching as Molotov cocktails crashed down ahead of the overturned cars, licks of flame sprouting up as gunfire was exchanged. "Yuri – Rhino's on the move, but former guests of Rikers are laying into your police barricades," he reported before swinging down, "I'm going to even the odds."

"_Do it," _commanded the Captain instantly, _"if those barricades fall, the people inside are done for." _Not needing any more prompting, he reached down with one hand and scooped up a shield wielding Riker, tossing him forwards into his allies as they all tumbled to the ground as Spider-Man swung up and out of the way, not wanting to end up on the wrong side of a blue on blue and red. Wheeling himself around, he saw several of the Rikers who had exposed themselves get cut down by renewed NYPD fire. Ignoring that grim image, the Webslinger instead looked for singular heavy hitters he could pick off to help ease the pressure.

The sight of a brightly burning Molotov arcing through the air caught his attention as his eyes were drawn to the source, the thrower already prepping another of the improvised weapons. Not about to let him get it off, Spider-Man swung through the air, coming out with a backflip before firing a webline into the ground on either side of the Riker before pulling himself down, his feet slamming straight into his chest as he was driven into the concrete, knocking him out cold. Without a second to breathe, his sixth sense thrummed at the base of his skull as he dodged away, a stream of gunfire filling the air as he fired out another line, snatching the rifle from the man's hands and tossing it aside. Undeterred, the Riker charged forwards with fists raised as the Webhead let him come on as he lay down on his back before launching himself up into the man's Kevlar vest, sending him skidding across the street before pulling himself up out of the melee.

This area seemed to be under control, the remaining Rikers being pinned down by the officers at the overturned cars. Not wasting any time, Peter moved to the next group of attackers. "Never seen Rhino run away from a fight like this," he murmured as he once again looked for a priority target, "must be under orders from Dr. Octavius. Making quick hit and runs on the city's emergency response teams." Not wanting to think _why _he would want that, Spider-Man instead focused on the pair of back blasts from the rocket launchers being brought to bear on the police, the warheads slamming into the cars, the blasts crumpling the panels and throwing debris through the air. Twisting acrobatically, he dodged the few Rikers who shot up at him until he pulled himself to a traffic light and launched himself off of it, streaking overhead as he loosed a web line to pull one of the bazooka wielding inmates up to his altitude. One of the wallcrawlers fists slammed into the man's jaw as he flailed uselessly, knocking him aside as Spidey grabbed hold of one of his legs and pirouetted with his inverted partner before using his feet to launch him at the other rocket launching Riker. Without the heavy artillery, the other prisoners were being turned to mincemeat in the face of stubborn NYPD resistance.

While the officers were capable of handling the remaining Rikers on street level, a new threat appeared that they could not so easily handle. "Spider-Man! Up top!" shouted one of the officers, "convicts with RPGs!" Sure enough, the webhead looked up to see a wave of rockets slam into the police station as rubble and debris rained down on cop and convict alike as each man dove out of the way.

With him being the only one able to move in three dimensions, Spider-Man quickly ascended to the rooftops, the rocket fire coming from two different sources as he went for the closest. The end of the momentum from his last web zip only put him right at the edge of the roof, his sixth sense humming as he saw the olive drab tube of one of the SMAWs coming down at him and he dove forwards, planting his fist in the man's gut and sending him skywards before a webline slammed him down into the rooftop. The other two, one on either side, stared at him with wide eyes as he extended one hand towards each of them, holding down the button to fire a webline that grabbed each man by the shirt as he leapt up, twisting around as he yanked both lines with enough force to rip both men from their feet before slamming them into each other as they crumpled to the rooftop alongside their companion.

But there was no time to celebrate, his appearance drawing the attention of the other group of rocket launching men as his spidey sense beat his skull like a drum and he dodged, following his instincts as the HEDP warheads streaked past him, three flying off into the night sky before the drumming ceased. Whipping around, he sprinted for the edge of the roof and pulled himself up to the small blockhouse and handsprung off it into the open sky towards that final group of inmates. Coming down in the middle of them, he snapped off an electric web at the closest inmate, stunning him as the Webslinger flipped away to the next closest enemy. That man swung his bazooka like a club, which the more agile spider themed hero easily dodge, snapping off a blast of webbing that blinded the man before rolling to his feet and snatching up an oil drum and using it to knock the three men off their feet. Before they could get back up, the three found themselves webbed to the rooftop.

The area was almost silent as the last of the Rikers were mopped up or retreated from the precinct, allowing Peter a moment to catch his breath and give Captain Watanabe an update. "Yuri, precinct is secure," he notified before turning towards Harlem, "okay, I need to sign off for a bit – call me if things go south."

"_Will do…" _assured the policewoman as Spider-Man swung off. _"And thanks – you've given us a fighting chance," _she finished before the line went dead. He hadn't been able to bag either of the villains, but he couldn't worry about that at the moment, right now he had to get to Harlem.

Not that he needed any more motivation, but he was going to get some anyway as his phone rang with a familiar number on the caller ID. _"Peter!" _exclaimed an almost frantic Mary Jane, _"Thank god – we need you at the veterans center. Where are you?" _

"I got held up – are you ok?" he asked, legitimately worried about the redheaded well being as he coaxed as much speed as his tiring and aching body as he could. "What's happening?"

"_The convicts started a fire!" _shouted the panic-stricken bugle reporter, _"We got the building staff out, but May and Miles are trapped inside!" _Peter's eyes widened in horror at the news, handspringing off a rooftop to push himself harder towards the Veteran's Center. _"I'm trying to find a way in to them but the fire's spreading so fast…"_

"It's going to be alright," he assured instantly, "Stay where you are, MJ. I'll handle this." Needing to focus, he hung up as he pushed himself as hard as he could, "Damn it – move it Pete – move!"

* * *

Pouring some of the fresh coffee into her 'Best Captain Ever' mug, a gift from Spider-Man, Yuri Watanabe felt like a load had been lifted off her shoulders by the Webslinger with the reports coming in from those precincts confirming that they were more or less in the clear. With one of their superpowered crimefighters back on the board, the mood in her precinct had lifted substantially and she wasn't one to try and dash it, but there was still a lot of work left to do. Still, a win was a win, even if the outlook overall wasn't the rosiest. As if she needed to be reminded, the small radio set up in the break room crackled to life as she sipped on the dark black coffee. _"Welcome back. I'm Rick Valassi and you, you lucky bastards, are listening to 'Wouldn't You Know It?'"_

"_And if you're listening, then you really are a lucky bastard. You apparently won the lottery and haven't caught this 'Devil's Breath' yet," _continued the podcast host. _"Oh no, you had it good. You're getting to sit around, eat bonbons, watching people you love wither and die and see the whole city fall into the Atlantic all around you. Yeah…" _he said with a sigh, coming down from his rant, _"We got a golden ticket, didn't we?"_

"_It's like the fucking 80's all over again."_

That comment caused her to almost choke on her drink, some of the other officers in the break room laughing at the older Bronx man's joke before the mood turned darker once again. _"But what I wanna know, is this. The Devil's Breath. Where did it come from?" _he asked rhetorically, _"some yuppie scum millennial helicopter mom refusing to give her kid the goddamn measles shot? I wish, I hate those morons." _Of course, Yuri knew where it came from, but she was still listening intently. _"But _this _ain't measles, and that ain't the way the world works. And it ain't Ebola or Marburg. It didn't evolve in bat shit some monkey ate before some idiot ate the monkey. No."_

"_I'll tell you where it came from: It came…from a lab."_

"_This is some designer shit, people. Somebody cooked this up on purpose. And maybe it got out by accident, or maybe someone let it _out _on purpose," _he suggested. Yuri knew the truth, as did most of the people in this room, the official story was that this was a bio terror attack, though the perpetrator was being kept under wraps. _"But either way, if you don't think Oscorp isn't involved then a: you don't have my sources, and b: you've been comatose for the last 15 years. And it ain't just me, a report put out by the Daily friggin' Bugle claims that this thing came from a secret Oscorp lab. If those so called 'journalists' are able to figure that out, then they must've not been doing that good of a job of keeping it a secret." _The entire room broke out into roaring laughter at the honesty, even if Yuri held that Watson reporter in _slightly _higher regard, she still had to agree with the sentiment. _"But God knows there ain't no advantage for people who love power in a situation like this, right? Like our brave Mayor Osborn? Nah, never happen."_

"_Wake up, New York. Open your eyes! Think."_

Refilling her mug, she made her way back to her office, needing to get back to work. Thankfully, her floor wasn't one of those that had been overrun by Rikers, so it was mostly business as usual, though there were more men and women working in the space. Opening her office, she went inside and was halfway to her desk when she almost got a heart attack. "Good evening Captain," came an unexpected voice as Yuri jumped and spun around to see the Black Cat in the corner of her office, a hint of a coy smile under her green eyed mask.

"Why can't any of you fucking people just knock?" she grumbled lowly as she set the mug down and noticed that the window had been opened, the blinds over it slightly ajar. Shaking her head as she turned to face the Thief, "I hope you didn't come just to give me a heart attack," prompted the Captain.

Like a switch had been flipped, the Black Cat's lips became a thin line. "I think I have a lead on the Marauder" she revealed as Yuri found herself very interested, finding their other heavy hitter would be a boon to their efforts. "I'm pretty sure Silver Sable has him…" revealed the burglar, drawing a scowl from the cop before she elaborated, "_not _Sable International, I think Silver Sablinova herself is keeping him off the grid and under wraps. But that's not really why I'm here," she admitted. "I found out that all is not well in the Sable camp, their forces are effectively split. Silver is in charge of the troops holding the quarantine perimeter while those on the streets are under the command of a different officer: Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss."

"And who exactly is he?" asked Yuri.

"Commanding officer of the 4th Security Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss, US Army, retired, graduated top of his class from West Point before serving in the Army for 25 years, and then 10 more as a contractor with Sable International. He was one of Sablinova's first hires." Reaching down into the satchel she had, the Burglar produced a file and handed it over. "Saw action in Panama, Desert Storm, and Bosnia. Went back to Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11 and was awarded a Silver Star, Purple Heart, and Distinguished Service Cross, receiving his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in 2006."

Yuri was barely able to keep up as she skimmed through his service record, not wanting to know how the Thief had gotten her hands on it as she read the citation for the DSC. Wounded by an IED when his convoy had been ambushed, Bliss had exposed himself to enemy fire to accurately direct artillery support, preventing them from being overrun. The guy was a damn hero, which prompted a rather obvious question, "Why is he heading up a Para Military unit now?"

"The next year, he was court martialed for a massacre outside Chora, though charges were dropped, he retired as soon as proceedings closed." Yuri quirked an eyebrow at that, skipping ahead to see a brief summary of the case. The gruesome photos showed a group of vehicles clustered on the side of the road, burning as bodies lay all around and it was a case of Bliss shooting first and asking questions never, which sounded all too familiar. "Sable hired him two months later, he's been sent to the worst hellholes around the world to restore some semblance of order. Done a pretty good job too."

Yuri snorted as she read through a summary of his service with the PMC, "Yeah, if you don't count how the 4th Battalion is responsible for 75% of the accusations made against Sable for human rights violations." Considering that it was only about a sixth of Sable's forces, that made for a terrifying ratio. Looking up, Yuri saw the Black Cat grimace, not trying to offer a counterpoint. "But Sable's in charge here, right? She should be able to keep him on a short leash," reasoned the Captain.

But the Thief shook her head, "Osborn gave the order to secure the city 'whatever it takes' and unless he changes his tune…"

"…then Sable has her hands tied," finished Yuri. "Damnit, just what we need. Somebody else entering the power vacuum, only this one has top of the line tech and an itchy trigger finger."

Nodding, the Black Cat hummed her agreement, "And I get the feeling he's thinking bigger than just New York…"

* * *

Peter, for his part, wasn't even thinking about the entirety of New York, just the Veteran's Center in Harlem as he tore through downtown at max speed. If he wasn't tunnel visioning as bad as he was when he pulled himself through a concrete pipe suspended beneath a crane, then he might have noticed the sable OP below him and the next few minutes might have gone very differently. But he was solely focused on the flickering light of the fire and clouds of smoke rising up over the buildings ahead of him, much to his own detriment.

Coming up over those roofs, he could see the entire half of the building closest to him seemingly engulfed in flames and he came to a stop as anxiety slammed into him along with the heat from the blaze. But he was so enraptured by the sight, he failed to notice the odd noise around him or the tingling of his sixth sense. The next sensation he felt was almost overwhelming in comparison as heat and a familiar crackling enveloped him, his arms suddenly pinned to his sides as he tried to spin around to the source, only to stumble to his knees as he craned his neck up at the new arrivals. The immaculate white armor and smattering of blue identification lights were instantly identifiable, but the additions of a flippin' _jetpack _and an oxygen hose for their helmet signified these weren't run of the mill Sable International Troopers. "Priority target identified," announced the one who still had his arm pointed at Spider-Man as a second appeared beside him, "Moving to pacify."

Snarling in rage at being hounded by the PMC while so close to Aunt May, Spider-Man mustered his strength and broke free of the trap, "There are easier ways to ask for an autograph!" he called out before firing a webline to pull him to the closest one. The surprise move took the man by surprise as he brought his hands up in a hasty defense only for the Webslingers fist to slam into them with superhuman strength, breaking several fingers as he cried out in pain only for the follow up from the Wallcrawler to slam into his face, cracking the visor on his helmet before Peter felt his skull get hammered by his sixth sense and he brought his feet up to lunch himself off of his aerial dancing partner. A stream of bright red lasers shot past as he flipped gracefully over the second jetpack trooper and give him a kick in the back, sending him spinning out of control just as the first one came charging at him like an angry bull. "Jetpacks?" asked Spider-Man dryly as he fell down only for the Sable Agent to drop a handful of small energy bombs down, forcing him to dive away, "Who thought it was a good idea to give these guys jetpacks?"

But before he could get an answer, he saw four more of the specially equipped troopers approaching as he grit his teeth and toggled his webshooters to one of their special settings. "Guys, we're on the same side!" he called out, hoping they could be reasonable, "At least wait to attack me until after we've gotten everyone out of the burning building!" he implored.

But his pleas had fallen on deaf ears. "All lawbreakers will be pacified," droned one as Peter sighed.

As the first one he had attacked came at him, he snapped off an electric web that gave the Jetpack Agent a taste of his own medicine as his muscles seized up and Spider-Man leapt into action, jumping up and planting his feet on the man's shoulders to send him down into the rooftop. No sooner had he slammed into the building than an impact web kept him there before his Spider sense rang out in warning. "'Pacify,'" he quoted as he found the next closest Sable mercenary and pulled himself to the unfortunate soul, his first punch imbued with such strength the chest plate buckled under the force of the impact. But watching the man wind up a counter punch, knuckles crackling with a familiar blue lightning, the Webslinger fired a webline at his chest and dropped down, using the line to swing under him and come up behing the man, latching onto his back. "Anyone else feeling very '1984' right about now?" he asked as he spied another Sable Trooper coming in and side armed a trip mine out, sticking the device on the new arrivals chest as it activated and latched onto the Jetpack Trooper who was giving the Webhead a piggy back ride before the two slammed together and dropped down onto the rooftop, rolling across it while ensnared in the trap.

"Oh, just me?" he asked rhetorically as the three remaining troopers all circled him, "Come on, anybody?" he asked before casually dropping off the edge, dropping down before twisting around and letting loose a pair of weblines. Feeling the synthetic slick go taught before the elasticity of the webbing reversed his direction and he _shot _skywards like he had left a cannon, right back up at one of the Troopers. The man tried to dodge, but was too slow as a sticky hand grabbed one of his legs and Spider-Man lost all momentum, using it all to do a full front flip with the trooper, whipping him over the top and slamming him down onto the roof with such strength the jetpack shattered into a sparking wreck. But Peter didn't have time to celebrate, a warning from his sixth sense had him snapping his head up to see an incoming grenade as he reflexively snatched it out of the air with a webline and quickly hurled it at the charging trooper, blowing him out of the air. With only one let, Spidey wasted no time, web zipping to him and bicycle kicking the man in the head, sending him reeling back as Spider-Man fell on the rooftop and fired two more lines at the flailing Trooper, yanking him down into the rooftop, putting him down for the count.

Breathing heavily, his arm and ribs flaring back up again, Peter was knocked from his recovery by his mask phone ringing noisily in his ear. _"Peter! Fire and rescue's on the way, and I found a fire escape that'll get me…" _

As soon as he heard Mary Jane's voice, the haze was driven from his mind as he launched himself to the rooftop of the burning building and he answered quickly, a newfound desperation guiding his action after the time he had been forced to waste. "MJ: stay back!" he ordered as he looked for a way inside, "I don't wanna have to rescue you too," he argued.

"_Peter, don't be crazy!" _she pleaded, but he saw no way in from the roof, so he promptly did something crazy. Taking a running start, he hurled his body off the roof, turning back to fire a webline as Mary Jane begged for him to _"Wait for help!" _Instead, he swung back towards the inferno and crashed through the window, flying through a burning office and sticking to the far wall.

"May!" he called out, scanning frantically for any sign of his aunt. "MAY!"

"Help!" called out a distant voice as he spotted a hole in the wall, the unknown sounding like it was past that as he jumped through the gap and slammed into another wall, only for it to creak and groan from the impact. His sixth sense hummed again as the floor began to give out and he leapt from it just as it slipped into the sea of flames below. Heat prompted sweat to roll down his brow as he frantically looked for any sign of the survivors. "Over here!" called out that unknown voice again as he once moved towards it, "We're over here!"

Crawling along the floor, he reached a massive gap and peered over the edge to see Miles and Aunt May, the small corner of the floor they were on was clearly on its last legs, the area around it having already collapsed into the fiery pit below. Instantly, he fired a pair of weblines, grabbing hold of the edge and putting everything he had into holding up the corner of the floor. "Hang on!" he called out as he strained against the failing steel. Knowing he couldn't keep this up forever as the muscles in his arm burned hotter than the fire, he barked out for them to "get to the window!"

Miles looked at it and shook his head, "It's too far!" he called out as Peter mentally cursed and tried to think of a solution. But a flicker of movement caught his eyes as a familiar head of red hair clambered through, eyes going from Miles and May, then up to him before her expression became one of fierce determination.

Spying part of a wall that was somehow still standing, the reporter quickly put together a plan. "Just…brace yourselves," she called out as she threw all of her 120 pounds into the piece of wall. "Come on you stupid piece of shit…" she encouraged, but with pieces already missing and the wood structure already weakened, she was able to give it enough of a push that gravity did the rest, just as Peter's grip began to falter. When the wall slammed down, even the super hero lost his footing, falling to his chest as he gave everything he had into holding floor up just a little bit longer. "Come on – May - I've got you!"

Peter really hoped so, the smoke was getting worse as he hacked into his arm, trying to do anything to keep his airway clear and ignoring the rising hum of his Spider sense. The building around him shuddered and crackled as he watched his aunt slowly make her way across the improvised bridge to safety. But despite Peter's herculean effort, the fire damage was quickly becoming too much.

"Go! Go!" shouted Miles as the angle of the small bit of floor where the teen was became even more precarious and he slowly got to his feet to make a mad dash across the wall.

Eyes widening at the ominous cracking sound, MJ shouted out "Miles! Come on!" as he took his first step to safety and right when the floor finally gave out from under him. In one last life or death move, he pushed off of the failing floor as Spider-Man was reduced to spectator and watched as he managed to grab hold on the edge of safety, MJ moving to help him up.

Letting out a sigh of relief that only prompted another cough, but his sixth sense went from a hum to a blaring horn as he looked up to see the floor above him coming down on top of him. Rolling to the side, he managed to avoid getting crushed, but the floor he was on couldn't take the impact as it too crumbled and he went into freefall. "NO!" cried out MJ as he fell past, desperately trying to bring his webshooter up and finally loosing a web only for the bit of floor he was aiming at to fall way after him.

But before he could register the fact that he had missed, a pair of hands grabbed hold of the line, it going taut instantly as the superhero dangled from it, feet hovering only a few feet above the flames as he slowly felt himself get pulled up. He grit his teeth in pain as he felt his shoulder slip from its socket, his other arm still in too much pain to raise it and fire off a second line. When the two that he was supposed to be rescuing pulled him to safety, he felt his arms get slung over their shoulders as they made their way to window and out onto the fire escape before climbing up to the roof and a bit of safety.

* * *

Sitting on the steps leading up to the rooftop entrance of a neighboring building, Peter watched as firefighters doused the blaze at the veterans center, equally on the lookout for any more Sable Jetpack Troopers until he felt a presence come up alongside him. Still breathing through his burning throat, forcing himself to take short breaths, he craned his neck up to the comforting face of Mary Jane as he relaxed, opening his mouth to speak, all that came out was a hacking cough. Getting that under control, he wheezed out "Is May okay?" as he brought a hand up to his aching chest.

"Everyone is safe," she assured, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, the one she had just popped back into place a minute or two before. Still, her eyes were full of pity and worry as they trailed down his dirty suit before widening as they looked at the hand he had on his chest. Pulling it away, he could see the sticky red substance on his hand before it registered in his mind that it was his own blood, seeping from torn stitches.

He couldn't help but feel worn down as he leaned back, suppressing a hiss as he looked up at the reporter. "MJ…" he rasped out, "if it weren't for you and Miles, I would've been…"

"As dead as the last eight and half thousand times you've saved me," finished the redhead easily, waving her hand dismissively as she gave him an easy smile and his anxiety washed away at seeing that smile. Breathing a little easier, he watched her lean in closer, "Pretty sure I still owe you a few," she quipped.

He couldn't help but laugh at the unexpected joke, his dry throat, aching lungs, and battered ribs quickly protesting that action in the strongest possible terms. "Heh – oww…that hurts."

"Hey," said MJ softly, getting his attention as he turned to look at her, "I'm sorry I screwed things up." Peter could only stare blankly at her through the mask as she struggled to find the right words, "It's just…it's hard being the one being saved all the time. Even when…I could never do anything else."

"That's not true MJ…" he tried to argue, but was quickly cut off.

"No, it is…I've killed more people than you and…it's something I don't want to ever do again," she reminded him lowly. "That IMC Grunt, his face has faded with time, but his eyes? I don't think those ever will…" she explained as he sat in silence, letting her say her piece as the redhead recomposed herself. "But that doesn't mean I don't want to be there for you," she admitted as she placed a hand on his knee.

"That…means more than you know," admitted Spider-Man truthfully as he smiled behind the mask, "Still partners?" he asked as he leaned closer.

When she leaned in towards him, he felt his heart beat just a little bit faster despite his best efforts and many injuries. "Always," confirmed Mary Jane just as the moment was shattered, the door behind them flying open as Miles burst through with a box in hand.

"Hey!" he called out as he turned to the pair, "So, uh, I didn't if…uh," he rambled a bit as he fumbled with the box, "If you wanted sparkling," he began as he held up a bottle of water, "or flat, or spring…" he continued, holding up differently labeled bottles of water each time as the childhood friends stared up at him blankly before they broke down laughing, unable to control themselves any longer. "So, I just brought one of everything," admitted Miles sheepishly, though he was smiling a bit too.

Miles set the box down as he scrutinized the two, Peter clearly able to see the gears in the teen's head spinning as quickly as he could as he pointed at the Webslinger, then MJ, and back to Spidey. "Am I…interrupting?" he asked as he placed his hands on his hips and looked down at them, almost accusingly.

The two shared a mildly terrified glance as they immediately recoiled back and MJ got back to her feet as he tried to muster a response. "No…um, MJ, er, Ms. Watson and I were just talking strategy" he lied as the reporter stepped away from him, down the steps, keeping Peter between her and Miles.

"Strategy?" asked a now obviously intrigued Miles as he stepped closer.

"That's right," confirmed MJ as Miles slid down the railing so that the now trio were in a close circle, "The city is in danger; it _needs _our help."

As much as he was sad to see their moment get dashed, he pushed those thoughts aside as he refocused on the task at hand. "_All_ of our help" added the Webhead, looking at MJ and then Miles.

"Alright, well…" began Miles as he squared up to the superhero, "call the play coach."

"Ok, well…divide and conquer" managed Peter as he pulled himself up to his feet and turned to MJ, "any word on Ma…the Marauder?" he asked.

"The Black Cat is looking for him," replied MJ, "if he's out there then she'll find him."

Peter nodded, that was good to hear, and it made sense that Felicia would be the one to look for her boyfriend, and there was no questioning how capable the woman was. "Good," he replied, "Ms. Watson – we need an antiserum for Devil's Breath" he began, the woman listening intently. "I heard you put out a report that Oscorp is developing something?" he asked, getting a nod in reply. "Find it, there's no way they can keep it safe from Octavius and Li, so it falls to us to protect it."

The Bugle reporter gave a firm nod, "I'll track down some leads" she assured as the Wallcrawler turned his attention back to the teen.

Miles noticeably tensed under the blank white gaze of the wide eye lenses on his mask, though there was an unmistakable hope in his expression. "Miles – you need to be my eyes and ears at FEAST" he directed. "The people that come into that shelter, find out what their stories are, if they've seen any trouble, and then call me." Seeing the Midtown High student nod quickly, Peter added, "also let me know if anything goes wrong, protecting civilians is a key, so I need to know if you need help in there."

Miles let out a breath, nodding even faster, "Alright, you got it…what are you going to do?"

This was the part he wasn't looking forward to, but it had to be done. "A gang of costumed nutjobs is taking the city apart piece by piece" he replied, "Time to return the favor."

With that, he turned and began to head up the steps, only for Miles to speak up. "Alright…hey, wait! Um, how do I call you?" he asked, seemingly curious. "I mean do you have like, a cellphone in your, in your…" he asked as he held his hand up in an approximation of a phone, "in your pockets? Do you even have pockets?"

Peter couldn't help but chuckle a bit, "Trade secret," he quipped as he reached down and took a bottle at random from the box. "Ms. Watson can give you my number," he said more seriously, giving MJ a nod to confirm his intent, "good luck team."

With that, he jumped up and swung away, unable to hear the conversation he left in his wake as Miles turned to Mary Jane. "You have his number…" said Miles in amazement, "are you…Spider-Man's girlfriend?" His smile was wide, like he was meeting a supermodel as MJ couldn't help but roll her eyes, "That would be so cool if…" he began, only for the redhead to cut him off.

Holding up her hand to silence him, she made her way up the steps, "Come on Sherlock," she drawled, "Show me what you've got in this water smorgasbord…"

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Assault Rifle: AK-105_

_Is there anything more iconic than a Kalashnikov? If there is then I can't think of it, developed from the German STG-44 in the closing days of World War 2, the modern versions are still capable weapons, even if they have undergone as many changes as their homeland. Simple construction and a 'soldier first' approach made the Avtomat Kalashnikova an enduring example of industrial design. That being said, the 'AK-47' isn't actually that common, since the updated 'AKM' was produced in far greater quantities, with the most obvious visual difference being the muzzle brake that makes it look like the top half of the end of the barrel has been cut off. Variants outside of Russia were made, the Chinese Type-56 and Finnish RK-62 come to mind, though strangely the Czechs did their own thing with the Vz. 58. A major variant, the AK-74 appeared in 1974 firing a new cartridge, the 5.45x39mm round, which necessitated a new magazine without such an extreme curvature. In total, over 100 million Kalashnikovs have been made…more than every other type of assault rifle __**combined**__. In fact, about 20% of all firearms that exist are AKs. _

_People say America is gun crazy, but it's Mozambique that has a gun on their flag, no surprise that it's an AK. _

_While a true and proper AK should be stamped or milled steel and furnished in that polished orange wood that seemingly only AKs have, the weapon has moved on with the times. The AK-74 ditched the 7.62x39mm round, the AK-74M ditched the wood, and the AK-12 has added rails for red dots and laser sights. The AK-12 has beaten out the AEK-971 to become the next service rifle of the Russian Army, replacing the AK-74M. _

_All of that leads me to the AK-105, which is the variant I'm most familiar with since Wilson Fisk managed to find approximately 10 shitloads of the things and brought them to New York. The AK-105 is a variant of the AK-74M, with a shortened barrel and fixed length, albeit side folding, plastic stock. Chambered in 5.45x39mm, these were the same weapons that saw use with Russian Internal Affairs and Army Paratroopers, though they have been exported to Syria and Azerbaijan. In New York they are commonly employed by Fisk's enforcers and the Inner Demons, though seized AK-105s have turned up in the hands of NYPD SWAT from time to time. _

_The AK has lived quite a life as a design, born from the embers of 'The Great Patriotic War' to become the most stalwart of the Cold Warriors, this rifle has seen action from the jungles of Vietnam to the deserts of Afghanistan and the metropolis of Manhattan. Legendarily reliable, with faults being able to be fixed with a hammer 90% of the time, it is the great equalizer for those who need firepower on a budget. Seemingly standard issue for everyone from soldiers to terrorists, freedom fighters, insurgents, criminals, and cops all over the world, it can be counted among the most basic of tools. _

_And as any good communist will tell you, you only need those basic tools to change the world. A Hammer, A Sickle, and an AK._

* * *

**Closing Notes: Hopefully everyone liked seeing some action again, Spider-Man is still trickier to write, at least for me. If you were expecting Matt, then you'll have to be a bit patient yet, and I do promise that I will run out of needing Rick Valassi padding, that time hasn't come just yet. I'm trying to do a sort of twin storyline with Peter and Matt being central to them respectively so I'm curious as to how you all view that, even if there is a lot going on with Sable and the dealings of her company. I think I've said it before, but I want to expand her role and make some of her actions make more sense, hopefully the end result will be worth it. Is that of any interest? Leave a review and tell me if you think that's of interest, hopefully so, because I like the way it's shaping up.**

**Also, I spent way too much time looking at a game screenshot and going through Wikipedia to determine exactly which AK variant appears in the game, let me know if you think I'm wrong. **

**As a side note, school is starting up, I'll try to keep up the upload schedule but bear with me if that changes. **

**For nothing we lose, and does it matter, matter if we Live or Die?**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out.**


	62. Chapter 62: Live or Die

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Anyone watch that DC thing? My opinions are as varied as the quality of stuff shown. Wonder Woman 1984 looks...worse every time I see more of it, I still can't get over Robert Pattinson as Batman, and apparently the way to make a better Suicide Squad movie was to add more characters, which is not what I would have said but okay. Gotham Knights however looks intruiging. Not on the same level as say, Cyberpunk 2077, but I will be watching it for sure. Best trailer I've seen though? That has to go to the one for Black Ops Cold War. I'm looking forward to a CoD for the first time in a long time.

**JustAnotherGuest: You kind of shotgunned thoughts here so I'm going to try and give the best responses I can, they might be a bit incoherent though and for that I apologize. Going from the top down, I do know those early chapters are a bit 90's action movie level of story, but I try to keep things a bit fun if I can. As for Matt telling Felicia, I wanted to convey that he was out of options and he has to put his trust in someone who up to that point didn't deserve it. I also had the goal of making Matt a more layered character than angry guy who shoots people, try to make him more human, and humans take risks and put their trust in others even if they may not deserve it. Some people seem more recptive to that idea than others, and despite a couple tries I can't seem to come up with a way to make this layer seamless for everyone. Spider-Man was explicitly misdirected by Felicia to explain why he was somewhere else. **

**What happened in chapter 9 was not an execution, that was a fight with lives on the line. Nevermind how the Smart Pistol works kind of taking things out of his hands, especially since he wasn't in any condition to do it manually. The idea that you can simply 'shoot the legs' is a myth propagated by Hollywood, you try doing that under duress and see how that works. **

**I meant to portray the events of just Titanfall 2 as one week, not all of Titanfall or even just the two games. With things like the Six Day War I think the one week timeline is very fair and reasonable. As far as his tech, reverse engineering something isn't as easy as you might think, especially when you can't replicate the alloys and materials used. He does have a perimeter around his own place, it just isn't mentioned in too much detail to prevent the story from becoming bloated. I do not know enough about Computers and AI to comment on if something like BT would be capable of advanced cyberwarfare if that's outside of his intended design, but I've been careful just to try and keep Matt's power level in check. As far as the car thing, he's flawed, and his stealth isn't that good, he can't run the whole way across the island, and definitely not under stealth. **

**If you have a more specific question then ask it and I can give a more specific and through answer. When you shotgun random thoughts my reply ends up the same way. PM me if you can and I'd be happy to oblige. **

**Blaze1992: Sable's in a tough spot, I'm curious to see what people will make of her as the arc progresses. Which movie though? I kind of was going for a 'Warriors' vibe when I wrote that chapter.**

As for the chapter, this one is interesting, I wanted something 'epic' but my usual Hard Rock and Heavy Metal doesn't suit Peter. In the end I went with heavy metal...cellos. Apocalyptica is a Finnish group that features three classically trained cellists and a drummer that originally formed as a Metallica tribute band, they now do their own original songs. This particular single features a brawny baritone courtesy of Joakim Broden of Sabaton fame. Apocalyptica did tour with Sabaton as part of the latters 'Great Tour' before Covid brought that to a screaming halt. Equal parts heroic and brutal, it was I needed for the climax of this chapter.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 62: Live or Die**

_So if we wanted the truth we wouldn't buy the lies_

_And follow the fools and the battle cry_

_For nothing we'll lose, and does it matter, matter if we live or die?_

_Matter if we live or die_

_Our souls shivers in the cold and the darkness_

_Our bodies crumble from the weight laid upon us_

_Nothing we can ever do than to fight it_

_No man will ever stand to survive it_

* * *

Waking up slowly, Felicia instinctively reached out for the man she was used to being there, wanting to run her hands over the familiar muscled form of the scarred Texan who kept the king-sized bed warm. Only the bed was cold, and her Cowboy was still missing. In his place were a sprawling array of notes, pictures, maps, and charts she had been reviewing to try and get him back before she had finally lost her battle with exhaustion. Wiping the last of her drowsiness from her eyes, the heiress stretched out, running her hands over the pristine bedspread, another reminder of Matthews's absence, before gathering up the various papers and documents and making her way out of the bedroom.

Putting a kettle on the stove, the Thief went to work properly laying out all of the information she had gathered, both from her groundwork and a bit of research. That last part aided by her backdoors in both the Oscorp and Sable systems, revealing more than a few useful secrets, both for finding Cooper and other things.

Still, as the water heated up, her mind was elsewhere while her body went through well practiced motions of organizing the information, highlighting critical segments, and piecing together the puzzle. In her head, she couldn't shake the nagging loneliness she felt, not realizing how much she appreciated just having the big Texan around. The confidence and aggressiveness that Spider lacked was something he had in spades, and it could fill a room in a way not many others could, that was what she was missing the most right now. Simply put, he had 'The right stuff' in more ways than one.

That thought put a small smile on her face as the kettle came to a boil, whistling as she took it off the burner and fixed herself a glass of tea, also missing how Matthew could sweep her off her feet with a traditionally romantic dinner or something on the opposite end of the spectrum, hand to hand sparring and high speed track driving came to mind. No matter what they did, Felicia always found herself enjoying it, either by virtue of getting to be the center of attention or ignite the competitive spark they both shared. Just as certain as those times were, the time spent afterwards was spent with the two of them fucking each other's brains out, and that hadn't gotten old either.

She knew he was special, but more than that, Matthew Cooper was special to _her_.

When she was taken by the Market, she couldn't understand what Matthew must have felt to warrant him recklessly charging in. But if he felt anything like she did at the moment, then it made his actions much more reasonable. It was those feelings that kept her going, pushing her on so she could return the favor and make a rescue mission of her own.

* * *

Matthew woke slowly, his body contorted uncomfortably on the too small bed, hair disheveled and jaw sore from the cheap pillow as he slowly got out of bed. Remembering where he was, the Marauder sighed as he began his usual morning routine, though he didn't have as much space as he would have liked. Still, he began stretching, taking things nice and easy to try and avoid aggravating his still healing injuries. Surprisingly, despite some soreness and stiffness, there wasn't much pain, it was clear that whatever Sable had dosed him with did good work. As he transitioned from his warm-up stretches into his workout proper, beginning with simple pushups and crunches before he got into the more demanding exercises.

As he went through his well-practiced routine, though admittedly far short of his full intensity, his mind wandered as he worked up a sweat, going over what he had learned about what was effectively his prison cell. He had eventually gone over everything and come up with practically nothing to determine his location other than that his windows faced east and that he could occasionally hear helicopters fly overhead. Similarly, there were no weapons anywhere, the only utensils were plastic and the warning about guards being posted outside hadn't been a bluff. When Cooper had tried the lock, he had two Sable Troopers open the door, fully armed and armored. Not able to think of any better excuse, he simply said he had wanted to order a pizza before being told in no uncertain terms that such a request could not be filled and he should not try the door again.

There weren't many other options, even if he could open the window it wasn't very likely he could jump out. The vents were too small for his frame and were a no go, and even if he thought he could take out the first two guards it wasn't very likely he could make his way through whatever else Sable might have waiting for him. And even then, if he _could _shoot his way out, Matthew Cooper would be wanted, which judging by what Sable had told him, was not the case even if she knew he was the Marauder. That led to another issue, his gear was gone and, perhaps stupidly in hindsight, he didn't have a customized backup set. Even if he did, he wasn't going to leave a set of his gear in the hands of the Symkarian mercenary, since he was fairly confident that she was the one who had stashed it somewhere.

Letting out a guttural angry noise as he brought his workout to an abrupt end, seeing as he had been at it for nearly an hour, was now pissed off, sore, and drenched with sweat. He wished Felicia were here, and it wasn't the first time that thought had crossed his mind. Matthew could have used her acuity and cleverness to help devise a way out of this place, since his usual method of mixing it up and shooting his way wasn't really viable, as much as he was loathe admitting it. Even if he couldn't get that, it would have been nice just to see her face, that dazzling smile that lit up his world, or the mischievous gleam in her captivating emerald eyes, it would help to see a bit of beauty instead of the monotony that already was getting under his skin.

And, yes, he would admit he did want to kiss her and fondle her tits, he was a man and she was sexy as all hell, sue him.

His frustration was only growing, and not wanting to push his still healing body any further, he decided to try and decompress with a quick shower. Turning on the water and letting it warm up, he grabbed a fresh set of clothes and tossed them in the bathroom before stripping down, tossing his admittedly smelly clothes into a corner, and stepping under the hot flow of water. Without anything more pressing, Cooper allowed himself to take a long shower, washing the grime of being bedridden for too long, beaten to hell, and with a workout under his belt meant he really needed it. Giving himself a thorough scrubbing, the only shortcoming was the obviously general issue soaps that only made him miss the luxury ones Felicia had picked out for him. Finally feeling rejuvenated, Matt shut the water off and stepped out, toweling himself off and pulling on the fresh boxers and sweatpants before stepping out of the bathroom and was about to pull his shirt on when he realized he wasn't alone.

"You seem to be making yourself at home Major Cooper," greeted Silver Sablinova flatly as the Marauder stared blankly at the Symkarian while still shirtless. "Your injuries appear to be healing nicely."

For a split second, he thought he saw the woman crack a hint of a smile, but chalked that up to the lingering aftereffects of the concussion rather than the possibility that the woman was developing a sense of humor. "Well, I wasn't expecting guests," he deadpanned before pulling the shirt on. Remaining as unflappable as ever, Silver watched as Matt tossed the dirty clothes in a hamper before brushing past her, out of the narrow hallway and back into the sitting room, grabbing a soda from the fridge as he turned back to the woman. "I don't suppose you've come here to tell me that I'm free to go?" he asked dryly.

"No," replied Sablinova with a shake of the head, "I am not." Instead of replying, Matt just leaned against the wall and waited for her to continue, holding her gaze until he finally pulled the cap off the bottle and took a swig before going back to the staring contest. It was clear that something was off, Sable was tense, at least that's what he thought, this wasn't the stoic discipline that served as the woman's default, and something was brewing behind the piercing blue eyes. Finally, and surprisingly, it was Silver who finally cracked at spoke up, "I would like your counsel on something that has been troubling me."

Fighting to not spit out the soda once the admission registered, the Pilot eventually managed the feat, swallowing the drink and staring open mouthed at the mercenary. "So let me get this straight…" he began, still wrapping his head around this, "_You _want advice…from _me_?" he asked incredulously.

There was a flicker of anger in her eyes before she snapped back, "Your medical examination did not reveal damage to your ears. Were the doctors incorrect?" she asked with a trace of venom that quickly had Cooper veering off that trail of questioning.

"No, it's just, not what I expected," he admitted with an honest shrug. Before she could reply, he followed that up by saying "Well the only other thing I have to do is read until my eyes bleed, so if you want my opinion, I'll give it to you." To his surprise, the woman relaxed ever so slightly and made her way to one of the seats in the small living room, sitting down without a word, only glaring at Matt as her way of signaling for him to join her. Shaking his head, the Marauder sat down on the brick hard sofa and looked up at the Symkarian, waiting for her to say something, but she remained silent. Finally growing impatient, the Texan spoke first, "So…" he began, truly grasping at straws as his drawl was replaced with candidness, "What's on your mind?"

There was another heavy silence before Sable finally replied. "You once told me you knew why you fight," began the mercenary, "Why you did the things you did. What are your reasons?" she asked seriously as Matthew recalled that conversation.

Leaning back in his chair, the Pilot tried to think of the best way to phrase his answer, working his jaw as Sable waited with stoic patience. "My old man…he passed on a lot of lessons, most of them never really took until it was do or die" admitted the Pilot with a hint of shame, but Sable remained almost impassive. "But the two that stand out the most are that you don't live forever. Everyone's time runs out eventually and when it comes time to leave the world, I've come close more than once" he said knowingly, even if the mercenary didn't deign to respond. "So when the time comes, you gotta be ready, no regrets."

There was a calm that settled in, Sable pondering his words for a few moments before asking "And the second thing?"

Cooper gave a small smirk as he remembered his father fondly, "He always used to tell me to 'do something' if you can believe that," he quoted with a small chuckle that didn't quite reach his listener. "Nothing ever got better by sitting around and bitching about it, or brooding, like Spider-Man seems to think. If you want a change then you gotta be the one to make it, and better you than some other jackass."

Taking a deep breath and sip of his drink, the Pilot looked up to see Sable still paying attention before continuing. "So I do something every time I suit up, I do something I love," he told her, "Not the fighting or the killing, but just being a Pilot and making that difference, even if it someone told me I was an outlaw because of it. It wasn't really much of a choice. The most important kind of freedom is the freedom to be who you are." He watched her remain still before trying to explain it a different way. "If you're asking me to tell you what to do, then you're wasting your time. All I'm going to tell you is that if you think something is worth doing…then you should do it."

His words hung there for a moment as he scrutinized the woman, trying to decipher what she was thinking to no avail, instead sitting back to simply wait for the mercenary to respond in her own time. "Growing up in Sykmaria," she began quietly, "my fondest memories were when I was able to sneak out of the royal palace. Even if it was only for a short time before my mother sent guards to find me."

Cooper couldn't help but crack a small smile at the admission, "Never would've guessed you'd be the type to fly the rebel flag Sable," he drawled easily.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth he regretted them, but to his surprise he heard a small giggle from the hardened Mercenary as the corner of her mouth quirked up, "It seems that is something else we share Major Cooper." Eyes wide in shock, he stared at the woman as she went on. "I came back with bruised knuckles one too many times for my father's liking. Instead of berating me, he taught me how to take care of myself, how to fight" she recalled, subconsciously clenching one hand into a fist. Matt gave a knowing nod that caught her eye, "I assume you had similar experience, yes?"

The Texan nodded, "My old man taught me how to shoot, first BB guns and air rifles and soon I was running through the SWAT kill houses. Never got the chance to run it with a team though, got used to working on my own" he recalled, "which worked out for the best I suppose."

"Indeed" responded Sablinova coolly before leaning forwards and staring at him curiously, "And if your father taught to shoot…did he also teach you how to be a Pilot?" asked the Symkarian.

Matthew shook his head, "I learned on the job. Wasn't left with much of a choice truth be told." Even the time since Typhon hadn't made the subject any easier to talk about, despite his drawl, his body tensed perceptibly as Sable narrowed her eyes in curiosity. "I did a lot of stuff that I'm not proud of…blew up a whole planet. Must've killed thousands, maybe tens of thousands" he admitted, "And it was so easy at the time. Saving millions of lives in the process, the guys who I killed were all trying to kill me; they had killed thousands of other militiamen. Looking back though? I may be proud that I carried out my mission that I did it well…but I will never be proud of the price."

"I resented the IMC for a long time, still probably do a bit," he admitted, "They forced that after all. It felt like I was just reacting to all the shit they did that being in New York…it allowed me to do what I really wanted. To make a life for myself, be who I wanted without that being dictated by need or because somebody told me."

"And you believe this a noble and just cause?" she asked skeptically, "One that would lead to anarchy? That is a suitable cause to fight on your own for?"

Matthew shrugged, "I never claimed to have all the answers, but I like the idea that I have the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness," he retorted. "It's your choice what you do with it…so long as you don't infringe on those same rights that belong to everyone else. And nobody came to me and wanted me to join to uphold that principle. Doesn't matter who, Fury, Fisk, Osborn, the IMC, they all come and tell you that they know how you should live your life, and they know better than you," Cooper took a deep breath and finished off his drink, "And I'm sorry, but that just isn't true."

"Yeah sure, they may do it with good intentions, but they're all the same power-hungry sons of bitches that have been around for a long time. And the only way to stop 'em is to fight 'em," he asserted firmly, "And that's not me itching to fight, that's something that your family, and your country, knows better than most."

Sablinova allowed herself to look impressed, "You did your research on me it seems."

Matt nodded, "know your enemy and all that," he replied. "Looked into it right after you showed up here in Manhattan" he recalled, "made for interesting reading if I do say so myself. Grandfather led the resistance against the Nazi occupation in World War II, sabotaged the trains carrying oil from the southern USSR, even stole a tank bound for Kursk and used it to ambush their convoys through till the occupation ended in early 45." Everything he was saying was common knowledge he had found on Wikipedia, but it still spoke of a fascinating story of a ragtag group of partisans working under the iron heel of the Third Reich. "When that happened, he established a monarchy, the right choice as it turned out. Symkaria was the one of the few independent nations to resist communist influence without western aid."

Surprisingly, Sable added a bit more information, "It was harsh life. There was very little trade because Moscow's influence caused our neighbors to close their borders to trade. When I left the palace, I saw many poor; it was a hard lesson to learn."

Nodding, Matthew waited to see if the princess had anything more to add before continuing, "But that all changed in '91…"

"It did," confirmed the woman. "Our country, independent and self-reliant, was able to export to our neighbors who could no longer rely on their overlords to help them. There was peace and prosperity…for a time."

They both knew what was coming next, "The civil war back in '07" whispered Cooper lowly.

"It was no civil war," spat Silver harshly, "it was the result of an outside force. All staged according to their machinations. I am sure of it." It was now the Texan's turn to listen thoroughly intrigued as Sable took his silence as a cue to continue. "The whole 'war' was over on the first day when it began with my mother's capture and a string of carefully planned assassinations of all of my family's closest advisors and many military officers. Those that remained turned on us, under the control of unknown masters. My father smuggled me out of the country before he himself was captured," recalled the mercenary as her stoic face cracked, "I saw news of my parents being executed the next week."

Matthew didn't answer, sitting there and watching as the woman cracked, but did not crumble, instead pulling herself together with the same determination she always seemed to muster. "So," began Matt as she brought her piercing blue eyes up, "what are you going to do about it?"

"I want to go back," she admitted, "reclaim my homeland." Matthew nodded in acknowledgement, the resolve in her voice was obvious as she continued, "yet I remain unsure if that distant memory is a worthy cause."

"Is it worth it to you?" asked Matt simply, getting a small nod back, "hen it's worth trying. Is that what you wanted my advice on?" he asked, getting nothing back, but that was enough for him. "Well, hopefully it was helpful…"

"It was," answered the woman as she stood from her chair and extended her hand, causing Matt to stand up and shake it, "thank you Major."

"Anytime," he replied with a small but genuine smile as she turned to leave he felt the need to give one last tip, "Sable," he called out, causing her to turn and face him, "when you do this…make sure you can live with the price too," he cautioned before she gave a singular acknowledging nod and opened the door, leaving him alone once again.

* * *

"Lieutenant Colonel Bliss here to see you sir," informed Norman Osborn's assistant as he looked up from the reports he was reviewing, pleased to see that the situation was improving somewhat. To be more precise, the city was tearing itself apart slower than it had been, the bleeding had been slowed and the tide was showing signs of turning. For the first time in 36 hours since Devil's Breath had been released did the Mayor begin to feel some semblance of hope.

Closing the report, the executive instructed for his assistant to "Send him in" before the woman turned smartly and went to allow the mercenary commander into his office. He had been looking forward to meeting with Silver Sable's second in command, Charles Bliss was a man who had a fearsome reputation, the kind of man Norman respected as the type to get the job done. Indeed, when he strode in, the older man didn't disappoint, carrying himself with the same stoic confidence as Sablinova, but with a grizzled demeanor the younger woman lacked. Even better, the man was more than a mercenary, he was a combat hardened former US Army officer, the kind of man Osborn instantly respected as came to a stop and Norman stood, buttoning his jacket and extending his hand. "It's an honor to meet you Lieutenant Colonel," greeted the founder of Oscorp, "Norman Osborn."

As expected, Bliss shook firmly, "The privilege is mine Mr. Mayor," returned the Lieutenant Colonel crisply.

Osborn gave his most charming smile, "Sit, please" he insisted as he gestured to the chair opposite his and Bliss took it, back still straight and shoulders squared. "Can I perhaps offer you a drink?" asked Osborn as he opened a fresh bottle of bourbon and poured himself a glass, noticing Bliss nod he poured a second before offering it to the Lt. Colonel. "I trust you understand why you are here?" asked Osborn before taking a sip, savoring the burn as Bliss gave a curt nod. "After speaking with Ms. Sablinova this morning I wanted to hear your reasons for your actions Lieutenant Colonel, I wanted to hear why you would commit such actions, actions I do not approve of, in my city."

Despite the harsh condemnation and Osborn's cold stare, Bliss remained unfazed as he took a drink and remained calm. "Permission to speak freely Mr. Mayor?" requested the Lieutenant Colonel formally. Norman raised an eyebrow as he pondered the words before giving a slight nod of approval. "Based on my experiences, the actions we are taking are absolutely necessary, sir."

Norman's face tightened, his mouth a thin line, "Explain your reasoning," he prompted simply.

"There are precisely 85 reasons my actions are required, Mr. Mayor. Because there were 85 boys I sent to their deaths in those sandy shitholes in the Middle East because we lacked the stones to do what had to be done," he asserted calmly. "After 9/11, we were at war, nobody wanted to admit but America was under attack. When we were over there, my biggest problems were not the people I had been sent there to fight, it was my own superiors restricting my ability to do my job." Eyeing him carefully, Osborn sipped his drink but said nothing as the man continued. "There was one, Lance Corporal Ryan Dobbs, he was hit when his patrol was ambushed. They were pinned down by heavy enemy fire and couldn't move him. I tried to get artillery to hit the militants pinning them down but was refused because they were hiding in a mosque and they _knew _we couldn't shell them as long as they were there" he recalled, rage seeping into his gravelly tones. "Dobbs bleed out there over the course of three hours and all his friends could do was fuckin' watch as he died slowly and painfully. That is why the 4th does things differently and yes, I will admit, the price _is _high. But success comes at a cost. Judge us not by our means but by what we have accomplished."

"I am," assured Osborn, "and while progress is being made, it cannot be denied you have failed to apprehend Spider-Man, any of the other super villains, and have made no progress in locating the Marauder," continued the CEO accusingly, gesturing to the documents stacked up on his desk. "So now I _am_ forced to question your means and what you have accomplished Lieutenant Colonel."

Still, Bliss remained stoic and calm. "Not every operation is met with immediate success. ExAACCT is a new unit and I _will _whip them into shape," he assured, "and we are at war, even if you don't want to acknowledge it, that doesn't change the situation. I know what it will take to win this war; all I need to go out and win it is to not be held back by those above me."

Norman grit his teeth as he assessed Charles Bliss once more and came to his decision, "Very well, go win this thing Lieutenant Colonel Bliss" instructed Osborn, "You may go."

The Sable International officer finished his drink and came to his feet, standing at attention and snapping off a smart salute. "Thank you, sir." With that, Bliss turned on his heel and left to get back to work.

* * *

As the sun began to set, the Black Cat surveyed her prime suspect for where the Marauder was being held. What at first glance seemed to be a completely nondescript building, composed of a storefront on the bottom floors and likely apartments above it, but closer scrutiny would easily reveal the full eight man squad of Sable Troopers posted around it, barriers and an emplaced DEMG further solidifying their position around the corner structure. Pair of sniper/spotter teams were on the rooftop, looking out over the streets below and an RPG squad kept their eyes on the sky for any airborne threats. Even if the Thief didn't know that Silver Sable's car had been here instead of her headquarters or the checkpoints Felicia knew she was in charge of, she would have still had a feeling that something was being hidden in the overly protected building.

The windows were shuttered, and the front door into the storefront had additional fortifications, but the small four-story building was hardly impenetrable, especially so for an infiltrator as capable as Felicia Hardy. Taking her time, the burglar worked her way down and crossed the street, coming up behind the building and in the blind spot of the defenders. Staying out of sight, Felicia looked up at the sniper team looking out over the street and hooked her grapple gun line into the harness built into her suit. Firing the hook into the side of the building, the woman swung across, claws in her gloves digging into the brick as she pressed her black suited body into the shadows created by the building she was clinging to. Looking up to make sure the move had gone unnoticed; the Black Cat began working her way towards one of the few windows that wasn't obscured by shutters. Taking a quick peek to make sure there weren't any unwanted surprises waiting for her on the other side, Felicia simply lifted the unlatched window and slipped inside the clearly vacant space on the fourth floor.

Moving slowly and silently, she undid the lock and peered into the hallway, noting there was a trooper at the far end looking out the window, covering the fire escape. Treading carefully, the woman slipped across the hall into an open room and quickly realized this was where their weapons were stored, noting the lockers with extra rifles and other weapons. Planting a bug in the room, the Black Cat turned to a computer monitor and scrolled through the pages until she saw a floor plan of the building and quickly put in a memory stick to download what she would need to plan a proper breakout. While that was working, Hardy went deeper into the small space, trying to find anything else of importance. Down the only hallway was a bathroom on one side and a locked door on the other. Curiosity piqued, the Black Cat inspected the lock, noting it required some sort of Sable International ID card. And while the PMC may have developed proprietary guns and armor, they seemingly had cheeped out on door locks with a common system.

Reaching into her tool kit, the Thief removed a nifty little gadget she had come up with to spoof these locks, after attaching it to the lock, all she had to do was turn it on and let it work. Since this lock was Bluetooth enabled to broadcast when it was opened or if someone without access tried to open it, the first thing Hardy's gadget did was copy and spoof that signal before proceeding to brute force the lock, inputting thousands of inputs every second in an attempt to find one that took. One stress filled minute later, the indicator light on her creation flipped from yellow to blue as the lock opened with a subtle 'click' and Felicia stepped inside. She wasn't sure what to expect, but it hadn't been to see a handful of tables up against each of the room's walls. Less expected was what was on them as she turned to the one right next to her and picked up the helmet as her breath hitched. Looking into the dimmed x-shaped visor and running her hand over the battle-scarred green paint, she noted that someone had cleaned it meticulously. Setting it down, she moved to the other tables, finding the rest of the Marauder's gear, fatigues, armor vest, boots, under suit, even his combat axe, data knife, and Smart Pistol were all present, each had been given the same treatment. At the last table was a notebook, and flipping it open she was met with walls of text, all of which was in a foreign language.

The heiress knew a few others, like French and Italian, but whatever this was, it was completely foreign, even to her. Quickly using her lenses to snap a few pictures as she flipped through the pages, the burglar easily recognized that whoever kept this notebook had been meticulous with whatever they were doing, and judging by the way each piece of Cooper's Kit had been sketched out, Felicia guessed that they were examining and testing the Pilot's gear. As for who this tester had been, she flipped to the back and found an unexpected name, _Silver Sablinova._

But the sound of heavy boot falls caused her to look up with a hint of panic, quickly closing the notebook and heading back out of the room as she removed her gadget, closed the door, and looked for a place to hide. There were no dark corners to blend in with, no furniture to hide behind, and taking out the guard and possibly raising the alarm might cause Matthew to be moved. But the small hallway she was in gave Hardy an idea as she jumped and did the splits, walking up the narrow corridor until she was against the ceiling, leaning ahead to plant her back against it so her arms and legs were holding her whole body up out of sight. Listening intently, the thief heard the approaching trooper and held her breath, preparing to pounce if she absolutely had to. The white armored trooper walked right under her, not noticing the thief as he opened a door at the end of the hallways, allowing Black Cat to sneak a peak of the bathroom inside before the door was shut. Taking advantage of the opening, Felicia dropped down and grabbed the flash drive from the computer before retracing her steps, making a clean getaway.

* * *

Overlooking the darkening city, Peter took a deep breath, "city feels a _little _more under control…" he mused. After working on and off all day, only stopping for a bit of food, he had a sense that things were starting to turn around, but the super villains had been conspicuously absent, and that was beginning to worry the veteran hero. "Miles is watching F.E.A.S.T., MJ is tracking a Devil's Breath cure…" he rattled off, he hadn't heard much on either front, on one hand that was good, on the other it wasn't, but sooner or later the scales would tip one way or the other. "Felicia is still looking for Matt…" remembered the web head, knowing his friend was out there somewhere, but if nothing else, he trusted the Thief to figure out his whereabouts, and she wasn't foolish in the slightest, if she needed his help then she would get a hold of him.

That left only one thing for the Web slinger to do, "time for me to focus on finding Otto, and stopping whatever he has planned" resolved the Wall crawler as he dialed the number for the ever-reliable Captain Watanabe. "Yuri," he said in greeting, not surprised the woman had picked up at the first ring, "we need to start tracking the big boys. Still no leads on Octavius?" he asked, surprised that it had been a full two days since the breakout and the man remained a ghost.

"_No, nothing," _replied the woman sadly, though Peter could hardly blame her, the NYPD was fighting for its life and for the lives of those it was supposed to protect. _"Forensics can't even do a sweep of Times Square – everyone in that department but the intern is sick," _reported the Captain.

Tired of being idle, the Webhead took that as an opportunity to help. "I might be able to turn something up" he offered quickly, "Let you know what I find" finished Spidey, already swinging in that direction and hanging up before Yuri could protest. He hoped she wouldn't mind, but the slightly cynic part of him said that she wasn't in a position to look a gift horse in the mouth. To give his tiring arms a rest, he caught sight of an approaching subway on a section of exposed track, since it was heading in the right direction, he decided to play hobo and hitch a ride on the outside. Sticking to the back of the train, more or less out of the rushing air, he heard a ring in his hear and saw who was calling. "Hey MJ, what's up – you OK?" he asked in greeting.

"_I'm fine" _replied the reporter, sounding thoroughly exhausted, _"Combing through Oscorp records. Hey, this is random, but… you remember that trip we took to Staten Island with Harry?" _she asked, a hint of fondness piercing through her weary tones.

Peter smiled behind his mask, mind already drifting off into nostalgia as he recalled the trip. "To find the 'best pizza in the city?' Yeah…" he replied with a chuckle, leaning back to rest his head on the cold metal of the train. "Ten-hour odyssey for burnt toast with cold American cheese, how could I forget?"

There was a demure chuckle on the other end of the line, _"something about all these old Oscorp files made that day pop into my head…Harry was so excited about riding the ferry…" _she continued. It made Peter look forward to the time the son of the billionaire returned and got to meet Matt, which would be a sight to see. _"Just made me think about how much simpler things were back then. No jobs, no super villains. We could just throw away a whole day looking for bad pizza, just cause." _Both of them shared a laugh between them, a bit of happiness despite the situation around them, and for that Peter would always appreciate Mary Jane's company, she knew just what to say to take his mind off things. _"Now it feels like if we take a nap, the world will fall apart," _she said sardonically.

"Yeah," agreed the Queens native, "This adult thing is rough…but I guess the work we do means today's kids can have their own Staten Island adventures in safety," he offered optimistically. "Kind of a circle of life thing."

"_More like a circle of bad pizza," _quipped the redhead, _"yeah, you're right. That's a good way to look at it," _she said wistfully. _"Thanks Pete," _finished MJ before the call ended, a smile on Peter's face that he had managed to cheer her up as she was reduced to being on the sidelines, even if he knew she hated that.

As the train began to slow, the Web slinger jumped clear, flipping up through another gap above the line and pulling himself up amongst the skyscrapers as he covered the last few blocks to his destination, landing atop a CSI truck just beyond the cordoned off square. The usually bustling and vibrant space was dead and lifeless, discarded signs and other garbage littered the space; massive screens that usually had colorful ads now ran blank warnings and reminders to stay indoors and take precautions. His arrival hadn't gone unnoticed though, "Spider-Man," greeted a mask wearing officer as Peter was knocked from his internal musings and looked down at the cop, "here to lend a hand?"

Jumping up and coming down in front of the man with a flip, the Web head replied "thought you might need one officer."

"You don't know the half of it," he admitted with a somber shake of the head, "never seen anything like this Devil's Breath stuff. Forensics is having a hell of a time." Nodding as he walked past, Spider-Man couldn't help but agree.

Taking a deep breath, Peter instantly thought that might have been a mistake, "news reports say this is where Otto released Devil's Breath…" he reminded himself, an oddly surreal statement for him to hear. The only good, if it could be called that, news, was that since it was only released here, everyone who got infected had left and so there were no signs of the sick, dying, or dead that Devil's Breath created. "Might be some residue I can track," he supposed as he began to look around. A bit of luck found him turning over one of the many pro Osborn signs that lay discarded on the ground to reveal a visible red splotch on the wood. "Hmm…some residue on this sign. Maybe I can isolate it…" he mused, mostly in hope. Time was of the essence and too much had already been lost. Popping a sample into the small portable spectrograph he was thankful to have integrated into his Advanced Suit before the answer came back; this was indeed GR-27. Standing up, he set the sign down, "Oscorp's modified cpf-1, definitely Devil's Breath," he confirmed, mostly for his own benefit. "Should be able to track the dispersal pattern now…" continued the web head as he tuned his lenses to look for the substance and turned his eyes to the sky.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, faint traces of the substance hung in the air over the entire square, but the further he looked up, the more it seemed to converge until he saw what seemed to be a focal point many stories up. Raising both hands, he pulled himself skyward, feet planting on the side of the building and breaking into a run straight up the glass, seeing that focal point turn into a visible trail that only led further up. Doggedly, Spider-Man followed it, as it led him to a rooftop and then across to a taller building and higher up still, the red and blue clad superhero stuck to the trail as it led to the rooftop of this larger structure. "Trail leads down into those vents…" he noted as he came to a stop, "What was Otto doing up here?"

He couldn't answer that question with supposition, he would need to see for himself as he fired a web at the vent and yanked himself to the spot. "Should be a door or access hatch around here," he mused as he kept his eyes, and eye lenses, pealed. Sure enough, a lap of the rooftop sound had the Wallcrawler standing over a large hatch, the lock on it was quickly removed with a superhuman kick before the hatch was pulled open and Spider-Man slipped inside. Taking a moment, he blinked once or twice as his eyes adjusted to the darkness, "Well this is moody," he quipped dryly, even if it was mainly to calm himself in case he found himself face to face with his mentor.

Moving forward slowly, his eyes were drawn to a sparking above him as he made out an electrical box and activated electric webs before planting one dead center, the surge rebooting the system. "Let there be light!" he announced with forced excitement as he heard an increasing humming and the lights flared to life. As they did, he couldn't contain his reaction, "Whoa…" he said aloud, "was Otto using this place as a staging ground? The chaos of the Prison break would've been perfect cover to move in." Deciding to start at the far end, the Web slinger grimaced at Otto's familiar messy script on blueprints on a floor plan of the Oscorp Tower Executive Suite that read 'Corrupt' and 'Liar.' The other images of the CEO were equally defaced, Peter unable to stop himself from shaking his head

Picking up a voice recorder from the desk and hit play, hearing a harsh and contorted version of the voice the rational version of his mind said belonged to his mentor, but the other part refused to believe it. _"Norman," _growled Octavius, _"feels like I can't turn around without seeing his face. He smiles for the camera, collects his accolades…and keeps his boot heel pressed against my neck," _snarled Otto. Peter couldn't help but wince as he heard that, that wasn't the Otto he knew talking, it couldn't be. The arms must've already been affecting his mind, the arms he helped make. _"Why can't anyone else see how selfish he is? How reckless? How…evil? If only they could be made to see the Norman I know…the man behind the mask…" _he mused as the player cycled to bring up the next file. _"Oscorp has snaked itself throughout the city – power, communication, public safety. Norman made his company essential – but also fragile. If a disaster were to occur, and a few small pressure points were tweaked…" _continued the mad scientist, the Wall crawler's eyes widening in understanding, power, communications, and supply had been where the super villains had been seen the most and where the Rykers seemed to focus their efforts, and it all began to come into clear view why that was. _"It would all fall apart. The public would see Norman for what he is: a __**leech**__ on their lives. Yes…just a few simple steps and he would be ruined forever." _The light blinked again as it played the third recording. _"How many men would I need?" _questioned Otto, _"Well, let's see…First, some kind of disaster. A hurricane, an earthquake, or… a __**plague**__." _Peter's heart dropped into his stomach, part of him hoped that this might have been accidental in some way, but this proved it wasn't, it was all planned. _"Next: assaults on Oscorp's power grid and emergency relief," _rattled off Otto with terrifying clarity, _"Send the city into chaos. Let the people see the truth about Norman. Yes…just a handful of men. No more than half a dozen…A Sinister Six." _

The name of the group sent a shiver down his spine, the whole thing sounded too well thought out to be the result of the madness brought on by the arms, and that thought was only bolstered by the next recording. _"Martin has been arrested. Norman looks pleased. Believes he's safe. He has no idea: he's just put all the rotten eggs a man might need into a single basket. With Martin in the R.A.F.T…alongside Scorpion, Rhino, Vulture, and Electro…a single swift kick is all it would take to send those eggs tumbling down the hill. Straight at Oscorp…and Norman. Yes, just one small kick…I think it's time for me to lace up my boots, and climb the hill." _Now, the Web slinger was sighing deeply, blinking back a tear that was beginning to form at now understanding just how fall the man he respected had now fallen, and that was before he heard the man address him by name. _"This is my final recording. Peter, if you're listening to this, please know that I did what I thought was just. It may have been extreme…but when it comes to Norman, half-measures will never do. Of all that I risk by taking this next step, the loss of our friendship will pain me the most," _he admitted, and for a single, brief second, he heard his mentor on the voice recorder. _"I hope that if we meet again…it will not be on opposite sides" _he finished ominously.

At a loss for words, Peter turned to the next table which held a few dummies with partially disassembled Sable International armor. "Looks like Otto's been studying Sable's tech for weaknesses," he guessed as he looked over the parts. Setting them down, he moved through the hideout to a familiar piece of headgear he had helped develop. "Otto's rage must be what's driving him, the neural interface is exacerbating it…but his hate is genuine. He'll destroy the whole city to hurt Norman…" The realization hurt more than he cared to admit.

Continuing, he passed an odd box labeled 'Icarus' before reaching what had caught his eye. The next table had a swath of familiar items, swords, masks, and surveillance photos of a familiar suited Asian man. "Martin Li…can't believe this is the same man I knew at FEAST," he said sadly as he looked down and saw a neatly written note on the desk sitting atop a glowing sword. "Seems like Otto and Li have more of a history than I thought…"

_Dr. Octavius,_

_Thank you for the medication. It's helped some but the episodes continue to grow stronger. Things haven't been this bad since I was a child – I feel like I'm barely in control. Yesterday, during Osborn's address, I came close to blacking out. Seeing him triggers feelings I had thought long buried. I'm not sure how much longer I can live in his shadow like this._

_Martin Li_

"How long have they known each other?" he wondered, since this was clearly from before Li began his rampage as Mr. Negative. "Looks like Otto recorded messages for his crew…"

"_Oh Martin. When I first realized it was you targeting Osborn these past weeks, I was shocked and saddened. But then, as the situation evolved before my eyes, I felt…inspired. You took the bold steps I have always dreamed of, Martin, and you took them without hesitation. I am honored now to join you on this path towards true justice." _It was hard to hear that, these were men that he had looked up to not that long ago, and now they were conspiring to use a WMD on a civilian population and called it 'Justice'?

Doubling back, he went deeper into the lair when he noticed some familiar green liquid. "Mac Gargan, aka Scorpion, aka Crazy Pants McCrazy." The table had many vials, as well as a microscope and other equipment for making more of the venom that went in the stinger. But equally interesting were the computers and files with bank records…and they were in an even sorrier state than his.

Picking up the expected voice recorder, Peter braced himself and hit 'play.' _"It's rare for me to admit this Mr. Gargan," _began Octavius grimly, _"clearing your debts was more difficult than I anticipated. You are in arrears to some…demanding individuals. But…once the reservoir job is finished, your financial obligations will be finished as well," _promised Octavius. Doing a double take back at the monitors, the Wall crawler's jaw dropped at just how much of an accomplishment that was while also making a mental note to dig into the 'reservoir job.' _"Otto Octavius is nothing if not persuasive."_

"Scorpion's helping Otto in exchange for a clean slate…" realized Peter as he pigged up a rap sheet with a familiar humorless grimace in the top left corner. "Criminal record expunged and gambling debts erased."

Setting that down, he turned around to a table with schematics of a familiar armored suit laid out on it. "Good ol' Rhino, my second favorite Russian," mused Peter as he instantly scooped up and activated the voice recorder.

"_Aleksei, I've followed your career with great interest. The world sees you as a witless dullard; I see a warrior with a poet's heart" _continued Otto. Peter had to raise an eyebrow at that, he felt like he had a good grasp of the Rhino, but upon second thinking he realized what Otto was doing, he was telling these people what they wanted to hear. _"I know you desire freedom from the battle suit you're sealed inside. Help me achieve my goals, and freedom shall be yours."_

It wasn't an idle boast either; a sample of Rhino's armor plate hanging from a rack attracted the Web slinger's attention. "Otto developed a corrosive to free Rhino from his suit," said Peter in amazement, thinking that armor more indestructible than BT. "A certain government agency spent years trying and failing to do that…" he remembered, "only took Otto a few days."

Next was a somewhat sorrier sight, there was a disheveled bed and wheelchair with an IV drip set up that could only be warranted by one man. "Old man Vulture," said Spider-Man sadly, he had an odd respect for the old man, "I've tangled with him more than anyone else here…" he recalled, in fact it wasn't even close.

Unsurprisingly, there was another voice recorder and the Web head dutifully picked it up and played the message. _"Adrian, what bitter irony that your miraculous wings should have wrought such horrors on your body. Thankfully, you are now working for me," _continued Octavius with a smugness that veered into arrogance rather firmly. _"When our work is settled, I __**will**_ _cure you. You won't shuffle off this mortal coil just yet, my friend."_

As for what that treatment was for? One look at the x rays and Otto's notes revealed that. "Power source for Vulture's wings gave him spinal cancer…and Otto's developing an experimental treatment to save him…" Peter let out a breath, this was the Otto he knew, using his intelligence to help people. Maybe the man he knew was still in there somewhere, there was some hope…

Immediately next to that was the station belonging to the youngest man in the bunch. "Electro. Total live wire that one," he quipped, even if his heart wasn't in it.

"_Max," _began Otto as soon as Peter pressed the button on the recorder, _"When you first conveyed your dream to me, I thought you insane. 'Pure Energy?'" _recounted Otto with a hearty laugh. _"But as I dove deeper into the problem, I discovered a way to give us both what we desire. I promise you, when we are done, you _will _be pure energy. Or so close to it as to make the difference irrelevant." _

That explained the bizarre vest that Electro had been wearing during the breakout, a second one on the mannequin sitting on the table. "Electro's big pipe dream is to become 'Pure Energy.' Doc modified his harness to get a little closer to that goal…" He was already a huge pain to deal with, and if he accomplished his insane dream…

Pushing that thought aside, he moved onto the last table, this one was barren except for a single map of the city. "Otto must've used this map to plan, but it's blank…" he looked up at the odd light looking down on it, "Unless I'm missing something." Taking a closer look at that, he made a quick discovery, "U.V. bulb…" he mused as he hit the switch, only getting a 'click' in return, "Huh, nothing happened." Stepping back, he followed the wire to the breaker box on the wall and raised his web shooters, ripping off the cover before he fired another electric web to kick start the power. Coming back, he saw that his efforts had done the trick. "Hidden markings" he noted as he looked at them in detail. "Otto's' tasked the villains to destroy Oscorp holdings throughout the city…he's trying to take apart Norman's empire piece by piece…what's Vulture doing in Times Square?" he wondered, he hadn't seen any sign of Toomes, but that could change very quickly, "better keep my guard up."

"Electro's disabling Oscorp Power Plants…makes sense" he mused as he continued through the map. "Rhino's targeting Oscorp's shoreline properties…which is he hitting first? And why?" Much less confusing was the one farthest south. "Scorpion must be trying to poison the city's reservoir…" realized Peter with rising horror. "Another Oscorp owned property…"

There was another member of this Sinister Six and he had the most detail put towards his part of the plan. "Li's going after the Devil's Breath antiserum…using something called 'Icarus'?" said Peter, making out the script before trailing his pointer finger to the 'x' at the center. "Seems like the last stage of the plan is a direct assault on Oscorp…and most likely, Norman Osborn."

Stepping back, he cocked his head, hadn't he seen something called 'Icarus' earlier? Retracing his steps, he soon found the crate once again. The giant red letters declared that it was, in fact, Icarus. "This is it" he said in realization before he opened the hard case sitting atop the crate only to be met by a familiar face.

"_Hello Spider-Man"_ greeted Doctor Octavius with a grin that made Peter's skin crawl, _"We've never been properly introduced. I'm…"_

"Otto Octavius," finished the Webslinger, features tightening at the tone of Otto's voice and noting the camera and mic built into the case. His Spider sense was beginning to hum as he narrowed his eyes and the lenses on his mask followed suit, "there is no 'Icarus' is there?"

"_No," _confirmed Otto smugly. _"Martin needs no assistance to secure the antiserum. 'Icarus' was a ruse to get you into position." _

His sixth sense was now buzzing, "into position?" he parroted dumbly as the bottom of the hard case opened to reveal a blinking light atop an eye watering amount of plastic explosive. But the hum caused him to look around and it diminished as he looked up and he saw a grate in the roof. With no better options, he leapt up with all of his strength and just cleared the shaft when he felt the shockwave throw him even further as he flipped away from the fireball that followed him up, escaping a singing as he fired a web line and swung around to one of the billboards, sticking fast as he tried to gather his bearings and figure out why there was still a hum at the base of his skull.

Looking around, he thought he heard something rustling, almost buzzing, in the air around him. Trying to pierce the blackness, he couldn't see anything amiss, but that didn't ease the hum from his sixth sense as he leapt from the wall only to be bound in heavy cables, arms pinned to his sides as he fought and struggled against the bindings. Part of his brain realized that he was just hanging in midair, and he wasn't about to ask why that was until he heard a familiar voice. "Need a lift?" asked the Vulture as Spidey looked up to see the green winged villain staring down at him, "So refreshing to work for a man like Octavius! Backup plans for his backup plans!" bragged Toomes.

Before Peter could make a witty retort, the Vulture winged over and dove, the sudden move slamming the Wall crawler into an advertisement board as his mask phone rang, the impact causing his head to slam sideways and answer the call, meaning the first thing whoever had contacted him heard was a pained grunt and massive crash. _"Pete?" _asked a shocked Mary Jane, _"Are you ok? What's happening?" _As Vulture veered right and Peter swiveled his body around to get his feet onto the building to push himself off the next building, still swinging freely as he bounded from car to car before slamming down on the street, rolling before scrambling back to his feet.

As soon as he did, his head snapped up to see a NYPD car coming at him as he leapt up, still being bound as he clumsily put one foot down on the hood and his other on the roof, jumping off to a parked car to his right as he was led farther forward like a dog on a leash. "Traffic's rough," he replied, "Listen, Li's gunning for the antiserum. We need to find Oscorp's Devil's Breath Lab before he does," he relayed quickly as he was dragged into the air, straight towards an oncoming fire truck.

Swinging his legs, he frantically forced his body towards a police car going the other way, using that as a springboard to get himself clear of the oncoming truck just as Vulture dropped back down, slamming him into the sidewalk. Even as he was only half listening, MJ continued on. _"I'm pulling every building permit in the city. If there's a record of a lab, I'll find it," _assured the redhead.

Peter was far more focused on the wall he was being dragged towards as the Vulture nosed up and ascended, causing the Web head to swing as he twisted, further entangling himself as he got his feet on the building, bracing as the impact knocked the wind out of him and he half skipped up the wall of the building. "That's great," he managed, not sure what he was replying to, but he thought it was good news. "Oh…uh…talk soon MJ!" he continued, hoping she would take the hint.

Toomes, uncaring for the Web slinger's plight, merely dragged him across the roof before diving once again, swooping through the air as a familiar yellow light appeared in Spider-Man's peripheral vision and he was slammed down into a metal grate. Even if he had the air knocked out of him again and felt the slight haze of a concussion, he had been let go as he slowly sat up and began to work at his binds when his eyes met two familiar figures and his wandering mind realized why he had been dragged here of all places, wherever _here _was. "Trap failed?" asked Electro as he hovered in mid-air, lightning shooting out from his arms and legs.

"Softened him up," replied Vulture, "time for plan B." With that, he peeled away from the grinning lightning rod as he charged up a blast and took aim at the struggling Web head before Spider-Man managed to break out of the binding cable and leap out of the way as the steel walkway was turned to slag.

Sticking to a wall of the power plant, looking out over the power generators and smokestacks as he caught his breath and reset his web shooters, Peter took stock of the situation. Vulture was gone, but that still left Max Dillon in the middle of all the smokestacks and buildings, one of them was burning quite horribly. _"Teamwork's a beautiful thing, ain't it?" _asked Electro over an open radio channel, _"helpin' ya reach those unattainable goals…like killing Spider-Man!" _he roared as a blast of lightning came at the Wall crawler.

A quick web line pulled him out of the way as he swung from it, firing bursts of webbing with his other web shooter to force Electro to break off his attack. "That was almost heartwarming Electro. You really grew in prison, didn't you?" he quipped as his sixth sense blared and he flipped off the line just as a blast of electricity tore through the air. Taking the opportunity, he fired a line straight at the villain, pulling himself to Dillon and getting a few solid punches in before flipping back and swinging away.

Electro roared in rage before floating over to a familiar transformer, just like the one that had been used the previous night. Hovering just above it, he summoned power from it before blasting out. The yellow bolts stretched from ground to sky, going out in all directions as Spider-Man ran along the building and dove through one of the gaps before flipping through the air and bringing both web shooters to bear, emptying the cartridges into the device until it crackled and shattered. The feedback from the electrical discharge stunned Electro as Peter planted both feet on the platform under the wrecked transformer and pushed himself off, opening the range in case Electro had something else in store for him. _"Argh!"_ roared Dillon, gritting his teeth in pain, _"V! You're up!" _

Right on cue, a green streak dove through the clouds as Electro zapped off and the winged form of the Vulture came into view. "Yo Adrian! It's me, Spider-Man!" yelled out the Web slinger as the villain banked in, weaving through the buildings with a grace beguiling his advanced age.

Just as easily, Toomes pulled up, wings spread wide as he narrowed his eyes at the red and blue clad vigilante as he crouched down. "What are you babbling about?" sneered the Vulture.

Mildly disheartened, the Wallcrawler leapt up and fired a web line to swing out, keeping an eye on the villain, "nobody ever gets my jokes," he bemoaned as his sixth sense rang and he saw Vulture's wings sweep back and the man charge in, bringing his claws forward.

But the Arachnid was too quick, firing a web line at his bald head to pull himself up and swing over the man's flying form as the Vulture quickly shot skyward and yo-yoed around. "Our long feud ends tonight, insect!"

Seeing an opening as Adrian showed his back to him, Spider-Man struck, firing a web line to yank himself to the flying villain, who turned around just in time for the Web head's first punch to slam into his breathing mask and snap his head back. "Feud?" asked Spidey with feigned outrage as a second punch was rammed into the man's gut, causing him to double over. "I thought we had a healthy give and take," countered the Wallcrawler as he threw two more punches that sent his head from left to right as gravity finally began to pull him back down. In one last move, he raised both hands and fired a web line at each wing before pulling himself back up and slamming the sole of his shoe into the man's face, sending him tumbling back as Spider-Man flipped gracefully, "man have I misread this relationship," he quipped as he squared back up to the recovering villain.

Instead of charging back in, the Vulture turned away, zoom climbing up out of range of any of Spider-Man's attack before lazily circling back around before he streaked back in and Peter was forced to dodge, able to feel the wind rushing past him as Vulture climbed and a bright yellow light and electric crackling filled the air. "Spider-Man…" called out a grinning Max Dillon, "I must break you!" he yelled out before unleashing a burst of lighting ripped through the air, forcing Spider-Man to dodge to his left before his Spider sense rang again and he instinctively dodged back to his right just as the Vulture ripped through the air and came to a stop alongside Electro.

Peter's blood went cold as he realized that the pair of them were going to come at him together now, but he wasn't so focused on that to let Electro's remark pass him by. "You got it!" he called happily, "you got my joke! I'm so happy I could almost stop fighting!" yelled out the Web slinger as Vulture put that to the test and swept his wings back to dash in, only for the Webhead to pull himself up his web line and flip off, planting his foot on the man's back to drive him down to clip a building, "Almost" he emphasized. "Gotta be honest," he continued as he swung around, trying to keep an eye on each of his foes as they split up to pincer him in, "liked it better when you two were loners."

To emphasize the point, just as he was about to swing behind a building to isolate Electro, a blast from Dillon forced him out just as the Vulture swooped in to seize the advantage, putting the Wallcrawler on the defensive as he let gravity do its work to pull him clear of the razor sharp wingtips. Electro chimed in, finding Spidey's plight amusing. _"Amazing what a little teamwork can achieve, ain't it?" _he asked as they tried the same move, a bolt from Electro forcing Spider-Man into the open, except this time he was ready for the follow up from Vulture. Wheeling his whole body around, he didn't follow his sixth senses cries to move, instead slamming a fist into the man's gut, sending him tumbling back and giving him an opening as he fired a pair of web lines to close the gap, only for a blast from Electro to fill the air between them, severing the webs.

Toomes climbed away without hesitation, _"the vigor of youth; the wisdom of experience, a fine pairing." _It was better than Peter cared to admit as he swung back and forth, trying to get a bead on one of the villains without exposing himself to the other, but the pair were operating like a well-oiled machine. But he was patient, even if being on the go for almost 24 hours was beginning to take its toll, adrenaline was keeping him up and moving. But more importantly, his foes lacked patience, and as Electro continued to wail away at him, missing every time, Adrian Toomes lined up and spread his wings before unleashing a barrage of edged feathers tore through the air. Seizing the opportunity, Spider-Man bounced off a building and used his web shooters to snatch one of the metal projectiles out of the air, flipping acrobatically to hurl it back at its sender, staggering him behind a smokestack and giving him a chance. Web-zipping to the Vulture, he planted his feet on the man's chest and planted a pair of punches on his masked face before slamming a kick into the harness on his chest before Toomes could recover and swipe at him with a wing. But the damage had been done, and as the Web slinger flipped away, he grinned at the sight of smoke coming out of the winged harness. _"Need to…catch my breath. Take over, Electro" _asked Toomes as he climbed up, but at a noticeably slower rate.

"_No problem V!"_ assured Dillon as Spider-Man swung away and had to flip from his line as another blast of electricity tore past.

"Missed again Max!" taunted Spider-Man as he squared up to his now singular foe, "as usual." Goaded on by the taunt, Dillon took up station over another transformer, siphoning off power as Spider-Man toggled his web shooters, landing two blasts of impact webbing on the device as he turned Otto's creation against his underlings and the device exploded. The explosion sent even the electrically enhanced villain reeling, flipping head over heels before summoning even more electricity while Spider-Man swung lazily, waiting to see what would happen next.

But what happened was that Electro surged forwards with such speed and ferocity that even he couldn't dodge and found himself driven through a smokestack and sent flying through the night sky. Twisting himself around, he used his web shooters to grab a piece of debris straight out of that sky and used its momentum to gain his own 'balance' as he spun like a top and redirected the concrete towards Electro. Caught flat footed, Electro was slammed back by the attack and unable to counter as Spider-Man fired a web line at each of the two remaining smokestacks and launched himself forwards, planting his feet on that same chunk of concrete and ramming it into Electro. The villain fought back valiantly, bringing his hands up and summoning his powers to slow the momentum of several hundred pounds of concrete and rebar as he was pushed downwards and back. A ringing of Peter's Sixth sense caused him to leap up and dodge away as Vulture slammed into the slab full force in an effort to crush the arachnid like a bug.

The chunk shattered under the force of the impact as the two villains ricocheted off each other and regained their bearings. _"He doesn't stand a chance!" _sneered Toomes as the Vulture rolled away.

"_Yeah, yeah we got this!" _agreed Electro.

"Again, hate to be the pessimist," began Peter as he was forced to dodge another blast of electricity, "but I don't think you guys are assessing this situation accurately." He _had _been slowly turning the tables on his attackers after all, Electro's bleeding cuts on his face and arms as well as the smoke from the Vulture's harness were proof of that. But now they were both coming at him again, and his aching bones and tiring muscles were starting to demand a rest, it seemed that even he had limits, and they were rapidly approaching.

He had to end this, and fast.

Knowing he couldn't take both on at once, he swung and let go of his line high, arcing through the air as he unloaded a barrage of webs at Electro, binding the villain in sticky synthetic silk until he felt a drumming at the base of his skull. Instantly, he dodged away as the Vulture shot past, but not before a web line caught the man in his back and Spider-Man pulled himself to the high-flying villain. With Electro still bound, the Web head was free to finish off Toomes, and the man tried to bring his wings up to block only for Spider-Man to plant both feet on them, his momentum shearing bolts and welds as he flipped up and brought a fist down on his chest, causing more smoke to come from the damaged device as he kept him his assault. Pushing himself off his chest, Spider-Man fired another line as Toomes brought the damaged wing up to defend, but Spider-Man merely ripped one of the steel spikes from it and flipped, bringing it down on the damaged wing as it lost structural integrity and failed completely. The result was catastrophic, losing all stability and with propulsion still working, Toomes corkscrewed through the air, spinning uncontrollably until he slammed into a catwalk and tumbled down to the asphalt below, sliding to a stop just beside a trio of police cars.

"That's Vulture's wings clipped," quipped Spider-Man as he clung to a building and saw three officers approaching a slow moving Toomes, "better check on sparky."

"_You might've got the old man," _called Dillon as he floated around, ripping the last of the webbing from his face, _"but I'm gonna get you!" _Before he could make that happen, another barrage of webbing slammed into the lightning rod, repeating what had just happened as he could only growl indignantly.

With no Vulture, Spider-Man seized the advantage, pulling himself towards Max. "Confidence – I like it," he quipped as he slammed a roundhouse kick into his jaw. "Unreasonable, unjustified," he continued as a punch hit his gut and an uppercut followed suit, "but still confident," he continued as he fell, but was able to get a web line on the man's foot to swing down under Electro and pull himself up behind the villain, flipping off the line and slamming both feet into his back, "good on ya!"

With a raging fury, lighting ripped through the air as the webbing melted from the heat and Electro unleashed a near continuous stream of lighting as Spider-Man was forced to cower behind one of the remaining smokestacks, the Oscorp sign that hung from it getting blasted into oblivion from the unrelenting electrical onslaught. Only when it finally abated did Spider-Man swing out, only to find Dillon hovering over yet another transformer and siphoning more power before another wave of lightning bolts shot out. Weaving through the artificial lightning, Spider-Man closed the gap and brought up his web shooters, only to get empty 'clicks' as the impact webbing function was empty. If he didn't have enough for that then he was truly running low, but he was so close!

But he still had his other gadgets, and he hastily ripped out a web bomb and hurled it at Electro. The spherical device landed and stuck to the top of the transformer, blinking just long enough for Max to look down and widen his eyes at the sight of it before it went off, wrapping up the villain as it overloaded the transformer and caused it to explode. Spider-Man latched onto a building and shielded his eyes from the lightshow that ensued as Electro spun wildly out of control and landed on a catwalk, the webbing sticking fast as he fought against it to no avail. Flipping over and coming to a stop atop the railing, Peter's enhanced ears could make out a familiar voice. Webbing be damned, the web slinger ripped the earpiece from Electro's ear in time to catch the tail end of the message. _"…at's happening?"_

Bringing the mic up to his face as he stepped down, Peter answered his mentor. "Electro's been grounded," he quipped, though there was no joking in his tone.

"_Spider-Man I presume?" _asked Octavius, still sounding as harsh and cold as on the worst of the recordings from his hideout. _"If you really cared about this city, you'd be helping us expose Osborn for the criminal he is!" _sneered the Doctor.

"By killing innocent people?" shot back Peter.

"_I would've restored the power," _countered Otto, almost dismissively of the people who might still have died anyways.

The Queens native shook his head, "You're sick, you need help" he said sadly, almost begging the man to take up his offer.

"_I have all the help I need," _returned Octavius lowly, _"and we will not stop until Osborn gets what he deserves!" _asserted the scientist as the line cut and Peter threw away the earpiece. Swinging off as police flooded the power plant and the first Sable agents arrived, Peter couldn't help but shake his head in disgust. Staying low and wall running to conserve webbing as he made his way towards the safe house he was shacked up in.

But his eyelids were getting heavier with each step and his body ached in protest and he was forced to realize he needed a moment to catch his breath. Running up and climbing onto a rooftop, he meandered towards the covered pavilion, figuring it would be best to stay out of sight of Sable's aerial patrols while he rested. "Hate it when they team up…" he groused; silently thankful they hadn't done it before as he sat down with his back against the brick. "Just need to…" he began as he leaned his head back, "Catch my breath…" he told himself as his heavy eyelids closed and sleep claimed him instantly.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Vehicle: 2018 Ford Shelby GT350 _

_For all you folks out there who don't get cars, or don't get American cars, I'm going to let you in on a few little secrets. First, the Ford Mustang, since it's debut in 1964, has never been a muscle car, ever. It will never be a muscle car because it is a __**pony car**__. The Mustang has never had the brawn to be a muscle car, and that's obvious when you look at one next to a proper muscle car, a Dodge Challenger, Plymouth Barracuda, or Chevrolet Chevelle, and no, the Camaro isn't a muscle car either, it's a pony car like the 'Stang. It was this lack of masculinity that made the first Mustangs a real hit…with women. It was actively advertised to secretaries, who made the car a sales success, but the early one's weren't cool. _

_To fix this, Ford turned to who else but a Texan? The man who beat Ferrari to a bloody pulp at Le Mans, Carol Shelby, and had him make the Mustang into a racing car. They couldn't have picked a better man for the job, as he himself said, "performance is my business." But even he wasn't enthused with the task, supposedly saying that "you can't make a race horse out of a mule." Still, the man went to work, upping the power from the 289 cubic inch V8 with a four barrel carburetor, giving it bigger brakes, and painting on some 'go faster' stripes. All they needed then was a name, and it became the GT350. Why? Well it wasn't a 350 cubic inch motor, it didn't make 350 horsepower, and it didn't go 350 miles an hour. It was named because the distance between Shelby's workshops was 350 feet. _

_And while the later GT500 would become the more powerful and famous of Shelby's first-generation Mustangs, the GT350 was always closer to that of an actual racing car. Adorned with the famous Shelby Cobra emblem, these cars terrorized any muscle car when there was a corner involved, even if they were lacking in the straights. Still, the GT350 and GT500 did what Ford had wanted; they made the Mustang cool. This is something that has waxed and waned over the years (Mustang II anyone?), but a lot of guys like Mustangs and buy them. However, usually what happens when they buy them is they promptly crash them into something, usually at high speed. That being said, I wouldn't be caught dead behind the wheel of one unless it says 'Shelby', 'Boss', 'Roush', 'Mach 1', or 'Bullitt' on it somewhere. _

_But mine does say 'Shelby,' even if it was built by Ford Performance, and it is the GT350, not the GT350R, since those are hideously overpriced and damn near undrivable on roads as rough as those in Manhattan. That, and the tires are only usable in warm months, and I wanted to be able to drive the car at any time, at least carefully. I still keep the main thing I want, that glorious 5.2L, or 315 cubic inch, V8 motor, with a flat plane crank, meaning this thing revs to 8,250 rpm. Compared to something like the 302 in the regular Mustang GT which has the redline at 6,500 rpm, even if it's a smaller engine. The 'Voodoo V8' engine is the star of the show, it sounds like nothing else in the world, high revving like a Ferrari, but a deeper baritone thanks to its higher displacement. With 526 horsepower it can get the car to 60 mph four seconds after a stoplight turns green, and you won't even be out of second gear. _

_It's a car so cool that I can forgive the fact that most people who don't know any better will think it's only a Mustang._

* * *

**Closing Notes: I had a lot of fun writing the boss fight here, hopefully it came across well because it was tricky to get right. Still, the hardest part was definitely the conversation between Matt and Sable. That went through 2 or 3 rewrites to get it to a point where I was happy with it but let me know what you think if you want to leave a review.**

**Most of the info in the Logbook entry came from the excellent Issimi video on the GT500 with Jason Cammisa, if you have even a passing interest in cars then give it a watch. **

**But next chapter is going to see the last wayward member of the cast get back into action once the others break his Rusty Cage.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	63. Chapter 63: Rusty Cage

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

As always, Dodge is proving to have their finger on the pulse of their customers. Soon to come is a 702 horsepower, supercharged V8 powered pickup truck with a sub 5 second 0-60 mph time. God bless America.

**Blaze1992: Never actually seen that one, may have to give it a watch. As for Sable, yes, that will take time to payoff but that is the plan. **

**MarauderPrime12: Thanks man, glad you enjoyed it. **

**Guest: Oddly, that question has come up from like 5 different people in the last two weeks. The answer is...only when needed. We'll say she's on the pill and has Black Cat luck on her side as for the (admittedly flimsy) reasoning in universe. Real talk, that's a major plot development I want to approach properly so don't expect it anytime soon. **

**Svenion: He did, which is why it happened. Matt is a bit too cocky for his own good, he's a 'fighter jock' after all, I don't like characters that play everything perfectly because that isn't as interesting to me. Having faults and having there be consequences for those faults is what I like. He does know who Osborn is, though I do admit I could have made that fact clearer, but it's a risk. He's also not handing it out willy nilly, he's only doing it because he wants something from Osborn in return and he's not giving him weapons or anything he thinks can come back to bite him. We know how that turns out obviously, but still. **

As for the song, this is the Man in Black, Johnny Cash, covering, of all people, the grunge band Soundgarden. That being said, in my humble opinion, this is the definitive version of the song. It has Cash's gravelly tones giving it that old western feel that it deserves, and it feels like it belongs in an old Eastwood Western. Oddly enough, I first heard it way back in 2013 when it was the intro song to 'Mob of the Dead' which was a CoD Zombies map in the Black Ops II days. Fittingly, the map was set on Alcatraz and was an allegory for Purgatory. Don't read into that too much, it's a great song and has a great feel. Give a listen and enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 63: Rusty Cage**

_When the forest burns along the road_

_Like God's eyes in my headlights_

_When the dogs are looking for their bones_

_And it's raining ice picks on your steel shore_

_I'm gonna break, I'm gonna break my,_

_I'm gonna break my rusty cage and run_

* * *

Peter's eyes snapped open as his head came up just as quickly, inadvertently slamming into the brick wall behind him, which did more to wake him up than a cup of coffee. "What time…" he wondered as he looked up and saw hints of sunlight poking through the overcast sky as he quickly got to his feet. Looking around as he poked his head out from his resting place, the Webslinger got moving again, only having a few more blocks to go before he got back to the safehouse to stock up on webbing and grab a bite. "Need to update Yuri…" he told himself for whatever good it would do as he called the police Captain and leapt to the opposite building, running along it to conserve what little webbing he had left. When the call was picked up, he spoke quickly, though his scratchy voice was still shaking off his sleep as he spoke, "Yuri: Vulture and Electro are down; four to go."

"_I saw," _returned Watanabe, sounding relieved as Peter used a string of webbing to swing past another block in a single stroke, flipping at the apex of his swing and landing on the next wall as he saw his destination fast approaching. _"I also noticed a rooftop in Times Square exploded," _added the Captain dryly as the Wallcrawler ducked into a back alley and slipped through a window and into the safehouse, _"wouldn't happen to be related, would it?"_

He couldn't help but laugh as he grabbed a handful of fresh web cartridges and began to replace the spent ones. "Nothing gets by you. It was Octavius' staging ground…" he relayed before cycling the fresh cartridges in and giving them a test by firing a line across the small space to grab an apple and yank it over to him while lifting his mask and took a bite out of it, "He's using the villains to pull apart Oscorp. Vulture and Electro were targeting power plants, Scorpion's going after water treatment. Not sure about Rhino yet," he said, pausing to take another bite of his fruit before resuming, "something along the shoreline."

Wiping the apple on his costume to get rid of the webbing residue, he ate the fruit happily while Yuri replied. _"That's good enough to start," _she assured as Peter saw his phone flashing to alert to a notification, _"I assume you're going after Scorpion?" _

He was about to agree as he opened the text, his chewing stopped cold as the lenses on his mask widened at the message. "Not yet," he managed dumbly as he reread the brief few words, smile appearing on his face, "Black Cat found the Marauder. We're going to go get him."

* * *

"This is a most unfortunate setback Otto" said the leader of the Inner Demons, his eyes glowing ominously, smoking as they looked up at Octavius. The sword in his hand had the same effect, with Otto able to feel the heat radiating off of it on his exposed face. Behind Li, dozens of newly converted men in sport coats and monochromatic masks each held some type of weapon imbued with their leader's power and remained unnaturally, eerily still as they awaited instruction.

"Unfortunate," agreed Otto, "but not entirely unexpected." Indeed, that was truly how the scientist felt about the loss of two of his cabal to the Webslinger the previous night. "It was always believed that defeating those two interlopers at the RAFT would merely open a window for us to seize the advantage…it was never expected to last permanently," reminded Octavius. Nothing that Otto had gleaned about either hero suggested they would be content to stay on the sidelines, and the fact that the Sinister Six had this long to execute his plans unmolested was a boon in and of itself. "Still, your role in our endeavor has not changed Martin," assured Otto as he placed one of his actual hands on the suited man's shoulder and gave a reassuring smile, "the others…they don't truly believe in our righteous cause. This is why you, my friend, have the most critical task. We have Osborn right where we want him. All he has left to offer the people that look up to him is the hope of an antiserum."

Using his arms, Otto carried his human body across the warehouse, Li walking alongside him. "While at the same time cowering in his penthouses and offices as the city suffers," the philanthropist sneered as the pair made their way to where Otto had set up what he had been able to find on the antiserum. "Further still, Osborn is allowing his hired mercenaries to terrorize the streets, no better than the Rikers they are supposed to protect the citizens from. My men have reported that they are imprisoning citizens and disregarding their rights…and have been doing so on Osborn's orders."

Dr. Octavius scoffed at the news, "and Osborn shows his true colors so easily…or we have already made him desperate." Otto pondered that particular train of thought and what adjustments he would have to make to his plans should it be true, he would have to investigate this further lest he lose the initiative that had led to his success so far. Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment, he turned to the leader of the Inner Demons and reiterated what needed to happen. "You must make haste Martin. The next few days will be critical if we are to be successful in showing the world the kind of man Norman really is. Get. That. Antiserum."

* * *

Peter wasn't really sure what to expect when he arrived at the address Felicia had sent him, the thief had a plan to get Matt back from wherever he was, but she was staying characteristically tight lipped about that plan. Equally characteristically, he was running late, he had come across a group of Rikers who had taken hostages and had to stop and help. Walking opening the window of the corner office space where he had been told to go, he poked his head in and found himself amongst odd company to be sure. "Well, nice of you to finally come Spider," greeted Felicia, the thief standing with hands on hips as she glared at him through her mask.

The looks from the others were no less kind, except for a rather bemused redhead whose presence was probably the biggest surprise to Peter. Much less surprising was the glowering Frank Castle, arms folded across the skull on his chest. "Ease off him," the words of Captain Watanabe were cool and collected, "Got word he was helping with some Rikers."

"Not sure how much of a 'help' it was," groused the Punisher lowly before Peter flipped through the window and closed it behind him as he stepped up to the table, looking down at the map on it. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he was…disappointed.

"Is that it?" he blurted out, causing everyone else to give him odd looks. "I mean…there's not that many guys," pointed out the Webslinger, gesturing to the markers on the map along with photos taken by Felicia showing the Sable Troopers, "You think they would have that place guarded like Fort Knox, I mean, it's not even a prison for Pete's sake!"

"Yeah, we noticed," deadpanned MJ, "I pulled the building records, nothing out of the ordinary before Sable International occupied it. This, as far as I can tell, only happened the night of the outbreak. Now? Officially it's a CCP, only there's another one a few blocks away that's bigger and better equipped. Meaning that this is a cover and perfect place to keep someone hidden and out of sight."

"Doesn't mean this'll be easy," interjected the Marine gruffly, "they aren't skimping on firepower and have good positions. Punching through the front door isn't an option with this bunch. They'll have a QRF ready too and it'll be on top of you as soon as you go loud."

The Black Cat smirked, "wasn't planning on it. You're not going with us, there's a gang of Rikers that set up in a club a few blocks away," began the Thief as she circled a spot on the map. Tossing out a photo posted by one of the men there on Facebook, a selfie with him and his buddies standing in front of the entrance, which had been adorned with dead cops, she added "They need to be punished, and make some noise while you're at it. Get Sable's attention, you saw the armory in the other room, feel free to help yourself."

The Marine nodded, "I can do that," he said confidently.

Peter bristled, not like the idea of working with the Punisher, and liking the idea of sending the Marine to kill a bunch of Rikers even less. "Or maybe, just maybe, and bear with me here…_I _go do that. I'm sure their 'Priority Target' showing up will get Sable's attention." He tried to inject a bit of enthusiasm into his pitch, but it was met with nothing but crickets from the rest of the room.

"Sorry Spider, I need a partner to go in and get the Marauder and I would prefer someone who at least knows the _basics _of stealth." Felicia was being deadly serious and clearly not in the mood for any backtalk. And it wasn't like he could blame her with what was on the line; would he not be the same way if it was Mary Jane they were trying to rescue? Well, he might call in the Punisher, but he wouldn't want to put up with any complaints from the peanut gallery. Putting his hands up in a gesture of surrender and stepping back to the approval of Black Cat as she turned to Yuri. "Captain, I don't need much from you, just keep your cops out of the area, no reason for them to get mixed up in all this."

Yuri raised an eyebrow, "Is that _all?_" asked the Cop after a second's pause, clearly not expecting to have so little asked of her. The Black Cat nodded simply as Yuri's eyebrow went even higher, "Alright then. I should be able to make that happen for you. It's not like we're short of other things to do."

"Spider, that means you and I get the fun part," began Felicia with a wicked grin, "we're going in to get him out. As far as I can tell, they have him here on the third floor and his stuff his stored in a locked room in their armory on the top floor" continued the woman, circling two spots on the floorplan. "I'm going to need you to put that super strength to use Spider," continued the Thief as she picked a bag up off the floor and set it down on the table, "be a dear and carry that in for me…but don't look inside." Now it was the Wallcrawlers turn to cock an eyebrow up as he cautiously reached out and picked up the weighty bag, "oh, and one more thing…"

"What'll that be?" asked Peter cautiously.

The wicked smirk was still on the Black Cats face, "We'll be going in after dark and I don't want that obnoxious suit giving us away, so I want you to use that one we gave you."

Peter was now keenly aware of the look that Mary Jane was giving him as his shoulders slumped in dejection and he knew he would have some explaining to do, "okay, fine. What'll MJ be doing?" he asked, not so subtly trying to change the subject.

"She'll be monitoring the crime system to let us know of any unexpected surprises" explained Felicia coolly, "All the way from my place. Don't worry Spider; she won't have a single red hair touched." The woman's serious tone was starting to ebb, replaced by that hint of teasing that was her default before she turned to address the group as a whole. "We go tonight at 10 o clock, right when the guards change. With any luck they won't even know we were there."

There was a snort as all eyes turned towards the cop. "I thought Black Cats were bad luck by default?"

Felicia gave an airy chuckle, "That's my secret Captain," she replied with a smirk, "I make my own luck."

* * *

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Miles pulled his medical mask down and drank greedily from a bottle of water as he sat down, taking a load off his aching feet. Looking over, he couldn't help but be saddened at the sight of the ever expanding 'memorial wall' that had sprung up next to the kitchen. Sprawling over 10 feet of wall and 6 feet high, pictures, notes, drawings, and other mementos covered what had been a bulletin board but had gone well beyond that. The only other notable feature was the foot gap between the bottom and the floor since that the ground was covered in lit candles. Those on the wall weren't necessarily dead, but they could be sick, wounded, or missing, and the wall had become the center point of mourning, prayer, and remembrance.

Miles had lost track of how many bodies had been hauled outside, not that he had wanted to at any rate, but it was a sickening reminder of just how bad things were getting. Perhaps even worse, the beds were all full, or very close to it. As soon as someone passed away and was carried out it seemed that another sick person took their spot, FEAST was operating at the red line of its capacity, if things got much worse than they would have more sick than they did beds. The Midtown High student's mind drifted to his mother and the hospital she worked at, wondering what the situation there must have been like.

The news had painted a grim picture of course, but there wasn't any other kind in Manhattan at the moment. Beds had run out in less than 36 hours, now the sick were being put anywhere there was a space, that didn't discount the wounded from the fighting that was constantly happening across the beleaguered island. There was ongoing talk about sending in the National Guard, but they still weren't mobilized and wouldn't be for some time and sending in anything without a heavily armed escort had been nixed almost immediately for obvious reasons. What supplies did get sent in often didn't make it very far, the convoys were prime targets for ambushes, either by the Rikers or Inner Demons, though more than once one of the supervillains would show up and make quick work of the Sable Troopers or Police guarding the supplies.

He couldn't help but remember something Matt had told him when he had asked for ideas about a history assignment in school. The Texan had suggested the battle of Stalingrad from World War 2 and had helped the tech savvy teen research it out, what had stuck with him was that the German 6th army wasn't defeated not because the Soviets drove them back, but because they had been surrounded and cut off. Trapped in the city and leaving tens of thousands of men to freeze and starve to death over the course of three months. Considering their current situation, he wished he had chosen a different topic.

But he had been overexaggerating a bit to say there wasn't anything but grim news at the moment, Spider-Man had taken down two supervillains the previous night, and as a notification appeared on his phone, he plugged his earbuds in to hear the latest from Spidey's most vocal 'fan.' _"Electro trying to destroy our power grid. The Vulture raining death from above. Spider-Man egging them both on in the very heart of our city," _began the eternally angry J. Jonah Jameson, _"brawling like children – lethal tantrum pitching a tantrum of death and destruction." _He wasn't so naïve as to think Jameson would _praise _his hero, but he hadn't expected the man to be this harsh, it was the one thing they had at this point. _"I'm often asked," _he began before taking a dramatic pause, _"why do menaces like this end up with awesome powers? Why not someone like you, Jonah?" _Miles couldn't help but snort in derision, not being able to imagine the former Bugle editor teaching him how to throw a punch. _"Well, I have considered trying to use advanced science to give me powers. Only so I could protect you in a more hands on way, of course"_ amended Jameson quickly. _"But after much…reflection, I've decided against it. Because power corrupts," _he explained smugly, _"I'm a man of the people, and I want to stay one of the hardworking, ordinary people of New York. So I'll just help through my talk show, my publishing empire, and my vast personal fortune." _Rolling his eyes, he had to suppress laughter at hearing the last line of the podcast. _"No need to thank me, it's what a man of the people does."_

_Pompous jackass _mused Miles as he was about to pull his earbuds out when his phone buzzed in his hand and he looked down to see an incoming call. Quickly answering it, he spoke into the mic attached to his earbuds. "Hey Pete. You okay?" he asked, having not seen Mrs. Parker's nephew for a few days at the shelter.

"_That's what I was gonna ask you," _he replied, though he sounded oddly winded, _"I'm fine, but you and May are in the middle of it." _Even Miles could pick out the hint of worry in his voice and it was easy to understand why.

"We're busy," he replied truthfully as he looked around at the bustling space, "But people need help. And I'd rather be doing something than waiting around for somebody else to fix things, y'know?"

There was an odd background noise on the call, rushing wind it sounded like, but Miles couldn't be quite sure. _"Yeah, I heard that. Just make sure you protect yourself – mask and gloves. And rest every now and then" _he reminded as the Teen looked down at his glove covered hands and felt the mask lodged under his chin. _"All that goes double for May." _

Miles let out a tired sigh; he thought his abuela had been energetic for an older woman, but May Parker was on a whole other level. "Nobody can make that woman take a break when she doesn't want to. But I'll do my best," he promised.

"_Thanks Miles." _He could hear the relief in the Queens Native's tone as he looked to try and see where the woman was now. _"Give May my love…and be safe," _he finished before the call ended along with Miles break and the teen got back to work.

* * *

Emerging from her ROVR, Silver Sablinova gave a quick salute to the guards stationed outside the building where a Sable VIP, one Matthew Cooper, was in protective custody, nobody besides her knew of the man's alter ego. To the men stationed here, he was simply another guard duty, albeit an odd one, but they weren't paid to ask questions, and it was a relatively quiet posting. Though they probably didn't expect to see so much of the Symkarian, but Silver was quickly coming to enjoy speaking to the Pilot. Indeed, the Marauder may be the closest thing she had to a friend.

Heading up the stairs with calm poise, her head nonetheless swirled with thoughts about why she was here, why view the Pilot as a friend? Coming at it logically, they shared common experiences and mindsets, he was, like her, a fighter more than a soldier. While Sable could talk with many like that, they were her subordinates, and that dictated a certain level of decorum on their end and professionalism on hers, but with him being on his own, there was no need to maintain that should she not want to, even if it was a comfort zone she operated in by default. Still, she had spoken to him about life growing up, about her ambitions, things that went unspoken in conversations with subordinates, investors, or employers. It didn't mean she fully trusted him, she expected he was probably going to try and escape sooner or later, but that thought that he would make a good addition to Sable International began to crop back up, with ExAACCTs first ops not going as smoothly as she had hoped, his expertise might be useful.

But arriving on the third floor caused her to push that thought aside, she was here to see a friend…as odd as that felt, and not talk business. Saluting the two guards outside the door, she gave a firm but polite knock. "Come in, not like I have a damn choice!" drawled the man on the other side, drawing a ghost of a smile that she quickly suppressed before opening the door. Considering the late hour, it wasn't surprising to find the man sitting on the rooms couch, book in one hand as he scribbled notes down on a note pad while a glass of the Symkarian Brandy she had sent to him as a morale booster sat on the table. "You know, I never thought anyone could make shooting shit boring," began the Texan in his laid-back drawl as he set the book down, "but my god, somebody found a way."

Part of Sable agreed with the assessment, but experience had told her it wasn't wholly accurate, and as she once again glanced at the notes the Marauder was taking, it was easy to tell he felt the same. "It is good to see you are using this time well," complimented the mercenary honestly as she took a seat and helped herself to a glass of the high-end liquor.

"Doesn't mean I want to stay," groused the Pilot lowly, "sooner or later I'm going to expect you to cut out this shit and give me some answers…at least if _you_ expect any more brandy." The attempt at a joke did little to undermine the threat that came along with it.

"The situation, Major Cooper…" began Sable, only to be cut off by a chuckle from the Major.

"I think we're well passed the formality of rank Ms. Sablinova," the Marauder gave a faint grin as he held up his drink, "I'm in your place, reading your books, and drinking your booze. You can feel free to call me Matt or Coop if you'd like."

The Symkarian raised an eyebrow, but accepted the offer, "Very well Matt," she said coolly. The man gave an understanding nod as he raised his glass, a gesture returned by the Mercenary, before both downed their drinks.

* * *

_9:54 _read the face on Castle's digital watch as he pulled the sleeve of his trench coat back down to cover it. Up ahead he could hear the sound of the music coming from the club he was about to hit, the two gunmen standing 'guard' at the back entrance loosely cradling captured guns and puffing on cigarettes, completely unaware of the Marine's presence. "I hope that shit ain't airborne," groaned one. Picking up a discarded bottle, and ignoring the weight of the gear he had concealed under the trench coat, the Punisher slammed the glass into the brick, shattering it as he pressed himself to the wall, out of sight as the sound reached the Rikers outside the door. "The fuck was that?"

"I don't know," returned the second as Frank reached for his trusty K-Bar and waited, "Go check it out," suggested the second.

"Me?" returned the first one, "Why the fuck should _I _go? You go, I'll cover you."

The Punisher rolled his eyes, he was on a timetable and he wanted one of these guys to grow some balls. "Fine…pussy," spat the second as he trudged forwards and Castle got ready and waited, watching the shadow on the ground get ever closer. The Ryker walked right past Frank before the Punisher rammed into his back and slammed the inmate into the wall before grabbing hold of his mangy hair and yanked his head back before slicing the man's neck.

"Hey man!" called out the other as Frank turned around and saw the mans' shadow move towards him, "You okay?" he asked as he rounded the corner as the Marine threw his bulk into the Riker, slamming him into a dumpster, knocking the gun away and plunging the knife into the man's chest no less than four times before the bloody corpse fell limply to the asphalt.

Sheathing the blade, the Punisher pulled back checked his watch again as he approached the door, the music getting louder, _9:57, _perfect. Pulling the door open, he stepped out of the cold and was hit full force by the music and smoke, causing the Marine to crinkle his nose as he went further inside towards the VIP area. "C'mon baby, dance for me!" catcalled one of the men inside as Castle peered through the beads that filled the doorway, "dance you bitch before I blow your brains out." Frank's head snapped to the source, seeing a man in an orange jumpsuit with blue police jacket pressing a pistol to some poor girl's skull as she cowered behind a pole.

Cracking his neck, the Marine marched through the doorway, "Hey!" he barked, causing all eyes to snap to him as he pulled the coat pack and reached for the guns he had slung under each arm, "I'll dance for you" he sneered as he brought the pair of UMP-45 submachine guns up, one in each hand. The man with the gun tried to bring it to bear on the Punisher, eyes widening before the laser sights on the Punisher's weapons settled on his chest and Castle squeezed both triggers to send .45 ACP hollow point rounds downrange and into his chest. The impacts tore the man apart, blood and guts flying as the rounds ripped through him and the blazing muzzles swept the room, the flashes flickering in contrast to the dim lighting as the gunfire overpowered even the music, brass casings being thrown up as the 25 round magazines ran dry. Not even wasting a glance on the nine corpses around the sofa in the lounge, Frank discarded his offhand weapon to reload the one in his right hand as he heard screaming from further in. But that wasn't his focus, "Back's clear, you should go," he grunted towards the shell-shocked girl as she slowly got to her feet and scampered off.

Moving back into the hallway, the Punisher pushed further in with his HK SMG at the ready when the door at the far end of the passage opened to reveal a big hulking sonofabitch in a heavy vest that Frank didn't hesitate to put three rounds into the head of, shattering the plastic faceplate of the riot helmet he wore. As he fell back, the retaliation was instantaneous and fierce, rounds poured in as Castle dropped and pressed himself to a wall, still keeping his weapon up and trained on the doorway. Frank was in no hurry to rush out into a hail of fire, it would be better if he took his time with this and the longer the fired at nothing, the less ammunition they had to fire at _him_.

Only when the fire began to slow did the Devil Dog reach back for a smoke grenade, pulling the pin and tossing the canister out to obscure the doorway with thick white puffs before he got to his feet and rushed forwards, staying low. Staying pressed along the wall, as soon as he was out of the doorway, he turned right, keeping his body pressed to the wall and weapon up as he slowed his pace and neared the edge of the white cloud. Indeed, he ran into the edge of a booth and clambered over it, tumbling down inside much to the shock of the man who occupied it and got a boot to the jaw for his troubles as Frank crashed down inside and flipped the table in the center over to give him some kind of cover. With that, he opened fire, taking the gathered men by surprise as the UMP chattered almost in time with the electronic music that was still blasting through the space, the muzzle flash of the weapon just another strobe light that illuminated the space. Though the Punisher didn't care about that, all it meant was that it was something else to disorient the enemy and slow their reaction times just a bit.

That meant he got the whole magazine off unmolested, ducking back down as he shoved a fresh one into place and yanked back on the charging handle of the blowback operated gun when a thunderous blast cut through the music and the table was filled with a dozen holes as Frank poked his head out to see a maniac with a shotgun rushing him. Spinning around and laying on his back, the Punisher waited a split second until he saw the top of the man's head appear before he lashed out with both feet, kicking the table forwards and knocking the man off balance before he put a burst through the table, the rounds having now trouble going through the wood and slamming into the man on the other side with deadly effect.

Knowing he couldn't stay here, the Marine worked furiously, tossing out a smoke and flashbang to obscure himself once again as he steeled himself for another dash. Leaping out of his cover, the Punisher sprinted across the club, only pausing to fire off a burst from the hip at the one Riker in his way, the five round burst stitching its way up and across his torso before he spun to the floor. Not even bothering to step over the body, Castle continued his charge up some small steps until reached his destination, vaulting over the bar and crouching down behind it. The heavy bar was the only piece of solid cover in the entire club, and it offered a commanding view of the rest of the space as Castle brought the gun up, flicking the fire selector to 'burst' as the first Riker shambled out of the smoke, still rubbing his eyes before his head was popped like a melon by the trio of .45 caliber rounds. The next pair got the same treatment as the remaining handful of men remaining slowly realized Castle had moved and swung their weapons around as the distinct chatter of an M-60 filled the club.

Heavy 7.62x51 millimeter rounds slammed into the bar, burying themselves in the wood as splinters went flying while others went high as Frank ducked down and smashed the bottles of liquor as the contents showered the Punisher, who merely gritted his teeth and swapped magazines. But he had one last trick up his sleeves as he reached down low and drew an old favorite from its low slung holster before cracking open the cut down M79 grenade launcher to make sure the 40mm HE round was loaded into the Thumper, which had been cut down to be an oversized flare gun. With the UMP across his chest, the Punisher stood and leveled the 'Pirate Gun' at the frantically reloading Riker before squeezing the trigger, the grenade not even arcing over the short range before it slammed into the man's chest and blew him to gibs. The shrapnel from the blast cut down everything within a 10 yard radius, shredding the rest of the escaped convicts where they stood and leaving Frank alone amidst the carnage.

Looking down at his watch, the Marine checked the time, _10:06. _It seemed he was getting slow in his old age.

* * *

Despite the slight buzz at the back of his head and somewhat polite conversation with Sable, Matthew wasn't so out of it to notice the woman tense up before the door burst open and the two guards rushed inside. "Stand down, area is secure," assured the woman as she drew her pair of pistols and the troopers lowered their guns. Matt was now weary, turning his eye towards the Symkarian and silently demanding an explanation. "We have reports of a firefight in close proximity. Our security status has been raised accordingly. There is nothing to worry about Mr. Cooper," assured the woman crisply.

"I want more than a verbal assurance," said Cooper dryly, "give me a gun."

There was a tense silence, and he could tell the two troopers, who didn't know who he was, were shocked. Just as he was about to make another argument, he was surprised to see the woman extend a hand as she deftly spun one of the sleek handguns around to offer it to him. "I assume your lack of practice has not diminished your skills," she said as he took the pistol, getting used to the odd balance of the energy weapon, "and I want that back."

Flicking the safety off and feeling the weapon vibrate subtly in his hand, he almost argued with that, but if this woman was anything like him then she wouldn't take kindly to that. "You'll get it back," he promised.

Clinging to a building and nigh invisible in the shadows, Spider-Man and the Black Cat were garbed in their respective black suits. The pair were waiting to begin with varying degrees of patience when Mary Jane spoke to them from the safety of Hardy's penthouse, where she was taking advantage of the link the Thief had with Sable's systems. _"Sable's tactical net just pinged," _informed the redhead, _"looks like they're prepping helicopters to patrol the area, you have fifteen minutes. The Punisher got their attention."_

"Right on time," said Hardy with a grin as the searchlights on the rooftop began scanning the street below, "say what you want about Frank, Spider, but he's reliable." Sitting next to her, the crouching form of Spider-Man merely glared at her through the red eye lenses of the Dark Suit. Slung over his shoulder was the bag she had assigned him to carry, with only her knowing the surprises she had packed inside. "I'll go in, with all their attention outside I should have an easy time of it once I get in. Give me five minutes and then start picking off these guys on the rooftop. Give me the bag."

Spider nodded at her instruction as he handed her the bag while she readied her grapple hook, "be careful Felicia," the Webhead began lowly, "and go get him."

Not needing any further prompting, the Black Cat fired her signature gadget and swung off through the night, the plan of misdirection working perfectly as the lights were all pointed towards the club Castle was assaulting and not the approach the burglar was taking. Almost a carbon copy of her first time sneaking into this building, she climbed up to a fourth floor window and used her claws to open the window she knew led to the armory, creeping inside and stashing the bag she had with her in the bathroom. With her flash drive already in hand, she got into the computer that handled security in seconds, disabling the buildings alarms so backup couldn't be called and linked the camera feeds to her phone. Moving to the main hallway, the Thief snuck out, as her earpiece came to life. _"Just a heads-up Felicia. Looks like all the Sable guys are outside the front doors or on the roof," _informed Spider helpfully, _"I guess that was the plan all along?" _he asked, and she didn't feel like explaining the obvious to him. Moving cautiously, Felicia made her way to the stairwell down to the third level, noting that there wasn't a single guard. Pulling out her phone, she used the tap she had on the buildings camera systems to go through the cameras and see that the only guards left in the building were in Cooper's room, along with an unexpected wrinkle.

_Silver Sable? _She wondered at the sight of the mercenary as she pocketed her phone, that certainly complicated issues but it was too late to turn back now. As she removed a length of detcord and duct tapped it to the door, trading stealth for speed and shock as she checked her watch, and set the timer to go off just as Spider was supposed to start clearing the roof. With five seconds on the clock, she gave two solid knocks on the door, hoping Matt would get the message as she pressed herself to the wall and covered her ears.

* * *

Cooper's ears perked up as he heard the distinct _'knock knock' _on the door before he realized what that must've meant and immediately slammed his eyes shut and turned away from the door just as he felt the shockwave slam into him before the blast reached his ears and the door was blown off its hinges. Splinters peppered his back and his ears rang from the explosion as he turned around to see the black clad form of his girlfriend sweep into the room and he got a sense of his surroundings. The first thing he registered was that Sable, being the furthest from the blast, had almost recovered, bringing her remaining gun up. In the Marauder's mind, a switch was flipped as he reacted by instinct and swung his borrowed weapon, knocking the gun from Silver's hand and sent it sliding across the floor.

As the Symkarian spun to him, he moved to follow up when a black boot slammed into her knee, staggering her as Matt threw a quick jab that forced her to try and dodge, causing her to lose her footing and roll away. "She's mine," hissed Felicia as she extended the claws and leapt for Sablinova while Matt turned to the two guards. One brought his rifle up, but was slower on the draw than the Texan gunfighter as a red laser bolt slammed into his body armor, staggering the trooper as Matt grabbed the flimsy coffee table, lifting it up on the side before both troopers opened up on him. If they had been using regular guns, then the rounds would have easily penetrated it and killed him, but the wood was singed and blackened, but absorbed the fire. With adrenaline coursing through his veins, the Pilot grabbed hold of one of the table legs and charged forwards with his improvised shield. With a battle cry, he slammed into one full force and pinned him to the wall and knocked his rifle away before he turned to the second, reaching out to grab the Trooper's rifle as it fired. One shot clipped him, causing him to grit his teeth as his shoulder flared in agony and he threw his uninjured shoulder into the man, knocking him off his feet as Matt brought his pistol up to put two rounds in his leg before planting a third in his gut, all the wounds bleeding profusely as he howled in pain.

The man screamed as his shirt turned red, but before Cooper could finish him off, the other Trooper wrapped his armored arms around him, pinning both of Matt's arms to his sides, inflaming his laser wound. Cooper responded by ramming his elbow back into the mans unarmored stomach and took the opening to turn and back into the wall, first once, then twice, trying to shake the man off as he watched the two women duel across the room. Both were crouched, Felicia with her claws out and Silver with a knife in hand as they circled each other before the Thief lashed out with one hand as the Mercenary sidestepped and swung her blade, barely missing as Black Cat swiped with her other hand, slashing the sleeve of Sable's duster.

Taking advantage of the opening, the Symkarian grabbed the overextended arm with her left hand and tried to slash the burglar, missing by millimeters but not done yet. Anticipating the attempt at retaliation, Silver released Cats arm and raised her left to block the next strike before smoothing pressing her back to Felicia's chest, using the thief's momentum to throw her over her shoulder and send Black Cat slamming down to the floor. Matt slammed the Trooper into the wall again with renewed rage as he watched the Symkarian spin her blade and try to bring it down onto Felicia's face, only for Hardy to press one heeled boot into the wall and use it to spin herself around, slamming her foot into the back of the Mercenary's legs and rip them out from under her.

Feeling the armored arms loosen around him, Cooper broke free and turned to gun down the Trooper, only for two armored hands to grip the pistol and twist it out of his hand. But his left was free to exploit the unarmored stomach again, doubling the man over as the gun went across the floor. Seizing his advantage, Matt wrapped an arm around the Trooper's neck, pinning him in a headlock. The Trooper didn't take it easily, charging with his strength to slam the Texan into a wall in an effort to shake him off.

Across the room, the two evenly matched women continued their duel, with Sablinova going on the attack, lunging at Felicia and forcing her to roll away until she hit the couch and flipped up onto it before throwing out a kick that Sable partially dodged, but the heel of Hardy's boot clipped her shoulder. When the Mercenary staggered back, Felicia lashed out, leaping at the woman with claws out only for her prey to spin away and throw the Thief into the wall. While Felicia recovered, Sable flipped her blade back to slash her, but the clever cat snatched a piece of the curtain and ducked under it, the knife easily cutting through the material, but getting caught up in it long enough for Black Cat to dance away.

Cooper felt an armored fist hit his stomach and grunted, but ignored it as he found the helmet latch and ripped the headgear off the Trooper. Shocked at the move, the armored man failed to stop Cooper as he swung the stolen helmet and bought it down on top of the man's head, _hard_. A gash was ripped open on his scalp and blood began to flow into his short cut hair as he staggered back. Without mercy or hesitation, Matt followed up with the bloody white helmet, bashing the face of the trooper and breaking his nose as he went limp and collapsed against the wall.

Tossing away the bloody and collapsing helmet, Matt turned his attention to the woman he had been sharing drinks with less than ten minutes ago and his girlfriend, who were still engaged in the catfight of the year. As much fun as it might have been to watch, assuming there were fewer blades and clothes involved, Matt needed to bring it to a close and fast. Raising his fists into a boxer's stance, he waded in, looking for an opening to strike. Sable, seeing she was now outnumbered, backed away, but the tight confines of the small apartment left nowhere for her to go as she was forced to go on the attack, and she chose to go at Felicia.

Ramming her knife forwards to try and stab Thief, Matt landed a right hook that caught her in the back, throwing off her attack as Felicia followed up with a kick to the side, knocking the wind from Silver and spinning her back around to face him. Not letting up, Matt reached out with his left hand and gripped her right wrist to keep the knife up and away as he stepped forwards, lowering his shoulder and wrapping his right arm around her, slamming her whole body into the wall and pinned her there as he repeatedly bashing her knife holding hand against the sheetrock until she finally gave up her knife, which he promptly kicked away.

But while he was focused on that, Silver took that split second to plant a surprising punch in his jaw, causing him to loosen his grip as she brought a foot up and mustered all of her strength to push him back. The surprise and shock hurt more than the pain; at least until he stumbled over the table he had used as a shield earlier and fell to the floor. With renewed ferocity, Sable went on the attack, blocking Felicia's next slash with her forearm before throwing a jab into the burglar's chin. But Cooper wasn't totally out of the fight as he reached out to grab the pistol he had earlier before springing to his feet just as Sable forced Hardy to her knees with one armed pinned painfully behind her back. "Let her go," Cooper's snarling visage was only partially concealed by the raised weapon as he stared the Symkarian down, "no hard feelings Sablinova."

The woman, to her credit, remained stoic, "this is for your own good," she argued flatly despite her heavy breathing, trickle of blood, and slashed duster. "You leave, and you will be hunted. Here I can guarantee your safety."

"I appreciate you looking out for me, but that's not your choice to make Sable," reminded the Marauder, "Cat, how bad is it out there?" he asked, tension still heavy in the wrecked room.

Felicia opened her mouth to answer, only for Sable's grip to tighten as Matt stepped closer, gun still on her until she relented slightly. "Spider got two of the escaped villains last night, but that doesn't change the overwhelmed hospitals, the supply lines that have been cut to ribbons, or how _her _men are arresting civilians and _torturing _them."

If the Pilot had been angry before, now he was downright pissed. "Sable," he began with deadly calm, "care to explain?"

Even if her face remained stoic, Sablinova visibly stiffened. "My unit, the 1st Guards Brigade, has done none of these things," replied the Symkarian brusquely, "but another Sable International unit, the 4th Security Battalion, has done these things with Mayor Osborn's approval. I cannot simply defy Osborn…" she said, though Matt had a feeling something was left unsaid.

"But _I _can," retorted the Marauder, "and I'm willing to do just that. As far as I'm concerned, he's broken the terms of our deal. Are you really going to try and stop me?" he asked honestly as he saw the woman's eyes flicker and composure falter.

After what seemed like a short eternity, she nodded, releasing her grip on Felicia, "I do not wish to do so, but the 4th will come to capture you and I will not be able to stop them."

"I know," replied the Pilot with a cocky smirk, "they're welcome to try." With that, Felicia stood and fixed a glare at the Mercenary as she rolled her shoulder. Keeping the pistol pointed at her, he went over to his miraculously undisturbed notebook and flipped the page, scribbling his number down before ripping the paper out and dropping it on the sofa. "If you need to talk or have something you need to share, call anytime," not surprised she showed no response to that, Matt scooped up the books and tucked them under his arm, "thanks for the hospitality and the reading." Stepping back slowly, he reached the threshold of the door before he grinned, "and thanks for letting me borrow your piece." With that, he tossed the borrowed energy pistol back towards the Symkarian before turning and sprinting after Felicia.

* * *

"So," began Felicia as she turned to see Matt catch up with her, the bigger man able to take the stairs in twos, "you two seemed close." Of all the things she had expected to see tonight, her boyfriend talking down the beautiful mercenary princess, had not been one of them.

"She picked me up from the RAFT, patched me up," began the Pilot through shallow breaths, "said it was because she owed me for helping out against the IMC." As the pair burst out onto the top floor, she led him down towards the armory, "Symkarian honor in action I guess." Felicia didn't have any real problems with those things, but there was one nagging issue.

"Did you really have to give her your number?" she asked, doing her best to keep her voice even, but unable to fully stop a hint of jealousy from creeping in.

"You're not jealous, are you?" he asked as they came to the door into the armory, she turned and glared only to see him shrug, trying to ignore how good he looked with his hair ruffled and a slight sheen of sweat on his chiseled features. "Unless you can help teach me about the correct way to assault an artillery battery with a tank platoon, yes I did." The reply was in a flat deadpan, and she couldn't help but have her mouth hang open a bit, "That's what we were discussing when you made your rescue attempt." He held up the books he had grabbed in explanation before changing the subject, "I assume you have a plan for getting out of here?"

The Platinum blonde vixen quickly refocused as she swept inside the room, "Of course I do. I'm not you," she replied with a smirk as he rolled his eyes and she went to the door that contained his gear. Bending over a little more than strictly required, she was unable to stop herself from teasing him a _bit _as she attached the same device she had used to break into this room earlier, getting a satisfying beep back as she threw the door opened and stepped back. "Suit up cowboy."

Poking his head in, Matt's face lit up as he saw his gear and quickly set his books down before ripping off his shirt to start changing. Not even pretending to not watch, Felicia waited patiently as he rushed through the process without question or complaint. The minutes ticked by, but Sable hadn't come after them, seemingly content to let them leave, but the Black Cat was more than happy to take this turn of good fortune. Finally, as Matt finished up the last straps, Felicia grabbed the bag she had stashed in the bathroom and tossed it to him as he turned to face her, "Thought you might want those. You can thank me later." Flashing him a wicked smile, she watched as he unzipped the bag and pulled out the loaded pouches, stocked with mags and grenades, before strapping the ammo belt around his waist.

But the real party piece was at the bottom, and when he pulled the orange and white CAR SMG out and unfolded the stock, he did it with an unseen grin. "Oh, I will darlin," assured the Texan in a confident drawl before he chambered the first round with a solid metallic slap, "Now let's get the hell outta dodge."

* * *

With a powerful yank on the pair of web lines anchoring him to the roof of the building, Spider-Man slammed both feet down into the armored Sable Agents chest, driving him down to the roof and knocking him out as the night went quiet. Around the black clad Web head, nearly a dozen white armored Troopers lay still, either sprawled out on the roof or tightly bound by webs as the web shooters on his wrists cycled the cartridges with a distinct _hiss-click_. As he knocked the dust from his suit, his earpiece came to life, _"Heads up, Sable helicopters with ExAACCT just took off from the camp," _alerted Mary Jane, _"They're heading to the club. Whatever the Punisher did has Sable on high alert._

Peter nodded, even if nobody could see him and replied, "Thanks MJ."

Looking out towards Queens, he almost missed a distinct sound as he turned around, unable to prevent a smile from forming behind his mask. There was the Marauder in his full gear, like nothing had ever happened to him as the glowing blue x shaped visor surveyed the scene before settling on the web slinger, "looks like you're still in the swing of things."

Unable to contain himself, the Wallcrawler burst into laughter as he strolled forwards, "Leave the jokes to me, okay?" he asked lightly, and both shared a chuckle. Matt raised his hand, side facing Peter before Spidey took the offered hand and pulled the heavier man in for a quick hug, which, to his surprise, was returned. It was a brief 'bro hug' to be sure, and as they separated Peter said, "good to have you back."

"Well thanks for the rescue," Peter could _hear _the grin through the voice filter, "hope you saved some action for me."

It was good to see that the Marauder wasn't still under the effects of the injuries Peter had seen him sustain at the RAFT. In fact, he seemed as good as new, being held by Sable for a few days hadn't dampened his spirts. "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you," assured Peter as he threw a thumb over his shoulder, "It's like the wild west out there."

Before the banter could continue, it was cut off by the other part of the rescue part., "Boys," called out Felicia, prompting both men to turn towards the Thief, "let's save the celebrating until we have some champagne to do it properly, hmm?" Both nodded and moved towards the edge of the rooftop, but the sound of a fast approaching helicopter caused all of them to turn their eyes to the sky and see one of the white Sable helicopters heading for them, searchlight sweeping the street. Felicia pulled out her grapple gun, "try and keep up boys." Not one to back down from a challenge, Cooper sprinted off after the burglar, jump kit and grapple hook pulling him into the night with Spider-Man hot on his heels.

But something was very obviously wrong, "Uh, guys…" called out Peter as he swung through the city, "that helicopter is following us." Even better, his sixth sense was starting to buzz uncomfortably as the search light traced their path, "you guys keep going, I'll draw them off." But as soon as he said that, he turned to see another helicopter fly overhead, four white armored figures fall from the sides before the jetpacks on their backs came to life. "Great…these guys again." groaned the Web slinger, "lookout, jetpack guys!"

"_When did Sable get jetpacks?" _asked the Marauder as one of them dropped down to try and block the path of the three fleeing vigilantes. Before Peter could line up a web line, the Marauder leapt from the side of a building, muzzle of his gun twinkling as rounds slammed into the Trooper until one hit the jetpack on his back and the man wearing it went flailing off before slamming into a building and being consumed by a fireball from the flammable fuel.

Looking around them, Peter noticed the other three didn't seem so inclined to close the gap anymore, but the two helicopters were still easily keeping pace and the Webslinger couldn't help but feel the trio was being corralled. "Just saw them a few days ago. They're the ones Osborn assigned to bring in 'high priority targets.' Welcome to the club."

"_Awesome."_

* * *

"Captain!" called out one of the police officers in the dispatch office of the Chinatown precinct as Yuri turned to face him and saw him pointing to one of the screens, "look at this." The image on the screen was labeled as a feed from a Sable International helicopter's FLIR camera, three distinct shapes moving through the streets below.

When one of the white shapes had a lick of white flare out from his back, her heart almost stopped, they actually had the Marauder. But by the look of things they weren't making a clean getaway. Lips pressing into a thin line, the veteran lawwoman refused to stay out of this if she could make a difference. "Hold down the fort, radio me if anything happens." With that order given, the Captain turned and made for the roof and the police chopper up there.

* * *

Feeling the rush of the STIM push him faster, sliding across a rooftop and leaping off, firing his grapple to swing behind the acrobatically flipping Felicia, Cooper really missed this, even if he was a bit sore and out of practice, the feeling of having the jump kit kick him in the ass was just what he needed. The fact that he was being chased by morally questionable mercenaries with jetpacks and helicopters had put a slight damper on the experience, but even that had been averted when he got to use his old standby CAR SMG. "I take it there's a plan?" he asked dryly. The fact that these guys were content to follow was starting to unnerve him; he was itching for a fight.

"_You expected something else cowboy?" _purred Hardy, though she was still breathing heavily from the high speed getaway. _"Just do what you do best; keep chasing my tail and shoot the bad guys." _As the Black Cat led the two men further west, deeper into the city, the Marauder was keeping an eye on the two helicopters as they veered from street to street in a clear effort to shake the pursuers. Looking ahead, Matthew was struck with the clear strategy as he saw the dimly lit skyscrapers reach up into the night sky. The helicopters pursuing them would be forced to climb up above the buildings, giving them ample opportunities to escape and evade, or come down and weave between them, bringing them well within striking range of the trio.

Now all that was left was to see which the Mercenaries would go with. Perhaps unsurprisingly, they split, the helicopter pursuing them overhead nosed up to keep above the buildings while the one behind winged over and descended in behind them as the three remaining Jetpack equipped troopers closed in around them. _"Cowboy, go left, Spider has the right, take 'em down!" _ordered Hardy as Cooper did just that, firing his grapple line at the corner of the next building and sling shooting around, picking up speed as his feet connected with the solid class of one of the skyscrapers.

Rigidly, the Texan reached across with his left to draw his pulse blade, slinging the kunai through the air until the flash forged blade buried itself in a wall, sending out its orange pulse to reveal the outline of the floating Trooper about to edge his way around the corner. In an instant, the STIM flooded into his bloodstream as he streaked through the night sky, leaping off the building and flying through the air and slinging his SMG just as the unfortunate trooper came into view. Pissed off, Matt was going to do this up close and personal, drawing his combat axe and slamming it down into the man's armor and eliciting a pained cry. Hanging onto the axe to keep him from falling, the weapon only tore deeper into the man as Cooper pulled his fist back and slammed it into the helmet, snapping the mercs head back violently as the Sable man tried to muster a weak counterpunch.

Igniting his jump kit, the Marauder shot skywards over the clumsy blow as he ripped the axe out, stripping the armored chest plate off the man's harness. A savage kick sent the man back into the glass, causing it to spiderweb with cracks as Cooper fired his grapple, sticking it in the window and pulling himself in with arc knuckles sparking in anger. His punch landed on the man's unarmored and bleeding chest, the potent melee weapon incapacitating the man instantly before the Marauder's own armored bulk slammed into him, causing the window to shatter as the jetpack troopers fell limply to the floor.

But he was quickly forgotten as the Marauder's helmet snapped up to see the predatory Sable helicopter just outside the broken window, weapon pods poised as the Pilot reacted on instinct. Diving behind a heavy desk, the night was lit up by a barrage of heavy red laser bolts sizzled as they shot overhead and slammed into the heavy wood, Cooper looking for an escape. When his glowing visor settled on the open door, he didn't hesitate, clenching his left fist to activate his phase shift and springing from his cover in one fluid motion, rolling out of the line of fire just as he was ripped back to reality. Around him, the space was torn asunder by the sustained fire, the glass walls warped and shattered from the heat of the impacts as the Pilot took off in a flat sprint, the continuous stream of red tracers cutting a swath of destruction in their pursuit. With his legs pumping like pistons, aided by the exo, spurred by adrenaline, and fresh off his days of recovery, Matt was quickly running out of room and approaching the glass that signaled he had hit the edge of the building. Instead of stopping, he brought his CAR up with one hand and let off a burst from the hip, rounds cutting through the glass and weakening it before he let his gun fall back by its sling and raised his arms to reflexively cover his face as the Pilot smashed through the glass.

His world went into slow motion as he fell forwards, twisting his body around and bringing up his grappling hook as the helicopter hovered at the intersection, trying to train its weapons on him as he dropped down, pulled out of the line of fire by gravity. But the Sable attack craft, just hovering there less than a dozen yards away, was far too tempting a target to pass up, and he fired his grappling hook and braced as his direction was reversed and he swung upwards, firing his jump kit to throw himself out to the side of the bird before he slammed straight into the helicopter. Reaching out with his free right hand, he grabbed hold of a maintenance handle as the line disengaged and his left sought out a cover for one of the engines, twisting and yanking the handle to send the aluminum falling away. Now it was his left hand that found a hold along with one of his feet resting on the winglet as his right went to draw the Smart Pistol on his chest rig just as the co-pilot's door opened and a Sable man leaned out with a pistol, but against the Renegade Gunfighter, he had no chance. With a flick of the wrist, Cooper snapped a shot off without even waiting to let the gun lock on. His aim, despite his injuries, hadn't deteriorated, proven as the bullet slammed into the man's head, snapping it back and sending his body slumping down inside the cockpit.

Not taking a second to pause, the Marauder hoisted himself up and leveled the pistol, pumping no less than seven of the 9mm rounds into the exposed innards of the engine until it shrieked in protest, belching smoke sickly as the whole craft lurched under the loss of power. Bringing his feet up and tucking his knees in, the Pilot jumped clear and watched the wounded bird limp off, vanishing around the corner and out of sight. _"You sure know how to put on a show," _purred a familiar voice in his ear that drew a smile across his face, _"Spider is just about done. Now come on, we need to go before more show up…"_

"_Yeah, about that…" _interjected Mary Jane suddenly, _"There's another helicopter almost right on top of you. Only this one's from the…"_

"The NYPD," finished Cooper as he saw the distinct blue and white color scheme come into view just as the other Sable Helicopter climbed up and veered away, wobbling the whole time due to what Cooper guessed was webbing gumming up the rotors.

His other questions were cut short as a ringing filled his helmet and the stern features of Yuri popped up on his HUD before her voice followed suit. _"Thought you guys could use a lift, hop in," _she ordered in her no-nonsense tone as Matt made a beeline for the NYPD chopper. Spider-Man got there first, opening the side door and crawling in, soon followed by the Marauder and then Black Cat before Cooper slammed the door shut.

Leaning into the cockpit to let Watanabe know they were all in, Cooper overhead the radio conversation she was having. _"2-6, this is a Sable International operation, your assistance is not needed at this time. Vacate the airspace immediately."_

The Captain had half a smirk on her face as she keyed the mic but kept her reply even. "Wiclo Sable Control, 2-6 is clearing the airspace, out." Cooper sat on the floor of the helicopter as it ascended into the Manhattan night when Yuri's voice called back from the cockpit. "None of you ever get to say I don't help you," before quickly adding, "and I swear to god Spider-Man, if you break out in a Spider-Cop routine I will have the Marauder throw you off this bird!"

The group shared a laugh, and it just cemented the fact to Cooper that he was back.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Organization: Sable International 4__th__ Security Battalion_

_Better known as the Last Man Battalion, or LMB, this is Sable International's most combat hardened unit. Led by the uncompromising Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss, the LMB has often found itself in the world's hotbeds of unrest. Kosovo, Cambodia, Mexico, and Somalia have all been graced by the presence of the bird skull emblem that adorns the 4__th__. Their combat record is good, the 4__th__ is undeniably comprised of well trained, equipped, and disciplined troopers, much like most other Sable International frontline units. However, that record is marred by the accusations of excessive force, and a grainy video allegedly showing a member of the 4__th__ executing an unarmed man drew international headlines a couple years before I showed up. _

_Now they're in New York to make up for the losses sustained by the 1__st__ Guards Regiment, and even Silver Sablinova is having trouble corralling Bliss. A man known to overstep boundaries and those above him in order to do things his way is doing just that, and Osborn is desperate enough to enable him in the vain hopes he can salvage the situation and his political career. Osborn has thrown everyone else under the bus to try and shield himself, myself despite our agreement, Spider-Man despite his years as the city's protector, and I have no doubt that Bliss will soon join us once Osborn finds it suits his own ends. _

_Until that time, Bliss is a threat to everyone in Manhattan who he views as in his way, criminal, civilian, or vigilante. The question is what the butches bill he racks up will be by the time he's dealt with._

* * *

**Closing Notes: So that was a deviation from the plot of the game, but things will be getting back on track next chapter now that we got the band back together. Hopefully everyone liked the fight with Sable, Felicia, and Matt since it was a ton of fun to write and I don't do enough fight scenes like that if I'm honest. That is the one disadvantage of everyone packing heat all the time is that I have to come up with some creative ways to force a hand to hand fight. **

**Don't think we won't be seeing any more of Sable, or at least her perspective. I have said for a long time that I want to give her a complete arc and so I want to bring it home in the remaining chapters of this arc with the Sinister Six. We also have the Marauder getting back into the action, and Spider-Man getting back on the main story path.**

**All that comes in the next chapter, I'm So Sorry.**

**I couldn't come up with a wittier outro, sue me. Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	64. Chapter 64: I'm So Sorry

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Sometimes, I think I really don't have a grip on this whole writing thing. Then I watch an episode of EFAP covering Batwoman and know that at least I'm not the only one.

**Blaze1992: Shooting Sable would have been out of character for Matt, I do try to keep some semblance of consistency. I don't think I have Bliss going that far, more about his operation will be covered in the next chapter so hopefully that will clear up some of your questions. As for Osborn's approval, he could make the case that none of this is his fault, which none of it, at least directly, is. The IMC was a big win and his hiring of Sable was a part of that, and that explains how Sable International has any credibility left. As for removing Osborn, that's a political and legal minefield that is highly implausible, and would actually make it seem more comic booky in my view. There will be repercussions for everything, later on though, just hold tight. **

**Marauder-Prime12: Odd, that wasn't intended to be the dark foreshadowing chapter, this one is supposed to be that. **

This song is by Imagine Dragons, and is only here because I am one of the approximately fourteen people who remember and hold some fondness for Battlefield: Hardline, for which this was the one song they licensed for the trailers. As baffling as it was to make an entry in the Battlefield series, which made its name recreating massive military battles, focus on cops and robbers, the game was good fun. It had the great gunplay of Battlefield 4, some weird and cool guns, and, I can't believe I'm saying this with a straight face, probably the best campaign since Bad Company 2. I've already used one character from it, Stoddard, in a cameo role. Don't take that to think that the characters are good or anything, they are not, the only one I vaguely remember was Khai, and I had to look up how to spell her name.

The multiplayer was a lot of fun though.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 64: I'm So Sorry**

_I'm so sorry_

_Life isn't always what you think it'd be_

_Turn your head for one second and the tables turn_

_And I know, I know that I did you wrong_

_But will you trust me when I say that I'll_

_Make it up to you somehow, somehow_

_So you gotta fire up, you gotta let go_

_You'll never be loved till you've made your own_

_You gotta face up, you gotta get yours_

_You never know the top till you get too low_

* * *

"Jesus…"groaned Cooper as he took in everything the others had told him for the last half hour, "what an unmitigated clusterfuck." Turning back, he didn't see anyone arguing with his assessment, he had gathered from what little Silver had let slip that the situation was ugly, but he hadn't expected it to be _this _ugly. Overwhelmed hospitals, open gunfights in the streets, shredded supply lines, martial law, and the continued rampant spread of Devil's Breath piled atop each other to paint a bleak picture.

Around him, what had once been Felicia's study had been transformed into the groups war room, put together by the heiress with some help from Mary Jane, it had real time updates from what was left of the crime system and the taps Black Cat had on Sable, the redheads efforts in finding an antiserum, and Peter had contributed the plans he had seen at Octavius' hideout plastered all over the walls. "Yeah," began Peter, still in the Dark Suit sans mask, "it's been a rough few days. Miles told me that FEAST is still hanging on, but Rikers already burned the veteran's center in Harlem and have a stranglehold on a few parts of town. Yuri said that the NYPD is mobilizing to start taking care of them, but that doesn't mean there isn't plenty to do." Peter then turned to one of the maps with the plans of the 'Sinister Six' overlaid on it and tapped on the city's reservoirs. "I'm going after Scorpion; if he takes out the city's water supply then things will get very bad, very fast."

The assessment was spot on, and Cooper wasn't going to dispute it. "Are you sure Pete?" said MJ, the others turning to the reporter, "After tonight, Sable will be looking for you. Maybe you should wait on that…"

"Can't," interjected Matt as he crossed his arms, "clocks ticking, every second we sit on our asses is another grave someone has to dig. I've been sitting on my ass for two fucking days and I'm not waiting another second if I don't absolutely have to." The Marauder then turned to Spider-Man and continued confidently, "Don't worry about Sable. Just give me a few hours to gear up and figure out a plan. I should be ready to go at first light, rest up and be ready."

The superhero nodded wearily, but still managed a sincere, albeit faint, smile. "Alright, and Matt…it's good to have you back buddy."

Cooper grinned, "Thanks for bringing me back."

"Anytime." And with that last bit of acknowledgement, the Webhead left the remaining three as Cooper looked back at the maps. The scale of the task was monumental, not just in sheer size, but in the delicate nature of it. If he was too enthusiastic with his actions, then the Rikers would have even more space to continue their reign of terror. If he didn't put on enough pressure or apply pressure to the right spots, then Spider-Man would never be able to take down the super villains. Compounding matters, they were working from behind, and the opposition could change their axis of attack and undo the progress they had made.

Thankfully, he wasn't alone. "You two up for helping?" he asked hopefully, relieved to see both MJ and Felicia nod in reply. "Thank you," he said sincerely before drawing in a deep breath, his mind racing to figure out which of the many forming questions to ask first, "Those guys we ran into tonight, the ones with the jetpacks, what do we know about them?"

Mary Jane was the first to speak up, "They're a new unit. An experimental airborne counter terror unit attached to the 4th SB, answering directly to Bliss," rattled off the reporter. "Pete ran into them a couple days ago, but other than those two times there haven't been any sightings." That got the Pilots attention as he stared blankly at the redhead.

"None?" he asked in disbelief, getting an affirmative nod back, "they haven't been used against the Rikers or Six _at all_?"

Now it was the heiress who spoke up. "Bliss is keeping them on a tight leash and only he can authorize their deployment. The records I have say he's only done that once before last night," provided the Black Cat with a Cheshire grin, "those records also list where the ExAACCT teams are stationed."

Cooper was unable to keep the smile from creeping up onto his face. This was perfect, he could help Spidey without weakening efforts against the Rikers, there was still a chance. "Show me."

* * *

One of the many advantages of being a super powered spider person was that he could get by on a few short hours of sleep, so when Peter woke up feeling rather rested and, owing to a quick shower in the guest bathroom, refreshed, he had expected to be the only person awake in Felicia's penthouse. He caught a glimpse of the platinum blonde lying in bed, and not long after found MJ sprawled out on a sofa, her freckled face illuminated by the dim glow of her still open laptop that he dutifully closed. But there was another light from the study that had served as the planning space, needing to sate his curiosity, Peter poked his head inside to see Matt inside, going over his gear in preparation for the coming day. "Hey Matt," greeted the Webslinger as he stepped inside and the Texan looked up, "you ready?"

"More than you know Pete," replied the Marauder as he set down the freshly reassembled rifle alongside the rest of his equipment. Standing, the Marauder grabbed a pair of sodas and tossed one to the wall crawler, "How about you?"

Flicking the cap off with a fraction of his thumbs strength, Peter took a swig, "I've dealt with Mac before. Jameson actually bankrolled the development of the armored suit and the procedure to put it on Gargan," recalled the Webhead, trying to interject some lighthearted fondness into his recollections. "I worked for him at the time too…not the first time my boss would try and get me killed."

He hadn't expected that last comment to sound so morose and it clearly caught Cooper's attention. "So, this is the same Octavius…" began the Pilot. Peter nodded absentmindedly in answer before Matthew continued, "how are you handling that?" asked Cooper gently, but the implications were grave.

"Not very well," admitted Parker quietly, "Doctor Octavius was…_is_…a good man. He wanted to help people…he _did _help people," explained the Webhead. Looking up at Cooper, Peter tried to discern what the Marauder was thinking, but his features were unusually calm. "Back in college, Octavius never turned anyone away. He tried to help everyone who came to his door be it with classes or research or just whatever…"

Peter only trailed off as he saw that the placid features of the Texan were starting to harden and watched as Matt turned to look out the window at the city below. "Yeah…you'll have to forgive me if I don't believe a single word of that," drawled the Texan evenly, "the way I see it…that man is _long _gone. You sooner you realize that the better."

Instantly, the Wall crawler bristled at the SRS Major and retorted, "no he isn't gone. He's still in there somewhere, I know it." It was clear that Cooper wasn't convinced by his friend and so Peter calmed down and revealed what they were working on before this all started. "But this isn't him, not really. The project we were working on, the arms, he started to use them before we could do all the tests. There…there were some side effects, they affected his brain function in ways we didn't fully understand. That's why he did this; all we have to do is get those arms off him."

"Oh, so it's the arms fault now, is it?" sneered Cooper, "he never knew that the arms would make him crazy? You never mention this?" he asked dryly.

"No…" replied Peter quietly, "I told him when I first found out. This was…three weeks ago? Before the IMC for sure," recalled the web slinger, "I thought I convinced him to work on it some more…" Peter didn't need to continue on since both of them knew how that worked out. "The _real _Otto would have never done anything like this."

"Well I'm sure that's a real comfort to all the dead that this isn't _really _what the man who killed them is like." There was underlying venom in the Texan's words and ice cold fury in his eyes, "Like it or not Peter, the man who knew is long gone. Instead what we have is a man who has unleashed a weapon of mass destruction and killed _1500 _civilians in three days. We need to stop thinking in terms of redeeming this guy and start thinking about how to stop him, kill him if we have to."

"No, no, no…just no." The answer was almost frantic, desperate, Peter couldn't even consider something like that, "how can you even suggest something like that?"

"_How_?" sputtered the Marauder indignantly, "dude, have you seen what the hell's happening out there?" roared Matt as he pointed out the window. "The IMC killed less than 900 people Peter. The fucking _I. M. C_! Nobody argued that we weren't at war then, so why would you now? How many graves will it take for you to wake up and see what's right in front of you? Is fifteen hundred not enough? Do you need twenty-five? Thirty-five?"

"Of course not!" shouted back the Wall crawler, unable to keep from raising his voice to match the other man. "But you're just going to dig another grave? That isn't going to fix anything!"

Cooper shook his head, "Maybe it won't…" he conceded, "but maybe it'll save someone's life, hell, maybe it'll save a lot of lives. If he's not calling the shots then it means the NYPD will have an easier time, lose less people. It means that the super villains might scatter and get them off our backs. And it might mean that we get a straight shot at the antiserum and the sooner we get that then the more lives we save!" It was clear the Texan was adamant as the two stared down, Peter wouldn't…couldn't cross that line, especially when it came to the man that was like a father to him. As the seconds wore on towards a minute, Matt finally backed down, "I'm not going to ask you to do something you don't want to…but I expect you to extend the same courtesy."

"Meaning?" asked Peter.

"Meaning," began Matt as he picked a red taped magazine off the table, though there wasn't any other kind, and slid it into the rifle, "the gloves are coming off. If Ock ends up in my sights…I'm shooting to kill."

* * *

Taking care to ensure the sun was at his back, the Marauder looked down the scope of the Charge Rifle as the weapon hummed eagerly in his hands, ready to be unleashed on whatever unfortunate soul wound up in front of the laser beam weapon. Scanning the small Sable Position, the Marauder waited for the arrival of the ExAACCT unit, Panther team if his intel was right, so he could ambush them and begin to take Sable's 4th SB down a peg. This was just the first step, he had plans to hit two more teams close by with hit and run attacks, but this was the beginning.

At the same time, he didn't want to spend any more time than he had to on Bliss, not with bigger fish to fry. It wasn't as if he didn't want to trust Spider-Man when it came to Octavius, but when potentially thousands of people relying on them to have a prayer of survival, it wasn't a time they could afford to pull punches. A bit of movement through his scope caused his focus to shift to the approaching vehicle, recognizing it as one of the smaller VBL armored cars, and watched it come to a stop. Sure enough, two troopers emerged, quickly donning the distinct bulky, nozzle equipped backpacks. "Spidey, you ready?" he asked.

"_I'm ready," _replied the Webhead, _"as soon as you get Sable's attention I'll try and find Scorpion. Good luck." _With that, they were ready. Part of the agreed upon plan was to maintain radio silence, even if their comms were well encrypted, they could still possibly be traced. _Showtime_ mused Cooper before he steadied his breathing and settled the Charge Rifle on the hood of the VBL.

Squeezing the trigger, the anti-titan weapon spooled up with an intensifying hum, a prelude to the discharge of the energy weapon. After a short charge up time, the weapon let out a terrifying shriek and unleashed a bright orange beam that lanced out and sliced through the armored car. Able to cut through a foot of advanced Titan armor, the weapon had no issue piercing the light armored vehicle and straight through the engine block, wrecking the vehicle instantly. The same thing could have been accomplished with a Kraber, but that wouldn't get their attention in quite the same way.

Right on cue, the two jetpack equipped soldiers took to the skies as the Marauder was forced back from the edge by a hail of red tinted laser fire and lay in wait, slinging the laser weapon over his shoulder in favor of the Hemlock rifle. Coming to a crouch, Matt snapped the big burst fire gun to the first hint of white helmet that came over the edge of the roofline and cut loose, the three heavyweight armor piercing rounds punched through the helmet and killed him immediately, sending the pack spiraling out of control. Instead of sticking around, the Pilot turned and sprinted off, activating his stim and leaping off the opposite edge just as an electrified capture bola whizzed overhead. His boots hit the side of the opposite building and he took off, leaping back across the street as a burst of laser fire singed the building he had been on.

Craning his neck to catch a glimpse of the hovering ExAACCT agent, the Marauder activated his phase shift before he leapt from the wall, spinning around and bringing his rifle to bear as his jumpkit flared to life, suspending his weight in midair as he was ripped back through dimensions. It took him just long enough to bring his rifle up that he caught the man's head snapping back in shock before the Pilot planted two bursts in his chest and the jetpack fizzled out and the Trooper fell to the street below.

Confident that his presence was now known, the Pilot fired his grappling hook to pull himself to the next target to take down the next ExAACCT team, keeping up the pressure to keep Bliss' eyes on him. He had done his part, now it was up to the Web slinger to do his.

* * *

Not one to let his friends down, Spider-Man swung with speed and grace, able to see the dawn sunlight reflect off the water of his destination. "There's the reservoir…but no sign of Scorpion." After going pass the whole length of the artificial body of water, he transitioned into an easy flip to reverse his direction and travel back the way he came, "better take a closer look…" he mused as he pulled himself to the top of one of the stations that monitored the water, pumps, and other machinery. Putting a hand to his chin, the red and blue clad superhero scanned the area, "now if I was a mercenary dressed like a scorpion," he mused, "where would I be?"

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than his spidey sense rang in alarm, causing him to roll down the roof as he turned around. "Behind you!" shouted Gargan as the heavily armored super villain slammed down on the shingled roof, poison tipped tail above his head and poised to strike. The mechanical tail sprang forwards as Spidey leapt away, flipping down onto the other side of the roof as the Scorpion swung his whole body and tail around to try and deliver a devastating side swipe. Jumping back, Spider-Man flipped away from the main attack, but was unable to dodge the stinger as it jutted forwards and grazed his arm, easily slicing through the thin Advanced Suit and delivering its venomous payload and a nasty gash. Instinctively, the Webhead brought his right hand up and pressed it to the wound on his left arm, pulling it away to see a mix of red blood and green poison coating his palm. "Me?" sneered Gargan as he leaned in close to the Webhead, "I'd end it now. But Octavius is paying, and he wants to torture you…" taunted Scorpion, "which I respect."

With those parting words, Mac leapt away as the Wall crawler fell back, wincing at the intense burning sensation that felt like someone had injected his arm with molten lead. "Damn it!" he cursed through grit teeth, "What did he inject me with?" Slowly getting back to his feet, he felt his head pound like a drum, ears ringing for a moment as he was forced to shut his eyes before that pain began to recede. When it faded enough for him to open his eyes once more, he was met with an unbelievable sight. "Whoa…what the…is that…a sea of poison?" he wondered aloud as the rational part of his mind came back, "can't be." The entire city had been flooded with the green liquid, the same look as the substance staining his glove, sloshing in waves like the ocean, covering the entire area around him, reservoir, streets, grass, there must have been several feet coating every square foot of his surroundings. "This can't be real…" he reasoned as the burning in his arm continued unabated, only now it was spreading down towards his elbow, "must be the poison." As he was about to jump down, he felt his sixth sense buzz warningly, "can't take any chances…gotta get to higher ground, then analyze whatever he injected me with."

Gritting his teeth, he forced his left arm up by sheer willpower and fired a web at a tree, swinging through the pain before switching to his good arm, getting a sweet relief as he tried to balance speed with not putting undue pressure on his bad arm. His solution were long swings with only his right arm, throwing himself off the end of his web lines to correct for the rightward drift of his swings as he made his way to a tall building, and ever so thankful to have his feet on something solid as he ran up it, not daring to look down at the ominous green sea below.

"Okay…should be safe for a minute." Even if his sixth sense wasn't totally silent, this was the best he could do as he crouched down, "Need to analyze the neurotoxin…" he ground out, forcing his pain besieged mind to focus on the task at hand, "then I can create an antidote." Wiping his right hand across the spectrograph, he quickly set the system to identify unknown substances and was met with immediate results, "Scorpion's…made some upgrades," he noted with grim amusement as the system looked for a match, "hallucinogenic neurotoxin…my brain will create nightmares my body thinks are real." Mac wasn't smart enough to come up with something like this…but Octavius was. And if he wanted something to torture him then he made a good choice. As the pain spread further down his arm, Peter forced his mind to think, come up with something to help him, not that he was capable of much else at the moment. "I need to create the antidote fast. First I need a natural steroid – extract from an Eclipta Alba plant should do the trick." A spike of searing pain in his left hand derailed his train of thought, but even as his left arm felt like it was being put through a forge, he managed to think of where to go. "ESU's greenhouse is nearby," he remembered, "hope it's in season…"

Leaping off the building, he repeated his one arm swinging, flying up to a series of construction cranes he used to cross open ground, using his superhuman legs to springboard off one to the next to navigate his way back to the taller structures. During his acrobatics he noticed that, to his horror, the level of the poison seemed to be rising, fast. Now he couldn't see the first five stories of the buildings, the streetlamps and traffic lights were invisible beneath the flood. Making things worse, he felt the pain spread, his left food beginning to heat up as the poison was circulated through his bloodstream. "There's the greenhouse!" he shouted in near joy as he crested a rooftop to see it below, "Elcipta Alba should be inside."

But as he entered the open greenhouse, another spike of pain shot through his skull as he clutched his head and stumbled to the floor, the garbled words of his mentor echoing in his ears before he looked up to see the plant he needed missing. "Where'd it go?" he asked frantically, having just seen it before he fell, or was his mind playing tricks on him again? Looking back over his shoulder, he saw that the door now led to a very familiar hallway as he staggered back out. "Is this real? Or in my mind?"

"It can be both…" suggested a distant and familiar voice as Peter opened the door at the end of the hall.

"Doc?" asked Peter as he stumbled through the door, only instead of the lab, complete with upbeat Otto, greeting him, the Web head was met with a warped and twisting walkway through a park, leaves flying past and massive boulders hanging effortlessly in mid air. But most surprising was the sudden manifestation of a familiar lab coated form.

"It's just the hallucinations intensifying," explained Octavius sagely, his face forming that same encouraging smile he always seemed to have, "you can get through this."

"D-Doc?" managed a stunned Peter as he reached out to the man, "you sound…" he began as his hand grazed Otto and he disappeared into dust.

"Like I did before the neural interface affected my mind." finished Otto calmly as the dust took to the wind and led him further into the park, deeper into his own mind as he urged his body forward. He didn't feel his limbs respond, but he looked down to see himself jogging, the pain seemingly fading from his leg as he took off, jumping over a gap in the walkway. "My obsessions were always there," continued Otto as he reformed just yards ahead of Peter, "but the interface allowed me to fully embrace them." As he said this, Peter reached him, only for the scientist to turn to dust again and float further ahead.

Dutifully, Peter followed, ignoring everything except the man he wanted to save, from the police, from Sable, from the Marauder. "I have to fix this. Fix you," If he didn't, then who would? "Somehow."

"Ah, Peter…" began Otto solemnly, though the post interface Octavius was starting to creep in, like he was speaking down to his assistant, "always trying to shoulder the responsibility, even when there's no hope." At this point, the trail broke up completely as Spider-Man used his webs to pull himself from solid ground to a floating chunk of earth and then to the next. "I can't tell you how many times your unfettered optimism has kept me going when things looked bleak. I'll miss being with you," admitted Otto, "I really will."

Peter looked up at the latest hallucinogenic incarnation of the Doctor, "I'm sorry doc, I'm so sorry." Gritting his teeth, he tried to push himself past that, remember why he was here, and put his head down to sprint forwards, if he didn't get the plant then all he had said would be empty words.

As if he needed further proof that this was in his mind, Otto spoke up again. "Yes, yes, you're sorry," agreed Octavius tauntingly, "and yet – you let it happen." The abbaration vanished again, even as the voice continued to fill his head. "Makes one wonder where your priorities lie. I mean, if I was really that important to you, why would you let me destroy myself?"

Looking around, only now did Peter place the odd nature of his surroundings, the rounded boulders that were not of stone, but carbon fiber and lightweight alloy, yellow tipped and packed with sensors. Forming the shape of fingers, the artificial digits curled up around the walkway, forming some twisted line of archways for him to pass through. "I can help you!" he pleaded, "It's the neural web, it's affecting your mind."

"You mean the neural web _you _helped create?" countered a freshly manifested Otto calmly, but accusingly. "The hard truth is _you _did this to me."

With those words hanging in the air, Otto vanished for the final time, revealing what Peter sought. "The Eclipta Alba," he managed, trying to push that last statement from his mind as he took a sample, only to be ripped from the hallucination and thrust back to reality, or at least closer to it. The pain in his arm and leg had returned full force as he picked himself up off the floor and made his way back outside. Stepping outside, it wasn't just his left leg that burned, but now his right was well, spikes of pain with each step as he secured the leaves and forced his mind to focus on the next step. "The plant will buy me time, but I need an antitoxin to mix a permanent antidote." Looking around, he flinched when he saw the poison was rising higher, making the next leg of his journey even more perilous, but he knew where he needed to go. "One of Harry's research stations was developing a synthetic atropine – gotta get there fast."

And so, he set off once again over the poison flooded city.

* * *

Crouched low, the cloaked Pilot watched a half dozen Sable Jetpack troopers fly past, complete with helicopter flying top cover, before making his move, heading in the direction the group had just come from. For the last fifteen minutes, he had been leading ExAACCT on a merry little chase through the city and deciding he much preferred chasing to being chased. He counted no less than three different helicopters circling the area, and that didn't count the one that had gotten too close for comfort and got a Charge Rifle shot through the tail boom. Firing his grapple hook to slingshot up and around the next building, the Marauder let go of his line and fired his jump kit, leaping across to slide over a rooftop and transition into a wall run on the next street over, streaking over the lifeless streets below.

Dropping lower, the Pilot hung a right and immediately widened his eyes at what was there to greet him. "Oh _shit_!" shouted the Marauder within the confines of his helmet as the SAM turret atop the Sable International MRAP swung to face him before he saw the distinct smoke plume that signaled a missile launch. Immediately, Cooper activated his phase shift, vanishing as the missile leapt from its tube and rocketed past up to the sky before he reappeared. When he did, it was with a Satchel Charge in hand as his feet impacted a wall and he rushed straight at the vehicle. The turret continued to track him as the DEMGs mounted on them opened fire, the twin automatic weapons unleashing a torrent of red shots that caused Matt to activate his STIM and accelerate further, closing the distance and outrunning the turret traverse before leaping off the wall. Trailing blue contrails, he soared over the white armored vehicle, dropping the explosive on the roof before firing his jump kit to accelerate away and draw the detonator before his feet hit the building on the opposite side of the street. As Cooper squeezed the oversized trigger, he looked over his shoulder to see the satchel detonate, tearing a hole in the roof of the MRAP as the turret fell into it, wrecking the entire vehicle.

Streaking away from the destroyed Sable armored vehicle, the Marauder climbed up higher, not wanting to get a surprise like that again, but he wasn't out of the woods. Sliding across a rooftop before using his grapple hook to slingshot over an AC unit before he felt more than heard the snipers round tear through the air. For how fast he was moving, it was a good shot, and as the resounding report of the rifle rang through the air and Cooper turned to the source, seeing a Sable rooftop observation post two streets over and the distinct glint of sun off a sniper's scope in the tower. Before the sharpshooter could line up a second shot, the Pilot dropped down below rooftop level and bounced off the building and around the corner. Charging forwards, the Marauder slowly began to ascend once again, leaping across the gap between buildings, getting closer to his new target.

Passing by the OP, Cooper fired his Grapple and pulled himself straight upwards before he pressed his boots into the wall and pressed himself off, still being sling shot up and over the edge by his grapple before he disconnected it, raising his Hemlock as he slid into the midst of the Sable Troopers. One turned and drew a stun baton, but got a burst planted in his chest as he staggered back as the Marauder switched targets, twisting his upper body to swing the rifle around to one with a rifle and stitched a burst across his torso, causing the man to spin and fall. When the Marauder ran out of momentum, he rolled to his left and into cover behind a temporary barrier where a DEMG was mounted only to come face to face with a shield wielding Sable Trooper. Promptly, Cooper got the shield slammed into him, forcing him onto his ass as he aimed the rifle from his hip. With a bark of its burst fire, the Hemlock put three armor piercing rounds through the man's legs, staggering him as he swiped with the shield and fell forwards simultaneously.

Cooper's rifle was knocked aside as he brought an arm and leg to throw the Trooper off him as he grabbed his axe, swinging the weapon around and slamming it into the side of the man's armored head before he could bring his shield up. While he wasn't able to make it a killing blow, the cry of pain that the strike elicited meant it had cleaved through the helmet, but that wasn't his main concern. Pulling on the axe, Matt pulled the Trooper to him as he circled; using the man as a human shield from the other two Sable Troopers as he smoothly drew his Smart Pistol and took aim at the two rifle wielding men. No sooner had the crosshairs turned red than he pulled the trigger, putting two rounds in each man as he made a half turn, left hand twisting the axe to dig into the shield trooper while his right arm extended, pistol in hand, to take aim at the Sniper in the tower before firing two more shots into him. With one final move, he planted one boot on the shield troopers shin and gave the axe a savage yank, pulling him to the ground as he ripped the bloody blade out and put a knee into his back to pin him to the ground before jamming the muzzle of the sidearm into the gap between his helmet and chest plate. Without remorse, the Marauder pulled the trigger, putting one of the smart rounds into the back of the man's skull.

But the action, as swift and brutal as it had been, took long enough for his ExAACCT pursuers to turn around and close the gap, and he could see the first white helicopter closing in as he spun back to the DEMG and ripped the 25 pound gun from its mount to aim it from the hip as he cut loose. A stream of red energy bolts cut through the sky as Cooper used the bright visual signatures to walk the fire onto target. Red lasers charred the airframe of the helicopter, distorting the class of the cockpit and sensors, thoroughly trashing them and forcing the craft to turn away. But the Pilot didn't let up, keeping the trigger held down as the gun began to whine and smoke in protest from the extended fire, yet continued to dutifully throw out shots as they peppered the side of the bird until one managed to score a lucky hit on one of the rockets nestled in its under wing pod, causing a chain reaction that sent the bird spinning.

Throwing aside the gun, Cooper began to get moving, scooping up his BF-R on the way out before dropping off the side of the building; he had bought Peter all the time he could. It was time for him to disengage and get ready for the next part of his plans; hopefully Peter had taken care of Scorpion.

* * *

"There's the research station!" muttered a thankful Peter as he spied the Oscorp labeled box sitting atop a rooftop nearly overrun with the green poison, both of his legs and left arm were on fire, and he felt an uncomfortable tingle in his right arm as well. But he was close, so close that there wasn't a chance of him giving up now. No hallucination induced phone calls or giant mechanical scorpion tails were going to stop him, "Need that atropine – have to get into that station," he told himself as he landed, wincing in pain as he shambled up to the doors, weakly prying them open and falling inside. The Atropine was just sitting on the desk, in plain sight and only a few feet away, but he couldn't make it as another wave of pain swept through him and forced him to the floor, shaky hands gripping the edge of the counter as trembling arms tried to pull the Web slinger up. When he did get back to his feet, the Web head felt a familiar dread, "The atropine's gone…" he realized dejectedly, turning around, he saw the outside had been replaced by the back hall into Octavius industries. "Not again."

With grim determination, Peter forced himself to go that way, even if he felt that same detachment, his mind seemingly floating through the space as he made his way to the door and threw it open. But this time he wasn't met with an idyllic park, but rather a grim reddish hellscape of broken buildings and Otto glaring at him, "You're too late," sneered the scientist mockingly, "just as you were too late to help me."

"This isn't you doc!" insisted Peter as he shook his head in disbelief.

"Ah, but it IS me!" asserted Octavius , "the 'me' polite society found inconvenient. The parts of myself I suppressed. But you helped me break those chains." Spider-Man stood mouth agape as the man turned to dust and disappeared further across the ruins, dutifully followed by the Wall crawler.

"I-I'm sorry…" managed Peter weakly, "I'll find a way to help you. I swear it!" shouted Peter at the emptiness as he leapt from floating desk to piece of rubble to randomly placed office chair.

But Otto only reformed in front of him. "Stop deluding yourself," he chastised, "you never help anyone." Peter stumbled as he heard the words, shaking his head in disbelief, weather it was in an attempt to disagree with the man or rid his mind of these visions, he wasn't sure. But Otto's voice continued on regardless, "The poison isn't in you – you ARE the poison! Everyone you touch suffers."

The man disappeared again, the dust being carried along a wall that Peter climbed, watching as an eerily familiar clawed mechanical arm reached through the sky above his head. "Stop running from me!" he begged, "let me try!"

But just as he was about to reach Otto, the scientist looked down at him in disgust, "I want _nothing _from you!" he shouted before fading away yet again, leaving Spider-Man to crawl along yet another broken and crumbling wall as he continued to berate the Web slinger. "You're a failure. At life, love, career! You bring nothing but pain!" shouted his mentor as the yellow tipped claw burst from the surface and snaked through the ruins.

"No, stop!" cried out the superhero as he pulled himself to the next surface, "I'm not giving up on you!" he shouted as he looked around frantically for any sign of Octavius, "please, just talk to me – I can help you!"

"So you can treat me like all the rest?" asked Otto condescendingly as he leered down at the Wall crawler, "containing me? Suffocating me? No! I will let my genius shine on its own!" he declared fiercely. Only then his tone turned somber and even more sinister, "I saw you, Peter. Taking notes, stealing ideas – a rat in my own lab…" he sneered before Peter reached his destination.

"The atropine," mumbled a relieved and weary Peter as he took the case, only to be ripped from the hallucination and unceremoniously dumped inside the research station. Now there was only one thing left to do and one place left to go. "Now I just need to mix up the antidote. Looks like I'm headed back to the lab."

But that was no easy task, all of his extremities burned and ached from the poison and exertion as he fired off a web line and pulled himself skywards, soaring over the ocean of venom that flooded the streets below. But he didn't make it very far before he heard an off pitch ringing in his ear. _"Still with us?" _asked the sadistic voice of Mac Gargan, even more distorted as Peter's mind swam like it was in the green poison below.

"And nearly cured. Sorry to bust up your plans," quipped Peter weakly as he swung limply from line to line, only web zipping when he saw through the blurry haze to make out a giant Scorpion's tail breach the surface, red tipped stinger poised to strike as he web zipped clear, gritting his teeth at the pain he felt as he executed the move. Now the burning was creeping into his chest, his breathing becoming more strained and not just from his exertion.

"_Oh webs, don't worry," _assured Scorpion with sick sincerity, _"plenty of surprises left for you. We'll be seeing each other again real soon…" _

"Count on it." With that promise made, Peter was happy to have the line click dead as the familiar sight of the lab came into view. All that stood between him and a cure was a veritable forest of the massive Scorpion stingers. Powered by a mix of adrenaline, pain, and anger, Spider-Man powered through the gauntly, losing his normal grace as he made quick, economic movements to weave through the monstrous metal tails before finally, mercifully, he landed on the rooftop, hand clutching his burning chest as he wheezed to try and get as much air into his flaming lungs as he could. "M-made it…somehow."

Stumbling through what he hoped was the real hall into the lab, he braced on a wall, urging his aching legs to keep him going forwards as he neared the door. But as he reached out for the door handle, a searing lance of agony went through him again, this one even more intense than the last as he ignored it and pushed the door open as he cried out in pain. When it swung open, the entire building seemed to crumble and fall away around him. "I think _not_!" shouted Octavius as Peter screwed his eyes shut, trying to drown out the voice, the pain, as he crawled forwards, just trying to put one arm in front of the other as he dragged himself along the concrete floor towards where he knew the centrifuge he needed was. "You're in my domain now!" declared the scientist, "You're just like Osborn! Trying to steal my genius!" Peter tried to drown the voice out, even if it was echoing in his skull above the thrum of the pain from every corner of his body as he arrived out the equipment he needed. "Everything that happens now is your fault! I knew you were laughing at me! All of you, behind my back!"

Peter opened his mouth to answer, try to assure the voice in his head that he never did that, but nothing came out except for hoarse wheezing. Pushing that aside, Peter refocused on the immediate task, shaking hands getting out the Eclipta Alba and Atropine. Grinding up the plant sample, he could still hear Otto's voice in his head, "and now you would deny my chance to makes things right!" His throat was too dry to manage a response as Peter shook his head and added the atropine, going through the motions more on autopilot than with any actual intent. "You! Who galivants about, doing as he pleases, ignoring the consequences as people get hurt around you?"

With effort, he managed to pour the mixture into the capsule for the centrifuge, only spilling a little bit onto the desk before he slipped the mixture into the centrifuge. The voices continued to bombard his head, but they were talking over each other so much that he couldn't make out each individual one as he set the device and started it. With a soft whirring hum, the machine did its work while Peter was just trying to keep his head up until the centrifuge came to a stop as he pulled the synthesized solution out and fumbled with a box of syringes, spilling them out across the desk. Grabbing one, he hastily transferred the antidote to it as he felt his legs finally falter and he crumpled to the floor, struggling to breathe as he pulled his suit's top up and jammed the syringe into his gut, injecting the antidote and feeling the cooling sensation that came with it before his head fell back and he passed out on the floor.

* * *

For all the time that Cooper had lived in New York, he had been averse to using the city's subway system. He would rather brave traffic and terrible road conditions than be shoved into a cramped metal box with god knows who. The current lockdown effectively ended both options for getting around for most people, with the subways and roads being used exclusively by Sable and New York First Responders. But this allowed for an opportunity for the Marauder, who was crouched on the back of a train as it sped along the tracks, using it to get well clear of the area Sable International was tearing apart to try and find him. Once he was clear, the plan was for him to rest and rearm before going back out later in the day, but the ringing of his radio in his ear brought him right back to the present, the ringing soon replaced by Mary Jane. _"Hey Matt, how are you doing?"_

She was trying to be casual, but there was an underlying tension that didn't escape the Texan's notice as he shifted, coming up to a knee as he answered. "Exfil is good, I'm in the clear," he reported as he checked that his rifle was ready, "what do you need?"

"_It's Peter," _breathed Mary Jane, because of course it was, _"he hasn't checked in…and he hasn't moved in fifteen minutes." _Instantly, Cooper was alert as he felt the train begin to slow under him and he looked up to see the sunlight through a gap as the train prepared to pass under a bridge.

Leaping off, he bounced up the walls and up to street level, "Where is he?" asked the Marauder, his head on the swivel to make sure there weren't any unwelcome surprises waiting for him.

"_The lab, Octavius Industries," _informed the redheaded reporter coolly, _"I've tried calling him and he hasn't answered. Find him and…call me when you do." _With that, the woman cut the connection before she let her mask of professionalism slip further and left Matthew with his thoughts, turning north and heading for the lab. This part of the city was almost eerily quiet, almost peaceful and devoid of the Sable patrols further south and east, so he was able to move quickly and directly towards his friend.

Weary that he could be walking into an ambush; the Hemlock was up as he scanned the area before he moved down to the lab. Finding the outer door ajar, he nudged it open and moved slowly inside to find a small trail of blood, one of the shelves had some of its contents knocked onto the floor. Instantly, the BF-R was pulled up to his shoulder, pointed straight ahead as he drew and slung a pulse blade inside, watching as the pulse went through the lab until it highlighted a body laying sprawled out on the floor.

Throwing caution to the wind, Matt charged in headlong, muzzle moving across the space as he made directly for the fallen form of his friend near a lab table. "Jesus Christ, what happened to you?" wondered Cooper as he slung his rifle over his shoulder and knelt next to Spider-Man, pulling out his first aid kit and set to work. Tossing the syringe aside, he pulled up Peter's mask to see the man's pale face, sweating profusely, lips quivering with heavy breathing as his chest went up and down noticeably. Looking up, he noticed the computer monitor displaying what Spidey had injected himself with, "Immune booster and venom counteragent?" he read off as he looked back down at the apparently poisoned Web head.

Quickly, he threw the Queens native over his shoulders in a fireman's carry and lugged the Web slinger to a couch in a side room, tossing him down on a couch and ripping the half removed top off, eyes focusing on the disgusting gash in his left arm. The skin around it was black and ugly, scabbing up in a sickening mixture of blood and poison that the Pilot summarily sliced off with his knife before slapping on an advanced disinfecting bandage and injecting the Web slinger with another booster to stave off any other infections, but other than that, there wasn't much he could do other than let his friends superhuman healing factor do its thing.

With that done, all he had to do was call MJ…which would be interesting to say the least. Stepping back out into the main lab, he called the Bugle reporter and wasn't at all surprised to have it be picked up after the first ring. "Hey MJ, I found him…" he began simply, but before he could continue, he was cut off by the redhead.

"_How is he? Is he alright? Did he find Scorpion? Get a lead on Octavius?" _The rapid-fire bombardment of questions caught Cooper off guard.

"Whoa, hold up there. Watson, breathe Watson," waiting a second to force the woman to calm down, he took a deep breath of his own as he tried to come up with how to put this gently, "he's fine...ish."

"_What the hell is that supposed to mean?" _snapped the redhead fiercely.

_Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn _recited Matthew mentally, "He's still breathing," he began slowly, "but it looks like Scorpion nicked him. He's sleeping it off now." It was close enough to the truth that he wouldn't catch _too _much flak for it, but it didn't kinda undersell the state he found the Wall crawler in. "I'll stick around until he's back up on his feet and let you know if anything changes, Marauder out," he signed off curtly, cutting the line and letting out a breath. He was more than willing to let Peter deal with the redhead on his own. But looking around, he realized where he was, and his curiosity got the better of him. So, with nothing better to do, he decided to pass the time by looking around the lab while waiting for sleeping beauty.

* * *

As Peter slowly came too, he felt a dull drumming in his head, but that was overshadowed by what he _didn't _feel. He didn't feel his arms and legs getting run through a vat of molten metal, he didn't feel someone drag sandpaper down his throat as he tried to breathe, and he didn't feel the top half of his suit or his mask. Realizing he was on the couch, he placed a hand on a nearby table and tried to roll off the sofa, but only succeeded in tumbling to the floor and bringing a few books that were on the table with him. "Pete?" called out a filtered voice that his still hazy mind recognized, but only placed when the Marauder came in, assault rifle at the ready before he saw the Webhead sprawled out on the floor. Instantly, the weapon was lowered and a gloved hand extended, which Peter gladly took as he was hauled up and sat back down on the sofa, his head still spinning a bit. "How you feeling man?"

"Alright, all things considered," began Peter slowly as he looked down at his bandaged arm, shaking his head at letting Scorpion get that sting on him. Then another thought came to him as he looked up at the SRS Commando, "what time is it?"

"Just past eleven am," answered Cooper before he removed his helmet and pulled up a chair, flipping it around to the back was facing Peter before he sat in it and leaned on the backrest, "you've been out…well I don't know how long _exactly_. But I found you out there about 45 minutes ago." Peter nodded in acknowledgement but offered no reply as he sat back and tried his arm experimentally. "What the hell happened out there?" asked the Texan simply, knocking Peter from his thoughts on what he had seen during his…visions…or whatever they were.

"I found Mac," quipped Peter lightly, but it was clear from Cooper's stony expression that he wasn't bemused, "but he got me out by the reservoir, some new upgraded venom. Then he just…left," explained the Web slinger as Matt nodded and continued to pay attention. Taking a deep breath, Parker continued, "he wanted to…torture me. The toxin, it made me see things, hear things, so I mixed up an antidote here at the lab, looks like I got it done before it finished me off," he gibed, trying to make light of the situation.

But Matt still wasn't amused, "and you didn't think to, oh I don't know, call for help?" deadpanned the Pilot flatly, thought the flicker of anger in his eyes was enough to tell Peter that he was going to get a piece of the Marauder's mind.

"I…uh," began Peter dumbly as he rubbed the back of his head, "didn't actually. You said radio silence, so I just did it myself."

Cooper just chuckled mirthlessly as he shook his head in disbelief, "well, for future reference, if you get stabbed by a super villain and injected with a mind altering neurotoxin or some shit, that's more than enough reason to break radio silence. Okay?"

Peter nodded, "yeah, I got it." But he still couldn't shake what he heard Otto say to him while under the effects of the drug as he chewed his lip nervously, "Can I ask you something?" said Peter suddenly, getting a cautious nod from Cooper. "Do you think everyone is worth saving?"

"Aw shit," muttered the Pilot, "you still hung up on Octavius?" he asked, but the silence that followed was answer enough as he let out a breath and answered honestly. "Peter…the price to pay, we're talking dozens, if not hundreds, of lives. The fact is, he's killed thousands already, each and every one of those is a good enough reason to string him up from the nearest lamppost and call it a day. No matter what, he needs to be stopped, whether that means he's behind bars or six feet under, I don't really care. But we can't worry about that, we have to go at him with the most brutal energy we can muster and then worry about details like how he ended up after the dust settles."

"So that's it then?" asked Peter, feeling like he had just been kicked in the gut, "Just…let him die?" questioned the Web slinger numbly.

Working his jaw, the Pilot stood up and kicked the chair back to the wall, "follow me," he instructed, "I want to show you something." Wearily, Peter slowly got up, slowly following his friend out to the lab and to a handful of items he had found. "I was looking around while you were out, found this," he said, gesturing to the computer monitor, "I know it's not what you want to hear but…I just thought you should know. If for no other reason then so you can stop beating yourself up by thinking you created that…monster."

Raising an eyebrow, Peter made his way to the desk, silently reading through the messages and notes Matt had found on Otto's computer, which the Wall crawler assumed he found with his data knife. He could feel the color drain from his face as he read through agreements to improve and develop improved targeting systems for Scorpion's tail, the armor plate for Rhino, and gadgets for Mysterio. All the dates were months, if not years, old, and showed that Otto was clearly connected to the criminal underworld well before the formation of the Sinister Six. Swallowing the quickly forming lump in his throat as he made his way to a secluded corner of the lab, taking out a sample of armor Otto had supposedly been conducting for a military contract, but this time he saw the similarities to that of Rhino. Setting it aside, he looked up, mouth hanging open as he realized that the injection system that Otto had been developing was the exact size and shape to fit in Scorpion's mechanical stinger. Rubbing his face and cursing his own ignorance, he felt himself form a renewed desire to bring Otto down. "Thanks…thanks for telling me. I…I should have seen it sooner…" he began apologetically as he returned to Cooper.

But the Pilot shook his head, "Well you see it now and you still got a chance to do something about it. Don't waste it." With that advice, the Pilot slipped his helmet back on and turned to leave.

But Peter managed to pull himself from his introspection long enough to look up and call out "Matt, thanks…for everything."

Cooper chuckled, "Don't thank me yet, you still have to call Mary Jane."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Pistol: Caliber .45, Automatic, M1911A1_

_The best designs stand the test of time, and this gun has done just that, entering service more than a century ago, this gun is the second to bear the moniker of 'Colt .45' even if the .45 ACP cartridge it fires is different than the old Single Action Army that first held the title. The 1911 was designed by the legendary John Moses Browning and operates on the short recoil principle, a simple and elegant solution for a semi-automatic handgun. Upon firing, the barrel detaches itself from the frame of weapon and swings about on a pivot as the slide moves backwards, and when the slide comes back forwards under spring pressure it 'picks up' the barrel once more, locking it in place as the next round is chambered. _

_When subjected to tests by the US Army from 1907 to 1911, the system proved its worth. Colt's pistol was put up against a rival design from Savage Arms. In an endurance test of 6,000 rounds the Savage suffered 37 malfunctions. The Colt? None. Since then the system has been used in Glocks, Sigs, and HKs to this day, in addition to the more than 2.7 million M1911s purchased by the United States. Combining that unshakable reliability with the equally reliable manstopper that was the .45 Automatic Colt Pistol cartridge made for a weapon that has many devoted followers. It's use from the battlefields to competition shooting to conceal carry holders has cemented the weapon's legacy. _

_A big and heavy slab of steel that spits out man stopping bullets, the Colt is not a subtle gun. It lacks some modern quality of life features, such as double action function. And even after it was replaced by the Barretta 92FS in the 1980's, variants such as the USMC's M45 still see use in the US Military, especially among those who have the ability to choose their weapons. Quite simply, the M1911 forgot to become obsolete._

* * *

**Closing Notes: So, all the stuff with Otto helping the villains for a long time is sort of hinted at in the game if memory serves, but if it isn't then I am sure one of y'all will let me know straight away. Even if it isn't, I like the idea that Spider-Man and the man who equips Spider-Mans enemies knew each other almost the whole time, at least thematically. I also wanted to try and give a ticking timer for Spider-Man while he deals with the Scorpion sting, in game this is represented by the rising level of the venom in the city streets, but an early draft with that didn't work too well and led to what you see here. That being said, the trippy hallucination sequences were tough to crack and so hopefully they turned out alright. **

**Also, expect the logbook stuff to start trending towards real life stuff because I'm running out of Titanfall weapons to talk about. **

**Anyways, next time sees the group living at a pace that kills as they go Runnin' With the Devil.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	65. Chapter 65: Runnin' With the Devil

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

This week, I've not been watching football and have instead been playing Control. All I've got to say is that if you haven't played Control, then you should play Control. I've never played anything else quite like it.

**Blaze1992: I know, but I feel that the distinction between those two is often difficult to make, I didn't mean to call you out and apologize if it came across that way. Separating what **_I _would do vs. what _Matt _would do is one of the trickier aspects of this story. As for your second point, yeah, but that's the character of Spider-Man, his flaw is that he's too nice, he's too idealistic to see what's right in front of him. It's keeping in line with his character and is one of the reasons I wanted to to this story, to have a character who isn't that way, who's a bit more pragmatic about things to contrast with just how insane some of Peter's 'boy scout' tendencies can be.

**MarauderPrime12: We'll see, I'm not going to spoil anything just yet. Thanks for the support, hopefully you enjoy this one too.**

It has somehow taken be 65 chapters to get to Van Halen, which is too long to be honest, even if I'm not their biggest fan. This is the band's second ever single, and comes from their self titled debut album that was released in 1978. At first glance, the song is satanic, but it really isn't, that didn't stop people from accusing it of being satanic, despite the band insisting that it was about life on the road. It was stuff like this that led to the fantastic clip of the lead singer of Twisted Sister testifying before congress in full rock and roll frontman attire, snakeskin boots and all.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 65: Runnin' With the Devil**

_I live my life like there's no tomorrow_

_And all I've got I had to steal_

_Least I don't need to beg or borrow_

_Yes, I'm living at a pace that kills_

_Runnin' with the devil_

* * *

"Soldiers of the Last Man Battalion, this is your commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss," began the man as he addressed his unit from the balcony on his headquarters. A large number of troopers were assembled below, and those that weren't there were hearing the address via radio, though they couldn't see the pair of LMB banners hanging behind him or officer's formidable presence as he looked over his men. Taking a deep breath, Bliss continued to speak in his calm demeanor, not raising his voice and relying on the microphone set up before him to project his words out to the courtyard and assembled personnel. "There are those among us who are angry when the decision was made to send us into the streets. Send us to die, as some people said."

Below him, the gathered troopers remained motionless in their armor, blank visors staring up at the Lt. Colonel. While they had been making good progress in their objectives, the two recent defeats suffered at the hands of the Marauder in the last 12 hours caused Bliss to address his men, reinstall their confidence in themselves. "But when I look at this city, I see opportunity. I see what it can be – if someone had the guts to fight for it." He hadn't been hired to protect civilians or defend infrastructure, if he was here, then he was going to fight, him and every man and woman of the 4th. "If there were men willing to go out in the streets and take them back from the degenerates and lowlifes who rule them now at any cost…to do what the cowardly government and it's fearful, weak police are too afraid to do…and to cut down all the liars and thieves and murderers and vigilantes who stand in the way of peace!"

That was his goal; the easiest way to make damn sure that you won was to ensure that, when the smoke cleared, you were the only one standing. Anyone who stood against him would be sought out and crushed, Bliss had the finest fighting force on the streets, and he would be damned if he didn't let them do what they did best. "We will not look back. We will not compromise. We will do whatever it takes to ensure a better tomorrow for all those who stand with us!" he declared; only now speaking louder, his voice echoing through the Queens Tunnel Camp.

But as quickly as he had raised his voice, it was lowered back to its calm, reserved tones. "And those who stand against us? May God have mercy on their souls." Giving one last nod of approval to the Troopers he would send into battle, he brought his hand to his brow in a textbook salute, "Dismissed, Bliss out." And with that, he turned on his heel and went back into his office.

* * *

Donning his freshly repaired suit, Spider-Man, stepped out of the Lab and swung off, still shaking his head in an attempt to ward of the last bits of his headache following his ordeal earlier that morning. As he got underway, he stopped putting off the one thing he had to do and dialed MJ as he flipped off the end of the web line before flinging out another. "Hey MJ," he greeted when his call was answered, "just calling to let you know that uh, I'm not dead, I guess."

"_Well…thanks for letting me know," _replied Mary Jane with a hint of sarcasm, _"Matthew wasn't exactly…forthcoming with details." _Peter rolled his eyes inside his mask; of course his friend wouldn't be helpful with assuaging the redhead's fears and leave him to do all of the heavy lifting. _"All I could get out of him was that you had a run in with Scorpion?"_

"And he got some upgrades, I've been dealing with the effects of his new poison all morning, and a bit of that was going around and getting stuff for an antidote." It was actually more than a bit, but she didn't need to know that.

Though, the old Parker luck reared its ugly head, or maybe it was just that MJ knew him a bit better than that. _"Peter," _she said in that way that told him she wasn't buying it instantly, _"I distinctly remember you swearing off swinging under the influence last year." _

"Are you smiling? You sound like you're smiling?" he asked, the corner of his own mouth quirking upwards slightly. He knew that the redhead liked taking him down a peg and remind him that he wasn't the only one who could quip, and she was sharp witted enough to pull it off too. Peter, for his part, didn't mind too much, it kept him humble and prevented him from developing an ego. "And it's not like I had much of a choice."

That argument, somewhat predictably in retrospect, fell flat on its face straight out of the gate. _"You couldn't have called Matt to help? Or me? Hell, even _Felicia _for god's sake?" _replied an exasperated MJ. _"Just because we were trying to keep radio silence doesn't mean you get to ignore us!" _

"I know!" groaned Spider-Man in reply, "I already got this talk from Matt like, an hour ago." He really didn't need it again.

As he spring boarded himself off the corner of a rooftop, it seemed that, thankfully, he was going to get his wish. _"Alright, I'll spare you the lecture…this time." _She was definitely still smiling, but he was happy enough to do a quick back flip at not having to hear another lecture. _"Pete, you _are _okay, right?"_

Any thoughts of a hasty response went away when he came out of his flip with his head spinning just a bit. "I'm better, should be back at 100% in a couple hours," he answered honestly, taking a deep breath before continuing. "MJ? You mind if I toss a kinda thorny ethical question at you?"

"_Not at all."_

"When is it ok to give up on a friend?" he asked bluntly. It was an issue he was still grappling with, even more so after what Cooper had shown him about his mentor earlier. Peter still didn't think that simply killing Octavius was the right thing, or something he could get behind, but seeing him as the enemy? That was sticking with him.

"_Oh wow, Pete…" _replied MJ, the reporter taking a moment to compose her thoughts, _"thinking of Otto?"_

"That obvious, huh?" he said sadly. Peter couldn't help but be saddened to think of what Otto had done and the part he had played.

"_Yeah; understandable though." _Her words were calm and placating, a stark contrast to the brash Cooper, _"man…the high minded generous part of me wants to say 'never' – being a true friend means being there, even when people lose their way…" _she said, and that was what he always thought, but her job as a reporter meant she always had to weigh both sides, and that's why he was asking her, for that balance opinion. _"But with what Otto's done…I just don't know Pete," _she admitted, _"I guess if you have decide if the Otto Octavius you knew is still in there or not…maybe if he was ever there at all…"_

"Yeah…" agreed Peter absentmindedly as the gears turned in his mind, the Otto he always saw was only a part of the man and there was a darker side just behind that, but he still knew that the man had been there. "Yeah. Thanks MJ. I gotta process some stuff, I think."

"_Call me any time Pete," _encouraged Mary Jane sincerely, _"I'm here for you."_

* * *

Crouching down, Cooper inspected one of the M18A1 Claymore mines that was set up in a construction site with this one, among others, surrounding a choke point. Moving deeper into the mostly finished lower floor, he found himself in a long hallway that lead towards an area with a few metal columns, crevices along the floor where piping and wiring would eventually be laid but were currently empty. The columns were filled with old fashioned TNT. Jumping up to a crow's nest, he found a Spitfire placed there earlier, a stock of ammo, a few massive barrels packed with gasoline, and a small cache of fire stars. Double checking that the machine gun was in good working order and that he had a good field of fire from the bags of concrete set at the edge, he placed an electric smoke next to the gun. "Hey cowboy," purred a familiar voice as he turned around to see Felicia there in Black Cat gear, "you got your little trap ready for today?"

"Just about," drawled Cooper, "still want to give everything a once over. C'mon darlin, walk with me." Beckoning her to follow him, he pulled back a plastic tarp covering a window to reveal a long stretch of road, devoid of streetlights and the most logical approach into his stronghold. "How're things lookin'?" he asked as he checked that the nearby Double Take and the energy rounds for it were ready and waiting.

The vixen gave him a confident smirk, "Just like I said. Bliss isn't taking things lying down; he's got most of his shooters out searching for you." He knew better than to argue with Hardy, especially when it came to manipulating people. It was his job to be ready for when Bliss and his Last Man Battalion rolled up to the construction site, but it was Felicia's plan that would get him into the trap. He did have a lot of toys waiting for them as he made his way up stairs, checking the bouncing betty mines that were lying in wait. "All that's left at the Queen's Tunnel Camp is a skeleton crew. The biggest problem left is Bliss' personal guard…" she said, trailing off in the way that told him there was more to it.

Now on the next floor up, he picked the Mastiff up from the floor and checked that the magazine was loaded with slug rounds, chambering the first and sliding into onto a shelf and out of view. As he looked around the room, he saw the bags of ANFO that Kingpin had left stashed at the site laid around seemingly haphazardly, but each had been positioned so that the whole floor would be affected when the blasting caps inside were triggered before his eyes finally made their way around to Felicia, hand resting on her hip and a self-satisfied smirk on her face. "Let me guess," he drawled as he pulled his helmet off and matched the look on her face, "you have a plan for that too?"

"Well…not exactly a _plan_," she began, strutting towards him alluringly, "but I do happen to know that Osborn has called Bliss in for a meeting this evening and that the Lieutenant Colonel will bring his guard with him."

Cooper's smirk turned into a predatory grin at the reveal, "Beautiful…" he rumbled lowly, "what would I do without you Felicia?"

"Have a lot less fun…especially in bed," she purred seductively. Cooper could only shake his head but couldn't stop the smile that appeared on his face since he couldn't argue her. Felicia then broke the brief silence that followed, "you ready for the gunfight at the OK construction site cowboy?" she joked lightly.

Grinning, Cooper drew his Smart Pistol and twirled the weapon like an old western gunslinger before slipping it back into its holster, "Should be. Got enough surprises packed in here." In addition to everything else, he still had more tricks to get set up, wiring for lights, smoke grenades, and ensuring the troopers that came after him would be funneled right where he wanted them.

"Well I'm going to help you set up, because the meeting is in an hour," she told him, "where do you want me?"

* * *

With there being a lull in the action and no leads on the remaining super villains, Peter took the opportunity to go to FEAST and check in on his Aunt in person. When he arrived, he was met with the sight of body bags being loaded into an ambulance and bags of trash lined the sides of the stairs leading up to the entrance. Inside, the situation wasn't much better; the main floor seemed to have been turned into something resembling the field hospital SHIELD had erected a few weeks ago. One wall was lined with pictures and messages for the sick and dead, and the sheer size of it was sobering for the Web slinger to see as he had to walk past the length of it to get to the kitchen, where he thought his aunt would be. "Right over here – until Miles gets back, the best thing we can do is keep everyone fed..." The voice that said that sounded like Aunt May but didn't at the same time. It was tough to believe that it was the same woman who had raised him, she sounded tired, her voice scratchy and weak, and when he turned the corner to see her, she turned to face him and her face instantly lit up. "Oh Peter! It is so good to see you," she greeted, taking his hands as he scrutinized her face, bags under her eyes and deep-set frown lines. "How are you – healthy?"

"I'm good," he assured, which wasn't a _complete _lie, "how are you holding up, May?" he asked, barely hiding the concern in his voice.

"Good," she managed wearily, but mustered a smile, "but busy." He understood that sentiment completely, from the look of things she hadn't been having an easy time of it, turning the homeless shelter almost completely into a hospital over the course of a few days. Looking past his aunt, he saw a volunteer arrive with another box of foodstuffs and May turned to see the man struggle with the box. "Oh! Let me get…" but as soon as she began to walk towards him, she stumbled, breaking out into a coughing fit as Peter was forced to keep her from falling completely to the ground, pulling her back up and helping her to a chair where she sat.

"Whoa there," he said calmly as the older woman continued to cough into her hand until the fit slowly passed.

Carefully, May sat up, resting against the backrest as she extended a hand, "I'm okay," she assured, but Peter was not convinced.

Dropping to a knee, the younger Parker gook his guardian's hand, "didn't you tell me something once about accepting that I'm human, just like everyone else?" he asked, managing a wry smile.

But it seemed that is aunt wasn't amused, rolling her eyes, "you and Ben," she began, suppressing another small cough, "masters at turning my own words against me," she lamented. "I'm _fine _Peter," she assured with a smile, "just a little run down."

Still not totally convinced, Peter decided not to press the issue further, leaning back to give the woman some space and moved on to other issues. "Where's Miles?" he asked, "Could he help out?"

He stood up and turned to look around for the teen, not recalling seeing him on the way in. "Oh, he is!" answered May, "he's off picking up medical supplies from the relief center." She turned and looked out onto the main floor sadly, the empty boxes stacked up into massive piles, "it's amazing how quickly we go through antibiotics. It's the only thing that seems to slow the infection down but…it can only buy you so much time."

Peter was trying not to show it, but he was worried on multiple levels. Those relief centers were far from safe, more than one had been hit by either the Rikers or super villains, and he didn't know exactly what Cooper's plans for the PMC were. "Ok. You stay off your feet for a bit; I'll organize the unloading and check in with Miles," he offered, "deal?"

Though his tone and stern face got the message across that this wasn't up for negotiation. His Aunt looked up at him, surprised at his backbone, but didn't offer any resistance, "Deal." She cracked a small smile and continued, "Give me a chance to nurse my wounded Parker Pride."

Nodding and offering a smile of his own, Peter turned and pulled out his cell, dialing Miles and pressing the device to his hear as it began to ring, "Come on Miles, answer," he encouraged, "don't make me worry about you _and _May…"

* * *

Frantically pulling his vibrating cell phone, Miles scowled at the screen, "Quiet, quiet…" he muttered as he quickly silenced the device and ignored Peter's call, "so much for a milk run…" Crouched down behind a wrecked truck, he looked around at the ruins of the Relief Center, the cars and trucks in the parking lots were wrecked, either crushed or shot to pieces by Rikers. None of the other buildings or temporary structures were in any better shape, and Miles didn't want to look for any more of the white armored troopers after having seen two suspended upside down from one of the guard towers, swinging limply from side to die in their blood stained armor. "How did a bunch of convicts even do this?" wondered the teen, "Looks like an exploding bulldozer went through here." Even with that, that didn't change why Miles was here. "Can't turn back…" he told himself as he steeled himself, "F.E.A.S.T. needs those antibiotics…"

Poking his head around, he checked that the coast was clear before dashing across to another wrecked car. "You hear the sound his head made when the big guy hit him?" asked one Riker, Miles unable to help himself but pause once he was out of sight.

"Like a bug on a windshield," replied a second with a bark of laughter, "splat."

"All cause he made one crack about the guy's suit." Miles shook his head, trying to push the image that conjured from his mind as he opened the hacking app on his phone, hoping that Sable's systems were still unsecured as he looked for the spotlight up ahead and let out a small sigh of relief when he was able to access it and overload it. The teen could see the top of a Riker's head as he moved to investigate, giving him an opening to creep past. Around, various Rikers were focused on looting the bodies and supplies, allowing him to get by without being noticed.

Vaulting over a low wall, the teen let out a sigh of relief at the sight of a mostly intact medical tent, "Maybe this'll be easy," the words were half reassurance, half prayer as he stayed low and made his way inside. Most of the tent had been picked clean, but there were still a few half full boxes and sealed crates. Trying to force himself to stay calm, Miles began to rifle through the boxes, "gauze…iodine…but no antibiotics. Need to keep looking." There was nothing else to find in the tent, leaving Morales no other options but to move further into the ruined compound.

One side had more than half a dozen armed Rikers, while the other had a single man puffing on a cigarette. Fortunately, he was standing within earshot of a fuse box that Miles was able to hack and overload, causing it to spark angrily and get the man's attention, allowing Miles to slip past. To his left, Miles could hear a man's pained scream, "believe me, I hate seeing Barnes wail on ya', just tell us your supply routes…" droned a Riker lazily before Miles heard another punch and grunt of agony before the teen forced himself to move away, staying pressed to a row of crates. He only paused when he heard a blood curdling scream and then a gunshot that silenced it. Blood chilled, he quickly connected to a drone and tried to force it to take off, only its ruined rotors forced it to spin and twist uselessly, drawing away another Riker before he took off through the opened path.

Overhearing bits and pieces of other Rikers talking about trying to find the other Sable supply routes; he tuned it out, going through a few crates laid out behind an open truck, but again, no dice. "Couple trauma kits, but no antibiotics." With only one pathway forwards, he crouched down behind an open crate and looked up to see a sniper on a shipping container overlooking the area. "C'mon, turn around, c'mon," he encouraged, rocking nervously on the balls of his feet, hoping another Riker didn't come back here and spot him. Thankfully, before that could happen, he saw the sharpshooter turn away and seized the opportunity, dashing across to crawl through an overturned car.

Moving slowly and taking his time, the teen looked long and hard at what was waiting for him on the other side before slowly emerging. The situation was nearly perfect, there weren't any Rikers he could see and there were more crates emblazoned with the red cross logo, and Oscorp, but it was the former that Miles was happier to see. "C'mon crate, be the one," he pleaded softly as he lifted the lid off slowly to reveal bottles of pills neatly arranged inside, grabbing the first, he ducked back down and let out a sigh of relief when he read the label. "Amoxicillin, perfect." Quickly, he placed the bottle back in the box and resealed it, taking the whole thing and making it about three steps before there was a massive crash behind him and turned to see a Sable trooper sprawled out on the floor. Chest and helmet caved in and blood staining the white and black gear he wore as he lay there motionlessly. Unable to satiate his curiosity, Miles tiptoed back and heard a cascade of gunfire, and he saw a flurry of red lasers cut through the air. "That is a very large man," breathed Miles, recognizing the Rhino shrug off the fire with impunity, his armor barely even getting scorched by the rounds that hit. Ignoring the lightshow, Rhino crouched down and charged forwards, slamming into the car the mercenaries were hiding behind at full force, throwing it into the brick wall, pinning the men between the vehicle and wall. "Found the exploding bulldozer…" muttered Miles as he could only watch.

Rhino placed both armored hands on the inverted car and lowered his head so that his horn was a foot from the helmeted Sable agents. "Supply routes and schedules. Now!" demanded the eight-foot-tall villain as he roughly shoved the car towards the tight-lipped troopers. "Ya skazal."

But before Rhino could lose his temper further, Miles saw a green figure crawl across the top of the brick wall, leaning down to appear as his instantly recognizable mechanical tail extended skywards and curled around. "Gentlemen, I apologize," began Scorpion as he flipped around and came down on the car, the tip of the tail glowing ominously. "My associate is…inelegant." Turning around to bring his tail closer, putting it right in the faces of the troopers, he continued to speak in his calm demeanor, the psychopath barely hiding just beneath the surface. "He doesn't understand the fine art of persuasion." Scorpion said those words as he looked at the trooper on the left, and as soon as they were out of his mouth the tip of the tail came down, slicing through the helmet of the one on the right and plunging deep into his skull with a sickening wet sound that had Miles tumbling backwards in shock.

"Did not need to see that," he told himself, trying to tune out the desperate pleas of the sole survivor as he saw an escape route and scooped up the box of antibiotics before making a break for it. Sprinting across the open ground and clambering atop a generator and the toolbox on top, then pulling himself up onto the shipping container. Dropping down on the other side, he took out a second to take a deep breath, "don't think he saw me," he assured himself, "time to get out of here."

Any hopes of a clean getaway were crushed as badly as the shipping container ahead of him that caused Miles to duck down, able to hear the massive footsteps ahead of him. "Whoever is here, come out!" roared the Rhino in his heavy Russian accent as he stomped forwards, leaving massive indentations in the concrete, "I have not time for this!" Miles knew he had to move, but there was no escape to be found behind him, he had to push forwards. Opening his app, he almost jumped for joy at it picking up an unsecured light nearby and acted on faith that it would distract the super villain. Pressing the button, the teen subconsciously held his breath before he heard the Russian bellow once more, "we are having fun with lights now?" he asked as he stomped towards the source of the distraction, "I will have fun with your face."

Taking a chance, Miles poked his head out and saw the man's back towards him and an open grate that led to a water drainage tunnel below. Knowing that it was his best shot, the Teen made for it, treading as lightly as he could while carrying the case of pills. When he was halfway there, he saw the giant armored hands slam down on a pair of wooden crates, turning them to splinters instantly, but Rhino's bulk shielded Miles before the Russian marched forwards, giving Miles a clear path to the safety of the tunnel. Cringing at the splashes his feet made when he hit the water pooling in the tunnel, Miles crept forwards as quietly as he could. "Come out and I promise not to crush you."

Looking up, Miles felt his heart drop at the metal grating over him, not solid concrete, allowing him to see out and, more importantly, giving the chance for his pursuer to peer inside. But Rhino didn't seem interested in that, instead planting one massive foot on the metal, causing it to creek and bend, but not break. "Please don't see me, please don't see me…" changed Miles softly, the prayer like a mantra as he moved forwards slowly, rounding the corner only for his heart to sink at the sight of the tunnel to be blocked by a grate, his only way forwards was back up onto the surface…right behind Rhino. Waiting patiently, he forced himself to stay still as the Russian spun around and looked for any sign of Miles, only to suddenly bull rush forwards and away.

Hastily, he stood and placed the box on the street before hoisting himself up onto the road. Looking around to see the Rhino still tossing crates around like toys as Miles scampered away, clambering over a few wooden boxes before finding himself on the waterfront with only one way to go. But he was stopped dead in his tracks as a crate sailed past and fell into the water, "play no games with me," taunted Rhino lowly.

Looking around frantically, Miles came to a stark realization as he forced himself to calm down, "Only way forward is past him…" looking down at his phone, he felt his heart drop when he saw nothing he could hack, nothing to distract the armored super villain. Now forced to peer out, he saw the Russian distracted and scampered across to a set of green boxes, pressing himself into the corner, his mouth shut tightly to keep his teeth from chattering when he felt the ground shake from the heavy footfalls of Rhino get closer.

"Come out," demanded Rhino as a nearby wooden crate practically exploded, sending out debris in every direction, "now!"

But Rhino moved on, past the teen and giving him the opportunity to try and give him the slip once more. Hand clutching the handle of his precious cargo tightly, he moved as fast as he dared, scampering to another box before opening up the distance towards a forklift. Letting out a sigh of relief, he saw an open container giving him a way up and out, quickly going through it before he found himself on top of the metal shipping containers that filled the yard. "Gotta be getting close," he told himself, "just a little farther."

But Rhino's outrage was getting louder when it should have been getting quieter before Miles was suddenly sent to the floor as the entire crate lurched from the impact of the Russian's bulk. That lit a fire under the teen as he jumped down into an area mercifully free of anyone trying to kill him and with another drainage pipe that he eagerly dropped into, recognizing the safety it offered. "Shit," he cursed, "dead end." Unlike last time, there wasn't even a way up. "At least I can wait for Rhino to leave, there's no way he can find me here."

On que, an armored fist the size of Miles' ribcage smashed through the solid metal above him, twisting it as the half inch steel plate clattered against the concrete of the tunnel about a foot from the teen as he stared at the plate with wide eyes before they came to the armored hand. Immediately, he fell backwards, scampering away as the hand seemingly reached around to try and grab him. "Where. Are. You?!" snarled Rhino as Miles clamped his hand, with his phone still in it, against his mouth to keep from saying anything.

When the hand went up and the super villain stomped off, the shaking caused by his footsteps getting fainter, Miles removed his hand and breathed heavily, "oh man. Ok…" he started before he forced himself to calm down, "I gotta get outta here." Pulling himself up out of the drainage pipe, he realized he was once again confined with Rhino, who was throwing a box the size of a car across the space. "There's my way out." Another shipping container led up to the top of another, and just beyond that Miles could make out a building that was close enough to just be across a street.

That only left him with how to actually get there. Deciding to try for a straight line approach, Miles watched Rhino stomp off and then dashed behind a forklift, but that only allowed him to see another problem: the stacks of boxes blocking his way out. His mind raced frantically, there was no way he could move those boxes, especially with an exploding bulldozer close by…but maybe he didn't have to. Dashing over to a stack of green boxes, he selected the forklift on his hacking app and activated it, causing the bright yellow lights and reverse siren to come to life. The elicited response was instantaneous as the Russian spun and charged with an ear splitting roar as he slammed the forklift into the shipping container, denting the steel before he began to rip the yellow vehicle apart.

Seizing the opportunity, Miles scampered away and into an open white container, out of sight as he saw his escape just a few yards away and opened his hacking app. His target was the siren in amongst the middle of the crates that beeped loudly but briefly. Its ear splitting noise cut short when it, like the numerous other obstacles to the teen, were crushed by the weight of a charging armored Rhino. But his excitement was cut short as he saw Rhino spin around; causing him to duck back down out of sight before the super villain tore off once again, giving him a clear path to safety. Without hesitation, Miles dashed forwards, keeping up the barest pretenses of stealth as he ascended the makeshift ramp and neared the top. Suddenly, the crate shook and Miles lost his footing, the hard case with the amoxicillin flying forwards as he pushed himself forward on all fours as he heard a giant metal hand slam into the side of the now flimsy feeling metal box as he threw himself over the wall and fell on the ground gracelessly, the wind getting knocked out of him. "It is chase of goose!" declared Rhino loudly, "I hate chase of goose!"

But Miles couldn't care less as he breathed deeply, trying to move all his fingers and toes before peeling himself up off the ground as the crate he had just used to escape went flying through the air and crashed down onto the concrete, slamming down and throwing up a shower of sparks. Sprinting off, he didn't stop until he was across the street, his back pressed against the brick of the building as he breathed in deeply and quickly, slowly feeling his pulse return to normal as he looked down at the box of pills he held in his shaking hand. "Should let May know I have these…" he muttered, all of that for a box of pills. _A box of pills that will save lives _he reminded himself as he closed his hacking app and began to look for the older woman's number.

"What you got there kid?" barked a man, snapping Miles from his task as he looked up to see a Riker, bandana covering his face as beady eyes peered down at the Teen. Instinctively, Miles stepped back as the man bore down on him and he reacted almost reflexively, pocketing his phone and remembering what Spider-Man had told him like he had just heard it yesterday.

_Hips squared, wait for an opening_ he told himself as he raised his right hand, already clenched in a fist as he watched the man's eyes focus on the box in his left hand before the Riker went to grab it, simply electing to ignore the teen and take his hard earned supplies. But when the inmate went to snatch it, he opened himself up, allowing Miles to throw a punch, leaning forwards to put all his weight into the blow as it slammed into the man's jaw and caused him to stumble back and trip over a bag of trash and fall back, slamming his head into the pavement before he went still. "Argh, that hurt," he muttered as he shook out his hand and turned away, picking up speed as he gingerly retrieved his phone and dialed the last person to try and call him.

"_Miles?" _greeted Peter, the older man sounding as worried as his aunt, _"hey, I've been trying to reach you, you OK?"_

This…this wouldn't be a terribly pleasant conversation; hopefully Peter would take it better than his mother was bound to. "Hey. So uh…don't freak out, but um…I got to fill you in on some stuff…"

* * *

"Fill me in darlin," drawled Cooper as he loaded the EM-4 Cold War and looked over his target, the Queens Tunnel Camp and headquarters of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss and Sable International's Fourth Security Battalion, "what needs doing?" He had been told to make some noise by Felicia, and so in addition to the burst fire grenade launcher the Marauder had a Volt SMG and a few satchel charges. Even if he was armed to the teeth, there wasn't any way he could deal with the entire base, with its several buildings, full perimeter fence, heliport, supply depot, and motor pool.

He could still tell that the base wasn't fully staffed, that motor pool was mostly empty and not all of the perimeter defenses were manned. Most of those that were stationed there were out looking for him and Spider-Man or with Bliss as he met with Osborn. _"Hold your horses cowboy, we're waiting on one more," _began Felicia as he stepped back into cover as a Sable helicopter flew overhead, flaring it's nose up to land on the helipad as he heard a click on the comm link, _"this isn't just a smash and grab. We need to put the screws to Bliss and that means exposing what he's doing and do it legitimately."_

Behind his visor, Cooper raised an eyebrow at the words, but before he could answer a new voice cut in. _"You doing something legitimately? That's a new one Black Cat," _deadpanned Captain Watanabe, _"I hope you that explains why I'm sitting three blocks from a Sable Camp with three other units when the others are preparing to engage the Rikers."_

"_Got it in one captain. The Marauder is going to do the hard work and give you citizens that will want to press charges and come forward as witnesses against the 4__th__." _Felicia was, unsurprisingly, equanimous as she continued, _"that means you get the fun part handsome. You see that big building on the east side labeled 'Detention Center'? That's where they're keeping people they don't have a criminal case against and it's also where they're interrogating them. You need to stage a breakout." _

With the gears in his head turning, Cooper stowed the Cold War and tucked a Volt SMG under the crook of his arm and flicked the fire selector to auto as he instinctively began forming a plan when Yuri's voice broke in. _"I'll need more than that if I want to build a convincing case. Marauder, anything else you can find that proves what Bliss was up to I want."_

With that in mind, Cooper activated his cloak and swung across the street, drawing his combat axe, and using it to hang from a building. Looking down into the camp, the beginning of a plan began to take shape, "Cat, any ideas on how to oblige the Captain?" he asked.

"_One or two," _replied the burglar coyly, _"there aren't any recordings or records on either Bliss' terminal or accessible on the main network, so they probably have them on an isolated server. My guess is that you'll find that either in the detention center or Bliss' headquarters."_

"Alright then," he drawled, "before I get started, any other requests?" asked the Pilot dryly.

"_As a matter of fact, yes." _Cooper rolled his eyes at Felicia sounding like she was enjoying this a _bit_ too much before she continued, _"In the HQ is 'the War Room,' command and control for the 4__th__. That's where you need to set up the link we discussed." _That link was the plan Hardy had come up with to ensure that he could pull off his scheme with the construction site, if he could establish it then she could feed Bliss whatever it took for him to fall into the trap.

With that reminder, Matt could feel the adrenaline humming in his veins, his trigger finger almost literally itching. Everything since he had gotten back into the action had been relatively light work, but this was going to take him working at full speed again and he was anticipating the challenge. "Got it sweetheart," he assured coolly, "wish me luck ladies, it's time to make some noise." Taking one last deep breath, he withdrew the axe and sprung from the wall, jump kit flaring as he fell towards the rooftop of the detention center, any pretenses of stealth going away as he opened up with the Volt. Blue tracers rained down on the two snipers on the rooftop, cutting them down before Cooper landed, rolling into a crouch as he snapped the gun up and drew a bead on a guard in one of the watchtowers and emptied the rest of the magazine. The armor absorbed one or two shots, but even Sable's advanced plate couldn't withstand multiple hits as subsequent armor piercing rounds punched through before the Trooper slumped over and fell from his elevated perch.

While the Marauder slipped a fresh magazine into the SMG, the base came to life as alarms began to blare. With his reloaded weapon, the Pilot dropped off the edge of the rooftop and used his kit to jump to the wall of the building, running alongside it as he brought the Volt to bear one handed, cutting loose with a long burst on a squad of troopers that emerged from the headquarters. Those that weren't hit dove away as the Marauder pulled the pin on a frag and tossed it amongst the group before activating his phase shift. Streaking through the open door as he drew his Smart Pistol and was phased back to reality and face to face with four Sable guards, two with rifles, two brandishing stun batons. The melee troopers rushed him, weapons crackling with red energy and held high as the Marauder stood and raised his pistol, putting two shots into the first troopers gut, staggering him long enough to get a target lock on the two gun wielding men and pull the trigger once to spit out four rounds and put both down, leaving him alone with the two baton wielding men.

But as the second arrived, swinging his weapon and forcing the pilot back as the first one recovered and the Pilot jumped into action, using the wall to propel himself forwards, ramming his knee into the closest troopers chin, snapping his head back and sending him stumbling back and sprawling across the floor. With him temporarily out of the fight, Cooper pulled his left fist back, arc knuckles sparking with blue energy in contrast to the red of his foe's baton. In one fluid motion, Matthew fired his jump kit, throwing himself at his opponent as he extended his legs, clipping the troopers armored off hand before the Pilots fist followed up, the white armor not stopping the futuristic tech as the man's muscles seized up while Cooper slid across the floor. Coming to a stop, he rolled onto his stomach and raised his pistol, putting smart rounds into both of the troopers to put them down as he swapped magazines for both the sidearm and Volt before pushing further into the building. _"Heads up cowboy, I'm tracking you over the buildings internal security system. The War Room is one floor up, nearest access is through the mess, hang a left and it's the third door on the right," _informed Black Cat, _"it also looks like there are _lots _of troopers assembling in the mess. Probably the ones who are supposed to stop you."_

Cooper rolled his neck and pulled out his EM-4 as he followed both the signs and his girlfriend's directions until he was outside the double doors of the mess and replied with a simple "they can try." With that he raised his boot and gave the door an exo augmented kick, throwing it open to reveal nearly twenty fully armed and armored troopers on the other side. In their split second of hesitation at the Marauders unexpected appearance, the Pilot tossed down an A-Wall, the orange wall of light springing to life before they could bring their weapons up. As energy pulses dissipated harmlessly across the hexagonal pattern of the tactical, Cooper squeezed the trigger of the EM-4, feeling the weapon whine and hum as it charged up. When it did finally fire, the weapon unleashed hell on the troopers, in the confined space with nowhere to run; Cooper raked the muzzle from one end to the other, spreading out the explosive pellets to devastating effect. No sooner was the first burst out of the Cold War when a second was charging and another burst of explosions ripped through the room. As the shock of the sudden attack wore off, the survivors tried to regroup and a group of shield wielding troopers rushed the Pilot. Calmly, Cooper lowered his point of aim and charged up the last burst from the Cold War and sent the 4.7x33mm explosives to their feet, the blasts breaking up the attack as their bodies and weapons went flying across the room.

Dropping the spent magazine, Cooper slammed a fresh one in, yanking the charging handle back before signing the grenadier weapon over his shoulder in favor of his SMG as the A-Wall faded and he stepped forwards. Moving swiftly through the carnage he had wrought, the Marauder found the stairwell up and ascended swiftly, bouncing off the walls up to the second floor. Slinging the pulse blade into the wall across the open space waiting for him at the top of the stairs, Cooper was surprised to not find anything waiting for him and pressed his attack before the PMC Troopers could regroup. Thankfully, everything was labeled clearly, so even as he slide hopped at breakneck speed through the corridors and jumped onto the walls to change directions, he didn't get lost.

Pulling up outside the War Room, the Pilot readied an electric smoke before ramming his shoulder into the door and tossing the grenade inside before a torrent of rounds came back at him and he pressed himself to the wall outside the room. Activating his phase shift, he dove through the door, tucking his shoulder down and rolling behind one of the terminals before he was ripped back to reality and looked up to see a pistol held by someone on the other side of the desk. Standing quickly, he grabbed the arms holding the gun and twisted, tucking his shoulder into the man's chest and ripping him down to the ground in front of the Pilot before slamming an arc charged punched into the man's exposed face. Moving as only a Pilot could, Cooper slid across the ground, propelled by the jump kit as he took aim with the Volt, spraying rounds with the SMG. The men and women inside the room instinctively ducked down behind whatever cover they could find, the two who didn't had the stream of blue tracers walked onto them, blood flying as the bodies collapsed to the floor.

Matthew kept up the momentum, not stopping and instead jumping up, still holding down the trigger and spraying the last of the 33 rounds on tap before one of the personnel working in the War Room stood up, only to get kicked in the chest and sent sprawling back while Cooper reloaded. As he slammed the fresh magazine in, his foe recovered and tried to wrench the gun away to no avail as Cooper's exo assisted arms rammed the muzzle of the gun into the mercenaries' gut, causing him to double over before Matt flicked the bolt release and planted the first round in the top of the man's skull before he spun around. As soon as he did, he caught a red laser bolt square in the chest, feeling residual heat make it through his armor enough to warm his skin as he grit his teeth and returned fire as the shooter ducked behind a console.

Head snapping from side to side, Cooper looked for an angle to pry at, but couldn't pick out any sign of his foes. Activating his cloak, he then sent out a hologram, watching the phony pilot walk out into the open as he slipped from cover and stalked through the War Room, focused on the hologram and waiting for someone to take the bait. The sound of a laser pistol broke the silence caused the damn to break, three different streams of fire filling the air and going through the hologram. With the last few seconds of invisibility, Cooper moved in behind the nearest just as it faded and slammed the man in the back of his head with the stock of his weapon before he hosed down the other two, one falling back and slumping against the central table while the other spun and fell behind a console.

For a brief moment, Cooper thought it was over, but a loud wince echoed through the eerily silent room from the direction of the last Sable agent. Volt at the ready, he moved to the downed Agent and rounded the corner, weapon leveled at the agent as he got a look at the woman. She had removed her hat, right hand clutching her left shoulder in an effort to stem the bleeding as her sidearm sat on the ground within arm's reach, but she made no move to grab it. "What are you waiting for?" she asked, her voice low, almost hiss like, but Matt couldn't tell if that was because of pain or fear, "You gonna execute me you vigilante piece of shit?"

"Depends," began the Marauder as he gestured with the muzzle of his gun towards the sidearm, "you gonna shoot me in the back if I don't?" When she shook her head, Matt kicked the pistol well out of reach while pulling out a pack of bio gel. "Move your hand, I'll give you something to stop the bleeding and help the pain." After a moment's hesitation, she complied as Cooper crouched down on one knee and applied the first aid, sealing the wound and applying a local anesthetic. With that done, he turned back and looked for a central console that had survived the firefight, moving with a deliberate rapidity that came with the rush adrenaline tempered by experience.

Keeping the wounded woman in the corner of his eye, Cooper found a suitable terminal and pulled the body of the trooper that had protected it with his body off before drawing his Data Knife and jamming it into the terminal, starting to form the needed link. "Why?" asked the woman weakly as the x shaped visor turned to face her, "Why kill all them but spare me?"

Cooper shrugged as the blue circle projected by the knife turned blue and he withdrew and sheathed the blade, "You surrendered." She stared at open, incredulous and open mouthed as he shrugged again before the moment was abruptly shattered as automatic laser fire caused Cooper to hit the deck and return fire, the white armored trooper ducking back into cover. Throwing a pulse blade out to see what he was up against, the tactical illuminated a full dozen troopers waiting for him outside the War Room.

"_The link is up," _began Felicia as Matt stuck the SMG up and emptied the rest of the magazine before he began to reload the weapon, _"I found the server with the data we need, it's on the top floor of the Detention Center along with the main security station." _Pulling out a frag, Cooper tossed the explosive through the door and waited until the grenade detonated before he attacked. Vaulting over the desk he had taken cover behind, he activated his Stim to throw himself forwards in massive leaping strides and slide through the door, Volt spitting out it's blue tracers to finish off anyone that survived the frag.

When the area fell silent, he reloaded the SMG and sprinted for a window at the end of the hallway. "Solid copy," he replied as he checked his remaining ammo, only seeing two more magazines for the Volt before looking up at a window, "I'm taking a short cut." With that, he fired his grapple hook above the frame and pulled himself through the window feet first before falling to the courtyard below, jump kit firing to slow his descent automatically. No sooner had his boots touched the concrete than the Pilot bent his knees and jumped onto the perimeter fence before he leapt across to the backside of the Headquarters building towards the Detention Center, activating his STIM to cover the distance in the blink of an eye, jumping off the wall and firing his grapple at the edge of the building and sling shot himself around the building. Jump kit firing, the Marauder launched himself through the air and landed on the roof of the Detention Center.

Drawing the Cold War, the Pilot turned to see the door that led to a stairwell down into the prefabricated structure swing open as the guards came to confront him. "Take him down!" ordered one of the Mercenaries, but the shriek of the EM-4 was the Marauder's response as the super cooled explosive pellets shot out glowing their distinct blue and blew the white armored men across the rooftop or back into the stairwell they had just ascended.

Moving in, the Pilot jumped down the flight of steps before he buried a freshly recharged pulse blade into the door only to find that there weren't any more guards waiting for him. Yanking the door open, Cooper confirmed with his eyes that the room was clear before drawing the Data Knife and jamming it into the large server bank and pulling the trigger to begin establishing a data link. "Cat?" he asked, "You receiving this? It should be the data Watanabe needs." This was starting to go far too smoothly, and he was getting a bit anxious.

"_It is. I'm not seeing any more Sable personnel in the camp, you're clear cowboy. Now you just need to get the prisoners out of there, I've sent word to Yuri to start heading your way," _informed the Thief as Cooper pulled the knife from the server and jammed it into the main console, _"she'll be waiting on the west side, there's an exit from the detention center and then the perimeter. I'll make sure to keep an eye on their systems and ensure Bliss knows where to go once you're ready for him." _

When the blue ring filled, there was an audible chime from the computer, the monitor reading _'Cell Blocks Open.' _With that done, Cooper sheathed the blade and placed one of the satchel charges he had brought with him on the console. "Copy that Cat, I'm leaving a few presents for Bliss to make damn sure they can't use this place again." Descending the stairs once again, he came out in the main holding area, the energy barriers that kept people contained had faded and some had made their way out into the center of the room. "Listen up people!" he called out, "I'm getting you all out of here. I'll clear the way so all you need to worry about is keeping your head down and not getting shot, there will be NYPD waiting to get you out of here and take your statement if you want to press charges, you got it? Good." Thankfully, there was only about a dozen or so nodding heads looking back at him. "Let's go!" he beckoned as he led them to the designated exit. Stepping out to scan the area and ensure it was clear; he spied Yuri and a small group of NYPD cars waiting just outside the perimeter gate. With a wave of his hand he got the civilians to follow him as he used his data knife to override the electronic lock and open the way for them. As they made their way out the Marauder turned and casually tossed a second Satchel Charge on a small stockpile of aviation fuel placed next to the building before following the civilians out.

"Good work," complimented Yuri as he exited, "I'll take them back to the station, hopefully I can convince the Mayor that letting a PMC have free reign isn't in his best interests." She watched the civilians, some sporting bruises, as they passed before shaking her head. "That should be enough to get Bliss to back down. You going to help with the super villains?" she asked.

Now it was the Marauder's turn to shake his head, "Not yet. Even if Osborn tightens the leash, Bliss is gonna keep coming after Spidey and I. I just need to ensure I'm the one Bliss wants to go after." To ensure that was the case, he drew the clacker and detonated the explosives he had left behind. While the explosions were small, the fire that started from the aviation fuel began to quickly spread to the Detention Center, and with the central console destroyed there wasn't a chance the sprinklers would come online to try and douse the blaze, "and if he wants me, than he can come get me."

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Assault Rifle: M16A4_

_This is what will probably the last in a long line of M16 rifles, the A4 model is used exclusively my the United States Marine Corps in limited supporting roles, supplanted by its little brother, the M4, as the standard issue service rifle of both the US Army and USMC. Between the M16 and M4, there is more than five decades of service, more than any other rifle platform in the history of the United States. Derived from the Armalite AR-10 that was developed by famed arms designer Eugene Stoner in the 1950's, the M16 was an AR-10 rechambered into the .223 Remington intermediate cartridge and first adopted by the US Air Force before becoming the standard rifle of the US Army and Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Working off a unique gas impingement/gas piston hybrid system where the piston is integrated into the bolt carrier assembly, it is not in fact a true direct gas impingement system as is often described. _

_And that isn't the only unique thing about the rifle either, remember that it was designed in the 1950s, when a military rifle was made of wood and steel, at that point, the M16, with lightweight aluminum components and black fiberglass furniture, was truly a revolution. These features weren't universally praised though, with many soldiers dubbing it the 'Mattel-16' because its weight was more like that of a toy. That wasn't the only change the M16 brought with it, the other big one was that it was the first to break with the American .30 caliber tradition by adopting the .223 Remington cartridge, and then later the slightly hotter 5.56x45mm NATO SS109 cartridge. These rounds were smaller and lighter but traveled with much more pace than the M14s 7.62mm NATO round. Early field trials in Vietnam revealed that the light bullets would 'tumble' upon impact with a human target, creating larger internal wounds than even the heavier 7.62, and giving the gun the moniker of 'Meat Chopper.' _

_But that .223 round, since this was before the 5.56 adoption, had one flaw. A switch in propellant type upped the pressure in the round, increasing cyclic rate and carbon buildup that lead to extraction failures. Couple this with a misguided notion the futuristic looking gun was 'self-cleaning' and that led to the famed reliability issues the rifle suffered in Vietnam. Good training, discipline, and a comic book to explain how to clean the gun properly were just as important to overcoming these issues as the updated M16A1. Half a century later, and the M16, along with the smaller M4 and civilian AR-15 variants, has become an institution. The definitive black rifle and an American Icon, the weapon has withstood several attempts to replace it, and even vilification by the country it protects on occasion, but it is undoubtedly a modern classic._

* * *

**Closing Notes: This one was a bit tougher to crack, just solidifying the timeline was a pain, but now that everything else is planned out it's a pretty straight shot to the finish here. I made a few tweaks to the Miles segment, particularly the ending, since it was a bit too over the top for my tastes. I still am not a huge Miles fan since he's just really...bland I guess, likable enough but really forgettable and I realized that when writing this chapter. Other than that? I really am leaning into the Division for characterizing Bliss, the speech that opened the chapter was slightly tweaked from the one he gives in one of the games' collectibles to fit the situation. Though honestly, he really does feel shoehorned in, but I still think having him was the best choice so that he can give Matt something to do other than get in the way of Peter's story arc. I'd be curious as to if anyone out there has thoughts on that. **

**If you have thoughts on that or anything else, feel free to review as always. **

**Next chapter is a boss fight that's been a long time coming, and now the tables have turned around, so You're Going Down.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	66. Chapter 66: You're Going Down

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

So Microsoft dropped 7.5 billion bucks on Bethesda. To put that in perspective, Disney paid a bit over 4 billion for Marvel Studios and a similar number for Lucasfilm and Star Wars. Obviously the economics are a bit different, since this includes not only IPs and studios, but also things like the ability to license out the ID Tech engine too. While people already want a Halo/Doom crossover, which would be great, I'm setting my sights a bit lower: I want Doom Guy/Doom Slayer to find a Master Chief toy in his next game, just to see what he'd make of it.

**MarauderPrime12: Here it is, hopefully you enjoy.**

**Guest: If you've gotten here, then you probably can tell that such a thing won't be happening in this story. In general? That's a tough pairing to really comprehend. The Punisher, the far older and grizzled veteran who was already married and lost his true love the becoming romantically involved with a criminal is a bit too far out there for me...and this story assumes that Manhattan roads are smooth enough to be something you can drive on in a McLaren P1 in race mode. Simply put, there's a lot of issues there that I can't see working, though maybe a better writer than me could pull that off. **

As for the title of this, it's a song by some band called the Sick Puppies, a group I know nothing about and can't be bothered to look up because this song only came to my attention when I forgot to loop my spotify playlist and it went from ZZ Top to this...somehow. It's got a memorable opening baseline and it's quite on the nose for a bossfight chapter, which is what I always pegged it to be used for. The usual good music I can wholeheartedly recommend will return next chapter.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 66: You're Going Down**

_Let's take a trip down memory lane_

_The words circulate in my brain_

_You can treat this like another all I'm sayin'_

_But don't cry like a bitch when you feel the pain_

_It's been a long time comin'_

_And the table's turned around_

_Cause one of us is goin'_

_One of us is goin' down_

* * *

Silver Sablinova scrutinized Norman Osborn's face as the Mayor fielded a phone call on his cell, the mood in the dining room of the billionaire's penthouse steadily chilling with each thing the CEO was told. Across from the Symkarian was one of her subordinates, in fact, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss was the number two Sable International field commander behind only Sablinova herself. For the duration of the meal, Sablinova had effectively been sidelined from the conversation that had occurred as Osborn was far more interested in what Bliss and the 4th was doing. For her part, the Symkarian was scrutinizing Bliss more than she had in the past, listening to the way he had evaded the Mayors questions. This would not have bothered her in the past, she was not unaware of the charges levied against the Lieutenant Colonel and his men, but he had never failed to get results and that was all that had mattered. Now that she was listening she found herself opposed to what he did report. Protesters having appeared outside some of the FOBs having been opposed with force and the ringleaders interned in direct violation of Sable International ROEs, even if Osborn seemed indifferent to that, Sable was not. Bliss made assurances that they would be soon turned over to the NYPD but hadn't given a concrete timeline through the entire meeting. A mental note had been made to coax a solid answer from the man as soon as this meeting was over.

But it was clear where Osborn's interests lay, and that was the two vigilantes who were making their presence felt all across the city. Spider-Man had been dealing with the supervillains, which Sable was secretly grateful for, but the Marauder had been seemingly been focused solely on the 4th security battalion. That alone had her suspicious raised, but she was about to be given a very rude awakening as Osborn's face contorted into a sneer, "I see Commissioner." With that, he promptly hung up and placed his phone down on the table. "That was DeWolff, there has been an interesting development regarding the Marauder."

Tensing minutely, Silver turned to the Mayor but didn't fail to notice Bliss sneer in the corner of her eye. "She call to tell you she did her job and apprehended him instead of sheltering him?" growled the Lieutenant Colonel harshly, usually such an accusation would draw some placation or dismissal. But it did not this time, Osborn fixed Bliss with a withering glare that reminded the veteran officer who was in charge.

Bliss held his ground however, right up until Osborn's cold tones cut through the tension. "She did not Lieutenant Colonel. Commissioner DeWolff just informed me that several citizens have filed affidavits that are serving as the basis for an investigation into the actions of Sable International's 4th security battalion for charges including false imprisonment, assault, and theft. These citizens all came forward once they were freed from _your _Queens Tunnel Camp by the Marauder." The room fell silent as the two mercenaries processed the update, both the charges being brought against her company and that the audacity of the Marauder to attack Sable International so brazenly were equally shocking to the Symkarian. But the Billionaire wasn't done yet, "I expect to field a call from the DA that if any of these alleged actions are traced back to me then additional criminal investigations will ensue. This…_will not _happen," informed Osborn curtly, glaring daggers into both before resuming, "because I am explicitly ordering you to release all civilians you are holding, effective immediately."

The tone of the order was firm and gave no way for Sable or Bliss to attempt to argue, and they didn't, because Osborn continued immediately, "and if you expect to be employed tomorrow Lieutenant Colonel Bliss, I expect the Marauder in custody, those people released, and you to turn those responsible over to the NYPD." Looking from the Lieutenant Colonel to the Symkarian, Osborn's expression was frosty cold as he folded his hands, "I advise you get to work Lieutenant Colonel, dismissed." The abrupt dismissal didn't seem to faze Bliss as he stood, snapped a salute, tucked his cover under his arm, and marched straight towards the exit. When he exited and left the Symkarian and CEO, Osborn spoke to the head of the PMC. "Let me be clear Miss Sablinova, as far as anyone else is concerned, this is solely a Sable International internal issue and will be handled accordingly. It will have no effect on your other duties." Sablinova nodded, understanding, if not particularly liking, her company being used as a political shield by Osborn, specifically one of her best battalion commanders. "All is well at this moment in time and there is no need to make any…rash decisions. Lieutenant Colonel Bliss has so far proven exemplary at providing security to the city and should continue to so. If, at some point in the future, the Lieutenant Colonel is…lacking the necessary judgment to conduct operations in Manhattan, then he must be relieved by you, and you alone, at that later date."

Internally, Silver rolled her eyes at the way he lorded over her, but her situation was not one that enabled her to disagree. With her banking the company's future on this long term partnership with Oscorp, maintaining a relationship with the man at the top was vital. Short term, he was the one in the best position to manage the company's image, and it was very clear that he could easily do away with more than just one officer should he so desire, and the long term plans Sablinova had would be the least of her concerns. "I understand," she replied coolly as she stood, "thank you for the meal."

Without waiting to be dismissed, she spun on her heel and strode to the door, eager to escape the political games that could quickly become her undoing.

* * *

"_You're back with Uncle Rick and 'Wouldn't You Know It?' podcast and pirate radio," _proclaimed Valassi in his Bronx accent as Peter Parker continued to unload the latest supply shipment while waiting for Miles to return. If nothing else, the Queens Native could at least say that this conspiracy theorist was a nice change of pace from the usual conspiracy theorist he listened to. _"Now I know our current situation is, in a word, complicated, but a quick refresher for those of you who have better things to do than figure out the veritable clusterfuck that is the security situation. Most of you are aware of the NYPD and other brave men and women of the first responders, New York's Finest. They're out there doing what they do best, no, they're not 'oppressing the underprivileged' Karen, they're doing what they can to keep some semblance of civic order. To keep things from _totally _falling to shit, in other words. Nothing but respect for those folks, and, as the puppets say, those are the people in your neighborhood, they're __**us**__." _

Peter's mind went to people like Captain Watanabe or Jefferson Davis, you could say a lot of things about New York Cops, but you couldn't say they didn't care. He restocked some of the barren cabinets, in addition to medical supplies, the shelter had been going through food too, feeding not only those looking for safety after being driven from their homes, but the many volunteers who had shown up to lend a hand where they could. _"But, as you all know, they ain't the only ones out there. Sure there are the usual hero types, but I'm interested in the Sable mooks today. Any of you ever heard of a little something called Mayoral Executive Directive 51? No? Didn't think so. It's not the kind of thing they put on the front page of the Bugle."_

"_You see, Directive 51 is another one of Osborn's shady programs, just like those lovely all-seeing crime towers and that nebulous 'agreement' with the Marauder. This Directive 51 hefted a whole lot of legal power onto any 'private contractor' hired by the city and places them under the sole authority of the city's executive branch, the Mayor, in other words." _Peter stopped stacking for a second and cocked an eyebrow as the man continued. _"Now, for those of you who, like me, can't make heads or tails of that, let me save you a google. It means that if someone, like say, Sable International, is brought in by the city, then they report directly, and solely, to Mayor Osborn. But wait…there's more! That's right, not only is our beloved mayor able to bring in his own toy soldiers like the city is his fucking sandbox, but if they want to play games like 'ignoring your constitutional rights' and 'seizing your property' then all it would take is for them to go out and do it is for Osborn to give the go ahead. And knowing our beloved Mayor? He probably let them have free reign, so he has plausible deniability. Plausible fucking deniability."_

The man chuckled grimly as Peter grimaced, it was another layer to unravel in this whole mess, what was Osborn doing? _"I mean, martial law is undemocratic," _continued Rick candidly, _"but at least it's transparent. With this? Who knows who's actually running the show? Is Osborn in control or did he delegate everything to this Sablinova lady? Or is it some rogue mercenary who wanted to take a power trip? That's the thing…_nobody _knows."_

"_Home of the free? My ass." _And with that final statement, the podcast ended, and Peter quickly resumed, moving slightly faster than a normal human should have been able to in order to make up for lost time. Finishing up with the last, he threw the empty cardboard box in the ever-growing stack in the corner before realizing he had managed to get through the whole shipment. Letting out a sigh, he still wasn't even breaking a sweat and checked his watch anxiously, wanting to suit back up.

The sound of a panting new arrival brought that desire closer to reality as Peter turned to see Miles Morales, still clutching an Oscorp branded hard case, bent over and breathing heavily. "Breathe Miles," encouraged Peter, "stand straight, hands behind your head, deep breaths." The teen heeded his advice and followed the instructions as Peter relieved him of the case and set it down before giving Miles an appreciative clap on the shoulder and told him sincerely "Incredible work, Miles."

With that, he turned to leave and head for the roof when Miles spoke up. "Thanks Pete, where you off to now?" he asked innocently, leaving the Webslinger reeling to come up with a response.

"Oh, uh…I'm just going to check in on MJ," he lied quickly, "she called while you were gone and said she needed help with something." The response got an odd expression from the teen as Peter instantly remembered that he only knew MJ as the reporter helping Spider-Man, which probably explained his widening eyes. Quickly moving on, Peter told him "You stick close to F.E.A.S.T. – if these convicts get desperate then they may try and raid the shelter."

"Way ahead of you," assured the Midtown High student with a nod, "anything else happens here, I'll let you know."

He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, it was good having someone he trusted at least keeping an eye on Aunt May, especially after the scare she had given him earlier. "Great - thanks Miles," he finished honestly before making his way out. As he made his way to the roof, he had to go through almost the entire shelter and everything he saw made his pace pick up just a bit. The sick, the homeless, the volunteers, they all needed Spider-Man's help, and know he knew just how to help them. Taking the stairs in twos and threes with his superhuman agility, he didn't have to worry about hiding it with nobody in sight and his sixth sense silent. So when he emerged on the rooftop, he had already stripped off his shirt and pants to reveal the Advanced Suit that was underneath, his mask pulled on to cover his face as his clothes were stuffed in the bag and he quickly swung off. As he pulled himself into the skyline, he dialed Captain Watanabe, not surprised the always reliable cop answered on the second ring. "Yuri," he greeted, "figured out Rhino's deal: he's attacking Oscorp's relief centers."

The Captain was on the ball, as always, _"Think I know which one he's hitting next:" _she told him, _"reports of a possible earthquake and/or demolition derby at the Harlem Center have been coming in." _

Pulling out his phone mid swing, he pulled up the location of the Harlem Center and uploaded it to his mask HUD. "Sounds like our boy," he agreed as he launched himself off a chimney and shot forwards, simultaneously using the move to change directions to head north, "headed there now."

Though despite his best efforts to not show the effects of his earlier run in with Scorpion, Yuri sniffed him out anyways, _"You holding up okay?" _asked the veteran lawwoman seriously.

"Tired," admitted the web head as he scaled a high rise and flung himself over the top, waiting until he was in freefall before continuing, "but hanging in there."

"_We'll get through this, keep the faith."_

* * *

With preparations at the construction site complete, Cooper had three hours of free time that he was using to rest before he had to suit back up later that afternoon. It was his first time back at the warehouse he called home since the breakout, though it felt like it had been far longer than the three or four days it had actually been. Thankfully, everything looked to be intact, his locks had held and the interior was undisturbed, but he only had time to get a brief check done before Felicia had put a stop to that. which was why he was currently in bed, finger twirling in her platinum hair while his other hand was wrapped around her waist as he woke from his short but much needed sleep. "Sweetheart," began Matthew quietly, still gently tracing circles around her belly button through her thin white tank top, "you up?" While the heiress didn't answer verbally, Cooper could almost _see _the Cheshire grin she had on her face as she wiggled her hips, allowing him to feel her panty clad ass rub against him. He couldn't help but let out a low chuckle and give her a kiss on the cheek, "I just wanted to tell you something."

The sincerity in his tone elicited a response from Hardy as she rolled over until Matt was looking at her bright green eyes and the smile he expected to see before she propped herself up on an elbow. "What's on your mind?" she asked quietly, running a finger along his arm as he found it hard to continue, which caused her to give him a peck on the lips to knock him from his stupor, "Something wrong? Cat got your tongue?"

They both smiled at the joke, Matt appreciating the brief moment of levity as he sat up in bed and looked over at the clock. It was now well into the afternoon and he didn't want to waste anymore time, no matter how appealing of a prospect that was. When he looked back at his girlfriend, it became even more appealing, but he pushed that aside and swallowed hard before speaking his mind. "I just wanted to say…Thank you," he began, noting that it seemed like Felicia was about to say something but he silenced that by brushing her hair back and putting a finger over her lips, "let me finish. You didn't have to break me out, you didn't have to fight Silver Sable, you didn't have to help me plan all this. You could've sat up in your penthouse, drinking wine and eating cheese, but you aren't." He paused for a moment, moving his hand over to cup her face as he managed a weak smile, "instead you're here, putting up with all this shit…all my shit. I can't tell you just how much it means to me that you're doing that, that you are here with me, but…thank you."

There was a moment of silence that hung in the air as Matt turned away, Felicia examining him with a critical eye before he heard her shift and turned to see her settle down in his lap. She put her hands on his shoulders, forcing him to square up to her as she struggled with her own words, "You do the same for me…" she finally managed before taking a deep breath, "and this…us," she corrected, "means a lot to me too." There was an unexpected rush of relief that worked its way through him as he reflexively pulled the woman to him and they shared a kiss that didn't progress as far as it usually would before both pulled back.

Even after more than a year together, Felicia could be hard to read when she wanted to be and becoming more than friends with benefits hadn't changed that either. They were partners both professionally and romantically, an arrangement that had served them well, but it was becoming clearer to the Pilot he wanted more than that and that was something Matthew was wholly unprepared for. While he was still processing that, the thief already had the corners of her mouth upturned, "So you go pull this off stud, come back to me, and then we can work out how you can thank me properly…" she purred in a way that made him need a cold shower before he went to the construction site. But when he tried to lift her off him, she was reluctant to move, "we still have some time, where you headed cowboy?" she asked wickedly.

"A cold shower before I go," he admitted, "you _do _tend to have that effect on me."

Knowing exactly what she was doing, she ran a finger up his chest, "Oh, did I make you tense?" she asked teasingly. "Tell you what," she breathed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself into him so he could feel her breasts press against him, "make it a warm shower and I'll help you loosen up." Not needing any further encouragement, Matthew wrapped an arm around her lithe form and pulled her tight as he swung his legs out of bed and got to his feet, her legs wrapping around him as he brought his other hand up to cup her bottom and squeeze affectionately as he carried her to the shower with him. For her part, Felicia merely hummed contently, "I _do _know how to pick 'em."

* * *

As Spider-Man approached Harlem, it became a trivial task to pick up Rhino's trail since Aleksei was not exactly the master of subtlety. The 700-pound supervillain left wrecked cars and crushed Sable fortifications in his path that led the Webslinger to a storage yard full of shipping containers and other equipment. But what stood out the most was the sound of a firefight as Spidey's eyes found the bright red streams of laser fire slammed into the charging form of the Rhino to no effect. Not slowing down, the Russian rushed the trio of troopers, knocking one aside with a casual backhand before wrapping a massive armored hand around each of the remaining troopers heads as Spider-Man swung closer as the two Troopers struggled in the villains grasp. Landing gracefully, the hero picked up a massive concrete pipe, hoisting it above his head and putting his super strength into heaving it forwards at Rhino, with even the massive enforcer staggering and releasing his victims due to the impact. While the white armored agents scrambled away, Rhino remained kneeling as the dust settled. "Pick on someone your own size, Rhino!" taunted the wallcrawler gamely.

Growling lowly, Rhino slowly stood to his full 7-foot 5-inch height as he turned around, "There is no one my size, pauk," spat Sytsevich. He glared down at the Webslinger, snarl fixed across his exposed mouth as Peter felt his sixth sense begin to buzz warningly.

Stepping back as the villain lowered his horn threateningly, Spider-Man tried to take a different tac, "Or maybe we could just…talk it out?" he suggested right as Rhino charged with a roar and Spider-Man flipped up and out of the way. "Rhino, what's with the team up?" asked the Webhead as the pair squared back up, "thought you were more of a loner."

While Aleksei paused to consider the question, Peter fired a web line to grab a plastic barrel before swinging it around and slamming it against the man's face, but all it did was elicit another growl from the villain. "Means and ends pauk," answered Rhino as he lowered his shoulder once again and Spidey looked up to see another of the large concrete pipes he had used to great effect earlier hanging from a crane over Rhino's path, "all of life is means and ends." When the man charged predictably, the colorful superhero didn't dodge, instead firing a pair of web lines at the pipe and yanking it down, dropping it on the back of the charging Rhino.

"So what's the end for these particular means?" he asked, leaping towards the staggered supervillain and slamming his fist down on the man's exposed jaw as he fell to the ground before jumping up, delivering a roundhouse kick with every bit of his super strength he could muster and snap the armored man's head back the other way.

Spider-Man jumped back as Rhino shook his bloodied jaw and spat out a glob of blood on the ground, "Freedom!" he declared, "True freedom. No more suit. No more 'Rhino.'" With that, he dug his fingers into the torn up asphalt and lifted a hunk of it, heaving it at Spider-Man like it was made of foam, it forced him to bounce out of the way.

"Awww. I always liked the suit," admitted the Wallcrawler morosely, "so distinctive." Goading the man further, he strafed to his right while triggering his web shooters, pelting the villain with sticky synthetic silk to try and lure him under another crane, a wooden crate suspended beneath it. Just like last time, Rhino fell for it, charging forward as Spidey jumped and backflipped, firing a pair of web lines at the crate and using his strength and gravity to pull it down into Rhino's path. With a colossal crash, the villain turned the plywood to splinters, sending the contents flying across the space as Spider-Man leapt in to take advantage of the opening, firing his webs at the crane overhead and using it to swing around the downed villain and using the momentum he had built to deliver a singular punishing swing kick to the side of the man's head, able to hear the armor crack. Before he could follow it up, Rhino roared in rage and backhanded the webslinger, sending him flying and slamming into a few stacked up wooden boxes.

Shaking the blow off, Peter forced himself to get back to his feet as both fighters recovered from the exchange. "Be thankful, pauk," managed Rhino through labored breaths, "without suit, I make less trouble for you."

Ignoring the burning in his chest as he took a deep breath and rolling his shoulder and getting an audible 'pop' in return, the Web head turned back to his old foe who seemed to be doing much the same thing. "But what about our stimulating battle-side chats?" he quipped lightly while his larger for staggered back up.

"You are funny, malen'kiy," admitted Rhino with a deep chuckle, "I am almost sorry to destroy your tiny face…almost." Before Peter could quip in response, the Russian charged forwards at full speed, footsteps so loud that they drowned out the unneeded warning from his Spider sense blaring at the base of his skull.

Jumping up, he fired his web shooters to pull himself out of the path of the stampeding Rhino and swung through the air, flipping off at the end of the line and soaring through the air, grabbing hold of one of the hooks for the heavy duty cranes and hoisting himself up, gripping the chain as he crouched down on the hook. "You wound me Aleksi, I thought we were closer than that!" he taunted boldly.

Just as he wanted, the supervillain crouched low and snarled "You would not like me so close!" before charging at him with thunderous steps. Each stride left a massive footprint in the asphalt as the distance closed and the Web head's muscles tensed as time seemed to slow while waiting for precisely the right moment. When it came, the Wallcrawler jumped, his superhuman strength overpowering the lock that held the hook up and dropped right onto Rhino's head. Not letting up, Peter pulled himself towards the villain, throwing a pair of punches before planting his foot on one of Sytsevich's massive arms, throwing himself back, he bounced off the ground to plant a full powered kick straight into the throat of Rhino, both men reeling from the blow as Aleksei fell flat on his back where as Spidey landed on his feet.

The heavy armor sparked, dented and bent, blood staining the front as the villain coughed up even more blood as the Web head looked on, "Let's wrap this…" he began to say when his Spider sense rang loudly at the base of his skull and his head snapped up, eye lenses wide to find the source of the threat. A familiar blob of green poison flew at him and he flipped away as the venom flew by, missing him by mere inches, Peter landed on the ground and looked up at the prowling form of Scorpion perched with his stinger tipped tail raised high as he sneered down at the pair.

"Never send an 8-ton infant to do a man's job…" growled Gargan lowly, seemingly looking down at both men literally and figuratively, "let's finish this."

Fists clenching, the Web head prepared for round two, ejecting the mostly spent cartridges as he squared up to the duo of armored supervillains. Rhino, for his part, was gamely getting back to his massive feet and standing to his full towering height. "Aw, Scorps, love ya, but you do know it's rude to cut in, right?" he asked as Rhino began to charge and Spider-Man was forced to leap clear as soon as the words were out of his mouth, but instead of stopping when he landed, the buzz at the base of his skull prompted him to handstand spring away from the blob of toxin that landed where he just was.

But Scorpion ignored the verbal jab as he jumped to get behind the Wallcrawler, instead calling out his supposed 'teammate.' "What were you gonna do if I didn't show up?" asked Mac in a sneer, "Beg him to give up?" Scorpion fired another shot of green poison that Spider-Man dodged by jumping back onto the container below the one Mac was perched on, bouncing off and pulling out a web grenade as he soared over Rhino, slinging the device at Scorpion and sticking it right to his chest.

Scorpion became ensnared by the webbing, which didn't go unnoticed by Rhino as he looked up at the mercenary. "Yes, Gargan. That is exactly what I would have done," snapped Aleksei as Spider-Man fired a webline at Scorpion and web zipped to him, leading with a kick that sent Scorpion back before Peter was forced to dodge the lethal mechanical tail and throw a powerful cross that sent the man spinning as the tail came back. But instead of dodging, Peter's hands shot up and grabbed it just below the poison tipped stinger, muscles straining against machine until Spider-Man wrangled the tail and used it to throw Mac from his perch just as he broke free of his silk prison.

Peter didn't miss the contempt the pair glared at each other with from his vantage point. "Aww. Like an old married couple, you two." Both men growled lowly as Rhino stomped on the ground and pried out the piece of jagged concrete his boot had dislodged and heaved it at the Web head. Jumping away, he soared through the air until he landed on an electromagnet. Predictably, Rhino charged, still not learning his lesson as he bore down on the Webslinger. Gargan, however, stuck with his ranged attack, flinging another blob of toxin forward. In one impossibly seamless motion, the superhero jumped off the magnet, slamming it down on Rhino as he flipped away from the poison and raised his web shooters and cut loose, unleashing a stream of webbing that trapped Scorpion. While Rhino was shaking off the magnet, Spider-Man pounced on Scorpion, plastering a powerful punch on the man's face. The tail tried to come down on him, but a pair of web lines snatched it out of the air and redirected it into the ground, the stinger burying itself deep in the asphalt. With that out of action, Spidey used the opening to pull himself up, swinging around the villain using his own tail to come in and deliver a powerful kick to the side of Gargan's head. Hitting the ground, he rolled and leapt away, "So you guys and Octavius?" he asked as he darted into cover for a brief reprieve, "You have a name yet? The Scary Six? The Dirty Half-Dozen?"

Gargan shook off the kick and called out in reply, "How about the 'We Murdered Spider-Man and Used His Corpse For a Blanket' Six?" The response left the web head taken aback as he blinked several times, shaking his head to try and get the mental image out.

Equally unamused was, oddly, Rhino. "Please…Gargan," said the Russian lowly, "you embarrass yourself." Slowly, Spider-Man crept past the containers to one of the large cranes and carefully stuck one of his hands to the cold steel, pulling himself up as he slowly ascended the structure.

To the two villains searching for him, the Web head had seemingly vanished into thin air, and Gargan began to get frustrated. "Get him, you idiot!" shouted Scorpion impatiently as Spider-Man worked his way around the leg of the crane.

Poking his head out to get a look at what the two armored villains were doing, Spider-Man saw Rhino turn towards the crane and trudge closer, "'Get him?' Come down and help, durak," barked the Russian angrily. But the mercenary did no such thing, instead sticking to prowling atop the containers.

Waiting for the right moment, the Wallcrawler let the pair separate themselves as he held down the button on his left web shooter to prepare an impact web as he jumped from his perch, firing a web line from his right wrist to swing from the arm of the crane before letting go of the button for his left shooter, blasting Scorpion as he flipped off the end of the line. "Guys, please," he faux pleaded as he fired his right web shooter again, the line grabbing the webbed up Scorpion and yanking him down to the ground, "there's plenty of me to go around." Firing a second web line on the ground next to the felled villain and pulling himself down as fast as he could, slamming his feet into Scorpion's chest full force, bending the armor from the force of the impact before throwing a punch right in Mac's bearded face.

But before he could continue his assault, a rumbling behind him and the buzz of his sixth sense caused him to dodge out of the way before Rhino stampeded past, trampling Scorpion underfoot just after he tore free of the webbing. "Watch where you're going jackass!" roared Gargan angrily as Spider-Man backed away and the two villains snarled and glared at each other, their alliance tittering on the brink.

Spider-Man, of course, didn't mind giving it a little push. Calling out again, he got the attention back on him, "Rhino's getting his suit removed, what did Octavius promise you, Scorpion?" he asked, even if he knew the answer.

Instead of charging right at Spidey, Rhino snorted and snarled down at Scorpion. "Money," spat Aleksei, "Gargan has no principals. He fights for profit." There was contempt that the Russian didn't even try to hide in the words.

"Untrue," sneered Gargan as he turned back to the Web head, "I'd rip Spider-Man's face off for free," he said with a sickening grin, "the money's a bonus." Eager to get that bonus, Mac leapt forwards with toxin dripping from the stinger on the tail and twisted smile on his face. Jumping up and backflipping away, he handsprung up and brought his pair of web shooters to bear, unloading them as Gargan landed.

With his superhuman reflexes, Spider-Man fired out shots of webbing as quickly as he could manage, quickly wrapping up Scorpion in a thick cocoon of synthetic silk. "Trapped again Gargan?" jeered Rhino from fifteen yards away as Spider-Man slid forwards, jumping up to plant an uppercut on Mac's chin, snapping his head back as his tail kept him upright, "pathetic."

"Keep talking dipshit!" yelled back Scorpion, Spidey beginning to very much feel like he was the third wheel here as that same tail shot back up and tried to spear through him as he dodged away. Before the tail could retract, the webslinger grabbed the tail of the villain and used it to swing the man around before throwing him into a building, the armored Scorpion cracking the concrete from the impact before falling to the ground. "I'll take care of you after I finish the bug!" vowed Gargan, but he was clearly shaking off the effects of the blow. Only then did Rhino seem to remember he was there to take on the Web head and charged forwards as Spider-Man was forced to turn and run, forming the impression he had seen this in an Indiana Jones movie before he hung a left back towards the cranes he had used earlier. Running through the first, he began to slow as the ground shook beneath his feet, waiting for the right moment before his sixth sense warbled in warning and he jumped up as Rhino charged past beneath his backflipping form right under a suspended container that he fired his webs at and yanked down. When the metal landed on Sytsevich there was a terrible sound of metal sheering as it broke on the back of the armored suit. As Rhino fell to one knee, Scorpion yelled out from the peanut gallery, "Can't believe I'm stuck with a moron like you!"

Spider-Man ignored the jab and jumped forwards, running up Rhino's back and kicking the side of the villains head before he dropped down, grabbing the Russian's signature horn to stop his fall and pull himself up, driving a knee into the man's nose before he flipped back and away. Rhino slammed an armored fist into the ground, "Come here and I'll fix that," he growled as a blob of green toxin flew by, barely missing Rhino as Spider-Man dodged away. "If we fail because of you, Gargan, you will know the pain this suit can cause."

"Try it red menace!" snapped the green armored mercenary, "Hell, maybe I'll just pull you out of the suit myself. Piece…by…piece." Rhino turned around, smoke and sparks pouring from his half wrecked armor as he turned to face Scorpion, who wasn't looking much better with the green plate cracked and tail bent and crinkled.

"Starting to feel like I don't even need to be here…" admitted the Webslinger as both heads whipped around to him, their facemasks deformed in different ways, "you guys want to sort this out yourselves?" he offered. There was a momentary pause before Rhino picked up the remains of the container and chunked them at the Web head at the same moment Scorpion unleashed another blast of poison, forcing him to flip away from both, "Guess not…" muttered the Queens native under his breath, "worth a shot."

Even still, the thin veneer of their partnership was weakening by the second and Spider-Man took a deep breath, ready to finish this. His foes, still not learning from the last few minutes of this same song and dance, came at him in the same predictable fashion. Rhino charged forwards, shoulder down and just like the last sixteen thousand times they had done this, Spider-Man jumped up, firing a web line to swing out of the way before his spider sense rang loudly and he extended his other arm, firing a second line to web zip clear of the blob of poison that was arcing through the air. Disconnecting that line, he charged up an impact web as he fell back to the ground that Scorpion tried to dodge, but the servos on his suit only sputtered and smoked instead of responding. When the web hit him, it wrapped him up as Spidey landed and he grabbed the ensnared mercenary with a pair of web lines, ripping him off his feet and whipping him across the space and into the legs of the larger member of the Sinister Six, tripping him up as they fell over each other. Crawling out from under the Russian, Gargan turned around to face Rhino as the Russian tried to push himself up. "Do you know what Octavius'll do if he finds out _you _failed?"

Spidey could only stand by and watch as Rhino slammed his chest and squared up, not to Peter, but to Mac, "I failed?" he barked out in challenge as the Wallcrawler jumped up and softly landed on a stack of shipping containers, looking over the pair of foes with a keen eye.

"Yes you, fucking freak show!" sneered Scorpion before he was picked up by Rhino and thrown across the area, coming to a stop below a skewed container that was half hanging off the one it was stacked on top of. But Rhino wasn't done yet, charging after Gargan and quickly picking up speed. Humorously, Peter could imagine Mac's eyes widening behind the crimson visor as he raised his web shooters and gave that suspect container a tug, toppling it over. When it crashed down just ahead of Scorpion, the doors swinging open and causing him to come to a sudden stop, and it was that hesitation that would be his undoing. Turning around, his mouth gaping open, Scorpion was able to catch a glimpse of his compatriot before 7 feet and 8 tons of armored Russian slammed into him at top speed, driving him into the container. Rhino's shoulders barely squeezed inside, the metal bent and flexed outward where he had impacted as Spidey fired another pair of web lines, one grabbing each door before he crossed his forearms and yanked, the doors slamming shut a moment later.

Jumping down, Peter could see the entire container bounce, slamming back down with a loud crash from the fracas taking place inside. Triggering his web shooters, Spider-Man unleashed two scattershot blasts of webbing that coated the damaged doors and pinned the container to the ground. "A little forced time together might help you boys learn to play nice!" he quipped before calling his favorite lawwoman. "Hey Yuri, I bagged Rhino and Scorpion," he said before turning back to the container as it bounced again, "or 'boxed' more accurately, that's four down. Just Octavius and Li left."

"_Something tells me they won't be as easy," _supposed the Captain, correctly, Peter assumed. _"They're only half our problem though: Devil's Breath cases are getting worse, and Oscorp is being coy about an antiserum…" _continued Watanabe before taking a deep breath, _"I'm worried they're seeing dollar signs in a seller's market."_

Spider-Man grimaced behind his mask, "I'd expect nothing less from our beloved Mayor," he deadpanned, "leave Devil's Breath to me; one of my best people is on it…"

* * *

Mary Jane scowled at her computer, the redhead's eyes nearly as red as her hair from the hours she had spent going through everything she could get her hands on in order to find Oscorp's lab where the Devil's Breath Antiserum was under development. Every building record she could pull, every tip she could beg, squeeze, and pry from her sources, and every farfetched rumor had been checked as she desperately tried to piece something together. So far however, she had precious little to show for her efforts with nothing coming up and most of one of the walls in Felicia's penthouse covered in notes and attempts to connect the pieces of the puzzle. It was clear to her that Norman Osborn had gone to absurd lengths to keep GR-27 a secret, there was nothing in any Oscorp files, publicly available or acquired by…other means. That meant Mary Jane had been reaching out to any corporate lawyers who would answer her to try and find any shell companies that might answer to Norman Osborn behind the scenes.

But at the end of the day, it all came back to Norman, and as the TV set up ran the latest statistics showing that deaths were increasing, and it was only going to get worse. She had a terrible idea, an awful longshot that was starting to form in her head. Sighing and rubbing her eyes tiredly, she pulled herself up from her spot and made her way to the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water and downing a third of it in an attempt to ignore the part of her brain that was tired of being stuck here. Half of her mind appreciating the small break she had allowed herself while her hard driving reporter side was quickly warming to the idea of going directly to the source to get the answers she needed, in this case: Norman Osborn.

She was suddenly knocked from her thoughts by the sound of the door opening and turned around to see Felicia strut through and into the penthouse with a content smile on her face as she looked around. "I like what you've done with the place Red," began the Thief as she walked around and took in her attempts to trace a source a Devil's Breath cure and ran her finger along one of the pieces of string connecting papers, "really gave a sense all the pieces are connected." Felicia then turned to look at her, smirking mischievously and without a hint of malice as she circled back to the kitchen an pulled a bottle of some high end vitamin water that Watson wouldn't even attempt to pronounce out of the fridge. "So what's on your mind Red? I know I'm pretty but you don't stare unless you have something to say."

Mary Jane blinked three times at that, wondering how Hardy knew that with her back to the Bugle reporter. Shaking it off, she cleared her throat and said what was on her mind, "how hard would it be to get into Norman Osborn's penthouse?" she asked seriously. For her part, the platinum blonde turned to look at Watson, raised a manicured eyebrow, shrugged, and took a sip of her overpriced drink. Mary Jane rolled her eyes and sighed, "I'm being serious."

The Black Cat looked at her again, eyes narrow as the redhead was scrutinized by the thief's piercing gaze but maintained her composure, nonetheless. "Not easy," she replied, taking another sip of her drink, "but doable. Any residential space is going to have holes in its security and even Sable can't patch them all. The ones they do are bolted on fixes and far from perfect." With that said, the burglar made her way to an armchair and sat down in it perpendicular to how one was supposed to, her back propped up by one armrest and her legs draped across the other.

MJ cut in, "But knowing Osborn, he'll have Sable International expecting Spider-Man, the Marauder, and Black Cat, we'll need another way inside." Immediately, the Thief turned to look at the reporter, mischievous grin elegantly manifesting on her face at what MJ had said.

"I like the way you think Red," purred Felicia as she sprung up from her seat with a feline grace and beckoned Mary Jane to follow her, "you're right, alone, none of us would probably be able to get in, but if you were to provide a little help…" The Bugle reporter had been led to the master bedroom and then to her closet as the heiress opened a locked wardrobe to reveal her gear and equipment inside, all carefully cleaned and maintained, though there were slight gaps from the gadgets she had used in recent days. "We might be able to get in together. Wait a few hours for Matt and then if we…"

Felicia was cut off by the loud sound of MJ's phone ringing as the reporter looked down and saw who it was before quickly answering. "Pete, hey. I've been through city, state, and federal databases – if this Devil's Breath lab does exist, it's off the books." She frowned a bit before taking a breath and telling him what she had in mind, "the only other place I can think to look is in Norman's personal files."

There was a pause and MJ braced herself for the worst, but was pleasantly surprised by Peter's response, _"I've already been through his office computer…are you thinking his penthouse?"_ he asked, genuinely if she was to guess. Looking over at Felicia, she couldn't help but blush at the way the heiress was wiggling her eyebrow encouragingly before she regained her composure. _"That building's full of Sable's men; if they spot me, other residents could get hurt in a firefight." _

"I know," replied MJ as she looked back at Black Cat and the woman's gear, "but I might be able to get inside undetected…" she began, only to have Felicia clear her throat before MJ added, "with a little help."

At that, she put the phone on speaker and held the phone out, "Hey Spider," greeted Felicia as she began to pull out a few gadgets, "I'll help your girl out, make sure we get in and out no problem," assured the veteran infiltrator, "don't worry about us."

Mary Jane took the phone back and continued to make her case, "We can sneak in, find the lab's location, and get out." Felicia, meanwhile, was busy laying out equipment and humming happily to herself as MJ added, "If anything goes wrong, I'll call you for backup."

There was a pregnant pause on the other end of the line before the reporter heard a resigned sigh from her partner, _"OK. It's risky," _admitted Spider-Man, his voice seemingly more strained by web swinging than what he was saying, which was reassuring, _"but we need that location." _Mary Jane was well aware of that too, and she knew what was at stake, both for her personally and the city at large. It was a risk she was willing to take.

"Alright, give us a few hours to make a plan and wait for Matt to finish whatever he's up to and then Felicia and I will make our move." Truthfully, she didn't know exactly what the Texan was planning, but he had said to deal with Bliss and part of Sable International and she was under no illusions, if they were going to potentially kick the hornet nest than she wanted every bit of backup she could get.

"_Alright," _he agreed, _"I'll patrol until then, when you call, I'll wait nearby while you make your move." _Mary Jane was gently pushed aside as the platinum blonde pulled a designer handbag down from the shelf and looking at it before quickly replacing it for another equally expensive one and moving back to her selected equipment. _"I'll be ready, good luck MJ." _

With that, the line clicked dead and the redhead pocketed her phone, taking a deep breath before she saw the platinum blonde smirking as she went about her preparations. "What's got you smiling?" asked MJ, partly curious and partly defensive at being the object of the heiress' bemusement.

"I can't be excited at the prospect of a heist?" asked Hardy innocently before adding, "especially one with my bestie?"

"Never say that again," groaned Mary Jane, drawing a lopsided grin from the Thief before the mood turned serious once more. "What do you need me to do?" asked the journalist.

"First things first, you need to pick out a bag that will match that outfit. We'll be traveling light, no Black Cat for this one since we won't have the cover of night to make it worthwhile. Our best bet is to come up with some way to get them out of the penthouse and then use either the central elevator to take us directly there or any of the others to get us to the 28th floor and then the staircases on the northwest and southeast corners," rattled off the burglar with surprising ease. Only then did it dawn on Mary Jane that this _was _the best thief in New York, maybe the country, and it should have been obvious that she had planned to steal from Osborn at some point. "While you do that, I'm going to go set the bait for Matt's trap and grab some old notes," explained Felicia simply as she pulled out her phone and pressed a key on it before turning to leave the walk in closest while enthusiastically exclaiming "this is going to be fun!"

* * *

Looking around the chaotic space that was the command and control center of the 4th Security Battalion, Silver Sablinova was mostly silent not out of respect for the man barking orders like a madman, but because she was so consumed with the internal conundrums she was faced with. The Symkarian found her own indecisiveness infuriating, Osborn's continued toying with her and her men was grating, and the continued resistance from the Marauder and Spider-Man aggravating. It was rapidly becoming apparent that for all of Osborn's cunning, he lacked any competence in the use of forces like that of Sable International and his continued directives had only weakened their position since the breakout less than a week ago.

Even passing by the smoldering ruins of what she now knew had been the Detention Center, and knowing from the police reports what had taken place there; she struggled to bring her rising anger against the Marauder. Perhaps the fact that she had to learn about the appalling treatment of civilians by those under explicit orders to not do such things from the _police _was so far beyond acceptable that under any other circumstance she would have relieved Bliss of command on the spot. But this wasn't any other circumstance, her hands had been effectively tied and her own agency effectively ripped from her control, she was a spectator in her own show.

All of that was pushed aside as a trooper yelled out from his station, "Sir! There's been a ping on the city crime system." That got the whole room's attention as it fell silent and the Agent continued, "Confirm hostile contact designation: Marauder. Location is Madison and 28th," rattled off the man professionally, "contact lost, system is now clean." Already, the location had been plotted on the central display table, still with some shrapnel in it from the firefight that had occurred earlier, and Sable raised an eyebrow at the location.

"That cannot be right…" murmured the Mercenary, the Pilot was close to the base, too close, he could have been anywhere in the city by now and he was only a few hundred meters from the base he had just attacked that was the headquarters of the man who had been assigned to hunt him down. Striding over to the agent that had called the alert out, her approach prompted the man to come to attention, "I want confirmation on that location," ordered Sablinova with all the weight of an order.

"Yes ma'am," he responded curtly, tapping on his console and stepping aside to give her a clear view, "single ping, Madison and 28th." Indeed, the man was right, causing a slight downturn at the corner of Silver's mouth as she spun on her heel and moved back to the central table, trying to make sense of this. From her research, she had gleaned that the Marauder was able to link into the crime system, both able to see its feed and ensure he didn't end up on, so why had he now?

"Finally pulled one on this sonofabitch," snarled Bliss, "are my strike teams ready?" he barked out as all became clear to the silver haired woman. The Major was no fool, he was trying to draw Bliss out to a place of his choosing, and the best way to do that was to offer himself up on a silver platter to the Lieutenant Colonel.

And from the look of things, Bliss was doing exactly what the Marauder wanted. "Yes sir," replied another trooper, "3rd Company is green, I have four APCs ready to move as soon as you give the word." Bliss was half listening to Sable's eye, already busy strapping on his holster and personal M9A1 sidearm while the junior officer continued, "the rest of the company can be moved in soft skins we have in this base. We can have 80 men at that location in twenty minutes sir."

Bliss nodded approvingly, "Very good. ExAACCT support?" he asked curtly.

The armored trooper produced a tablet and looked through it before giving an answer. "Three teams are available, all are at the heliport in MOB Yankee, they'll need half an hour to spin up their birds."

"Do it," ordered the Lieutenant Colonel as he pulled his soft cap down on his balding head, "we're going to hit this bastard with everything we got and show him what it means to fight to the last man!"

"_Rah!" _chanted back the rest of the room as Bliss strode for the exit and Sable moved to intercept him. Usually the display of morale would make Sablinova proud, but these were profoundly different circumstances. She was not going to let any of her subordinates, no matter what her employer said, simply throw away good men if she could help it.

It was clear that Bliss saw her coming, but Sable did finally arrive alongside the Lieutenant Colonel as he exited the 'War Room.' "Lieutenant Colonel Bliss, as your superior I want to make it clear I do not agree with this course of action," she began bluntly, though Bliss acted as if she had said nothing at all, chin up and eyes forward as they moved towards the exit, "you are sending your men into a trap, I trust you can see that." The man didn't respond immediately, instead continuing to defy her in an act that would be considered insubordination. "I am _ordering_ you to answer me, _Lieutenant Colonel._"

They had almost reached the exit as Bliss came to a sudden stop at the Symkarian's order and rounded on her, "I trust _you _to see that the Marauder has deliberately attacked _my battalion_, killed _my men_, and must be _taken down_ like I have been directed to do!" growled Bliss, his anger simmering just behind his craggy features. "I will not allow him to defy me any longer! He will face the full extent of the capabilities of this battalion and I expect us to emerge victorious or to fight to the last man!" Now the two were mere inches apart, Bliss looking down at her as she held her ground despite his outburst while he took a moment to compose himself. "Are you ordering me to stand down?" he asked lowly.

There was a tense moment where she was sorely tempted, but there was only one response she was able to give. "No," she admitted lowly, almost sadly, "I am not."

"Very well," replied Bliss as he turned back to the door and moved to push it open before coming to a sudden stop, "then I request that you stay the _fuck _out of my way, ma'am."

With that, Bliss strode out towards his waiting HMMWV while Silver took a second to come to terms with her situation. Shaking her head, Sable couldn't help but mutter "didiskoya…" under her breath before following Bliss outside. Already, the yard was buzzing with activity, troopers moving to their respective vehicles as they idled, engines rumbling menacingly as their imposing weapons sat at the ready. The Sable International war machine was spooling up once more, but the woman who led it could not feel pride at it this time as she moved with cold precision and colder fury to her personal vehicle before preparing herself for the worst.

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook - __Vehicle: 2016 Jaguar F-Type SVR Convertible_

_As anyone who knows Top Gear will tell you, it takes a certain kind of person to drive a Jaguar, or 'Jaaags' as they are also called. The kind of person who would go out on a romantic dinner date with their boyfriend and spend all night flirting outrageously with the attractive waitress. No Jag driver is entirely trustworthy but it's always in a really nice and likable way so that when you have them over to your place it's expected and understood that an oil painting will probably go missing at some point. If you were to go to a prison, it's likely you would find that the murderers would drive Camaros, drug dealers would all have Impreza WRXs, and the tax dodgers and cat burglars would drive Jags. _

_And of all the cars that this storied British carmaker offers, none is more perfectly suited to Felicia than this two-seat sports car. When it came out in 2016 it was billed as the spiritual successor to the legendary Jaguar E-Type, and like that classic, this car is absolutely gorgeous, there is nothing that looks quite as good, especially from the back. Like Felicia, this thing's ass is second to none, with the right mix of beauty and power packed in that beautiful rear. Though there is a hard-top coupe version, Felicia got the soft top convertible since she likes feeling the wind in her hair and going topless…in more ways than one. Though chances are that before you see this thing, you'll hear it coming since it has one of the best soundtracks in the car world. Snorting on the change ups, bellowing when you put the pedal to the metal, and the popping and banging when you let up. If you can believe it, you can enable the sports exhaust with the press of a button, and when you do the car's just as much of a screamer as Felicia is, with both producing a wide range of intoxicating noises. _

_And since this is the SVR, it's much more than just a pretty face. With the supercharged 5.0 liter V-8 putting out 567 horsepower under that long hood, the Jaguar has the grunt to get it's 4100 pounds to sixty in 3.4 seconds. The weak point of the car is with reliable but unremarkable ZF 8 speed automatic transmission, even with paddle shifters and a manual mode the widely used box lacks the raw speed of a true dual clutch automatic like the Porsche PDK or the visceral engagement of a true stick shift and clutch pedal manual. But if there is one thing that changed to overhaul the character of the car it was the change from rear wheel drive to four wheel drive. While this upped the weight over 4000 pounds, it helped control the car's insanely tail happy nature once it was implemented, and with a car that packs over 500 horsepower that is a critical improvement. _

_Despite the looks, noise, and performance, the interior is luxurious and well put together, by Jaguar standards anyway. And the typical Jag personality continues with the harsh ride, this isn't the most comfortable convertible cruiser out there, but the ride mellows out at high speed. Translation? If you want to be more comfortable then you have to open the taps and let this big cat run. What's more Jaaag than that?_

_It's no surprise that Felicia loves this thing, even going so far as breaking into a government building to fast track getting a custom license plate for it that reads 'BLAK CAT' in an incredible display of self-awareness with a side of ego. As much as the Viper matches my personality, the F-Type pairs perfectly with hers. When you're inside them you get the sense that both are X-Rated Hardcore Monsters._

* * *

**Closing Notes: Sorry if I went a bit overboard on that logbook entry, but the F-Type is certainly a car that warrants a long one. There is no car that matches a personality like the F-Type matches Felicia. Even if I personally prefer similar cars, mainly the Mercedes AMG GTS, there was never any doubt in my mind what our favorite thief would drive. Much of the entry was inspired by Jeremy Clarkson's review of the 2014 F-Type on Top Gear, and that was just the V-6 version!**

**As for the chapter itself, the main thing was the second big boss fight which I had debated having Matt take on but went back with Spider-Man when the 4th SB was brought in. Hopefully I got it right in y'alls eyes while keeping the repetition to an acceptable level, and trust me when I say that balance was not as easy as I thought. Otherwise, the big focus was on Silver Sable and the inner workings of Sable International, hopefully you guys like it and find it interesting and entertaining, or at least follow it well enough because it's rapidly coming to its conclusion.**

**Next chapter: Listen, excuse for a king, trust me, this fight you can't win, at Poltava. **

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	67. Chapter 67: Poltava

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

If any of you happen to be Atlanta Falcons fans, you have my sympathies.

**Blaze1992: Let's keep things in perspective, they were in there for two or three days tops, the only way they couldn't walk out under their own power was if their legs had been broken. This wasn't exactly the Raid at Cabanatuan or anything. As for this chapter, you'll see how messy it's going to be. **

**BlkBird: Those are fair and valid concerns, like I've said before, I do want to take another pass at those early chapters, especially trying to get Cooper's character well set up so that his interactions with Felicia make more sense. **

**Guest: As BlkBird said, I believe that was just a translation error where he meant 'betrayal' when she sold him out to the police.**

Now, I've been waiting to get back to a Sabaton song, and even longer to use a track from what many fans consider their best work: Carolus Rex. This 2012 concept album about the rise and fall of the Swedish empire during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The album gets its name from one of the kings that reigned during that period, Charles XII, one of the most formidable warrior kings despite not really being well known, at least here in the States. So fascinating in fact, that I use him as inspiration for a certain character in this story. Unlike every other Sabaton album, there are two versions of Carolus Rex, one in English and one in Swedish. This got the band labeled as far right in Sweden, somehow. Still, no mater what version you listen to, there are a lot of great songs on this emotional roller coaster of an album. Lion From the North, Gott Mit Uns, The Carolean's Prayer, Carolous Rex, and Long Live the King are all tremendous songs.

But the one that I went with for this chapter was this fast paced and hard hitting track about one of the battles the album covers (there are only three, Gott Mit Uns, 1648, and this one). I used the battle as a basis for the first half of this chapter, and while I won't go into the history of the battle here to avoid spoilers, the band itself has a good video on it on their Sabaton History channel for those interested. For me the best part of the song is the, I think, bass, that backs the lead guitar with a fantastic riff, though if you are more musically inclined then please tell me if this is correct or not. Give it a listen because you won't be disappointed, you'll probably be headbanging by the time they get to the second verse.

One last thing, this is by far the longest chapter I've ever done, it's over 15,000 words, so I dropped the logbook entry. They should return next chapter.

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 67: Poltava**

_Listen, excuse for a king. Trust me, this fight you can't win_

_Poltava; Rode to certain death and pain_

_Poltava; Swedish soldiers met their bane_

_Poltava; Sacrificed their lives in vain_

_Poltava_

_In the shade of morning mist, Advancing on their foe_

_Bullets break the silent air, Wasted battleplan_

_Swedish forces stand alone, King has left command_

_Rule is left to lesser men, Waiting for their chance_

_Listen, obey my command_

_Hear me, or die by my hand_

* * *

_Click click…click click…click click_, the sound of the fire selector of the CAR SMG being flipped from side to side was the only one in the half built building on the corner of Madison and 28th, one of Fisks' smaller construction projects that was conveniently abandoned with the rise of the Inner Demons. Having gotten word from Hardy that she had sent Bliss the bait, Cooper had nothing to do but wait to spring his trap. A second ping rang in his ear and he brought up the feed from the camera's he had set up onto his HUD. They showed that the Sable convoy had in fact taken the most direct route to the construction site and gave him an idea of what would be coming. Getting to his feet, he kept an eye on the vehicles that rolled by, running a mental tally on what to expect, he made his way to one of his sniper's nests at the closest corner to the incoming Sable Mercenaries.

Passing by the various surprises he had waiting for the white clad troopers, the Marauder ascended to the third floor, which was the highest one completed, and made his way to a waiting Kraber. Slinging the SMG over his shoulder, the Texan took up the massive 14.5mm anti material sniper rifle and propped it up on a half finished wall. Peering down the scope, Cooper took aim at the end of the street as the first APC rounded the corner and pulled down the street, followed closely by a pair of open topped transport trucks carrying yet more Sable Troopers and another APC at the rear stopping at the corner. The second half of the convoy remained on Madison and in a similar formation so the second and fourth APCs were parked next to each other as doors began to open and Troopers began to file out and establish a half perimeter. From his position, Matthew had a commanding view, panning the monstrous rifle across the men and machines arrayed against him while his left hand reached out and grabbed a mag loaded with armor piercing incendiary rounds and slid it into place.

Before he could chamber a round, his sights settled on a pair of unusual vehicles that didn't match the transports or armored vehicles that made up the majority of the convoy. The army style Humvee emblazoned with a bird skull logo stood out first, the emblem of Lieutenant Colonel Bliss. The door on the far side swung open, but Cooper couldn't bring the rifle to bear on the man himself before the muzzle shifted to the vehicle behind the HMMWV, a low slung Sable International fast response vehicle. The driver's door opened and Silver Sablinova stepped out, standing tall in her grey duster as she looked up at the half built structure Cooper was in, scanning it until her eyes narrowing right as it felt like they came to a stop looking right at him through his scope.

Her arrival complicated matters significantly for the Pilot, not only did he not want to kill the Symkarian, he knew that she was _very _good at what she did, and she would easily see what he was doing. Taking this in stride, Matt looked away from his scope and to the handful of loose rounds within arm's reach and grabbed a blue tipped one from the bunch. Twirling it between his fingers, he brought it around and over the top of the massive Kraber, switching it to his right hand before he eased the bolt open and slipped the round into the breech before closing the bolt. Settling back in behind the gun, he scanned the area once more and found that Sablinova had made her way to the shape he assumed was Bliss, still mostly concealed behind his Humvee. Steadying his breathing, he flicked the safety off as he took aim, finger coiling around the trigger.

* * *

Looking up at the construction site, Silver couldn't fully suppress the worry that plagued her from the back of her mind that this was a trap that they were being forced into. Shaking her head, she couldn't even say lured, their hand had been effectively forced, and she did not like being at a tactical disadvantage. Taking a breath, she idly wondered if the Marauder was here, and if he was, where would he be? Looking over the half finished structure with a keen tactical eye, if it were her, decided Sable, she would be posted up on the nearest corner, probably the highest completed floor so that any passing drones or rooftop snipers couldn't see her. Looking right there, she wondered if the Major was indeed right there for a moment before shaking the thought off. But as she strode towards Bliss, even her discipline couldn't keep the hairs on the back of her neck from standing on end.

"Sir, the company has dismounted and is deploying as we speak," informed a trooper, "I have marksmen moving into these two buildings," continued the junior officer, pointing to the two structures either side of the construction site. Sable came to a stop as she listened, but infuriatingly, had to hold her tongue with Osborn ensuring that she had been rendered an observer to coming events. "1st and 2nd squads are preparing to breach and clear the target structure as soon as our perimeter is secure."

Bliss nodded approvingly, "Very good Captain. Do you have confirmation on the Marauder's location?" asked the Lieutenant Colonel curtly. Silver kept her attention split between the conversation and the building, scanning for any sign of movement or anything else to put her mind at ease. Around them, the company was splitting into its smaller units, taking cover behind the vehicles and readying their weapons as others moved further around to completely surround the building, ensuring there was no way in or out.

"I do not sir," admitted the Captain curtly, "we're trying to confirm that now." As soon as the words left the man's mouth, Sablinova felt like she got punched in the gut as the deep resonating thunder of a high powered rifle echoed through the streets. Trying to react and dive for cover, Silver found herself planted to her spot as pain tore through her, her muscles contracting as she fought a losing battle to keep her balance and stay upright. "Contact!" shouted the Captain as Sable finally lost control of her legs and fell backwards, able to get one arm out to break her fall somewhat as she slammed into the pavement, knocking the air from her lungs.

Trying to turn, move, get up, anything, the Symkarian found herself terrifyingly immobile, only her eyes able to move as she attempted to comprehend what was going on around her. There was another crack of the rifle followed up by a series of secondary explosions while the Mercenary tried to resist the overwhelming sensory input from her seized up muscles, arms and legs bolt straight as she faintly heard "Silver Bird's down!" before her eyes rolled back in her head and she passed out.

* * *

Bliss watched the missile battery atop the nearest APC tear itself apart as explosions rippled through the system with a clenched jaw as his mind moved rapidly to figure out how to reassert control over the situation. Before he could, however, the Captain of the company called out "Silver Bird's down!" and caused him to spin around, still pressed against his vehicle as he caught sight of the head of Sable International sprawled out across the street. "MEDIC!" called out the Captain as one trooper, red cross on his shoulder pauldron, sprinted over as the rifle cracked again and the APC on the other side of Bliss had its missile system's optics and targeting system shatter, rendering the entire thing useless.

The Medic had dragged an unconscious Sablinova into cover behind the Hummer along with Bliss and the Captain, going over her quickly, "vitals are normal, but she's out cold sir," reported the trooper. "I think she got hit by one of those arc rounds."

At least the woman wouldn't be able to interfere and tie his hands, "Get her out of here!" ordered Bliss, pointing to the nearest APC, its weapon system out of commission, "Take that vehicle and extract her to Yankee!" With a nod and half salute, the medic pulled a stretcher from his back and unfolded the collapsible piece of equipment as two other troopers helped load the woman onto it and Bliss turned his attention to more pressing matters as a third shot rang out, punching through the hood of the Hummer and causing a sudden eruption of steam from the engine. "Captain!" he barked, "I want suppressing fire on this motherfucker! And tell those squads to pick up the pace and get the hell inside!"

"Yes sir!" shouted back the Captain in reply as Sablinova's stretcher was lifted and hustled to the armored vehicle. "Foxtrot 1, Foxtrot 2, you are clear to breach," called out the Captain over the radio before he poked his head up and pointed to the building, "2nd platoon, I need…"

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Bliss, jumping only slightly as the Captain's head was blown off and his lifeless body was thrown two feet back from the impact of the rifle that echoed through the streets once more. Pulling the door open, the Lieutenant Colonel reached inside the Hummer and pulled out a backup comms set and slid it into place, "This is Black Horse actual, I need suppressing fire on the northeast corner!" he ordered calmly.

Seemingly at once, every gun arrayed before him fired up at Cooper before he replied with the last round in the magazine of the Kraber, sending the 14.5x114mm slug into the fuel tank of one of the soft skinned trucks, the incendiary tracer round igniting the gasoline and causing a fireball to erupt as the truck burst into flames. But that did little to slow the torrent of red laser bolts that flew back up at the Marauder as he ducked down and grabbed the handle to yank the side mounted magazine out of the gun. Faced with a whole company of nearly 100 Sable Troopers, he was going to have to play this smart, and so he set the big anti material rifle aside.

Staying low, he moved away from the wall as a few laser rounds made it through the unfinished windows and blackened the ceiling above the Marauder. Making his way to the nearest stairwell, the Pilot dropped down to the second floor as the sounds of gunfire continued outside. But Cooper knew that Bliss would not be content to merely plink away forever and would have his men come in after him. Moving to get ready for that, he turned over the barrel at the edge of his prepared location, pouring the gasoline inside down the pipes and into the channels below. Moving behind the stacked up sandbags and other impromptu fortifications, he pulled the bolt back on the Spitfire to chamber the first 8.19mm round.

Already, his HUD was alight with warnings that the perimeter sensors had been tripped as Sable Troopers rushed inside from both flanks, but they had all come in the west side and were being funneled straight into the warm welcome he had prepared. A part of him couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction when he heard the first anti-personnel mine detonate; its laser tripwire broken by one of the mercenaries. Soon, more of the muted explosions could be heard as each one unleased 700 potentially life threatening 1/8-inch diameter steel balls in a 45-degree arc, cutting down any troopers in their path.

But that was just the warmup, and soon enough he saw a hint of movement at the end of one of the hallways that led into the large open ground before him. Wearily, the first group moved forwards, unsurprisingly, one or two looked up at the high ground and the various pallets full of dry concrete, one of which Cooper was hiding behind, but most were looking at the ground in case they came across any more mines. Grabbing the electric smoke grenade he had left here, the Pilot pulled the pin and tossed it out, drawing an immediate reaction as the mercenaries opened fire while the obscurant filled the room. Counting to three, the Pilot pulled himself to his feet and slung a pulse blade out, lighting up all the Troopers and opening fire with the Spitfire. Those in the middle of the room were cut down by the torrent of armor piercing slugs as the remainder sought the only cover available, a few columns that just so happened to sit right over the gasoline fueled crevices in the floor.

With most of the survivors firmly entrenched, Cooper picked up a firestar to burn them out, hurling the ordnance down to ignite the gasoline that had flowed through nearly the whole room before ducking down to reload. Though he didn't see it, Matt knew that the fire from the ordnance quickly spread through the room, including to the packs of TNT that were strategically placed around those columns. The volatile explosive went off, throwing the men across the room, some of them wound up in the still burning gasoline as their armor caught fire. Standing back up, Cooper didn't see anyone shooting at him and took the opportunity to put a few rounds into the burning Troopers who looked like they were still moving.

But that didn't last long as a second wave began to pour into the room, this second waving wisely having their shield wielding troopers up front to weather the storm of fire from the LMG Cooper had. The distance closed as the fires began to burn themselves out and the armored troopers began to work their way up the staircases to the second floor, the first one to emerge getting a burst of fire stitched across his chest as he fell back down the way he came. But as Cooper ducked back down, he shoved a fresh 80 round drum into the weapon and grabbed the others in easy reach before activating his phase shift and bolting out of cover, using his few seconds of invulnerability to fall back deeper into the construction site, with the Last Man Battalion hot on his heels.

* * *

"_Hostile Mike-One is falling back, Echo-3 is in pursuit," _reported one of the squad leaders over the comm link. _"Be advised, Foxtrot-1 and Foxtrot-2 are KIA," _reported the sergeant, _"Echo-1 and Echo-2 have sustained heavy casualties."_

Bliss grimaced at the report, casualties were piling up, not that he was particularly concerned with the implications of that, but he did only have one company of men and had already lost nearly a quarter of them. "Echo-3 this is Black Horse, pursue and maintain contact with hostile. Be advised, reinforcements are en route, how copy?" ordered the Lieutenant Colonel firmly.

"_Solid copy Black Horse," _replied the Sergeant on the other end of the line, _"Echo-3 out." _There was another echoing of gunfire just after the line cut out, but Bliss ignored it in favor of coordinating the rest of the company.

"Where are those damn ExAACCT guys?" he cursed lowly as he looked to the sky for any sign of the helicopters carrying the jetpack equipped troopers. As much as he loathed to admitting it, his ground perimeter wouldn't do much good if the Marauder simply leapt from an upper window and ran right over their heads. The squads he had been sending in to keep the man occupied were just stalling for time until air support arrived and he could trap the Marauder in the structure he had chosen. Through the muffled gunfire, Bliss could hear the distinct sound of approaching choppers, "About fuckin' time," groused the officer.

The trio of helicopters came into view, flying low and skimming the rooftops with the jetpack equipped troopers sitting on the skids. _"Black Horse actual, this is Panther Lead," _announced the ExAACCT operator over the radio, _"Panther, Jaguar, and Lion teams are standing by and ready for tasking." _

The trio of helicopters circled overhead like predatory birds ready to swoop down on their prey. "Panther lead, you are to insert via the roof of the target structure and hold it. Engage any hostiles that try to escape, lethal force is authorized," rattled off Bliss quickly as more echoing gunfire sounded from inside the building.

The response was immediate; flickers from the jetpacks coming to life could just be made out from the ground, _"Acknowledged, Panther Lead out." _The first Helo swooped in, flying in low and flaring its nose as the two ExAACCT operators disembarked and floated off as the second chopper followed suit.

Bliss watched steely eyed as the Last Man Battalion prepared to drop the hammer on the Marauder.

* * *

"Right on time…" mused Cooper as a laser bolt slammed into the wall he was behind mere inches from his face, he knew that Bliss had landed teams on the roof. Bliss thought he was trapping him here, but Matthew had no intention of leaving this spot, especially with all the cards he still had to play. Knowing it was time to play one now, the Marauder dropped an A-Wall that absorbed the incoming laser fire before he stepped out and cut loose with the Spitfire as he backpedaled away towards the staircase that led to the third floor, firing until the gun ran out of ammo and was tossed aside. Cooper rounded a corner to reach a long hallway and activated his STIM, rushing down the corridor in a dead sprint as the A-Wall faded and laser bolts saturated the air in his wake. Waiting for him halfway down was a Double Take he scooped up as he slid past without slowing down.

Reaching the end, he rolled behind the corner and lay in wait, activating his cloak to make him invisible from the other side of the hallway as he steadied the dual chevron reticle and waited. His patience was rewarded as the first Sable trooper rounded the corner, then the second, third, and fourth soon followed as they carefully made their way down the narrow hallway, almost certain they were walking into a trap.

The Marauder took aim and proved them right, squeezing the trigger and sending a pair of bright blue tracers down range that slammed straight into the chest of the point man, blood erupting from the twin bullet holes as he coolly transitioned to the next nearest trooper. The bullpup barked again as the second trooper instinctively ducked at the sight of his comrade getting two more direct ways to get oxygen into his lungs and so one of the slugs from Cooper's rifle missed, but the other slammed directly into his head and blew his brains all over the wall behind him. The two remaining mercenaries dropped to the floor and returned fire along with the others behind them, forcing Cooper to roll to his left and into cover as he let the D-2 fall across his chest and pulled a frag from his web gear. "Here, catch!" he ground out before pulling the pin and tossing the grenade down the hallway into the Sable troopers before exploding with a muted thud, sending hundreds of pieces of razor sharp shrapnel out in all directions. In addition to peppering the walls and throwing up a nearly impenetrable wall of dust, the metal fragments made mincemeat of any men caught in their path.

Both of those effects allowed him to break from cover, snapping off one last parting shot before squeezing his left fist to rip his body through dimensions and double jump up to the wall and bounce off it to ascend the stairwell, bypassing the mines that lay in wait on the steps. Emerging onto the third floor just as the phase shift ran out and he found himself amongst a veritable forest of concrete columns that broke up the otherwise unwalled floor. There was another staircase in the opposite corner, all the way on the other side of the building from where he was, but it was where his rifle was turned first to find that Sable Troopers were already up on this floor, taking advantage of that other stairwell. Red and blue tracers shot back and forth as the two sides traded fire, Cooper strafing into cover as he emptied the rest of the magazine, putting four bullets into the one in front even as two of the return shots slammed into the grey dragon scale vest, sending a burst of heat through Cooper's chest.

Gritting his teeth as he ducked behind a pillar, the Marauder dropped the empty Double Take and drew the Smart Pistol from his chest rig before looking down at the phase shift device on his left hand, waiting for the gauge on it to show it was recharged and ready to be used again. Before he leapt out, he poked his head around the pillar for the briefest moment to see his Mastiff shotgun stashed just 10 yards away…and the troopers spreading out to advance towards him, very accurate laser fire forced him back.

His knees bent subtly by reflex as he flicked the safety of the MK6 off, preparing to leap out as soon as his tactical ability recharged just as he heard a trio of explosions from behind him as the bouncing betty mines that were covering his retreat went off. They had been fused to all leap up when the third one at the top of the stairs was triggered, so the entire stairwell became an abattoir and prompted him to move since he no longer had anything watching his back, meaning his only option was to go on the attack. "Let's do this," growled the Pilot with a cocky grin as he leapt out from behind his cover just as he activated his phase shift, vanishing into thin air as he sprinted for a second before the air began to crackle around him and he dropped, sliding across the concrete like he was gunning for third base.

Most baseball players didn't raise a pistol in their right hand as they did it, and when he emerged with a trio of shocked Sable mercenaries as the gun locked on and he pulled the trigger, six bullets leaving before his momentum ran out and all three crumpled to the floor in heaps. As the rest turned towards Cooper, he rolled into cover and got to his feet, reaching up to the shelf and retrieving the self-loading energy shotgun. Pulling the charging handle back to chamber the first energy 'slug' round into the weapon so the Mastiff had some reach in addition to its formidable stopping power. Shouldering the weapon, the solid heft offering a keen sense of its power as Cooper jumped up before planting both feet on the concrete column and pushing off, jump kit firing licks of blue flame as he jumped back and lowered the Mastiff before the gun barked and a bright red 'slug' of light slammed into the nearest Sable trooper and bore through his armor and body as he fell back, dead.

But Cooper wasn't focused on that, he was already extending his left arm and leg to push himself off another pillar, taking advantage of the small 6 foot gaps between each one to stay above the mercenaries. Ignoring the red lasers that flew back at him, the Marauder fired again, the semi auto barking loudly in stark contrast to the constant higher pitched chatter of the Sable energy rifles. With no sixth sense or superhuman reflexes, Cooper relied on speed, activating his stim to bounce from pillar to pillar with a distinct trail of blue light behind his green armored form as he leapt at another mercenary, blasting his head off with one of the energy slugs before hitting the ground in a high speed slide, twisting his body to bring the Mastiff to bear on another and firing again as he tried to spin to bring his own gun to bear, but couldn't keep up with the highly mobile Pilot, the fourth energy slug impacting him with such force that it sped his spin and sent him to the floor. The fourth, and bravest trooper yet, stepped in front of the Marauder, only for the Pilot's jump kit to ignite again, throwing the SRS Commando up and forwards as he readied an arc charged uppercut and planted it on the merc's chin.

When he landed after the jump up, he rolled to his right into cover, quickly turning the gun over and pulling shells from the receiver mounted shotshell holder and shoving them into the tube. He got two in before the proximity alert lit up in his HUD and he tried to bring the gun up, but couldn't quite manage it and settled with swinging the muzzle of the gun up and slamming it down on the white pulse laser rifle that came around the pillar before his left hand left the gun as it continued its downward arc and went to the axe on his left leg. While the mercenary fumbled with his rifle, Cooper swung the tomahawk and buried the axe head into the man's throat before ripping it back just as quickly. By the time it was back in its holster and the mercenary had fallen to the floor, the next pair of white armored troopers were bearing down on him with malicious intent. Firing from the hip, the Pilot snapped a shot into each before he caught one in the side from a third before he was able to duck back into cover, only there were too many angles, and Sable was boxing him in smartly.

The nearest escape was a window on the far side of the nearest mercenary, but before Cooper could reload the Mastiff, a bright, blinking red sphere landed and rolled past him, causing his eyes to widen behind the visor and inciting immediate action. Activating his phase shift, he leapt out towards that last obstacle, swiftly bringing his right hand forward to guide a single emergency shell mounted forward of the bolt into the breach of the energy shotgun, the hexagonal cartridge sliding cleanly in just as the Marauder came back to reality and planted the barrel on the stunned trooper's chest plate before pulling the trigger and blowing it to bits along with the man behind it before throwing the scattergun at the next closest man, forcing him to duck and allowing Matt to take two running steps, slide, and then jump out the window. He only fell a few feet as he swung his torso around and brought up his left arm to unleash his grapple, pulling himself up towards the roof while knowing what would be waiting for him when he reached it.

As he crested the edge, Cooper disconnected the hook and fired his jump kit to launch himself up over the edge, right hand pulling out his Smart Pistol as his left pulled out a detonator for the ANFO down below and squeezed it, rocking the whole structure as the blasts tore through the top floor and Cooper came down on the half finished floor that was the roof. Sliding across the concrete, the jetpack adorned troopers swooped down and surrounded him as he got back to his feet and found himself surrounded, the six ExAACCT troopers hovering above him.

* * *

The shockwave hammered Bliss' ears as he instinctively ducked behind his Humvee, dust filling the air and slowly descending on the men holding the perimeter while those on the third floor were blasted into oblivion. As the ringing subsided in his ears, the Lieutenant Colonel was shaken by the company's XO and turned to look up at the armored officer, "Sir! Sir, we can no longer ensure your safety, a helo is inbound. You need to evacuate, now!" he shouted as a rippling string of explosions erupted from the rooftop as Bliss realized the 1st Lieutenant was correct, there was only a small group of Agents between him and the Marauder.

That didn't mean he liked it. "Motherf…" he snarled in reply before he finally came to his decision, "Right, ETA on the chopper?" he asked. But before the Agent could answer, the dust that filled the air was blown away as a white ExAACCT transport gunship slowly lowered itself into the intersection.

"Don't worry sir!" assured the XO, "We'll get it done!" shouted the man over the sound of the chopper as Bliss gave a quick salute and dashed towards the waiting helicopter, opening the co-pilot's door and pulling himself up and into the seat before closing the door behind him.

Pulling onto the headset, Bliss turned to the visor obscured face of the pilot, "Alright," he ordered calmly, "take us up." Immediately, the craft lurched and lifted off the ground as Bliss craned his neck to look out at the building, allowing him to see an ExAACCT trooper make a diving pass at a green shape that dodged away and then fired a line at the white armored mercenary, the green shape pulling itself up onto the agent's back just as the helicopter turned and set off.

* * *

"Shit…" cursed Cooper as he watched the white bird get smaller, left arm still wrapped tightly around the throat of the Sable Jetpack Trooper, pressing the muzzle of the MK6 to the white helmet and pulling the trigger, killing the second of the six jetpack equipped agents. Bliss running hadn't been part of the plan, but he quickly pushed that thought aside as he jumped away from the dead trooper, the force of his kickoff sending the body careening away. As the Marauder fell back down towards the construction site, a flash of movement from his left side, and he turned to look just in time to register another of the Sable troopers streaking in before the two collided, knocking the air from Matt's lungs. Before the Pilot could retaliate, he was unceremoniously dumped down on the rooftop and sent rolling across the concrete, grunting in pain and thankful for all the padding that absorbed most of the impacts before he came to a stop.

But he scarcely had time to catch his breath before another string of flashing red grenades landed next to him and he activated his phase shift, blinking out of existence as he rolled away and up into a crouch, holstering his Smart Pistol in favor of the CAR he had slung across his back as color returned to his world. Immediately, he looked for the nearest ExAACCT trooper and went on the attack, not letting himself get surrounded and trapped as he activated his STIM and slid forwards. Jumping up and planting one boot on the top of a half complete column and launching himself up before his Jump Kit flared to life, Cooper felt his momentum grind to a halt as he came to a hovering halt and he brought the SMG up and cut loose with a long burst. As the third operator's armor and chest was shredded by the advanced 6.19mm rounds, Cooper got moving again, the Kit slowly pushing him back up to speed just as a bola flew past where he had been. Twisting his upper body, he fired again, cutting loose with a burst that chased the fourth trooper off as he dipped down below the level of the roof and Matt landed once again, sliding and reloading seamlessly before jumping up and launching himself off a wall.

His sudden U-turn caught the two ExAACCT operators by surprise as they tried to bring up their respective weapons, but failed to do so in time as the CAR chattered loudly, peppering the far trooper with lead as he closed with the nearer, left hand reaching to draw his combat axe. But it stopped short as his opponents jetpack flared and the agent dodged and turned away, getting out of range as Cooper's hand went to the pulse blade on his belt instead and slung it, the flash forged blade burying itself in the jetpack as the trooper ascended.

The pulse caught the last ExAACCT trooper that the Marauder had driven off earlier, showing him come back up as Matt smoothly drew the MK6 and had it waiting to put a pair of bullets in him as soon as his head came into view. Above the Pilot, the pulse blade self-destructed, taking the jetpack it was buried in with it as a fireball erupted in the Manhattan skyline. Dropping the mostly spent magazine from the Smart Pistol and slamming another one home, Cooper turned to a stack of unassuming wooden crates as he drew his axe and pried the top one open to reveal the R-6P Softball grenade launcher inside.

Grabbing the weapon and giving the loaded cylinder a spin, Cooper felt the weight of the six HEDP grenades inside as he made his way to the edge to look down on the remaining 4th Security Battalion vehicles. With the CAR slung on his back, Matt shouldered the Softball and took aim before pulling the trigger, feeling the weapon buck as the distinct 'thunk' of the report echoed off the concrete walls and pillars around him. The shaped charge wrecked the vehicle it hit, shrapnel cutting into the men around it as smoke emanated from the impact point while the Marauder swung the weapon to the next vehicle and pulled the trigger again, and then a third time for the final MRAP. As the smoke rose up to the level of the rooftop, Cooper fired his grapple and pulled himself to overlook the rest of the white painted vehicles, emptying the rest of the cylinder into them and turning them into useless hulks with the rotary grenade launcher.

When the sixth grenade detonated, it brought with it an ominous silence, the gunfire stopped, replaced by the crackling of the burning vehicles as Cooper looked down at the streets below. Looking for any sign of movement and finding none, the Marauder eschewed the bulky R-6P and pushed a fresh mag into the CAR before casually jumping over the side of the building, letting his Jump Kit take the fall. Boots hitting the concrete, the orange and white SMG swept over the wreckage as he moved forward cautiously, waiting with finger curled around the trigger for any sign of opposition. But the Last Man Battalion was broken, Matt could feel eyes on him, but nobody fired, nobody moved as he walked past the line of disabled vehicles and into the intersection.

But the silence was broken by the distinct sound of an approaching helicopter before it came into view, the Sable gunship circling above the intersection as a loudspeaker announced who was inside. "Soldiers of the Last Man Battalion, this is your commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bliss. And I tell you that we will not fall this day! We are soldiers! We have survived the virus and brought order to the streets, and we are NOT going to go down to some damn vigilante who thinks he knows how to fight. Regroup and engage the enemy! We are taking him down, and we will fight to the last man!" roared the officer for all to hear. The effect was immediate, Cooper turned around to see white armored LMB troopers emerge with malicious intent and reacted, pulling out and dropping an A-Wall to solidify his position as he brought the CAR to bear, spraying a long burst into the group to force them into cover as his mind raced to come up with a plan.

Before he could, he heard the high pitched shriek as the mounted directed energy weapons on Bliss' helicopter opened fire, unleashing a torrent of red laser bolts as Cooper sprinted forwards. Activating his STIM to try and get out of the way, the Marauder slid across the last few yards until he was under one of the APC's he'd disabled with the Kraber. "Motherfucker!" cursed Matthew as his mind raced to come up with a plan while the helicopter banked away and he turned over to see a half dozen pairs of feet coming towards him as he rushed to get his SMG around in the confined space below the vehicle. If he had been using a longer weapon, he would never have gotten it around, but the muzzle poked out from under the armored truck and began to spit out 6.19mm rounds into their shins, causing them to fall into the line of fire as Cooper held down the trigger until the bolt locked open, magazine empty.

Instead of forcing a reload in the confined space, the Marauder decided to go on the attack as the gun fell across his chest and he took aim with his grapple hook. "Fuck it," he snarled as he let it fly and the hook buried itself in a streetlamp, "Yippy ki yay!" With that, the grapple pulled him out as he slid on his ass out from under the APC, drawing his Smart Pistol, the high tech weapon quickly locking on and dispatching the three nearest Sable troopers with a rapid burst as his feet hit the curb and he used that to throw himself into the air and sling shot around the streetlamp 180 degrees. Above, Bliss' helicopter had circled around and was descending into the intersection once more to try and draw a bead on the fast moving Marauder as Cooper retracted the grapple line and fired his Jump Kit, sending him lurching forwards as he activated his STIM, giving his body a blue contrail as his left foot landed on the top of the pockmarked APC, then his right came down in full stride before he jumped off the vehicle, licks of flame launching him forwards even faster.

As soon as he was airborne, the air around him was filled by red laser fire, both from the helicopter in front and the troopers at his back, but he pushed through it, firing his grapple again as the hook latched onto the nose of the gunship. Matt swung through the air, hook retracting to pull him closer to his mark even as the helicopter ascended above the rooftops just as Cooper was able to reach out with his free hand and grab hold of one of the landing skids. With exo assisted strength, the SRS Pilot pulled himself up despite the rotor wash that hammered his head and found himself staring Bliss right in the eye. Bracing one foot on the skid as Bliss went for his gun, the Marauder yanked the door open and reached out for the Barretta, slamming the hand with the weapon into the dashboard just as the gun fired, sending a round through the air mere inches from his helmet. With his MK6 stuck in the hand holding onto the helo as the pilot of the bird threw it over in an effort to shake the Texan off, Cooper could only counter by letting go of the gun with his left hand and throwing a weak punch into Bliss' face, catching the man off guard.

While the Lieutenant Colonel slumped back to shake off the strike, the pilot pulled out his own sidearm, sending a string of glowing red bolts through the air and forcing Matt to duck behind out of the doorway to safety, but not before he ripped the M9 from Bliss' hands and got a grip. Without aiming, Cooper pulled the trigger, sending 9mm FMJ through the cockpit, into the dashboard, and out the opposite door as the gunship lurched suddenly when the Sable pilot yanked the stick over as he reflexively dodged back. Looking out the cockpit window, he saw the chopper careening back towards the construction site, barely still in control just as Bliss wrapped both his arms around Cooper's left in an attempt the wrestle his gun back. Gritting his teeth, Matt instead went on the attack, planting his other foot on the cockpit floor and leaning fully in, leveling his Smart Pistol and putting a round right through the helo pilot's faceplate.

The dead man slumped forward; his whole body weight falling on the controls caused any remaining semblance of control to drop as fast as the helicopter was losing altitude. Without wasting time, Matt brought the MK6 down on Bliss's face, smashing his glasses and breaking his nose, causing him to let go of the Marauder's arm, as soon as it was free, Cooper jumped back and free fell into the intersection just as the chopper's tail swung out and it turned onto its right side, crashing into the parked Humvee and going up in flames and with it, the Last Man Battalion.

* * *

Silver Sablinova did not fidget, nor did she squirm or twitch as the elevator ascended towards the penthouse of her employer. Even if she gave no outward indication of it, the Symkarian was nervous. No doubt Osborn was aware of the events that had taken place two hours prior, even if she had to be informed of them after recovering from being shot by the Marauder, most of her time had been spent quickly folding what remained of the 4th Security Battalion into the 1st Guards Brigade to maintain some semblance of a chain of command. When the Marauder had said he would go after Bliss and his men, she had not expected the end result to be that there was not a single unit greater than platoon size that was fully operational.

Now, in this moment of something resembling peace, the questions that swirled in the woman's mind began to come back to the forefront without some other task to push them aside. The Marauder was still at large, as was Spider-Man, despite the vast number of resources and lives lost trying to comply with Osborn's demand that the two be detained, what would Osborn's reaction be? Octavius and Li remained on the loose while Devil's Breath tore through the city, the virus another of her company's myriad failures in the last few days. Only now were they able to meet their targets for resupply of their own resources as well as local hospitals and shelters when it came to food and medical supplies. Add onto that the need to soon provide security for the production and distribution of the antiserum, and Sable International was facing the prospect of being stretched dangerously thin, with so many casualties sustained during fruitless efforts to detain individuals that been designated as 'targets' instead of 'allies' as Sablinova would have preferred.

Speaking of them, the Symkarian idly wondered what their next move would be as the lift slowed to a stop and the doors opened.

* * *

"We're ready to make our move," informed Mary Jane, her lips barely moving as the throat mic under her scarf picked up the words, "wish us luck." Both Spider-Man and the Marauder were close by, though the reporter had no idea where, similarly absent from sight were any of the white and black armored Sable personnel as both the redhead and platinum blonde walked through the doors and into the lobby of the high end apartments. Both women were dressed to not draw attention to themselves, with Felicia wearing what Mary Jane suspected was her most modest outfit, a pair of red converse sneakers were probably the only thing that wasn't designer that the heiress was wearing. Designer jeans, tan hat, black elbow length gloves, and zipped up black jacket to conceal her own throat mic were complimented by a large purse that the redhead knew held a few of her tools just in case the pair ran into trouble. The reporter was similarly dressed, Levi jeans, green shirt, and brown jacket with an old-fashioned Kodiak disposal camera instead of a bulkier camera tucked inside.

But as Mary Jane took in her surroundings, she felt quite underdressed considering the vast amount of marble that had been polished to a mirror shine, broken up by the beautiful cherry wood desks topped with dark granite and illuminated by bizarre post-modernist light fixtures beyond a massive column of marble, a cutout behind the main desk allowing the pair to see the crowd that filled the lobby. "Norman's penthouse is on the top floor." informed the redhead as she turned to look at the thief, who had her eyes concealed behind a pair of Ray-Bans.

Hmming in agreement, Felicia added "The elevator will be locked down. Override will be in the security room." Mary Jane had to remind herself that, of course, the Black Cat would know that, and judging by where the silver haired woman's head was facing, the reporter could guess where that security room would be.

But while Felicia was looking over things with a cool and experienced eye, Mary Jane did what she did best, get out there and talk to people. Mustering her confidence, the redhead stepped up to the reception desk with a look of measured concern and asked the man at the desk "Excuse me," she began, noticing Felicia beginning to weave through the crowd and move deeper into the lobby, "the lobby seems to be pretty busy; is everything okay?" asked the redhead innocently.

In a fashion that the reporter immediately pegged as having been rehearsed, or at least done many times, the uniformed man placed his hands behind his back and answered in a sympathetic tone. "Residents have been asked to…temporarily vacate their units while Sable International performs a security sweep."

Processing the words, the reporter nodded in understanding, "I see…" began the redhead as she watched Felicia prowl through the crowd, "have people been waiting down here long?"

"No no," assured the receptionist quickly, "only one or…two…hours." Mary Jane fixed the man with the unamused look she usually reserved for Peter or similarly annoying boyfriends, causing the man to raise his hands placatingly. "We all greatly appreciate Sable International's…generous assistance with security," he assured with a painfully fake smile.

"Ah, has the penthouse been affected?" asked the redhead, the inquisitive side of her unable to be suppressed, keen to learn whatever she could from the man. Sable was in the building, even if she couldn't see them, but they were occupied for now, though might not be for much longer. Now she wanted to know if they were going into a trap.

"Oh my no," replied the receptionist, almost offended at the very notion of Norman's personal sanctum being disturbed. "Our advanced security systems ensure that the Mayor remains totally undisturbed."

_Nothing but the best for our beloved Mayor _mused Mary Jane internally as she mustered a fake smile of her own, "Thank you for your help." With that, she slipped away and went to find Felicia taking her time as she overheard displaced residents discuss Osborn's chances in the election in two weeks, the Knicks, and the Marauder. Finally, she spied the platinum blonde, blending in quite well for someone who usually attracted every eye, Felicia looking like she was checking her phone, even though MJ could see her green eyes scanning for cameras and guards. Pulling out her own phone, the redhead quickly typed out a message. _'Sable sweeping building, not much time left, penthouse elevator is the one closest to you on the opposite wall.'_

Looking up from her phone, MJ saw the security guard standing in front of a certain door, "Must be the security room…" assumed the redhead as her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked down at the screen, _'I know' _read the reply as the reporter couldn't help but roll her eyes. _'We need a distraction to draw the guard away.' _

"Distraction," breathed out MJ as she put her phone back in her pocket, "I can do that." Looking around, the redhead meandered towards a group, naturally joining it despite being well out of her depth.

"Left my stupid inhaler upstairs…" complained one as MJ took the opportunity to speak up.

"I heard they'll let you up if you claim special circumstances," offered the reporter with a straight face, "health emergency might do it," she reasoned.

"Really?" said the distressed man with a bit of relief, "Come on, let's go talk to security…" he beckoned as he turned and made for the security office. As Mary Jane watched them, she caught Felicia moving casually in the corner of her eye doing something similar, speaking to another group of people and getting them to move to the door. The Thief was amongst them and MJ moved to the door as well, using the assembling crowd to stay out of sight of the guard at the entrance to the security station.

Peering through the crowd, the redhead could see the security man saying something into his radio as he tried to calm the increasingly agitated group to no avail. Mary Jane watched Felicia make her way to the wall and edge slowly towards the door and tried her best to do the same from the opposite side. "Everyone, _please _stay calm!" implored the guard loudly, his pleas nearly drowned out by the agitated grumbling of the residents, "Sable International has nearly finished their sweep!"

"That's what you said an hour ago!" shouted back a voice in the crowd just as the door opened and a second guard emerged from the closed doors. While the uniformed man stepped forwards to join the other, the Black Cat moved with speed and grace to slip in behind the guard and catch the door before it could close as MJ quickly dashed to follow her through, both women slipping past the door before gently closing it behind them.

"Not bad red," whispered Felicia with a smirk, "come on." Both women crouched low, with Felicia in front, the moved quietly and deliberately further forward.

"Just don't see why you guys need to be back here," came a muffled voice from behind the doors to the duo's left as the Black Cat instantly went on alert and looked around for any cameras that would reveal them.

Thankfully, the thief let out a relieved breath a second later and gave a reassuring nod to the redhead. "Because you rent-a-cops are incompetent," retorted a filtered voice, "alarms every other minute."

Still moving cautiously and following the Black Cat's lead, Mary Jane noticed something interesting sitting on a shelf in the hallway. "Hel-lo," purred the redhead as she picked up the pistol shaped object, "I know a few Sable Agents who'd _love_ to meet you." Checking that the X-2 Taser was loaded before tucking it into her coat, the reporter heard the conversation continue on the other side of the wall.

"And where's your stun gun?" asked the filtered voice of a Trooper accusingly, "You aren't even ready to work."

Felicia grinned approvingly, "I like the way you think red," she complimented in a low whisper. "keep that ready and follow my lead." Nodding in understanding, she watched the thief flex her fingers to reveal the gloves were her Black Cat gloves as claws emerged from the fingertips. In addition, the heiress produced a pair of carbon tubes with a thin wire between them, her custom garrote.

"I uh…set it down…somewhere…" replied the Security Guard after faffing about for a few seconds, "I swear I just…"

"Swear on your way outta here," retorted the Mercenary, clearly at the end of his rope, "get out. We'll do your job for you." The door ahead of them flew open as both infiltrating women ducked behind the shelf, out of sight of the white armored Trooper who emerged from the security room.

Thankfully, he turned away from the pair and the Black Cat moved, clearly falling into her element as she left the redhead behind without a second thought. Moving faster without having to consider the reporter, the platinum blonde readied her fiber wire weapon and pounced, wrapping the wire around the man's neck. Pulling the wire tight, Felicia turned and crouched, pulling the man down so they were back to back, using the leverage generated to squeeze the consciousness out of the trooper, his rifle clattering to the floor as he struggled to get free for the few seconds he had before he fell limp. "The hell?" muttered a filtered voice, "1-5, say status…1-5?"

Beckoning the redhead over with a quick nod, the pair pulled the man back as heavy boot falls approached, looking up, Mary Jane saw the first hints of white and drew her stolen taser, flicking the safety off. Leaping at the Sable Trooper, she pressed the muzzle of the weapon into a gap in his armor and pulled the trigger, the weapon sparking to life and eliciting a satisfying grunt of pain from the Sable Agent before he fell forwards and Mary Jane gently set him down. "Not bad red, come on," beckoned the heiress.

The two moved into the security room over the body of the tased Sable Trooper and saw the array of screens from various cameras around the building. As her eyes roved over the screens, the redhead couldn't help but quip "Mary Jane Watson: Superspy."

"My god," muttered Felicia as she pulled something out of her purse and stepped up to the room's controls, "you two really are perfect for each other." Ignoring the jab, MJ watched the thief work the controls.

A view of the inside of the Osborn penthouse came up front and center, the word 'alert' blinking in the bottom left corner as the camera showed Sablinova rushing Osborn out of the penthouse and towards the elevator. "What are you doing?" asked Mary Jane curiously as Felicia inserted something into the computer there and did more.

"Making sure the elevator remains unlocked, erasing the video recordings, and locking anybody else out of the system so they can't undo anything," replied Felicia calmly before emphatically hitting one last key, yanking the drive out of the computer, and spinning around with a flourish. "We'll have 20 minutes to look around," explained Felicia as she strutted out of the security room, "now come on, time for us to have some fun." Unable to suppress a smile that matched the silver haired woman, Watson followed her out back the way they came and back into the lobby, noting that the security guards were nowhere to be seen.

With poise and confidence, Felicia weaved through the people still milling about the lobby as MJ could only keep up. The duo reached the other side just as the penthouse elevator pinged and two fully armored and armed Sable Agents stepped out, blank black visors scanning the room as Mary Jane averted her eyes after a split second of hesitation and noticed that Felicia had turned around and was staring right at her. "This is my idea of 'girl time' by the way, we should do this again," suggested Felicia with a smirk.

Mary Jane laughed lightly at the remark but tried to stifle it, feeling like she would give them away, doubly so as the ever stern Silver Sablinova emerged from the elevator, followed closely by the smartly dressed Norman Osborn. _Norman and Sable, right on cue _mused Mary Jane as she watched the executive past the still grinning Felicia, about to ask what their next move was when Osborn's authoritative tones barked out "Find the alarm technician. Fire him."

MJ snorted lightly at the blunt demand as Osborn was escorted out by the pair of troopers and Mary Jane saw their opening, seizing the initiative and stepping past Felicia and making a break for the elevator. As soon as she slipped inside, she felt another presence in the confines of the small metal box and craned her neck to see Felicia pressing herself close to MJ as she calmly pressed the button for the penthouse. Unable to stay her anxiety, the reporter poked her head outside the elevator just long enough to see Silver Sable stop and begin to turn around before the redhead practically threw herself back out of sight of the Symkarian. "Calm," whisper hissed Felicia with a biting calm as a gloved hand gripped MJs shoulder as the elevator doors thankfully slid shut. Mary Jane felt the tension leave her body as she bent over, put her hands on her knees, and took in several deep breaths.

"It's a rush, isn't it?" asked Felicia, the veteran thief's smirk slowly creeping to excited grin that Mary Jane found far too easy to understand as she returned to her attempts to replace the oxygen that had been nervously ejected a moment ago.

"Yeah, yeah," replied Mary Jane dismissively before standing back up to her full height, only to find herself a few inches shorter than the still smiling thief. "Don't tell Pete I said this but…I see why you do it," confessed the redhead as she matched the silver haired woman's smirk.

That got an airy laugh back from Hardy, "Should've expected as much, Spider likes 'em feisty. Good for me too, this is the kinda fun I like to have on a girl's day out," quipped the burglar as it was Mary Jane's turn to laugh. "Spa days might be relaxing, but nothing gets my blood going like a good heist. And besides," said Black Cat with a grin, "this turns me on _far _more."

Caught off guard, MJ coughed on nothing, still processing the blatant admission while trying to quell the heat she could feel build up on her face and neck, which the redhead was certain was the cause of the widening of Felicia's grin. "Does it?" deadpanned MJ, not able to come up with a better response as she averted her eyes and took a step away from the vixen, though that did little good.

"Absolutely," purred Felicia as MJ lifted her head just enough to see how many floors she had left until she could get away from Hardy. _Far too many _groaned the reporter internally as the thief continued, "trapped in a cramped metal box with a sexy lady like moi? Don't tell me you aren't the _least _bit hot and bothered," challenged Felicia, clearly enjoying this. "Spider can thank me later; you'll probably jump straight into the sack with him first chance you get," said Felicia with an annoying self-assurance, not helped by how annoyingly accurate the statement was.

"Can you stop?" snapped MJ weakly, eyes now solely focused on the floor readout in the hopes that the action would make the number climb faster, "Please? We should focus on what matters."

"Lighten up red," chided Felicia haughtily, totally unconcerned and in control of the situation in a way that only someone with her experience could. Hearing the vixen chuckle to herself, MJ's inquisitiveness won out and she looked towards the woman to hear what was so funny. "Just remembered how much fun sex in an elevator is."

Mary Jane's jaw dropped slightly, but that only made it easier for the words to come out of the reporter's mouth. "What's the story there?"

Felicia gave a cheeky grin, "I may have bet Matthew that he couldn't make me cum before we got up to my place."

"And?" prompted Mary Jane almost automatically.

Felicia smiled, "best bet I ever lost."

* * *

Watching another fully loaded prison van depart from behind the wheel of her cruiser, Yuri Watanabe looked past the dozens of inmates in orange jumpsuits that lined the street, hands in cuffs and on their knees following a concerted effort from the NYPD to bring the city back under control. With elements from Sable International to assist, they had rounded up almost 150 inmates and were preparing to ship them back to Rikers island. But a radio call had come in of a fire alarm at Mayor Osborn's residence, with other officers about to respond and Yuri supervising the effort, since Sable was under a _much _tighter leash, probably because this was Mayor Osborn's residence.

Pushing that unflattering thought of the man aside, the Captain put the car into gear only for her phone to ring. Seeing as she was stuck in slow moving traffic, Yuri deftly removed her phone, narrowing her eyes at the contact name before answering. "Marauder, you have something for me?" she asked brusquely.

"_Working on it, I was actually hoping to ask for a favor," _replied the SRS Pilot in his cool drawl, which she suspected was masking something. Instead of pressing the Major, she merely grunted that said 'explain' as she was forced to stop at a red light. _"If you happen to get a call to go to our good Mayor's penthouse, I need you to…uh…_not _answer it." _

Blinking her eyes a few times as she replayed the request over in her head, the Captain understood what he was saying, "What are you up to?" she asked curtly.

"_**I'm**__ not actually up to anything," _deadpanned the Marauder, _"but I have friends that are, and they have enough to worry about as is." _

"I see," replied Yuri coolly, processing the request and understanding what was implied as well as connecting it to what Spider-Man had mentioned earlier. While the duty driven part of her, as always, wanted to ignore the request, but the part of her that reminded her that her duty was to the people of New York suppressed that quickly. "I'll see what I can do, make sure they don't screw around." With that, she ended the call and dropped the phone into the passenger seat as she grabbed the radio handset and took a deep breath and depressed the transmit button. "This is Watanabe, all units responding to the 10-31 in the Upper East Side, be advised that it may be a false alarm. Stand down and await confirmation…"

* * *

When the elevator came to a stop and the door opened to reveal the lavishly furnished penthouse of the Oscorp CEO, Mary Jane didn't hesitate to almost _leap _from the elevator and away from the grinning Felicia who strutted out after her. The Bugle reporter that she was doing well for herself with her own apartment, but seeing the beautiful woods, perfectly manicured plants, and shining tile reminded her that there was a lot higher to climb. Looking over her shoulder, she could see even the heiress behind her was impressed by the Osborn abode, and Watson knew it was larger than the thief's own penthouse. But that only lasted a moment before the Black Cat was back to all business, "No guards, we need to find an office or den, any sort of private files or computer," instructed Hardy as the redhead nodded in reply.

As the pair moved out of the entry way an into the living room, the House AI dutifully made an announcement over the space's intercom. _"Warning: fire doors engaged. Automated self-diagnostic commencing. Please remain calm." _As the system droned, Mary Jane continued to lead, heading for Norman's 'business desk' where he would discuss work with colleagues and other visitors.

The Black Cat got to work, beginning to open drawers to look for any useful information while MJ found herself drawn to the items left sitting out on the desktop. Moving the odd metal thing aside, she examined the blueprints underneath, "What is this thing?" she wondered, "prototype combat mask that can reveal structural weaknesses…" she rattled off from the documentation. Curious, she slipped the thin metal mask on, "Wow," she breathed as the HUD booted up with a plethora of information, ranging from her GPS location to heartrate, "this mask is incredible." The heiress ignored her as the sensors swept the wall ahead of her, though as a dotted line formed on the wall and a label that red 'structural weakness' appeared on the display, the redhead furrowed her brow and reached out to tap her partner on the shoulder. "I think there's a door hidden in that wall!" she said, trying to contain her excitement at the find while pointing at the wall in question.

Felicia took a moment to process what MJ had said, but her eyes soon lit up in understanding, a Cheshire grin on her face as she looked at the well next to the portrait of Norman and Harry. "Wonder where it leads…" mused the thief as she strutted over to the wall, "but I bet I can find the way in…" MJ watched as the silver haired vixen made straight for the painting before reading out the title, "Norman bids his son farewell."

"Must be from when Harry left for Europe last year," provided Mary Jane in reply before voicing the obvious question, "why was Norman so dramatic about a trip to Europe?"

"I don't know that, but I do know is that…" began Felicia as she pressed the plaque down to an audible 'click' and the painting slid upwards, "that there's a secret keypad behind the family portrait," she finished as she stepped aside to reveal the white number pad and digital readout.

Mary Jane quickly came forward and the pair looked at it closely, "So…" asked the redhead, "can you crack it?"

There was a moment of silence between them before MJ looked down to see the frown on her face. "If I had my gear…but this is a high tech lock, you put in the wrong code and it'll set off another alarm and I don't have the tools to disable that system," explained the thief as she stepped back from the keypad. "If we set off that alarm, Sable will swarm this place."

Mary Jane nodded in understanding, "So we need to find the code," she explained simply, "alright, then." Splitting up, the Felicia went back to the desk while Mary Jane made her way into the sitting area and began rifling through the papers on the coffee table. "Scientific journals debating the 'Spider-Man problem.' So weird that there's a whole cottage industry focused on explaining Peter's powers," she mused as she looked through some of the published articles as the author of one stuck out at her, "Weirder still that Norman is an active part of it." Doubly so when you knew where his powers originated as she did.

"Red, over here!" called out Felicia as MJ set the journals down and made her way over to the heiress, "Work order for a keypad lock," explained the vixen as she held up a piece of paper before pointing to some handwritten writing, "says the combination is 'Harry's last day,' do you remember what that is?" she asked hopefully.

"That must be the day Harry left for Europe…" muttered MJ as she wracked her brain to remember what that was. "It was…a year ago, before Matt got here," she recalled, but failed to remember anything more specific.

Her attempts at getting the exact date were interrupted by the sound of the House AI. _"Self-diagnostic complete. No faults found. Fire doors disengaged." _When the calm tones of the AI ceased, the doors leading out of the living room slid open to allow access to the rest of the penthouse.

As the duo made their way towards the dining area and kitchen, Mary Jane continued to try and remember, "I know it was the summer, but was it July? Or August?" she wondered before finally shaking her head at the futile attempts while Felicia stopped at a paper at the head of the dining table. "I know Harry kept a journal and he couldn't take it with him. It's probably in his room."

"Which is locked," returned Hardy as she traced a clawed finger on the paper, "on orders from Daddy Dearest." She then smiled, "that one I _should _be able to handle, you know where his room is, yeah?" Mary Jane nodded, and Felicia smiled, "alright then red, gimme the tour."

"Well back there is where he keeps his wine, probably from his vineyard in Burgundy," began the redhead as she tossed a thumb over her shoulder and saw the burglar's eyebrow go up in intrigue, probably making a mental note to come back and help herself to a bottle or five later. Heading past the kitchen, MJ pointed out the custom plates on display, "the Osborns have a coat of arms. And a motto, 'Pax in Bello.'"

"Peace in War," murmured Felicia, "fitting."

MJ nodded in agreement, "I'll have to remember that if I ever write a book about all this..." she murmured as she walked out of the kitchen and came upon the floor to ceiling windows that looked out upon the patio, fully furnished and featuring a fire pit and, of all things, a pool. On the other side was the laundry room, "city's in a state of emergency, but Norman still manages to get his laundry and cleaning done for him," scoffed the reporter, "what a hero." Felicia, for her part, was more interested in one of the paintings on the wall as they made their way through to another sitting area, this one with massive entertainment system taking center stage, the seating arrayed to give a view of the huge plasma flatscreen. "God," breathed MJ as the memories came back, "Pete and I loved coming over here to watch movies when we were kids. A different world from Queens," she recalled, "funny how Harry always wanted the opposite; nothing made him happier than watching cartoons on that little TV in May's kitchen." Felicia looked almost forlorn as she listened, though there was still a keen eye scanning the room as MJ led her up the steps to a locked door, "This is it, work your magic."

Now knocked from her stupor, the Black Cat crouched down and produced a set of lock picks from her purse, "You're in my light red," deadpanned the Thief as MJ took a shy step back, "feel free to enjoy the view while you're back there." encouraged Hardy as the redhead couldn't help but roll her eyes. After a few moments of working, there was a barely audible _click _as the Platinum haired thief grinned, "Voila," she announced happily as she stood and stepped back, "care to do the honors?"

Twisting the door handle and throwing it open, Mary Jane couldn't help but suppress the exclamation that flew from her mouth, "What?" she said in shock as her eyes settled on the hospital bed, wheelchair, and medical monitors arrayed in the middle of the room, "this can't be for Harry, can it?" She stepped forward in utter shock, "why didn't you tell us you were sick?" she wondered sadly, Felicia remained still and silent as Mary Jane took in the scene, searching for some sort of explanation.

Finally getting to grips with herself, she spied Harry's journal sitting on the dresser and ambled over there, still somewhat in a shocked daze as she looked down at the page that had been left open. Wanting to respect her friends privacy, she only looked at the date in the upper left corner, "July 18th, that must be the code…" she said aloud, just loud enough for Felicia to hear it as she was about to turn away before a part of the neat handwriting caught her eye.

_To Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. _

_Guys…I'm sorry. Really sorry. If you're reading this…man. This is tough. Even in an imagined hypothetical letter to you it's hard to be honest. Here goes._

_I'm sick. Like really sick. Doctors think it's the same thing my mom had. Neural degeneration, rapid onset. I've known for a while, but I thought I could manage it. I didn't tell you cause…well cause I didn't tell you. I was worried how you'd react. And I couldn't stand to see you go through what I did with mom. Watching her suffer. Knowing I couldn't help. Watching her die was worse than the dying. _

_Things got really bad recently. All those times I was 'wiped out from partying' or 'just super busy'? Not partying, not busy, sick. _

_This 'Europe Trip'…well it's a cover. I'm going in for treatment – experimental, long term. Dad's been working on it forever, promises it'll work. He _hates _the nickname the lab techs have for it – 'Devil's Breath.' Says it makes something good seem scary. But maybe 'Devil's Breath' is what I need. Little bit of bad to do a lot of good._

_Ok, dad's here. Time to go._

Mary Jane's hands were shaking when she stepped away from the book as her earpiece crackled to life, _"Incoming, get to cover!" _ordered Matthew tersely as MJ complied, matching Hardy's crouched stance as she crept towards the door and peered out.

It wasn't hard to spot what had the thief on edge as Norman and Sable emerged, the Symkarian ordering the pair of troopers with them to remain outside the entertainment area as she followed Osborn inside before speaking, clearly tense if not frustrated. "I am saying we should not rush off without a plan…" she began.

"We?" snapped Osborn loudly as he wheeled around on the Mercenary, "_You_ are staying here!" he barked with an accusatory finger while the two infiltrators remained silent. "The antiserum is ready and _I _am going to supervise production!" declared Norman.

But, surprisingly, Sable wasn't done and was undaunted as her employer turned away, "You will be completely vulnerable without me," she argued.

"Based on you lack of results in the last 48 hours," began Norman dismissively, "I seem to be completely vulnerable _with _you!" he retorted. "I'm going alone. End of discussion!" he barked decisively, finally cowing Sablinova as he picked up a briefcase and stormed off.

After a moment, Silver finally seemed to have calmed herself down, "Sergeant!" she barked out, one of the white armored troopers appearing and standing at attention, "Keep team two on standby," she ordered, "I am getting some air." With a flourish of her admittedly stylish duster, the Mercenary strode for the patio while the trooper turned and marched back the way he came, leaving the immediate area clear.

"Cowboy," whispered Felicia, "what's the count?" she asked.

"_Osborn is on the roof, it's just Sable and three troopers inside."_ Assuming that the sound of an incoming helicopter indicated Norman's method of going to the production site, and ignoring the fact that _the penthouse had a helipad_, that meant they had to act fast if they were going to find out where he was going.

"Pete," whispered MJ into her own throat mic, "Norman's cure is ready. He's headed to the lab it's at now – can you follow?" she asked.

"_Not without alerting him," _replied Pete sadly, _"somebody spiked Sable's coffee today. There are two gunships circling right now to escort Norman's ride." _

"Okay then, stay ready," she said lowly, "we've almost got the location." With a nod, the two crept back the way they came, moving as fast as they could while staying quiet, heads constantly on the swivel for any sign of either of the two Troopers. Moving back past the laundry room, Sable standing outside on the patio with her back to the two women, Felicia came to a sudden stop, pointing to the entrance of the apartment where MJ spied the pair of Troopers standing guard by the path to the elevator. "I got this," said the redhead confidently as she pulled out one of the lures that Peter had given her and armed it before tossing it towards the other side of the room, the odd tone it emitted immediately getting the troopers on alert.

Raising their weapons, one made a simple hand gesture before they split up, moving towards the source of the noise from two separate directions. Looking over to Black Cat, MJ saw the thief point at her and then the nearest guard. Nodding in understanding, the reporter pulled out her taser and slowly crept forwards, using the furniture to stay out of sight and move around behind her assigned mark. As the two trained their weapons on the corner of the room where the lure had landed, MJ seized the opportunity, ramming the muzzle of the weapon into the agent's side and pulling the trigger as he grunted in pain and collapsed to the floor. The second turned and made to say something when Felicia struck, wrapping the garrote around his neck and choking consciousness out of him before he too lay limp on the hardwood. "Nice one red, let's shake a leg."

Nodding, the two eschewed stealth to move quickly to the keypad and MJ punched in the code, "Ok, July 18…bingo!" she said happily as the status light went green and a section of the wall slid back and then to the side, revealing a high tech lab on the other side. The two quickly stepped inside as the door closed behind them, the lights flickering to life, "Super-creepy." breathed MJ as her eyes settled on the containment cells that all had spider habitats inside.

There was a hum of agreement from Felicia, "Is Osborn trying to reverse engineer Spider's abilities?" she mused quietly as she bent over to get a better look at some of the labels, "Bio-electric kinesis, optical camouflage, what the hell is he up to?" she whispered quietly

Mary Jane had moved past her and picked up a recorder sitting on the desk, pressing 'Play.' _"Norman Osborn: GR-27 research log," _intoned the deep and tired tones of the Mayor, _"the whole project has gone to hell. GR-27 is a _cure_, not a disease. But try telling that to the evening news. Somehow, they've picked up the technicians' morbid nickname - 'Devil's Breath' – and are using it to stoke hysteria. They have no idea what it's really capable of, a cure for cancer, genetic disorders, birth defects…with just a little more research I _know _we could perfect it. Instead, I'll spend the next 18 months on PR mop up. What a waste of time…" _bemoaned the CEO.

"What a comfort to the dead," sneered Felicia lowly as MJ set the recorder down and nodded, but said nothing, instead turning to the large table, though it clearly looked high tech in some way.

Running her hand over what looked like the control panel, MJ flinched when the holographic display sprung to life, "Woah, Norman wins the fancy map contest." she quipped dryly as she examined the 3D buildings, "Looks like the upper west side…" Felicia took an acute interest, moving to the other side, "let's see…critical personnel...list of Oscorp properties…Sable patrol routes." Working the touchscreen interface, she found Dr. Michaels already had his movements through the area mapped out, "creepy, but that's our Devil's Breath expert."

"Norman will put the lab somewhere hidden, where it won't attract a lot of scrutiny," interjected the Black Cat, "look for something like a call center, a warehouse, or…"

"A records building…" finished Mary Jane as she selected that option and saw two such properties overlap the good doctor's route. "Now whichever one has a Sable presence…" she began as she cycled through the three platoons assigned to patrol the area and soon had one overlap, "is our location."

"10th and Cathedral…" read out Felicia with a smirk, "now let's go."

But MJ wasn't in such a hurry, something about that address elicited a memory in the back of her mind, "Isn't that…" she began before abruptly turning to one of the terminals on the wall, able to feel the piercing gaze of Felicia behind her, she explained, "I know the Bugle did a story about an incident there years ago, Ben was telling me about it when I came to him with Devil's Breath. It's gotta be related…" she explained as she opened up the files Norman had on the facility and was met with a massive list of experiment logs, but one stood out. "The Martin Li Incident?" she questioned, seeing that it was next to 'GR-23' which MJ assumed was a predecessor to the current GR-27. Opening the video, the two women watched in rapt fascination.

"…_we are rolling," _announced a grainy image of a much younger looking Norman as he stepped back from the camera to allow it to see the familiar lab coated form of Doctor Octavius, dutifully scribbling notes on a clipboard and an Asian family of son, mother, and father, with the youngest seated in a chair and hooked up to some equipment. _"I will be right next door, just relax and let the machine do its work." _The woman spoke in a foreign language that MJ couldn't understand before the father did the same. But after a moment, the child convulsed violently, thrashing against the bands that kept him restrained as the parents became frantic, crying out as the father left the frame in a mad dash. Then the boy began to glow an ominous black, white fumes coming off him as the father rushed back in to try and calm the boy before there was a blinding flash of light that exploded out, enveloping the two adults. When it faded, the camera had been revealed to be knocked from its mount and was looking at the charred remains of the mother, her face burned to the bone and sizzling black skin were all that remained.

"Holy shit…" cursed Felicia, lacking all of her usual grace and elegance as she stared slack jawed at the image.

"I have to get this…" realized MJ as she pulled out a flash drive from her pocket and stuck it into the console, quickly downloading the video and any other files she could, still breathing heavily and on edge, a flash of movement caught her eye. Leaning close to one of the glass tanks, she saw a big black spider crawl along the wooden branch inside when it suddenly leapt at her, sticking to the glass right in front of her face. "Woah!" she yelped as she jumped back, accidentally throwing herself into a smaller cage that served to transport one of the spiders and sent it tumbling to the floor, shattering on impact.

Any hopes that her klutziness would go unnoticed were shattered quickly, "Who is there?" called out the thick accented voice of Silver Sable, muffled by the walls as MJ's eyes shot wide open. "Sergeant, sound off!"

Felicia shot over to try and yank the reporter down and out of sight of the door, but MJ defied her stubbornly as she waited for the download to finish, "Come on, come on…" she encouraged before the download finished and she yanked the drive out before she was pulled to the ground and found her back pressed to the table just as the door slid open. Looking at Felicia, she saw that the Thief had the claws out on her glove and features tense, clearly expecting a fight.

But Mary Jane was more concerned about the tickling of the Spider that was crawling up her arm.

* * *

Silver narrowed her eyes as she scanned the strange hidden room, right hand resting on the grip of her pistol as she tried to look for anything amiss in the bizarre space. It was a laboratory of some sort, like her employers private one, and she had never even noticed the keypad before and wasn't sure what was as it should be and what was out of place. Despite that, she could feel something wrong, the whole situation felt undeniably _off, _and with her team not at their posts, she made up her mind. Pressing her finger to her earpiece, the Symkarian turned back as she spoke, "We have a breach, high alert," she announced as she strode back out. When the door opened, she saw the distinct white armor of one of her troopers that was sprawled out on the floor up ahead. "Man down!" she called out quickly as she rushed to check on the man, "Team 2, get in here!" she ordered.

Crouching down to look at him, she saw he was still breathing and there weren't even any visible wounds as she turned him over. "Are you with me sergeant?" she asked as she tried to shake him from his stupor. When he didn't come to, she finally drew her pistols as she heard the door to the lab behind her open.

* * *

When the door slid closed, Mary Jane leapt to her feet and shook out her jacket, desperately trying to get the arachnid out of her clothes, wherever it may have been hiding, but was stopped when a hand wrapped her wrist in an iron grip. "The fuck was that?" hissed Felicia, when the reporter failed to form a coherent answer, the heiress continued, "get a grip red, we gotta go." Now speaking into her throat mic, Black Cat radioed the boys, "Cowboy, we got what we came for and a lot more. But we've been made; can you come in and get us?"

"_Not likely darlin'" _drawled back Matthew coolly, _"Sable has spotters on the roof that will see us coming in and more forces are in the building. We go in guns blazing, they collapse on us, and we'll have to fight our way out," _explained the Marauder.

"How about a pickup?" suggested Mary Jane, "we get to the patio and you two swing in to pull us out?" Looking at the platinum blonde, she saw the thief looked shocked before her face became more confident.

"_Can do MJ," _responded Peter as MJ pulled the taser out and readied it, _"we'll be there as soon as you are." _With that, the comms went silent and, with nothing else to say, the pair of women moved to the door, Felicia pulling some items from her bag as MJ tried to steady her shaking hands.

"We'll be fine," assured Felicia calmly, steel in her voice as she placed a steadying hand on the redheads arm, "just keep your head down and don't stop. I'll be right behind you and cover you. It'd be a shame to lose an ass like yours."

Mary Jane blushed at the compliment, but found it boosted her confidence just enough to go through with this as she took a deep breath to calm her nerves, "Just try and keep up," she challenged back with a forced grin.

"Atta girl." replied Hardy as she poised her finger over the door control, "Ready?" she asked, and MJ nodded. "Go!" snapped Felicia as soon as the door opened, Mary Jane darted out, catching a glimpse of Sable at the far end of the room and see the thief toss out an EMP grenade towards the mercenary in the corner of her eye, she went back to keeping her head down as she ran through the middle of the room, jumping over the sofa and up the steps at the other end.

"HALT!" roared Sable angrily as Mary Jane tore back past the laundry room, looking back at the sound of a loud pop and seeing the smoke clouds from one of Black Cats smoke bombs fill the hallway behind the pair. But just as she reached the end of the hall, she felt the air turn hot as red laser bolts shot over her head and slam into the hardwoods as she darted around the corner, heavy breathing and pulse pounding in her head drowning out the sound of gunfire. "After them!" barked the Symkarian as the clatter of armored troopers sprinting towards them filled the air.

Mary Jane tore through the tv room and hung a left up towards the master bedroom and burst through the open door only to be knocked off her feet, "Hands where I can see them!" barked the filtered voice of the Sable Agent that had been guarding the terrace, his rifle pointing right at her.

Before MJ could respond, a gloved black hand slashed the man's wrists, causing the gun to drop down as he turned and threw a punch at Felicia who ducked and rolled past him and he turned to face her, opening him up to MJ. Pulling the trigger on the taser, the redhead rammed the weapon into the back of his leg, shocking him and causing him to crumple to the floor. "Get up!" ordered Hardy as she yanked MJ back to her feet and rushed her out the door as more laser bolts filled the air. Tossing out another EMP to temporarily disable their weapon, Felicia bolted out while MJ closed the door behind her and toppled a shelf over to keep it closed. "Anytime boys!" said Hardy over the radio, the first hint of nerves creeping into her voice.

"_I'm turning onto lex now, sit tight Felicia." _replied Peter, _"You two okay?" _

"For now…" answered the redhead as the two women backed up and the Sable troopers entered the room, staring them down on the other side of the glass before Sablinova herself emerged, sneering at them as the soldiers looked to her for orders.

"Do you trust me?" asked Felicia as the two now found themselves pressed to the rail, Mary Jane hesitated for a split second, but her mind was quickly made up when Sablinova triggered her twin pistols and shattered the glass, emerging out onto the patio with weapons drawn and troopers in tow, smelling blood in the water. Nodding, she was pulled up onto the balcony, "You're up boys!" called out Hardy as the two, with no other options, leapt over the side.

The two fell very differently, Felicia was clearly the trained and experienced acrobat, as she immediately went into a spread-eagle position, arms and legs out to slow her descent. Mary Jane, meanwhile, lacked the same grace, more or less still vertical as her arms and legs flailed wildly, just fighting to keep her eyes open and lunch down with the feeling of weightlessness that began to overwhelm her. Eventually, she had to close her eyes, unable to bring herself to watch the floors of the building ahead of her fly by as she got closer and closer to becoming a red smear on the streets.

When the air was forcibly driven from her lungs, the redhead feared the worst, but the feeling of wind on her face and an arm wrapped around her caused her to open her eyes and stare into the mask of her boyfriend as they swung through the air. Looking past him, she could see another swinging pair behind them, Felecia wrapped tightly around the Marauder with both legs and arms. Cooper's deadpan came over the radio as the four swung away before Sable could muster a response, the Texan saying_ "You crazy Cat."_

"_I wouldn't be as fun otherwise," _purred Hardy in response as MJ chuckled at the couple, disabling her own mic as she looked back at Peter.

"He's right you know." said the Web head as he fired another line, "You _are _crazy."

"And you," she replied, "are Amazing."

* * *

**Closing Notes: Hopefully that wasn't too much because even without a logbook entry and before I added notes this was the longest chapter I've ever uploaded. I think that this was probably too long and I will be avoiding doing chapters this long in the future. Still, I did have fun writing this one, with Cooper taking a few pages from John Wick 2 in what was his big tour de force. The final encounter with Bliss was inspired by his bossfight in the Division, mainly him being in a helicopter for it. **

**The main difference in the subsequent section was simply giving MJ a partner in the shape of Felicia, because there is no reasonable explanation for her not going. Writing them together was fun and hopefully that came across in the end result. Leave a review if you have any thoughts about this little team up or anything else and I'll see if I can make another one happen down the line. Still, that won't be for a bit, because there's plenty to do in the short term. **

**With the city pushed to the brink, set your watches, because next chapter it will be 2 Minutes to Midnight.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


	68. Chapter 68: 2 Minutes to Midnight

Author's Note: All properties are the rights of their respective owners, Marvel, Respawn Entertainment, etc.

Proving that Sony is incapable of not fucking up when it comes to the Webslinger, they even managed to fuck up the remaster of the game this story is based on. This is a 3 year old game at the time of release and they're remastering it, which is already dubious, but completely redoing the model of the main character just to make him look like a generic Tom Holland clone? Seriously? Nothing against Ben Jordan, but in my mind, and in this story, Peter Parker is based on the original, John Bubniak. One of the things that inspired me to write this story was this portrayal of Peter Parker, one who seemed like he had seen some shit. This new one doesn't look old enough to buy a beer, much less be a hardened 8 year veteran of crimefighting. There's no way you can convince me that throwing away one of the most interesting and unique aspects of your interpretation of the game's title character is worth a, let's be real here, almost indistinguishable to 80% of your players improvement of facial animations...for a character who wears a _goddamned mask _like 70% of the time anyways. It's, and there's no nicer way to put this, fucking _moronic_.

If any of you Sony fanboys don't understand why this has gotten so far under my skin, take it from a disillusioned Halo fan, this is the kind of thing that has made me come to loathe 343 Industries, I've seen it before.

Rant over, sorry about that. In better news, AC/DC has a new album coming out and I am pumped. A single from the album, 'Shot in the Dark' is out today, go give a listen as we wait for the rest of the album _PWRUP_.

**MarauderPrime: Wait's over man, thanks for the kind words. **

**Jamal rarick: So I'm assuming you have not played the PS4 game this story is based off of, which is perfectly fine and I believe you are referring to Mary Jane in the question. I can neither confirm nor deny what is about to happen. But at the same time, this particular development is lifted straight from the game, so that's your hint to not tell me how dumb the resolution is, fair enough? Okay, cool. **

**Blaze1992: I believe she was facing Cooper when he shot her. So, for all of the bullshit rules regarding the arc rounds I've made up that seem to change from encounter to encounter, I don't think they are quite capable of pulling a 'Wanted' and curving quite like that. Is it wrong? Eh, she has been a pain in the ass so I can see wanting to return the favor.**

**CHARQICharly: Hopefully you have the answer to your question by now. But we will probably see a bit more of the Avengers, at least in supporting roles from here on out. **

I've been waiting a long time, but it's time to finally get a good Iron Maiden song as a chapter title. I'm not messing around with their more questionable later albums like _Dance of Death _or _Book of Souls _this time, I'm going straight to what I hold to be their very best work: _Powerslave_. This 1984 Album really is Iron Maiden at their best, weird and a bit pretentious, but not so much as to make it not feel like a kick ass metal album. You have more 'normal' songs like the epic 'Aces High' all the way to the 14 minute long 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner' which was inspired by the 18th century English Poem of the same name. In between you have stuff like the album's title track and this particular song with it's awesome opening riff.

And it doesn't exactly get any worse after that fantastic guitar work courtesy of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. And, like he usually does, Bruce Dickinson, the Human Air Raid Siren himself, belts out the bleak lyrics with aplomb, taking over the track as he is prone to do. Topping it off is a weird music video, almost like a 1980's Heavy Metal version of the Clancy classic 'The Sum of All Fears'. A protest song about nuclear war, it refers to the 'Doomsday Clock' that is used to symbolize how close humanity is to annihilation. 'Midnight' signified the beginning of the end and the closest we had ever gotten was in 1953 with the first successful tests of Hydrogen Weapons and the clock was set to 11:58 pm, or 23:58, and it stayed there until 1960. But in case you needed proof that 2020 was the worst year, we are currently sitting at just 1 Minute and 40 Seconds to Midnight, the closest we ever have been. So since the end could come sooner than you think, put this song on, crank up the volume, and UP THE IRONS!

* * *

**Power Without Question – Chapter 68: 2 Minutes to Midnight**

_The body bags and little rags of children torn in two_

_And the jellied brains of those who remain to put the finger right on you_

_As the madmen play on words and make us all dance to their song_

_To the tune of starving millions to make a better kind of gun_

_The killer's breed or the demon's seed_

_The glamour, the fortune, the pain_

_Go to war again, blood is freedom's stain_

_don't you pray for my soul anymore_

_Two minutes to midnight_

_The hands that threaten doom_

_Two minutes to midnight_

_To kill the unborn in the womb_

* * *

By the time Matthew's boots touched down on the roof of F.E.A.S.T. the city was cloaked in darkness, with even the full moon hanging above Manhattan unable to pierce the overcast sky, casting the entire scene in an ominous glow. Already on the rooftop were Peter and Mary Jane, and after what Felicia had relayed to him on the way here, Cooper couldn't fathom how his friend was feeling. Indeed, Spider-Man sat down tiredly, shaking his head in disbelief, "It's so much to take in. Harry sick…Norman and Li…and Dr. Octavius…" he managed shakily, clearly trying to get to grips with everything.

To Cooper, it almost made some sort of sick, twisted sense that they were all connected, but he remained silent. None if it changed what he felt they had to do, find Octavius, neutralize, with a bullet to the head if it came to that, and secure the antiserum. When the morgues stopped filling up was when they could turn their attention elsewhere, but a quick glance at Felicia told him that, while she felt the same way, the other couple did not. "I know…" said MJ gently, crossing her arms.

The Webslinger on the other hand, was still dejected, sighing deeply and shaking his head again, "This is all my fault…" he bemoaned quietly.

Cooper, finally, had heard enough. "Cut that shit out," he snapped harshly, Peter looking up at him, "Get your head out of your ass and take a look around. Whether you think you deserve to be or not, you're part of the city's best…and probably last…hope. It's time to do or die. So pull. It. Together."

The eye lenses of the mask blinked twice as the Marauder stepped back and Mary Jane took his place, crouching down on one knee to try a gentler approach. "Matt's right," began the redhead carefully as she grabbed one of his hands, the web head looking down at his hand before his chin lifted so his masked face was looking at the reporter, though it was impossible for Cooper to tell what he was thinking. "You're not alone anymore Pete. You don't need to do it all," she reminded gently, the blank stare of the mask the only reply she got. "Let Miles and I look after F.E.A.S.T. You find Norman. Find the cure."

There was a tense silence before the Wall crawler finally replied, "Thanks…" he said sincerely, "partner." Cooper could see MJ smile genuinely as the pair stood, awkwardly letting go of the others hand before the web head turned to the Pilot, "you got a plan?"

"We go there, secure the antiserum, and take down anyone who dares try and stop us." replied the Marauder darkly, "But first I need to grab a different gun. This thing won't be of much use inside a lab." explained the Texan, pointing to the DMR on his back.

One of the eye lenses widened in curiosity, "you expecting that much trouble?" asked Peter skeptically.

"Yeah," replied the SRS Commando with a nod, "I am." With nothing else to say, Spidey turned and raised his arm, firing a web line off into the distance and swinging from the rooftop, Mary Jane watching him until he swung out of sight before she made good on her promise and turned to head inside, leaving just Cooper and Hardy. Slowly, Matt pulled off his helmet and turned to his girlfriend, trying to find the right way to phrase what he was thinking. After a moment of trying and failing, he bluntly told her "Cat…Felicia, I want you to stay here."

Felicia was, predictably, less than agreeing. "No," she replied just as bluntly, shaking her head. "I know what you're trying to do, but you're my cowboy, not a knight in shining armor. They're completely different," she argued.

"Both ride horses," deadpanned Cooper automatically, unable to keep from cracking a small grin that the platinum blonde thankfully matched. "I…you mean too much to me for me to order you to do anything, but there isn't time to go get your gear. We have to end this _now_," he ground out before taking a deep breath. "Go over to the safehouse when you can and grab some stuff, use it to help the people here if you can while I go take care of business and then I can make it up to you" he promised, "Okay?"

Felicia was silent for a long moment before she swiftly closed the gap between them and pulled him down to her, pressing her lips to his for a soft kiss as Cooper reflexively wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer, the kiss deepening as her hand ran through his short hair before they both slowly broke it off and came up for air. "I'll hold you to that" she purred as she caught her breath, "Now go give 'em hell cowboy."

* * *

Closing the window to the safe house he was staying at, Peter quickly scooped up some spare web cartridges and extra gadgets, his mind still spinning as his hands were on autopilot. So many things were coming to a head, Harry, Norman, Otto, Li, Devil's Breath, he couldn't keep track of it all. Maybe Cooper had a point, best to just keep things simple, "I need to get that antiserum, and start putting things right," he told himself as if it would be that easy. "There must be _some _way to reach Li and Otto. Convince them to give up this crusade for revenge. They've both done so much good for the world; they can't throw their legacies away just to spite Norman," he said hopefully, ignoring the part of his mind that said Matt was right and they already had.

As he grabbed the last gadgets, he saw a text notification pop up inside his mask from Cooper that read _'Locked, stocked, and ready to rock. I'll meet you there.' _With everything tucked into the few hidey holes built into the advanced suit, he turned back and jumped out the window, firing off a web line to swing west.

Slowly losing himself to the relaxing rhythm of web swinging, Peter suddenly remembered to appraise Yuri of the current situation. Dialing the Captain, he hoped she had made it through all right, but he needn't have worried as the ever reliable policewoman answered after the second ring. _"I hope this is good news…" _she said tiredly in greeting.

"It is," assured the wall crawler, "Oscorp just created an antiserum."

"_There's a cure?" _asked Yuri in a state of shock before sighing in relief, _"Thank god – how quickly can we get it to people?"_

Hanging a left and catching a glimpse of a distinct blue contrail up ahead, Peter web zipped to a streetlamp and launched himself off it to close the distance, "Marauder and I are on our way to find out," he informed as he swung around the next corner, turning north once more. "The lab is at Tenth and Cathedral."

"_Wait…" _interjected the Captain quickly, _"I just got a report of three helicopters going down in that area…"_

"Oh no…that could be Norman's helicopter and its escorts…" It seemed that Matt's thoughts about expecting trouble were right on the money. These wouldn't be Rikers convicts or Sable Agents, with Li being the one in charge of retrieving the antiserum it would likely be the mask wearing Inner Demons lying in wait for him.

"_I'd send officers your way" _began Yuri as if sensing his thoughts, _"But I don't have any…" _she finished sadly.

"Don't worry, we're on it" assured the Queens Native, trying his best to sound reassuring, "This'll all be over soon" he added, "I promise." But even after the line had gone dead, Peter couldn't tell for who those last two words were for.

* * *

Inside F.E.A.S.T., MJ was sitting at one of the plastic folding tables with her phone out and taking the time to properly let everyone know what was happening, tell Robbie that she was working on some leads and intentionally leaving out her source for said leads. As she hit the 'Send' button, she felt an odd presence and slowly looked up to see Felicia sitting casually across from her, feet up on the table as she was inspecting her nails. "When the hell did you get here?" blurted out Mary Jane in shock, the heiress had practically vanished after they had arrived at the shelter, only to magically appear seemingly from thin air.

Hardy shrugged, unaffected by the redheads outburst, "Four minutes," she answered as she sighed and looked up at the reporter, "I was wondering when you'd notice." Mary Jane opened and closed her mouth, trying to form the right words but utterly failing to do so as the thief smiled at her victory and pulled her feet down, standing before reaching and lifting a black duffel bag that she promptly dropped on the table, shaking it. "As for where I was?" began the platinum blonde as she walked around to MJ's side of the table, dragging the bag with her, "I went to go grab some things, just in case."

"Just in case of what?" came a new voice as both women turned to the door and saw a beleaguered and bewildered Miles Morales standing there, looking them over with a world-weary gaze. "Is something wrong?" he asked as the two exchanged glances.

"Nothing's wrong Miles," assured the redhead quickly as she offered a placating smile, "She's just paranoid." As the teen quirked a questioning eyebrow, MJ realized that the teen had no idea who this was, so before Felicia could do it herself, the redhead introduced her. "Ah, Miles, this is Felicia. She's…"

"Matt's girlfriend?" guessed the Midtown student as MJ nodded and Miles gave Felicia another look, "I figured as much."

Felicia smirked, "Matt talk about me a lot?" she purred as she put a hand on her hip, thrusting it out into a pose she clearly practiced.

"Uh…yeah…" returned Miles dumbly before adding under his breath, "Now I can see why." Shaking his head and clearing his throat he finally managed to meet their eyes again, "Is Matt okay? I haven't seen him since this whole thing started."

"He's doing fine" returned the heiress calmly, "He's just out doing what he does best."

"Okay then…" replied the teen, not sure what she meant by that. "Well I'm happy to hear he's alright and it was nice to meet you Felicia," said Miles genuinely before awkwardly excusing himself from the room, leaving the two women.

"Hey red" began Felicia as MJ looked up at the thief, "You took care of yourself today. But I was serious about that taser being a piece of crap, so here," continued the Black Cat as she opened up the duffel bag, "I got you this, for the next time you do something like that."

Mary Jane looked down at the sleek lines of the futuristic handgun that the heiress had set down on the table, only ruined by the tubular suppressor attached to the end of the muzzle. Next to it, the platinum blonde set down a handful of magazines, the blue tipped bullets visible to the redhead, "Where'd you get that?" asked MJ as she picked up the pistol and then looked back to Felicia, seeing the woman's Cheshire grin, "Does Cooper even know?"

"He won't mind" assured Hardy dismissively, "It's not like he doesn't have enough."

In that, they were agreed.

* * *

Once the massive 'Oscorp' sign was visible, it was trivial for Matt to find his way to the 'Records' building, and a call from Yuri meant he wasn't surprised to see the trio of crashed helicopters that sat wrecked and smoldering in the courtyard in front of it. Sliding to a stop on a rooftop on the opposite side of the courtyard from the lab, he could see the bright white form of Mr. Negative stride through the door, two more suited goons dragging a knocked out Norman Osborn following suit before the door slammed shut behind him. Seeing that there were more Inner Demons in the area, Cooper, somewhat reluctantly, swapped out the red taped magazine in his R-201 for one loaded with less lethal arc rounds. No sooner than he had the magazine in the gun than his red and blue clad friend landed alongside him, blank white eye lenses scanning the area, "Take out the Inner Demons, then follow Li into the lab?"

Matt chambered the first blue tipped bullet with a solid metallic 'clang,' "Sounds like a plan," replied the Marauder before shouldering the Carbine, "Let's get to work." With that, he shouldered the weapon and settled the sights on the Demon sniper on a nearby rooftop, who rather kindly had fitted the brightest laser sight Matt had ever seen so the Marauder could easily pick him out of the darkness, before pulling the trigger, a four round burst slamming into the corrupted man and sending him crumpling to the ground, the sound of the shots echoing off the buildings. Immediately, the Demons responding, a flurry of white tracers coming back at the pair as Spider-Man stared incredulously at his friend. "Oh, did you want to do this quietly?" asked Cooper.

"Yeah" admitted the Web slinger, "Kinda"

"Well too bad," retorted Cooper as he leapt off the rooftop and fired his grapple, swinging through the air as he fired the -201 one handed at the group of Demons on the same rooftop as the sniper he had just dispatched. Spider-Man swung into action, clinging to a web line with his left hand as he brought his right up to unleash an impact web on the other sniper, blasting him back and pinning him to a wall. As Spider-Man back flipped away and descended on the pair of Demons below the Sniper, Matt ignited his jump it, running on the wall as he reloaded his weapon. On the ground, more masked men emerged wielding various weapons, seeing one take aim with a SMAW, the Marauder activated his holo pilot, sending out a replica of himself to continue wall running as he simultaneously engaged his cloak and dropped down to the courtyard. As he fell, the rocket was shot from its tube, streaking through the night and slamming into the building, showering the Marauder in glass shards and shrapnel as he hit the ground and rolled into cover as his cloak fell away.

His deception hadn't goon unnoticed as a trio of Demons charged him down armed with melee weapons, the lead swordsman charging around the planter where Cooper was crouching and raising his weapon only for the R-201 to roar to life, planting a four round burst into his chest as he seized up and fell to the concrete. The remaining pair stopped dead in their tracks, but Cooper didn't hesitate, the muzzle of the Carbine whipping around to the shield wielder and putting a round in his exposed leg, staggering him for a split second as the axe armed demon rushed in, but his weapon was down at his side. Cooper couldn't bring his gun to bear in time and instead seized the opening, lowering his shoulder and firing his jump kit to launch his entire bodyweight into the Demon, catching him off guard and knocking him to the ground before Matt brought the -201 up and planted a three round burst in his gut as he tried to get up.

A shield slammed into his back, causing Cooper to stagger forward before turning around and firing his grappling hook, because these shield guys never learned to cover their legs, the hook grabbed the man's left leg, ripping it out from under him and throwing him into the planter. When he didn't stir, the Marauder reloaded the gun as he heard a ringing in his ear from what his HUD told him was an 'Unknown number.' Curious, he gave the mental 'Accept' command and was surprised to get a stern and pissed off Symkarian accented voice in his ear saying _"Major: leave __**now**__. My men will handle this." _

Looking around the corner at the rest of the Demons just as an explosion of white went off in the middle of them; Matt saw Spider-Man drop down, kicking one down before firing a web line at the farthest one and spinning him around. While the Web head was using the ensnared man to knock the other Demons to the ground, Cooper answered, "Sable? Your men are KIA. We are the right men in the right place at the right time," he answered while the last Demon was getting hurled into a trashcan, "and quite frankly, you're out of options."

But the woman was persistent and undaunted by the SRS Pilot, _"You have been warned…Superhero," _spat the Mercenary before the line was cut. Grimacing, the Texan moved to rejoin his friend in the midst of the webbed up and sprawled out Demons.

But a distinct hiss caused both to look to the sky as blue contrails came into view, the four white armored ExAACCT troopers spreading out. "Cover!" shouted Cooper as they opened fire, sending both vigilantes diving for cover as red lasers filled the air. Instead of reloading his Carbine with armor piercing rounds, Matt slung the weapon over his shoulder and drew the Smart Pistol.

Before Matt could simply gun the mercenaries down, the Wall crawler leapt into action, jumping up on an overturned APC and leaping at the nearest man, throwing a punch that sent him spinning before Spider-Man planted a foot on his back and kicked off, back flipping through the air and bringing that foot down on the top of the next closest trooper's head. "Guess Sable wasn't kidding…" muttered Matthew as he reluctantly holstered the sidearm and clenched his fists, licks of arc energy crackling off his knuckles. Activating his STIM, the Marauder shot out of cover, sliding forwards and jumping up onto a downed helicopter before jumping up behind one of the Jetpack equipped troopers and unleashed an arc powered punch that shorted out the pack, sending the man tumbling to the ground as Cooper dropped down after him. When he tried to get back up, the Marauder slammed his boot into the mercenary's helmet, kicking him back down to the ground as he landed.

While Spider-Man was doing his acrobatics up above, Cooper placed both hands on the white helmet and slammed it into the burned out body of the chopper even as the Mercenary's hands grasped his arms to try and stop him, but the Pilot didn't let up, only letting go when the hands fell from his forearms. Looking up, he saw Spidey bouncing between a pair of ExAACCT troopers but didn't see the third. Spinning, Matt's eyes widened as the third circled around to draw a bead on him and instinctively dove for cover in the burned-out bird as a hail of red laser fire peppered the scorched steel. Mind racing to try and make an opening happen, Matt was caught off guard as a loud explosion reverberated through the city streets, but it did the job as the ExAACCT man ceased firing. As soon as Cooper saw this, he activated his phase shift, getting ripped to another dimension as he leapt from his cover, charging down the man from the safety of his black and white realm before leaping up, jump kit firing just as he felt himself get yanked back to reality. When he did, he found himself just above his foe and not more than a yard away. The Agent flinched in shock at the Pilot's sudden appearance as Cooper bore in, ramming his knee into the chin of the soldier of fortune and knocking him out cold as his head snapped back. Without any input, the jetpack caused the man to pirouette before he spung out and tumbled to the ground.

He was joined by the other two, armor freshly dented from spider strength blows as the man who dealt them followed soon after, Cooper un slinging his R-201 as Spider-Man nodding towards the door, "time to get inside," he said with a nod, "find out what's waiting for us behind door number one," quipped the Webhead.

"My guess?" drawled the Marauder, "More bad guys."

* * *

Shaking her head as her ears rang, Silver tried to recall where she was as she took in her surroundings, immediately noticing that the vehicle she was in was burning fiercely. Fumbling to undo her seat belt, the ringing receded as the sound of a fierce firefight filled her ears instead, the deep staccato of AKMs clashing with the high-pitched synthesizer screech of Sable energy weapons. Free of her belt, the Symkarian tried the door, only to get it partially open due to the damage it had suffered when the Demon RPG hit the vehicle. Snarling through grit teeth, the silver haired mercenary drew her foot back and kicked with all the strength she could muster, then again as the heat continued to fill the cabin, this time it gave way and she slid out of the passenger seat. No sooner was she out than she saw the nearest of her men get cut down by a stream of white tracers, falling to the street in a bloody heap.

Without even realizing it, her pistols were in her hands as she spun to the source, the masked man standing behind a car alongside the road with rifle in hand. As he was busy reloading, Sable's face tightened at the same time her fingers tightened around the triggers of her pistols, sending red lasers into his chest, leaving a pair of smoldering holes in his suit as he fell forward, slumping over the car as his rifle clattered to the ground. A harsh cry from behind her as a man shouted in mandarin _"the boss demands your head!" _caused her to turn, snapping a shot off into the gut of the sword wielding Demon, staggering him as he stumbled towards her and she tucked her right gun into her breast, lashing out with her elbow to crush his windpipe in a single savage strike before mechanically stepping back and firing her pistols left-right-left, putting the first two shots in to the swordsman's chest and the third between the glowing eyes of his mask.

Looking around, she was struck by the number of dead sprawled around, both wearing suits and white armor. Whipping her head around for any signs of life, she realized that there were none of her men up and fighting. "All Sable agents; sound off!" she ordered over the smoldering APC, still burning brightly as she walked the perimeter, weapons still up and at the ready while looking for any signs of life. But all she got was stillness and silence.

Looking up, she saw her destination, less than a block away. Even if she was alone and backup was more than 10 minutes out, she still had a job to do and got moving, trading safety for speed to try and link up with the ExAACCT squad she had ordered to rush to the site. "Silver Bird to Goshawk lead, say status. Over." The order went unanswered as the Symkarian pushed herself to go faster, boots pounding the pavement to push her closer to her destination, "Goshawk lead, sound off!" she ordered once more, only to get static back as she came to a stop and poked her head around. She couldn't make out much, but the sight of one of the ExAACCT troopers slumped over against the wreck of the helicopter was all it took for her to ready her handguns. Rounding the corner cautiously, she saw the rest of the squad sprawled out, along with incapacitated Demons before she got in sight of the entrance to her target. The backs of the two men, adorned with a white spider emblem and massive kill tally respectively, gave away who was responsible.

The Symkarian raced through her options, she could not engage at range, not when the Marauder outgunned her, meaning she would have to close the distance and hit them with shock and awe. Steeling herself, she holstered her left sidearm to enable her to ready a grenade as she broke from cover, charging across the open ground before she hurled the energy grenade out and redrew her sidearm. The cylinder bounced and landed at their feet, flashing angrily as Spider-Man reacted first, his efforts to pry the doors open ceased as he shoved the Marauder away before flipping out of the radius of the explosive. With the Marauder out of the fight, the Symkarian pressed her attack, letting off a quick string of shots that forced the spandex clad superhuman to flip out of the way and allowing her to close the gap. As he got up from his evasive move, Sable planted her boot in his chest, knocking the man back into the doors he had been trying to open.

The distinct sound of the Marauder's jump kit caused Sablinova to turn to her right to see the man diving at her, unable to stand up to the larger Pilot, she ducked as the man aimed to tackle her and used his momentum against him. Wrapping her arms around his outstretched left, she spun as she stood, throwing her shoulder into his armored gut and redirecting his speed to force him to drive himself to the ground and be sprawled out on his back. Planting her boot on his chest, she wasn't able to do it fast enough to prevent him from drawing his pistol, and she found herself staring down the muzzle of the MK6 as she trained one of her guns on his visor, her other still leveled at Spider-Man. The standoff that ensued was tense, Sable breathing heavily as she looked from one masked man to the other as their x shaped visor and white eye lenses betraying no emotion. "You" she sneered as she looked down at the Marauder, "I help you, and then what? You kill my men! Cripple an entire battalion!" Her anger was driving her, a single-minded desire to complete her mission was all that mattered "Give me one good reason why I should not kill you right now," she demanded.

"Because those men violated _your _rules of engagement" shot back the Marauder, "They were the ones interning, _torturing_, civilians and hunting us down!" Despite the anger, his weapon didn't waver, even as Sable felt her expression soften ever so slightly, "They hunted us down when were the only people doing _your _job. Because _we _had the guts to do what we knew was right…and you know it too."

Of their own accord, her fingers slipped off the triggers of her pistols when Spider-Man spoke, just as calm, but without the firmness that the Marauder's tone had. "Listen" implored the Wall crawler sincerely, "We may not be friends but that doesn't mean we have to be enemies." Turning her head to Spider-Man, she could sense the Marauder lower his weapon ever so slightly, "Right now, Li has your client inside this building right now, and he's going to kill him if we don't do something."

"Is this the fight really worth fighting Sable?" asked the Major, "Or would you rather save it for the sons of bitches who did _that_?" continued the pilot, nodding towards the wrecked helicopters.

Taking a deep breath, Silver finally relented, "You are right" admitted the mercenary as she holstered her pistols and removed her foot from the Marauder's chest, "My enemies are on the other side of this door." Extending her hand down, the mercenary helped pull the Pilot to his feet before he holstered his sidearm. Pulling a keycard from her belt, the Symkarian moved to the scanner beside the entrance, but stopped just short as she leveled a stern stare at the duo, "You two will help me secure Mayor Osborn" she informed curtly before adding, "That is _all_."

"Understood," answered the Marauder as he unslung his rifle and sending a glance to Spider-Man, stopping any protest from the red clad hero before the pair stacked up on the opposite side of the door, "Do it." Drawing her right sidearm, the Symkarian scanned the card, the door sliding open as the trio burst in, respective weapons up and at the ready. "Clear!" shouted the Marauder as Sable took in the devastation.

It faintly registered that the red smears on the otherwise black charred walls at the back had once been her men, but Sablinova tried to ignore that as her eyes wandered over the pillars, rebar centers exposed as the concrete had been shattered or turned to slag, fumes rising from them as well as the massive hole in the floor. "Li's out of control…" murmured Spider-Man quietly, almost sadly if the mercenary had to guess.

Before Sable could probe him, the sound of gunfire caused all three to whip around as bullets flew over their heads. Realizing that they couldn't leave this threat to their rear, Silver did what she did best, take command. "Spider-Man, you secure Osborn" she instructed curtly, "Marauder on me. We are the rearguard."

"Wilco," replied the Marauder, "Good hunting pal," he told his fellow vigilante as he shouldered his rifle and turned to the Symkarian, "Let's rock."

Nodding in agreement, the pair stepped through the doors to face the oncoming Demons with all guns blazing.

* * *

As Peter watch the doors close behind Matt and Silver, he couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief at how the encounter with the Mercenary had gone, "Nice to have friends…" he supposed as he turned back to the ruined lobby. "Ok Li, no more running…" he said aloud as he leapt over the residual negative energy and web zipped to the inside of the elevator shaft. Looking around, he couldn't help but shake his head. "This is insanity…" he muttered as he dropped down, "I have to find a way to reach the Martin Li I know…the man who built F.E.A.S.T….but how?" That was the million-dollar question he was left to ponder as he descended deeper underground, following the swath of destruction that Li had left in his wake. Exiting at what was the basement level, the Web head was met with more carnage, what looked like an actual records room lay in tatters, papers strewn about, bookshelves thrown about like toys with their contents spilt all over the floor. But all of that paled in comparison to the 10 foot diameter hole in the middle of the room, the edges fuming with negative energy residue. "Well…nowhere to go but down."

With that, Spider-Man jumped forwards and fell down the shaft, his sixth sense the only warning he got that the floor was coming up at him through the smoke and mist that clouded his vision. As soon as his feet met solid ground, the humming at the base of his skull kicked into overdrive as he dodged back as a sword encased in black and white fire sliced through the air and a hand grabbed him by the throat. His neck felt like it was on fire as a familiar face, glowing black with flaming white eyes, emerged from the fog and sneered at him, "Turn back, Spider-Man" demanded Li. "This is between me and Osborn!" he shouted as the mist swirled around them, bolts of black lightning ripping through them as Spider-Man struggled against Mr. Negative's iron grip. As the heat worked its way up his neck, the Web slinger grit his teeth at the pain, trying to hold on to no avail as he felt his eyes roll back into his head and he seemingly passed out.

But as soon as he did, the pain vanished and his eyes snapped back open, wide and alert as he took in his surroundings. His feet were against a twisted grate, the surroundings impossibly pitch black, and the only thing standing out was the black skinned man in a glowing white suit on another platform. "I know about the accident!" called out the Webhead as he took a few tentative steps forward, "I know what happened to your parents!"

"_The 'accident'?"_ retorted Li with disgust, _"You sound as clinical as Osborn."_ When Peter fired a web line to pull himself to Li, the man vanished into thin air before he landed. But the Wall crawler persisted, pushing forward nonetheless, through the wrecked space, over the seemingly bottomless pits that lay between mangled steel and concrete. Walking cautiously through a hallway and towards a room with a medical chair in the middle, a man and a woman on either side of it. _"My parents died because of me" _said Li as the child on the table began to glow before light burst from his chest, _"Because of what _Osborn _did to me." _The forms of the two adults standing over the chair faded away.

"You're more than your past" called out Spider-Man as he walked forwards, keeping an eye out for any danger as he neared the next gaping chasm, "Don't let it control you!" Silence was his only answer as an apparition of Li appeared on the opposite ledge and Spider-Man leapt to him as he vanished.

Dutifully walking forwards, he saw shadows take form as people and bunk beds filled the room in a familiar layout of the main floor of F.E.A.S.T. when Li finally broke the eerie silence. _"I tried so hard to make my parents proud" _declared the philanthropist passionately, _"To honor their legacy…" _continued Li as the far wall broke apart to reveal the same room, only it lay in ruins with the dominant feature, an Osborn campaign poster that covered the far wall, lay in tatters. _"But to truly honor them, Osborn must see justice!" _declared Li harshly as the wall exploded and the banner fell to the floor, revealing the glowing form of Mr. Negative.

He was gone by the time Peter could use his web lines to pull himself up there, but the Queens Native had come to expect that and wasn't fazed as he walked into an area done up to resemble the philanthropist's office. The cabinet that concealed the hidden back room faded away as Peter moved forward cautiously. Around the web head, papers, masks, weapons, and other trinkets floated around, all of them meaningful to Li in some way. "Li's pain…his anger…it's fueling his power…" realized Peter as a framed photo floated through the air. Slowly, almost reverently, Peter reached out with a gloved hand and tapped the picture of Li's parents, watching it spin harmlessly away before he was harshly ripped out of the vision and thrown across the ground. Picking himself up, the silence was shattered by an ear piercing scream of pain.

* * *

Osborn was forced to watch silently as Dr. Michaels worked the controls before a tone filled the lab and the sealed doors opened to reveal a small bottle of blue substance that he picked up with an almost reverent touch. Osborn knew what that was, it was the antiserum to GR-27, unfortunately the man standing behind Michaels knew what it was too. As the Doctor turned, the glowing man in the stark white suit stepped forwards, intimidating despite his slight stature as Michaels protectively clutched the vial, "This is the only sample…"

But Li merely reached out and plucked the bottle from the PHD's hands, examining it with his glowing white eyes that stood out from his blackened face. Then, without warning , Li lashed out, striking Michaels' face with a powerful backhanded strike that sent the man to the ground mere feet from Norman. "No!" cried out the bruised and battered CEO as he reached out to help the doctor only for a sickle to be pressed to his neck, causing him to straighten as the other masked man manhandled the Doctor back against the wall. Turning to the terrorist, the Mayor tried to negotiate, be reasonable despite the man's actions. "I told you, I'm sorry!" he pleaded as Li picked up his flaming sword and gave it a menacing twirl as he slowly approached the billionaire, "It was an accident! I was trying to _help _you!" reminded Osborn.

But Li was unfazed as he ran his hand along the edge of the blade and the Demon behind Norman grabbed the mayor's hair, yanking his head back and holding it firmly as Li looked down at him with a sneer on his face. "You don't help people" spoke Li, scorn filling his warbling tones as he brought the sword down towards Osborn's exposed neck, "You use them." With that declaration the edge was run along Norman's skin, burning it as the razor-sharp blade carved up Osborn's flesh.

Norman tried to grit his teeth and tough it out, but after barely a second of the torture, he couldn't hold back any longer and screamed out in pain before the blade was yanked back as Li prepared to administer a decapitating strike.

But before Mr. Negative could deliver the lethal blow, a line of white silk snagged his hand and stopped it cold. "Martin!" called out a voice as Norman looked to see the recognizable white eye lenses of Spider-Man as the Web slinger emerged from a ventilation shaft. Norman tried to get his breathing under control as the pain ate away at him but forced himself to watch Li pull on the web line. Spider-Man was yanked from his vent, flipping acrobatically through the air and landing on the ground before turning to face Mr. Negative, fists clenched, but down at his side, almost like the hero hoped he wouldn't have to use them. "This won't bring your parents back!" declared Spider-Man.

Mr. Negative hesitated; standing still with his back to Osborn, "Why…" snarled Li, "Do you _insist _on trying to save this piece of _scum?_" asked the terrorist as he stepped forwards towards the Web head.

"I'm trying to save _you, _Martin," replied the wall crawler, almost pleadingly in a way that Norman found odd, but he watched with rapt fascination. "Don't let revenge win" implored the superhero before urging him on, "Fight it!"

For a brief moment, it seemed like Martin Li was going to do just that as he paused, the room falling silent with tension so thick that Mr. Negative could cut it with his sword. But he did not do that, instead his offhand began to glow bright white that swirled with power. Before Osborn could shout a warning, the hand snapped up and unleashed the gathered energy right into the torso of the wall crawler.

Spider-Man, unable to dodge the attack from such short range, bore the brunt of it and was thrown back, smashing through the glass and out of the small room and into the central lab below. Li snarled and twirled his sword before charging out after the Wall crawler, leaping out the hole after him and leaving the CEO unable to even watch.

* * *

"2 o clock!" barked out Cooper as he slammed the bolt release his Carbine as he crouched down behind one of the Sable barricades. Along with Silver, he had been holding off seemingly unending waves of Demons that had been trying to break into the lab. This next wave included a pair of the 'Big Bastards' as he had been calling them and more Demons with various other melee weapons, covered by the ones with automatic weapons as they advanced on the duo. Popping his head up, Cooper cut loose with his own long burst of automatic fire, pouring armor piercing rounds into the leading big bastard, his chest exploding as the 8.19mm rounds hit home. Even the big hopped up Demon couldn't take that many bullets before he fell forwards and still, in and amongst his comrades that had tried to close the gap with the Marauder and the Mercenary only to be met by a mix of Arc rounds, laser bolts, and now armor piercing ammo. While the Pilot put the first big bastard down, Silver Sable was maneuvering around to get a better angle on this latest assault when the bolt locked back open on the R-201. "I'm out!" called out the Marauder as he ducked down and dropped the empty magazine, "Cover me!"

While Cooper pulled out one of his few remaining loaded magazines, the Demons took advantage of the lull in the fire to charge at him, trying to close the gap, but exposing themselves to do so. That was a mistake they would only make once with someone as formidable as Silver Sablinova on their flank as the Symkarian emerged with pistols in hand, blazing away with both weapons. Caught out in the opens, the group of Demons faltered as red laser bolts streaked through their number while, with cold efficiency, the Symkarian worked her way through the group starting with the nearest masked man. As Matt dropped the bolt on his rifle, the sole remaining big bastard rounded on the Symkarian and charged her, raising his fists above his head as they became surrounded with the black and white glow of negative energy.

Despite Sable planting two shots in his chest, the big bastard wasn't even slowed as he slammed his fists down on the concrete and sent out a shockwave that rolled forwards, ripping up the blacktop and toppling a Sable watchtower as the Symkarian was forced to dive away as the white structure twisted, metal shearing as it fell and crashed to the ground, throwing up a cloud of dust. If there was any doubt that Silver was still up and fighting, they were shattered when red bolts shot out of the dust. But Cooper wasn't going to stay on the sidelines, vaulting over the barricade, he triggered his rifle as he slid forwards with the trigger held down, muzzle flash lighting up the night as the gun roared.

Three gunmen were cut down by the time the 3-second-long mag dump stopped shattering eardrums and the Pilot had closed the range. Leaping up with the aid of his jump kit as he slung his Carbine back, the Marauder lashed out and delivered a powerful kick to the back of a shield bearers head. As that man went skidding along the pavement, two more turned to the Major with a sword and whips respectively. The swordsman charged at the SRS Commando, lashing out with an overhead strike that Matt sidestepped before countering with a quick staggering jab before reaching out to grab the man's sword arm and holding hit steady as he brought his knee up and rammed it into the forearm, eliciting a sickening _snap _as the bone cracked. The Demon screamed as the blade clattered to the ground before an uppercut sent him sprawling out backwards and knocked him out.

But Matthew didn't get a second to breathe as the tip of a burning whip trailed down his back, scorching his armor and sending a spike up pain up his spine as he turned around to face the Demon, right hand instantly going for his Smart Pistol before his foe cracked the second whip and ensnared his right wrist. Gritting his teeth from the pain, the Texan jumped forwards with licks of blue flame coming from his jump kit as he brought his left and down and punched the Demon in the face to send him staggering back towards the rest of the dwindling number of Demons.

One of the masked men, in a misguided attempt to help the whip wielder, tossed a negatively imbued grenade towards the Pilot, but with the whip still around his wrist, Cooper couldn't dive away. Instead, Matt grabbed the flaming implement with his right hand while firing his grappling hook with his left to grab the Demon and yanked the masked man towards him with both implements before he grabbed the man by the tie and used him as a human shield when the grenade detonated. The blast riddled the man's back with shrapnel and sent both flying from the force of the explosion. As the Pilot rolled across the ground and came to a stop, he found himself shaking off the effects of the blast that still rung his ears, Silver Sable emerged from the clearing dust and gunned down the Inner Demon closest to Cooper before smoothly transitioning onto the next target and gunning him down with the same cold efficiency. Sablinova only paused firing just long enough for her weapons to sufficiently cool and to yell, "Get on your feet Major!" before opening fire once again.

Cooper only halfway complied, pushing himself into a crouch and tossing out the circular A-Wall generator as the orange wall of shielding light sprang to life. Sable, too her credit, hesitated for barely a fraction of a second before she stepped behind the A-Wall and resumed firing, cutting down two more before Matt could reload his rifle. "Are you alright Major?" she asked curtly.

"I'm fine," reported Cooper, "last mag though." Not that he hadn't made use of the expended ammo; there must have been a forty Demons around them as testament to the effectiveness of the pair. Li truly was throwing everything he had at them.

But he wasn't done just yet, "RPG!" called out the Symkarian as the rocket streaked through the black sky and slammed into the ground just ahead of the A-Wall, overloading and disabling it before throwing the pair off their feet. A string of angry mandarin shouting caused Matt to quickly turn to the source and see the last of the group of Demons charging at them as he reached for the closest weapons, that being Sable's twin white energy pistols. Rolling onto his side, he snapped of four rapid shots, three of which missed completely as he tried to get a feel for the weapons before his fourth round slammed right into the Chinese symbol in between the eyes of the mask, leaving a smoking hole as the man crumpled to the ground.

As more Demons bore down on them, Matt got into a crouch and poured red laser bolts to the group that was weaving their way through the helicopters in the courtyard just as a black SUV screeched to a halt and more masked men poured out. When they emerged, Matt registered the staccato crack of the R-201 firing and turned to see the rifle in the hands of the Mercenary as she calmly sent 8.19mm rounds rhythmically downrange. Even as they slowed the oncoming terrorists, both instinctively knew they couldn't stay here in the open and began backpedaling, each laying covering fire down on their respective areas while they retreated towards the building entrance.

The pair was in sync with both their shots and steps as more Demons came at them, and as Matt planted three laser bolts into an oncoming swordsman, he looked farther out to see another pop out from behind one of the downed helicopters. Without hesitation, Matt brought the Sable handguns to bear and pulled each trigger, sending out a pair of red lasers just as the Demon tossed an energized hand grenade that lazily arced through the air. "Grenade!" barked out the Pilot as he turned and dove at Sablinova, both of them going to the ground behind a pillar just as the grenade detonated and they came to a stop behind one of the pillars in front of the door to the lab.

"Get off of me," ordered Sablinova calmly as Matt complied, releasing the Symkarian and sliding her pistols back to her before drawing his own Smart Pistol, but was surprised to see a ghost of a smirk on the stoic woman's features, "Your girlfriend will be jealous."

Cooper couldn't stop a surprised bark of laughter from escaping his lips as he regarded the mercenary in total disbelief before answering. "Yeah…" he admitted with a grin forming behind his helmet, "Of me." Despite the Symkarian roll her eyes and pop off to loose a few dissuading shots, he could still see the slightest upturning of her lips as she ducked back down into cover. "How long till those reinforcements arrive?" asked Matt before popping out, letting the MK6 lock onto and dispatch a pair of oncoming shield wielding Demons. But before Silver could offer an answer, a salvo of missiles streaked in, exploding in distinct red bursts over the remaining Demons, "Well, guess that answers that."

"Indeed" replied Silver Sable, "My men and I will secure the area, you go assist Spider-Man," ordered the woman as she moved to the door and pulled out her keycard. Quickly opening the doors, Cooper prepared to plunge in when he heard her speak up again, "Major" she said before saying, "It was good working with you again."

Even if she couldn't see it, the SRS Pilot smiled behind his helmet, "Anytime." And with that, he entered the building to find his friend.

* * *

Spider sense warbling loudly, Peter fired a web line and swung out of the way of another of Li's energy attacks, swinging around the thoroughly trashed lab as Li unleashed another blast of black and white energy that forced the Web head to flip clear before firing another line to reverse his direction of travel while craning his neck around to see why his sixth sense was falling silent. In the center of the room was Martin, crouched down and mostly devoid of his monochrome makeover as he tried to recover the energy he had just expended trying to reduce the Wall crawler to a red smear on the walls. Seizing the opening, Spider-Man went on the attack, firing a web line to pull him to the philanthropist, leading with a kick that sent him sprawling out across the floor as he brought up his other web shooter to fire a line that stuck to Li's chest and wrench him back up to his feet and straight into a cross that had the man spinning and staggering drunkenly.

When Mr. Negative crumpled to a knee and brought a hand to his head, Peter felt a surge of hope, "Fight it Martin!" he urged hopefully, "You can walk away!" He could see that Li was struggling with his emotions, screaming out with the warbling undertones fading in and out as his grip trembled on his sword.

But his screaming ended as his head snapped up, eyes a blank white, "No!" he shouted as he got back to his feet and wisps of black and white began to swirl around him, "Osborn must SUFFER!" he declared. Spider sense humming, Peter took a reflexive step back as a massive demonic shadow monster took shape behind the white suited man, horns on its black and white mask nearly scraping the 30-foot-high ceiling in the lab as it brought up massive clawed hands and slammed the shadowy limbs down, forcing the Web slinger to leap clear just as massive claw marks were dug into the metal floor. When the arms had pulled back, Peter could see Li standing in the center of the room, grinning evilly, "And if others must suffer too" he began as shadowy human forms emerged from the floor with glowing white eyes, seemingly crawling up from the depths of hell to aid Mr. Negative before he heartlessly declared, "Then so be it."

The shadowy zombies staggered forwards as Spider-Man bounced on the balls of his feet, "I know you can beat the Demon, Martin!" called out the Web head pleadingly before he leapt at the closest shadow, hitting it with an uppercut that sent it skywards before firing a pair of web lines up to yank it down. Gritting his teeth and knowing he couldn't hold back when fighting these creatures, Peter rammed his knee into the shadow black head as he felt the skull shatter from the blow before the shadow faded.

But he wasn't given any time to dwell on that sensation as his sixth sense blared in warning and he dodged another energy blast from Li. "Beat the Demon?" roared Li as Spider-Man sprung skywards and came down full force on a second shadow, "I. _AM. _The. Demon!" With those words, the monstrosity that was looming over the proceedings lurched into action, sweeping one of its massive claws around the room.

But Peter was unfazed as he agilely leapt over it and dove at Li, catching the man off guard and clocking him with a roundhouse kick before he could bring his sword up. Shaking off the blow, Mr. Negative tried to retaliate with an upward strike that Spidey back flipped away from before seizing the opening to ram a jab into the man's gut and causing him to double over before bringing his foot up to plant a bicycle kick into his nose as he flipped away from Li.

When Mr. Negative lifted his head, Peter could see a drop of black blood fall from his nose as the man sneered and raised both hands, pushing them forward to unleash a wave of his negative power that even Spider-Man couldn't hope to avoid as the full force of the attack slammed into him. If he hadn't released his grip on the floor, the impact would have killed him, but as it was he was sent flying through the room, air forcibly ejected from his lungs as his eyes tried to fly out of their socket from the acceleration before he slammed his back into the wall and almost swallowed his tongue as he ground to a sudden halt.

Shaking off the effects of the blow, the Web head's eyes widened at the sight of the Demonic monster reaching out with one of its clawed hands to grab him and his body reacted. Pulling his knees to his chest, he planted his hands flat on the wall, fingers facing towards the floor, and lifted himself with his superhuman strength so his back was off the ground. As the claw drew closer, Peter took a breath and focused on his Spider sense, trusting it to tell him the right time to strike.

When it reduced its warning to a hum, Spider-Man used every ounce of his superhuman strength to springboard himself off the wall, corkscrewing elegantly through the air to slip through the outstretched shadow claws as his momentum finally ran out and he fired a web line off to his side. Yanking himself clear of the claw, he finished his roll so he was now lying on his back, feet outstretched and lined up with the demonic mask of the monster as he fired a web line to either side of it. Closing his eyes, Spider-Man pulled himself forwards, feet driving through the head of the creature, shattering the mask before Peter opened his eyes just in time to watch his foot slam into the side of Li's face, sending the man flying back, white suit and black skin flickering on and off. Turning, Spider-Man saw the monster bring its hands up to its face and cry out, in it's death throes as its form began to go up in smoke before it vanished completely.

Turning back to Li, Peter watched the man cough, blood trickling down the side of his mouth, "Osborn" rasped Li as he reached inside his scuffed and ruined jacket, "Needs to pay."

"I know…" admitted Spider-Man as he watched the hand come out with a blue vial that he promptly snatched away with a web line and looked down at the label that read _'GR-27C, counteragent. Oscorp Industries.' _ Shaking his head as he clutched the bottle tightly, knowing instinctively how valuable it was before he looked down at Li, "…But this is the wrong way, Martin."

Before the philanthropist could muster a response, the terrible sound of shearing metal echoed throughout the room as Spider-Man turned to look up towards the source. The roof panels were peeled back before a familiar shape emerged, the Marauder's limp body cart wheeling through the air, arms and legs flailing about lifelessly as the jump kit on his back automatically stabilized his descent before he slammed into the ground. "No…" breathed Peter as he rushed to his friend, looking at the gashes torn across his chest plate, blood staining the armor a red so dark it was nearly black around a puncture over his stomach that the Web slinger quickly webbed up to try and stem the bleeding. "Get up, come on, GET UP!" shouted Peter as he smacked the helmet, the visor dim and lifeless.

"I told you what would happen if you interfered," announced a cold voice that sent shivers down Spider-Man's spine as he looked up to see four mechanical arms holding the familiar form of Doctor Octavius over the gap he had just torn open in the ceiling. Instinctively, Peter placed himself between his mentor and friend, fists clenched as Octavius slowly descending, bloody claw digging into the wall before the next brought him down to the floor, though he still hung in the air above Spider-Man and Li as he turned to the latter. "Useless…" sneered the scientist as an arm casually batted the man aside before turning his attention to the Web head, another mechanical arm lashing out to grab Peter, yellow tipped claws open and poised for the kill.

Instinctively, Spider-Man brought his hands up to catch the incoming claw, letting the antiserum clatter across the floor that he found himself pinned to as he strained to hold back the claw as Octavius loomed over him. Gritting his teeth and summoning his strength, the Web head shoved the claw aside, throwing Otto's balance off as he got to his feet, sidestepping a second arm that tried to crush him from overhead before leaping over a third before diving through the air, scooping up the vial as he shot past and rolled, firing a blast of webs into Otto's face as his other hand fired a line to pull him out of reach of the arms.

For a fraction of a second, the gambit seemed to have worked, but a force slammed into his back and rammed the Web head into a concrete wall, his ribs flaring in pain as his head bashed into it and his world started to spin before he was ripped away from it and slammed into a nearby pipe with such force it deformed around him. An attempt to twist his body to try and fight back stopped when a second arm rammed his head back down, worsening his concussion as drowsiness began to set in an he was pulled off the pipe only to be slammed into the floor and pinned by the two arms.

Peter's aching arms and legs failed to respond, his chest burning chest felt like it was melting from the inside out as his eyes fluttered and he forced himself to stay conscious through the worsening pain of being lifted off the floor, claws digging into his bruised skin through his Advanced Suit. Peter couldn't even manage to lift his head to look his mentor in the eye as the world faded in and out, the last bits of tension leaving his body, causing the vial he still had in his right hand to slip from his grasp and be swiftly caught by one of Otto's arms before he took it in his human right hand.

"Otto?" said the stunned voice of Norman Osborn as the CEO looked down on the proceedings from the secure lab above the main one. Otto turned to look up at his former friend before carelessly tossing the limp from of the Web slinger alongside the similarly still form of the Renegade Gunfighter. Using his arms, Octavius quickly ascended up to Norman's level with a sinister grin on his face.

Even if Spider-Man couldn't move his head, he could still see one of Otto's mechanical arms snake out and around Osborn, "That look on your face…you can't imagine how satisfying it is." With that, Otto squeezed the arm around the Mayor, pinning his arms to his sides as the Executive was lifted, kicking his feet uselessly before Otto brought him up to look him in the eye. "Ready for your final act?" asked the deranged scientist before Peter slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Damnit…" cursed Sablinova as the rest of the squad she had brought with her emerged from the elevator shaft they had just roped down. The Marauder wasn't responding, and she had no idea what she was leading her men into as she drew her pistols and looked around the dimly lit and clearly damaged space. "Get tactical," she ordered as the eight men split into two four-man teams, one along each wall of the corridor before she gave her next order, "Advance." Taking point, the Symkarian remained stoic despite her elevated heart rate, all senses on alert for anything amiss before she heard it again, that metallic banging noise. Holding up a hand as she crouched, the others came to a halt, scanning with their rifles for any sign of hostiles. But it sounded like in was on the other side of the thick walls, and it soon began to fade as Sable stood and they resumed their push forwards.

Not 10 meters further did the Symkarian notice something that caught her eye, a massive whole ripped open in the wall, leading to a large cargo elevator shaft, but more concerning was what was on this side of the wall. There was blood and brass, but the Mercenary's eyes widened at the sight of an oversized handgun with an odd muzzle and attached laser sight that lay there amidst the signs of fighting. In a trance, she picked the gun up and confirmed it was indeed the Marauder's famed Smart Pistol before grimacing and tucking it in one of her own holsters for safekeeping. "Move, double time!" she ordered as the group rushed ahead with renewed urgency, descending a flight of stairs before rushing through an automatic door that was labeled _'Primary Laboratory.' _

Sable's eyes widened at the sight, not a single piece of equipment was intact, shattered glass and splinters of all types littered the floor, but what stood out the most were the two bodies that lay still. "O moy bog…" murmured Sable as she rushed forwards after only the briefest checking of corners for threats, solely focused on the pair that lay beaten and battered on the floor. "Medic!" she called out as she holstered her pistols and crouched down between the two, "Spider-Man? Major?" she tried, giving each a gentle prod.

Spider-Man, incredibly, lifted his head, blood flecked lenses blinking wearily, "Where's…Otto…?" rasped out the Web slinger weakly before whimpering and clutching his ribs gingerly.

"Gone," answered Sable as she carefully rolled him onto his back and looked over him and got the full picture of his current sorry state. "I would not worry about him right now…" she told him honestly before she moved to check on the Marauder.

A second figure appeared at Sable's side as her face tightened at the condition of his armor and the gruesome wound he had sustained; Dr. Morgan Michaels appraised the conditions of both men and gave Sable a frank assessment, "They need a hospital." The Symkarian agreed and turned to order her men to prepare two stretchers only to see that pair of collapsible stretchers were extended and ready to be used.

When she turned back, she was stunned to see the x shaped visor of the Marauder's striped helmet was now glowing a dull blue, "F…Fuck that…" managed the Marauder as he tried to get up, only to have Sable force him back down and give him a warning glare that dissuaded him from trying again.

"Yeah," managed Spider-Man as he was carefully lifted onto one of the stretchers, "F.E.A.S.T."

Michaels gave Silver a questioning look, like he couldn't believe they were going to comply with such an insane request. At first, Sable was going to dismiss Spider-Man's wishes, but as she opened her mouth to give the order to take them to a hospital, she looked down at the Marauder as his jump kit was removed and he was lifted onto the second stretcher, his words coming back to her that it was their choice to make, not hers. "Major, do you hear me? Do you want to go to F.E.A.S.T.?" she asked, getting a deliberate but strained nod in return. "Then that is where we go," she declared firmly as the two stretchers were lifted, "move out, double time!"

* * *

_Cooper's Logbook – Strategic Titan Applications_

_The concept of an 'Airborne' tank has long been around. From the Soviet T-60 light tank that was fitted to a glider or the American M-22 'Locust' that could fit inside the massive Hamilcar gliders that saw use during the second world war. Later, the M551 Sheridan was able to be deployed by airdrop using drag chutes and a specially designed palette, but the crew had to parachute separately and then find their tank once they landed. None of these vehicles were truly successful at providing airborne troops with armored support, because not only were the logistics of these vehicles all flawed, they were all light tanks and stood no chance against any proper hostile armor. _

_As tanks got bigger and heavier, these problems were only exacerbated, and it wasn't until the introduction of the Atlas Class Titan that a type of 'Airborne' or even 'Spaceborne' armor was finally in frontline service. The original Atlas was capable of being deployed straight from air or space to the frontlines and go straight into action, even with a Pilot embarked. The ramifications were immediate, offensive operations now had overcome a massive disadvantage they were once faced with as the previously light forces now had the staying power and firepower to ward off all but the most well prepared and executed counterattacks. _

_Instead of protracted sieges of planets or decisive fleet battles, now ground pounders could have a serious impact since taking and holding objectives was now a viable strategy. 'Planet Hopping' was now the order of the day, combined with a bit of Raiding by Titan backed expeditionary groups like the IMC 'STC' (Spaceborne Titan Cavalry) companies and later the Militia's own SRS Marauder Corps._

* * *

**Closing Notes: That was a fun one overall, and though I had to make a few tweaks to some events in the game to keep things more 'grounded' like having Sable stretcher Peter and Matt out, I think it turned out pretty good. Obviously, I cut down the boss fight, because the number of hit points these guys have is enough to make the Borderlands 1 'Destroyer' blush and it would have killed the pacing it what I wanted to keep an action filled penultimate chapter of the Sinister Six arc. So yes, next chapter will include the final boss fight from the game, which is another reason why I didn't focus a whole lot on this one here. **

**I also wanted to try something different with the Logbook, expanding less on 'hardware' and more on what I can best term as 'Lore' relating to certain elements. In the future I'll try to balance out these two types of entries, but I'm curious as to y'all's thoughts on this new approach, those that like the Logbooks anyways. If you don't, I still would like to hear feedback if you have it, feel free to leave a review and let me know what you're thinking. **

**Show no fear, the ending is near, as someone will fight to their Last Dying Breath.**

**Stay Frosty, Misfit Delta out. **


End file.
